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Mercer
Joined: 02 Mar 2004
Posts: 1107
Location: Suwanee
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Not an uncommon trail fix to whiz in the radiator... 
I was part of the chase crew for some friends racing in the Vegas to Reno 1000 mile desert race this past august. Here's an excerpt from the race report:
We experienced temps over the 115-degree mark at the start of the race, and there is no doubt this was the most extreme duty the cars and teams had ever seen. The 4471 over heated almost instantly and blew coolant out the reservoir all over Izzy as we attempted to pass the 4435 and 4488 cars. That left us sidelined and way behind. The car blew off steam so many times I can’t recall, but the worst was out in the middle of nowhere between pit one and two. Out of water, and the car in limp mode it blew off again directly in the face of Izzy. As Izzy jumped out he broke open a huge gash in his hand that needed medical attention. Our electronics did not work because the water blew all over the control panel. This was the worst moment of the race for me. We took a quick break to regain our minds, and came up with a fix. The fan was not working, and Izzy quickly found a broken wire. Mean while I pissed in empty water bottles to use for coolant. After about an hour we could drive the 4471.
What lay ahead was a sea of broken ultra4 cars. Everything from over heating, to failed transmissions stopped most the field before pit two. We stopped and offered assistance, but in all cases the teams waved us on. Pit closing times now dictate our pace. As we came into pit two our crew was ready and waiting. The silt coming in to pit two was so bad I almost hit a power line pole.
“What’s next” Wyatt grabbed the hot radiator cap and gave it a yank in an explosion of piss that covered the entire crew. Thankfully Doc Mercer had put the pit sign in front of the driver’s view and I was spared. Izzy got a bath of my piss, as did Woodlee. We pressed on with over heating and failed fuel pumps the entire day and started driving by the temp gage. We had to stop a number of times with bad fuel pumps on day one. And it was a real bummer when we learned we had a nearly 20 minute lead over first place and threw it away changing a fuel pump. We had passed the leader in the pits and the Blue torch shortly there after. I never saw the leaders of the day, as they stopped in the pits.
Full report:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=816012
_________________
Ken Mercer
...doc on the rocks
97 TJ, 86 CJ7, 82 CJ8, CJ "Bucket" and "other" type rigs
Pro RockSports Team #770
2009 and 2010 King Of the Hammers Racer
www.mercermotorsports.com
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Mon Dec 14, 2009 12:54 pm |
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