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Above 1200 Sq/FT Restored 1930's Auto Shop

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kbuhagiar

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 27, 2005
Messages
1,730
Location
Escondido, CA
Goodness gracious, you guys need to cut Thomas and Chris some slack.

After all these years they have provided us with so much entertainment via so many posts, so many updates, and so many pictures...do you have any idea of all of the thought, time, and effort that goes into all of that publishing?

They, more than anyone on GJ, deserve a break.

I am sure that we will here from them when the time is right.

Thomas and Chris, enjoy some time off, you certainly deserve it. :thumbup:
 

Fix Until Broke

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Joined
Feb 21, 2016
Messages
794
Location
SE Wisconsin
Hello Fix Until Broke and thanks for update bump on this thread.

Chris Hohn the owner of the Lincoln Bookbindery should be able to get you fixed up in good shape. His work is impeccable. Let me know if you have any trouble contacting him.

Yes, all is more than well here in The Center Of The Universe! The both of us are just incredibly busy and we seem to like it that way. That's the biggest reason we haven't been posting in here. After a full day working on various projects, rather than spend a few hours in the evening posting, I'm actually relaxing. I know you and others will understand. As we get into winter weather I should start to get a bit more time free. I've virtually finished all my outside work for the year. Pictures to follow.

Thomas

Glad to hear all is well and you're taking some time for yourselves to relax after a busy day.

Chris Hohn got back to me right away this morning and my book is already in the mail to them :).
 
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BB767

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Dec 24, 2009
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Location
Philo, IL
Bonneville 2019 - Lou Bingham - Part 1

With some Mid-West unseasonably nasty weather yesterday and cold today I am staying home beginning the process of catching up here.

Let's start with last August and Bonneville 2019; behind the scenes.



As you're aware, ace Bonneville land speed racer Lou Bingham spends the summers with us in Philo. He drives this 5th wheel rig out here and it's his home away from home out in front of the old shop. This is also the rig he and I drive out to the Bonneville Salt Flats every year for Speed Week.



After 1,500 miles (2,414 km) and 2 days driving, this is the end goal.



We always get there a couple days early to help out with what ever might need be done to get the facility ready for some land speed racing. This year we had 2 assignments. One task was to mend the fences during the event that define the various areas on the salt. Note the yellow caution tape on the right. That tape is used as fence in the pit, tech areas and is what we repair as necessary. There are miles of it.



Additionally we were assigned as roving course security.



As of Thursday, Aug 8th, 2 days before the event start, everything looked ready and the course promised to be smooth, hard and fast. This is the long course...



...and here is the start of the long course. The starting line is between the two signs with zeros. Those signs denote the start of mile 1.



This is Thursday late afternoon. One of our club members is pushing his car into their pit. Note the approaching rainstorm in the background, right side. We left the salt for the day and hoped it would just be a small, light shower. Unfortunately...



...this is a sight you never want to see near the salt flats during Speed Week. That rainbow, seen here in Wendover Utah, about 10 miles away from the salt, is positioned right over the salt flats. Though it was beautiful, it was the result of a real gully washer rainstorm. :sad:

Next day after the storm...



...there was water...



...and more water...



...and even more water everywhere on the salt! This was Friday, the day before the official start of Speed Week on Saturday. This delayed racing until Tuesday, the 13th to give the courses time to dry out. In the meantime, while we were waiting for it to dry out and waiting for Lou's restored '29 roadster to show up, here are a few random pictures taken around the pits.



The Mooneyes vintage Streamliner, circa 1959.



... a stunning piece of sculpture. Count the exhaust stacks.



There are 24 total. Originally Allison V-12 engine powered with a top speed of 285 MPH (458 kph). Never did get to see it opened up. Real eye candy though!





This was Marlo Treit's Target 550 streamliner :


Some of the folks we met up with on the salt were Simon (finally!!) aka HOTFR8 from Australia...



...also chatted with Bob, his 2nd year at the salt and then...



...there was Rob. As Lou and I were walking to get lunch, Rob walked by and turned and asked me if my name was Thomas. He recognized Lou and saw me with him and guessed it was me. Rob's been a long time lurker on the thread and was just passing by the Salt Flats on vacation and wondered if he'd see us. Complete serendipity and made the world just a bit smaller. Very cool stuff.

Next up: Part II. Lou's restored car finally arrives at the salt and Lou attends Rookie School for drivers. Check back here for more excitement if you can stand the suspense! :bounce: Thanks a bunch everyone for your extreme patience!! :thumbup:

Thomas
 

markviii

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Jan 25, 2010
Messages
1,310
Location
east central IL
I should have slipped in this post before Tom started updating on what we've been up to. Just because it looked like we took more than a month off from posting, don't be fooled or think we're getting some "down time". Yesterday, for Tom, yes, finally he took off a day and set a fire in the fireplace. Me, not so much. I had apartment showings and meetings in town, so drove home through the terrible, slippery windy prairie with virtually 0 visibility or traction, taking 30 minutes to travel 8 miles home from Urbana. White-knuckle driving for me. Glad I made it by 2:45pm. The weather just got worse after that. I felt sorry for the people having to get home from work in total darkness, blinding snow and slippery roads. Better weather and clearer roads expected for tomorrow through the weekend with sun and temps in the 30s. Be safe out there everyone.
rlwhitetr3b knows what it was like yesterday. And, no, Philo did not escape. Tom did get the outdoor work done that he had set out to complete (planing grass, last mowing/mulcing, splitting/stacking wood, etc. And yes, it took a storm to get a day of rest for him. There's lots coming up from Tom to catch everyone up with all our activities since summer.

Chris
 

Finallygotit

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Joined
Jul 6, 2013
Messages
4,076
Location
Tucson, AZ
Thanks Tom & Chris for the updates. Looks like from what I hear I was lucky to see what I did see at Bonneville this year given we are told 2020 may not happen.


Wait!! What??


Why wouldn't happen in 2020?? I checked the SCTA-BNI website and nothing like that is stated.
 
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BB767

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Dec 24, 2009
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Philo, IL
Bonneville 2019 - Part 2 - Lou's Adventure Begins

Lou's restored 1929 Roadster arrived on Monday with racing set to start the next day.



Here it is fresh off the trailer, first time on the salt since it's restoration, looking much like when Lou raced it in the 1960's. Next the car was taken to tech for inspection.





In tech, the car is scrutinized by officials for rule compliance and safety.



This is Bruce Brady to the left of Lou. Bruce bought the car a couple of years ago and is the man responsible for rescuing the car and setting in motion the restoration effort and then making it available to Lou to run at Bonneville. Bruce has been a friend of Lou and myself for many years and he is just an amazing, generous person. We can't thank him enough for making a dream come true for Lou.





The car passed tech after a couple minor problems were corrected. Below are some closeup pictures. Note all the various parts that have holes drilled in them. Lou drilled all those back in 1960 when he first built the car to lighten it up.











After tech, the car was moved to the pits to ready it for running the next day.



In the pits, the car was once again gone completely over, fluids checked and the engine warmed up. To the right of Lou above is Dan Waldrop in the grey tee shirt. Dan and his fellow Bean Bandit's crew were the fellows who installed a spare race engine and did a tremendous amount of work from May until August to sort the car and get it race ready. There were too many to name them all, but they are in all the various pictures around the car. Many of them knew Lou since they were small kids. They spent literally hundreds of hours of work on it and it was all a volunteer effort. Everyone of them told me it was an honor to be able to work on this car and help Lou run again at Bonneville, such is Lou's reputation among land speed racers. :)

Now Lou had to be able to get in and out of the car...



...so he practiced in the pits.







Here is Lou sitting in his old car at Bonneville. Last time this happened was over 45 years ago.



This is Lou's foot back on the accelerator pedal that he fabricated over 50 years ago in 1961. Note it wraps around his foot so he can close the throttle by pulling it backward with the top of his foot in case the throttle return spring breaks.



This is Bruce and Lou getting ready to run. That's Bruce's other Bonneville car. It runs sub 200 mph runs.



Next time we'll see Lou complete his Rookie orientation to get his racing license and get suited up to go racing once more. Please check back. Thanks everyone.

Thomas
 

realvc

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Joined
Jan 7, 2011
Messages
394
Location
Lake Norrell, AR
Thanks Thomas.
I can't imagine what it must feel like to drive a car like Lou's on the Salt Flats.
It is always a treat to see what is going on at the COTU and beyond.
Take care
Vince
 

rmalkow2

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Joined
Jun 26, 2009
Messages
4,087
Location
Brighton, MI
Thanks for this latest update Thomas. I love all the detail pictures of Lou’s car and of course that one of him in the cockpit, grinning from ear to ear with a big thumbs up is priceless. Sorry I missed it in person but so glad to catch up through your posts and that he got to drive on the salt again.

Congrats Lou!!! A fantastic accomplishment to the whole team that made this happen.

Bob
 
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BB767

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Dec 24, 2009
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Location
Philo, IL
Bonneville 2019 - Part 3 - Feel Good Story Of The Week

Every driver who wants to run at Bonneville must be competition licensed by the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA). To get licensed, you must attend Rookie orientation and then perform a successful Rookie Run.

Lou last ran in 1972 so his license had long expired even though he's been competing there since 1953.



Rookie orientation starts in the tech area where the rookie drivers gather. The instructor hands out course maps like...



...this one. I couldn't find a 2019 years map but the essentials are the same from year to year. Generally speaking, All Rookies do their initial rookie run on the Rookie Course, far right, course #4 in this case. Note there are 4 courses depicted with a timing tower between #1 and #2 and between #3 and #4. Course #1 or the long course, is reserved for vehicles that will run faster than 175 mph ( 282 kph).

The yellow lines outline the race courses and the red lines depict the service roads. These are the roads that crew pit vehicles use to retrieve their competition cars after a run and then use these same roads to tow, push etc the various race cars back to the pits or staging lanes for another run. What is very important is to turn away (red arrows) from the tower after a normal run, and coast to a stop on the service road to clear the course for another car to run.

If you have an issue and need immediate assistance (fire, medical issue etc) turn in toward the tower. Turning in toward the tower will trigger an immediate response from SCTA emergency vehicles. For more rookie information read here:

http://nebula.wsimg.com/ca82508d540...89604A3781742F233&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

After the orientation is over...



...these yellow stickers with a big R in the middle are passed out. You must have one on your helmet when you make your Rookie runs.

Next you need a drivers wrist band...



...which you get when you present your Rookie sticker to the offical.



Lou with his Rookie sticker and shinny new SCTA drivers wrist band was now cleared to make a Rookie Run.

We waited till late in the afternoon of Tuesday, the first day they were racing, to give the course as much chance as possible to dry out.



Lou got suited up and the car was bought out to the Rookie course. To perform a satisfactory Rookie Run, the instructions were to not exceed 125 mph, turn the correct way off the course when done and successfully deploy the parachute.



Here we all are in the staging lane waiting for Lou's turn on the course. Lou was as cool and relaxed as he could possibly be. After all, he's done this before! Word came they had time for 1 more Rookie run and then they were going to close the course for the day. It was getting very rough.



This is Lou getting in his car...



...and then strapping him in securely. The gal on the right, in white with the headset is Jill Iverson, the SCTA starter on the Rookie course that day. Jill is past president of the San Diego Roadster Club (SDRC) and a very dear friend to both Lou and myself. She was more excited about this than Lou I think! :)



Last minute checking the car while Jill holds it on the starting line waiting for the course to clear.



This is Lou Bingham in the Bird Rock Mobilgas Special being pushed off the starting line at the Bonneville Salt Flats once again. Last time this happened was in 1972!

We drove out to retrieve the car, we watched the run and then saw the parachute deploy with a correct turn out at the end of the run. All Good!! :bounce:

As we drove up, we could see Lou sitting there...



...with a smile so big and bright you could see it for miles!! He was one happy camper I've got to tell you! I'll admit there were more than a few tears of joy among the crew!



After talking about this moment for the last couple of years, Lou, age 87 years old, had successfully completed a run at Bonneville in his old car thanks to Bruce, Dan and all the Bean Bandits crew. It couldn't have been possible without any of them. A true team effort.

Driving the car was the easy part; Lou getting out of the car...





... not so much! But he made it after bending and stretching some muscles he hasn't used in a while.



Once we had him out of his racing gear we pinned this on his shirt. Note it was a FUN METER and...



...it's pegged to the MAX!

With the run completed...



...the car was brought back to the pits for the night.

Once a Rookie successfully completes their Rookie Run, he/she needs to take their timing ticket...



... back to the SCTA starter that waved them off, to have it signed off.



That was one of Jill's proudest moments as a starter she told us, to be able to sign off Lou's timing ticket.

With the signed ticket...



... it was back to the these nice folks...



... to get Lou's Competition License. Note what Jill had written. This was by far the feel good story of Bonneville 2019. Not only did Lou get his Bonneville license, but he did it in...



...his old 58 year old car.



Who says you can never go home anymore?! I am so very proud of this man and to be able to call him my friend. Well done Lou!

Thomas
 
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GGB

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Oct 26, 2011
Messages
388
Thomas, this is one of the best feel good stories of the year about living life to its fullest! Please tell Lou “Congratulations!”, and once again, my thanks to you and Chris for sharing this with us.

GGB
 

APEowner

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Joined
Oct 2, 2009
Messages
4,164
Location
Sunny, New Mexico
Thomas - It was great to meet you and Lou at Indy. I wish that we'd had some more time to talk and that I'd had time to meet the lovely and supportive Ms. Chris.

Thank you for sharing the incredible story of Lou's return to the salt. Having had the pleasure of meeting him I have an even bigger appreciation of what that must mean to him. Please pass my congratulations on to him.
 

realvc

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Joined
Jan 7, 2011
Messages
394
Location
Lake Norrell, AR
Chill bumps on chill bumps reading this edition your thread. Congrats. to Lou and thanks to you. What a great adventure. Quality pics. too.

Vince
 

stillp

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Joined
May 5, 2015
Messages
428
Location
Midlands, UK
Wonderful story, thanks for posting it Thomas, and congratulations to Lou for passing his rookie test! That smile of his could've dried out the salt!
Pete
 

rixtrix1

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Joined
Aug 25, 2013
Messages
3,010
Location
Chandler, AZ (from west NE)
Such a great story! Congrats to Lou, and all those that made this possible. Thank you for sharing it. Wife says at 67 I have plenty of time to finish and race my Chevelle.

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk
 

67ImpalaSS396

Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2007
Messages
17
Location
Michigan
Awesome story, Thomas! Congratulations to Lou! I'll be it took quite a while for the fun meter to come off of MAX... Some day I'd love to make it out to Bonneville to witness this spectacle in person.

Regards,
John
 

dchance

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Oct 3, 2016
Messages
614
Location
OKC
Great story,
Glad that he made it this year. Next year can always be uncertain.

Dwight
 

Vette60

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Mar 15, 2006
Messages
447
Location
Glen Allen, VA
Thanks for sharing. That is so, so awesome. I quickly read through while "listening" on a conference call and will dive in for a much more detailed review later tonight - especially the detailed photos of Lou's racer.

I was trying to put some numbers together and have to say that Lou is one awesome dude at 87 - for that matter at any age.

This is the type of stuff that you love to hear about - it really makes you feel good about how generous folks are with their time. It really made my day to read this story.

Thanks again for sharing!
 
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BB767

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Philo, IL
Photobucket Problems

Well Photobucket is still having issues so I'm waiting to get something posted here. It'll be a pretty heavy picture post. Stand by. Thanks everyone.

Patiently waiting Thomas
 

gasgas17

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Nov 7, 2009
Messages
443
Location
Nova Scotia, Canada
Re: Photobucket Problems

Well Photobucket is still having issues so I'm waiting to get something posted here. It'll be a pretty heavy picture post. Stand by. Thanks everyone.

Patiently waiting Thomas

Although not free, I have been using Smugmug for years. I also use it for work. But it's painless to use and has no down time in my experience.
 
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