As we cross over the 30 daze left mark, there is an epic battle shaping up on the R4YL horizon. Joel (Image1) has been working like a mad man for almost a year to get his beloved trump back on the road and ready to rock for R4YL. All the major fab, including a new frame, is pretty well completed but there’s something missing.
The heart of the beast lay in pieces waiting for cylinder head & crank shaft machining to be completed (actually I believe the crank is done today) these parts have been at a shop for a LOOOOONG time. So long in fact they are now at the second shop and actually getting done. Things are looking up…. But wait what’s this? The crank bearings that were sent are not correct. “We’ll make it right. They’ll be expressed shipped and at your door in 7 days” WTF? They have to come from the mother country!?!?!
For those of you keeping score, if the bearings come in 7 days and they’re correct… that’s 23 days to build & install a trump engine, wiring, final assembly and shake it all down. Will our hero be riding his trusty steed or is it going to be the back up sled?
All that said isn’t this really what we live for? Don’t we really flourish at 2 am in our garages, sheds, patios, spare bedrooms or whatever it is that we’ve converted into our laboratory surrounded by tools & beer bottles sweating our asses off to get that heap of crap someone junked years ago down the highway? Hell yes it is because you know that sooner or later you’re gonna be blasting down the highway with some friends on similar suicide wheels. All of you thinking two things. “Damn I built this missile” & “what the hell is that noise”
No worries though, Joel is no stranger to this pressure. He competed in The Horse ACO last year and he has a bull pen full of friends he can call on to get that bloody tramp running all he needs to do is call em up. Only way to see if this thing is going down the road is to be here in August and spend some highway time with us.
