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1 We had a nice long trip to Gordon’s Well over Easter. With the trip spread out over 12 days, lots of different people were able to make it out at some point during the trip. The season is not quite over yet! We are still planning a Dumont trip, and are now thinking the weekend of May3-5 will work out best for those of us that will be going. We hope to see you there. For a change of pace, many club members took their RZRs to Havasu for a long day of desert riding. Read all about it on page 8. P.J.’s V8 made its debut, and while it had some teething issues it wound up having a very successful trip. Read more about the events of the motor’s first trip starting on page 8. Melissa Kastle had knee surgery on April 8th to remove her strange bump that developed this season. It went well, and she is back to walking, driving, and chasing Allie around. Just a reminder, individual Coral Pink site reservations may be made now for our trip, which will be July 11-20th 2013. If you think you might go, it is worth reserving a space now. Call (800) 322-3770 8AM-5PM Utah time for reservations. Easter Gordon's Well 2013 by Jim Kastle On Thursday the 28th, as Nancy and I passed the gold mine, we got a call from Walt saying he was at Glamis Dunes Storage picking up his trailer. He said he'd wait so we could caravan to Gordon's Well. We soon arrived at Glamis and after airing up a tire on our white trailer were on our way to Gordon's. We had in incident free trip. We had heard that the Bakers were already there. None of us could see them, so we gave them a quick call, and Barry told us he was east of our usual spot as our usual spot was already taken. We found him quickly, and had no trouble getting to camp. We set up camp and Walt volunteered to go with me to get the yellow trailer to help change the tire if I had a flat like I did the last two years. Well Walt was a good luck charm and we made the trip with no problems. Friday morning we awoke to find John, Anna, Matthew and his girlfriend Courtney had arrived overnight. Around noon the Fords and the Tranthams arrived, just as we were ready to go for a buggy ride. The ride was uneventful on sand that was rather rutted. We discovered that the trampoline and call box we found last year had been removed. We (Continued on page 2)

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In this edition of The Rooster, we cover the fun from 12 days at Gordon's Well over Easter, Easter at Ocotillo Wells, and a weekend of desert riding in Lake Havasu. We also look forward to one more trip to finish up the season at Dumont.

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♦ We had a nice long trip to Gordon’s Well over Easter. With the trip spread out over 12 days, lots of different people were able to make it out at some point during the trip.

♦ The season is not quite over yet! We are still planning a Dumont trip, and are now thinking the weekend of May3-5 will work out best for those of us that will be going. We hope to see you there.

♦ For a change of pace, many club members took their RZRs to Havasu for a long day of desert riding. Read all about it on page 8.

♦ P.J.’s V8 made its debut, and while it had some teething issues it wound up having a very successful trip. Read more

about the events of the motor’s first trip starting on page 8. ♦ Melissa Kastle had knee surgery on April 8th to remove her

strange bump that developed this season. It went well, and she is back to walking, driving, and chasing Allie around.

♦ Just a reminder, individual Coral Pink site reservations may be made now for our trip, which will be July 11-20th 2013. If you think you might go, it is worth reserving a space now. Call (800) 322-3770 8AM-5PM Utah time for reservations.

Easter Gordon's Well 2013 by Jim Kastle      On Thursday the 28th, as Nancy and I passed the gold mine, we got a call from Walt saying he was at Glamis Dunes Storage picking up his trailer. He said he'd wait so we could caravan to Gordon's Well. We soon arrived at Glamis and after airing up a tire on our white trailer were on our way to Gordon's. We had in incident free trip. We had heard that the Bakers were already there. None of us could see them, so we gave them a quick call, and Barry told us he was east of our usual spot as our usual spot was already taken. We found him quickly, and had no trouble getting to camp. We set up camp and Walt volunteered to go with me to get the yellow trailer to help change the tire if I had a flat like I did the last two years. Well Walt was a good luck charm and we made the trip with no problems.     Friday morning we awoke to find John, Anna, Matthew and his girlfriend Courtney had arrived overnight. Around noon the Fords and the Tranthams arrived, just as we were ready to go for a buggy ride. The ride was uneventful on sand that was rather rutted. We discovered that the trampoline and call box we found last year had been removed. We 

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May 3rd-5th: Weekend trip to Dumont.

So far this seems to be the pre-

ferred weekend. Come out for

one more trip before Coral Pink

May 12th: Mother’s Day

May 31 - June 2nd or later: Cottonwood Cove river

trip with the Coles and Kastles.

June 16th: Father’s Day

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did, however find a swing set in the dunes. Later Friday night, P.J., Melissa, and Allison arrived with the newly installed V8.     Saturday morning P.J. was up early to test the new engine. There was a problem, as the electronic throttle would only function for a minute or two, and then return to an idle. We spent a lot time trying different things, and using his new real‐time scan tool, P.J. found there was a mismatch between the main computer and the throttle computer. John quickly volunteered his throttle computer, and the engine worked great. We went for a ride to Pat‐ton Valley with John riding shotgun in P.J.'s car. P.J.'s smile is permanent as the engine worked perfectly, and is a great match for the car.     John called his Dad and asked him to check Scott's buggy, which was in Scott's trailer in dad's driveway, to see if it has a compatible throttle com‐puter. He did, and it is compatable and Dean (John and Scott's dad) volun‐teered to drive to Indio to deliver the computer. Melissa and P.J. drove to Indio to pick up the computer. Just before sunset we went for another ride. John led us on a very fast, smooth ride all the way to Patton Valley and back to the old canal. After a break we headed towards test hill. John soon called that there was a big drop. Sure enough, the drop was steep enough that he landed hard and bent his right rear wheel, and the right rear shock mount. Barry and I went back to camp for a spare wheel and tire. We got him back to camp and the yellow trailer, where we worked together to straighten and weld the shock mount and frame. The repair isn't pretty, and won't be on the car long, but it seems strong. P.J and Melissa arrived right as we finished the repair. We were too tired to go for a ride.     Sunday morning some of us went to the Duner's Diner for breakfast and were met by the new manager, Jeff, who cooked our food to OUR liking, and made it clear that refills were free. The food was as good as ever, but the atti‐tude was very differ‐ent. The staff must have asked us at least 20 times, if they could get us anything. Unfortu‐nately, Easter was their last day of the season.     We returned to camp and had the traditional adult Easter egg hunt. Nancy, Barry, and Steve Sturm hid the eggs while all the rest of us waited for the command. We had a lot of fun and were like a group of kids as we hunted for and then opened the eggs and found the surprises inside. Thanks to all who provided prizes and partici‐pated. Allison had so much fun hunting for her eggs earlier that she joined the adults and had even more fun.     After the Easter egg hunt we went for another ride. P.J. was having a ball with the new engine when Steve called on the radio that P.J.'s engine was smoking. We headed back to camp and looked into the engine. Those of us 

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who helped install it were crushed to find we left a vacuum port open, allowing sand into the new engine. We spent 3 hours cleaning the intake manifold and hoping the smoke was caused by slightly overfilling the engine with oil, and not the sand. We reassembled the engine and took it for a short ride. We were troubled to find it still smoked.     Monday morning I awoke to the sound of P.J.'s car driving around camp. When I went outside he was smiling as he said it wasn't smoking. We went for a ride and it didn't smoke. It was another Easter miracle! We took a break at test hill and made a quick run back to camp down the old canal. P.J. Then wanted to take Melissa for a ride, so we refueled and found seats for Brianna Cole and her boyfriend Conner, and headed off for another ride. Things were going well until my engine started making ugly noises. It turns out it spit out a spark plug. Several of us went to Texas Roadhouse for din‐ner. We returned to camp and a nice campfire.      Tuesday we went for a ride with me riding shotgun in P.J.'s car. I am a terrible passenger, but P.J. did a great job and I am very impressed with the power, handling, and ride. On the ride John lost a front wheel when a spindle broke. In typical IEOR style, P.J. and Steve went to camp for a spare spindle while Don and Jerry helped pull the spindle. We rein‐stalled the spindle but as he tried to start it, all it did was clunk. It turns out his starter died. We made another run to camp where we pulled my starter from the 5 spark plugged engine. P.J. Melissa, and Allie had to head home. With no Allie to play with, Nancy decided to head home for a few days. I was left as the only Kastle in camp. We had a nice campfire. Just about sunset Bobby Amador and Luanne arrived.     Wednesday morning Walt and I went to Yuma to look for parts to fix my buggy. We went to nine different stores try‐ing to find the correct spark plug insert. We finally compromised on one that would require some JB weld to make it 

work. We returned to camp to find Steve Sturm had left, and Bob Amador's truck hooked up to Chuck Grossman's motor home. Apparently Chuck had ar‐rived in camp, and decided to move . In doing so, it got stuck. Jerry volunteered his plywood, and after Chuck did a lot of digging, he freed the motor home. Chuck spent the rest of the day inside the coach recovering. Walt and I went about fixing my engine. Things went well, and following the directions, I let the JB weld cure overnight. We had a campfire.     Thursday morning we went for a buggy ride to But‐tercup across the highway. I was pleased that my en‐gine seemed to work. We took a break under the I‐8 bridge. Bob found a crack in one of his front A arms, so we decided to take an easy ride back to camp. I didn't know it was possible to drive in the sand along the as‐phalt, so I headed into the dunes looking for an easy 

line. My radio wasn't working, and I didn't check my mirror. After a few minutes I did check my mirror and no one was behind me. I've gotten out of the habit of frequently checking my mirror, because the radios work so well. I got my ra‐dio to work long enough to find the others were nearly a mile behind me. My bad! We got back together and headed along the road to camp. Back in camp, the Huggards soon arrived and reported that the Hagens and their friends who just purchased a new‐to‐them motor home were delayed with problems with the new motorhome. John and Anna packed up and headed home. That evening Pete and Linda, along with friends Tom and Staci arrived. The new motor home was still having problems, but Dave, Chuck, and Pete, soon had it working. We had a well‐attended campfire.     Friday morning and went for another ride with several buggies and we made it to Patton Valley and back to test hill. 

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We made the usual high speed run down the old canal to camp. My JB weld was not up to the stress of a near full throttle run, and the engine was making the same noise it did when it lost the spark plug. That meant the rest of my trip would involve RZR rides; not buggy rides. Later that afternoon Steve and Sharon Porter arrived. This was Sharon's first trip since her knee replacement earlier in the season. It was good to have them back. The Fords, the Tranthams, Walt, and I went to Yuma and a new Chinese buffet. The buffet featured a Mongolian barbeque, and was very crowded, but also very good. We returned to a campfire. Chuck asked for a RZR ride to guide Justin and Janeece to camp. We headed towards the road. Chuck got a call that they were already in camp. We continued towards the road, where we found Jeremy Hagen who came out for the weekend. We led him back to camp. On the ride,I kept smelling gasoline. I parked the RZR and found I had left the gas cap off. I grabbed a flashlight and followed my tracks all the way to the road, but didn't find my gas cap. I walked back to camp, where I found the cap on the RZR. Oh well,the exercise was good for me.     Saturday morning I led my first RZR ride. Don and Shirley, Jerry and Linda, and Walt followed me first to the swing, then to Patton Valley, on to the Ogiliby tower , and back to camp. I had fun, but am still not completely comfortable in the RZR. Back in camp, everyone helped move the workbench from the yellow trailer in preparation for storing the trailer over the summer, and taking the workbench with us to Corral Pink. Saturday evening the Porters, Fords, Walt, and I went to Famous Dave's where the crowd was very light, and the service and food were great. The day ended with another good campfire.     Sunday morning I led another RZR ride and we went along the canal by the freeway to test hill. I then de‐cided to head through the small dunes to the swing. About a quarter mile from test hill, Shirley radioed that her RZR just stopped running, as though the key had been turned off. Jerry, Walt, and I looked and looked but could find no obvious problem. It was like a main fuse blew, but we couldn't find a fuse or circuit breaker. We decided to go back to camp and get Don to tow it back. Don had stayed in camp to pack for the trip home. Don hooked up to the RZR and got stuck, largely because the driverless RZR was still in park. We freed up the buggy, and Walt volunteered to let Shirley drive his, and he would drive Shirley's for the tow back. We had to use the winch twice, but once we got mov‐ing, the tow back to camp went very well. We pushed the razor up on the trailer and Don and Shirley and Jerry and Linda packed up and left in an attempt to beat a very windy weather forecast. Walt and I headed for Glamis with the yellow trailer. Walt's good luck didn't last, as we lost a trailer tire just before the rest stop. That's three trailer tires in three years going to Gordon's well. I was able to make it to the rest stop where we were able to change the tire in the shade. The rest of the trip was uneventful, and we were even able to visit Jeannie at the store, and deliver a newsletter to her. (I have been sending Jeannie a paper copy of the newsletter monthly since we stopped mailing them to all members, as a token of appreciation for her long‐time support of IEOR.) Walt and I stopped In Yuma on the way back to camp and decided on a Der Wienerschnitzel dinner. That was our only meal of the trip where the service was poor. I am pretty sure we won't be back there next year! Back in camp we did quite a bit of packing but still had time for the last campfire of the season with the Hagens ,the Huggards, and Chuck.     Monday morning we all packed up and everyone left camp by 9:15. While we were stopped in Blythe, I got a call from Shirley saying that Don had fixed the RZR as he found a fuse that we had overlooked. That's good news for the RZR crowd, as we have a RZR weekend planned for next weekend at the Ford's and Trantham's in Havasu.     I must be getting old as it seems like just a couple of months ago I wrote about the end of the last Glamis season . It was a great one this year and I'm looking forward to next season already. Thanks to everyone for their friendship, their help, and support this past season. You make the trips for me.     Don't forget about the Dumont trip in late April or very early May, and of course our annual Coral Pink trip in July. I hope to see lots of you on those two trips. Let's go dunin'! ‐Jim 

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Easter In Ocotillo Wells I had really been looking forward to this trip as it was the first time at Ocotillo Wells since the October Poker Run. I went out on Thursday to give me some time to complete some small projects on my RZR that I couldn't do at home with it in the trailer. Thurs-day night I was joined by my friends Janice and Ray. We enjoyed a small campfire before calling it a night. On Friday we went for a ride in the morning with Janice in her RZR and Ray on his quad. We found ourselves at the Pumpkin Patch for a break. We decided to try a new trail we found to get to the north side by the canyons and , just by chance, came across the Honda Monument which, after reading the geocache book, we discovered had been relocated out of a closed area in mid December. Friday afternoon more friends arrived, Don and Bruce with their quads, and Derek and Frank just out to relax. We ended the after-noon with a ride up in to the big canyons.

Saturday morning we designated Don as leader with free reign on where ever he wanted to go. He led us up in to the big canyons, then in to a smaller canyon, then in to a MUCH smaller canyon until we came up to a Y in the trail. Both parts of the Y went up, steeply and rocky. We chose the right, and ended up on the plateau overlooking the entire valley. We took an alternate route down through another tight canyon back to the main canyon and back to camp. It was a great ride, and just after we got back Doug and Kris arrived. Saturday afternoon we all headed south. We visited the Gas Domes and the Artesian Well. We then initiated the newer people in to Gas Dome Canyon. Once out of the canyon we detoured to Campbell Wash which is a long meandering wash that takes us north and eventually intersects Hwy 86, where we turned off and intersected Arroyo Salada, which took us back to camp. For this ride Derek rode with me and Frank had decided to stay in camp. When we got back we found Frank waiting for us with a huge bowl of home-made Guacamole that was so good... ...well, let's just say Frank is welcome anytime, anywhere, as long as he has a bag of home grown avocados with him!!!! We all sat around Saturday night being entertained by my motion sensing porch light, too lazy and too full of guacamole to even think of lighting a fire. A little later Ashley arrived to spend the night, and Easter Sunday with her dad. Sunday dawned windy. The wind had come up during the night and it wasn't a happy wind! Very turbulent and lots of blowing sand. Didn't stop us from riding though! Ashley rode with me, and Bruce decided we had beat him up too much on his quad (only his sec-ond trip out with it) so he took advantage of an empty seat in Janice's RZR. We headed off to the Truckhaven area to play. We came across a tight canyon which required a steep drop to get in to then an immediate left turn. As Don was dropping in to the canyon something happened to the quad and he ran smack in to the canyon wall, HARD! His chest hit the handlebars pretty hard and he ended up with a nasty scratch across his chest. We got everyone down through the canyon, which included a very cool overhead arch, and out in to the open where we could evaluate Don and his quad. Don appeared to be OK, but it looked like he may have bent the steering on the quad, so we decided we'd better get him back to camp.

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Once back at camp Don decided he would pack up and go home as it wasn't going to be an easy fix for his quad. We made sure he got loaded up OK, then took off to continue our ride. Back in the truckhaven area we located the Tetherball Pole, then proceeded through some very cool canyons to Telephone Hill. I circled Telephone Hill a couple of times looking for a way up to the top, but all the trails looked very unsafe, so we passed, and worked our way through the mud hills. After a few stops, and turn-arounds, we even-tually came out of the canyons to flat ground and worked our way back to camp. Don had already left, and Ashley soon took off too. That afternoon Dana had brought Dillon out to spend a few days with Doug and Kris. Monday we awoke to wind again, and again we rode. Pretty uneventful ride in the morning and once back in camp Janice and Ray started packing up to leave. Ray had Janice's RZR in the trailer and was tying it down when the next thing we see is the RZR rolling out the back door! Ray came out with a frustrated smile on his face saying Janice decided to stay a while longer, so let's go for an-other ride! We headed back up in to the big canyons, this time with Doug riding with me, and Kris driving their RZR with Dillon. I wanted to go back up to the plateau so I asked Doug if Kris would be OK with the rocky canyon. He said she has to learn sometime so off we go! Once up on the plateau, and a short break, I decided to try another alternative route down. This took us in to a canyon I had never been in before, and eventually we came to another rocky incline, which took us to another part of the plateau. When we reached the top low and behold we had found the elusive Fire Hydrant Monument! Once done reveling over by brilliant navigation skills we then found a very easy way out that ended up in an area we had been in at least daily. It was right there and we never knew it! Once back at camp Janice and Ray loaded up, for good this time, and headed home.

Tuesday Kris wanted to take Dillon to the Gas Domes. We visited them, Gas Dome Canyon (Kris' first time driving through!) and the Artesian Well, then drove cross country back to the Pole Line Road and back to camp. We napped in the air conditioning for the afternoon, then took an early evening ride to Bin Laden's Cave, and the Bat Cave, the ride punctuated with a few more challenges for Kris, including a near vertical drop in to a canyon that saw (heard!) her use my name with a lot of foul language! Wednesday dawned hot! We figured it wouldn't feel as hot if we were moving so off we went for another ride. This time it was up the wash to Cross Over Trail, then Tule Wash, to a new trail, Lost Lizard Trail, which took us through a lot of the mud hills. Once out on the flat land we headed over to the thriving metropolis of Ocotillo Wells, and Blowsand Mountain. It was then off down the Shell Reef Expressway, past Devil's Slide, a quick stop at Shell Reef, then Cross Over Trail back to the 4x4 Training Area for a break. As we headed back to camp Doug mentioned he need ice so we detoured to the AMPM, only to find Chuck Grossman there making a quick stop on his way to Gordon's Well!

Thursday I wanted to prerun a course for the Poker Run in October to make sure it would work out. I'm not going to divulge where we went, and I did find a few changes were necessary. All I can say is, come October we will have a very fun and enjoyable course

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for the 2nd Annual Mona Bacon Memorial Spook Poker Run and Hot Dog Wheenie Roast. I hope to see everyone there! In the after-noon Doug, Kris and I did a little experimenting with taking video as we drove through some canyons. I used my cell phone stuck to the hood and crossbar of my RZR, which worked great, until the phone fell out, more than once! A little electrical tape and we were good to go again. Kris put me to shame with her Go Pro though! We spent Thursday evening packing up in a howling wind.

The wind blew most of the night but had calmed by Friday morning, just in time for us to head for home. I was home in 2 hours and 15 minutes, going from a hot, sunny 90 degrees to an overcast 60, but it was nice to be home. In the eight days I was there I clocked just under 400 miles of riding, and in all the years I have been riding at Ocotillo Wells I found at least one trail or location I had never been to nearly every day, some days multiple places. It was a great trip, with great riding, and great friends! -Mike Bacon

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Well, someone had to be first to break down in the razor group. And it had to be me. I was going along just fine and she just died. No power at all. Jim, Jerry and Walt went over thoroughly. They figured it had to be a fuse. Couldn't find which one. I called Don back at camp to bring out his buggy to tow me back. First he had to wench me out of a hole. Walt was nice enough to steer it back and I drove he's razor. Don went over the razor with a fine tooth and there it was, a fuse box just behind the driver's back tire and seat. -Shirley P.S. I think Sharon Porter was the first. She lost her 4 wheel drive. Sorry Sharon. I just re-membered that.

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Don and I would like to thank every-one that turned out for the Havasu Razor Ride. Jim and Nancy, Jerry and Linda, Kris and Doug, Walt, Georgia, Eddy and Mike Bacon It was an 87.4 miles and 8 hours. But it was worth it. We met some people on the ride that led us to some places we have never been. I think they would have kept going if we haven't said we were tired. That evening, every muscle in my body was sore. I went to bed at 8:30. Got up the next morning and they still were sore. We all decided not to go on a ride. We all were still tired and sore. Yeah. We have to do this again next year. Again it was a great trip. And great friends. We sure enjoyed it -Shirley and Don

(and vice-versa...) After firing up the car at the shop with just over a week before the Gordon’s Well trip, we spent a couple of extra nights tying up loose ends before loading up the car on Wednesday night before going to Gordon’s Well on Friday. I got the aluminum firewall installed that separates Allie’s seat from the (now closer) motor, and despite cutting one corner of it for the new air cleaner it fit well. We fixed an exhaust leak by replacing a header bolt that was bottoming out, and cleaned all the tools and extra pieces that had accumulated over the five weeks of working on the car. On Friday night we got out to the dunes about 11:30 PM after driving out after work. We unloaded the car, and the throttle had gone into a fault mode where it would just idle. We turned the battery off and on to reset

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it, but it indicated potential issues to be dealt with on Saturday. On Saturday morning I finished up a couple of last minute details like relocating the fuel pump to be further from the exhaust, and adding a bunch of zip ties to make sure that all the wires stayed where they were supposed to. On the first test run around camp it felt great, until I gave it a little more throttle and it went back into the idle mode. Melissa and I took a slower pace back into camp, and I began looking for a lose connection. The problem still showed up, and we tried changing the throttle computer, the engine computer, and tested different throttle pedals, since I had brought out all of our spare parts. Nothing would stop the problem, as some combinations wouldn’t work at all, and others would have the same problem as the original setup where it would work until it was under any load, then return to idle. In came we could rev it in neutral to any throttle position without causing the error, but it showed up as soon as we tried to drive it. I hooked up my new scan tool that I had brought just in case there were issues, and it indicated that the ECM was loos-ing communication with the throttle module. We dun into the harness and investigated the wires that connect the two. They seemed fine, so we looked at power and ground for the throttle module. Hot wiring it made no difference, so during lunch I searched for clues on the internet. I found that incompatibility between the ECM programming, and the type of throttle box could cause the error we were seeing, and that John had a different part number throttle actuator module than mine or any of our spares, so we decided to give it a try. It worked great, and I could give it more throttle and observe the extreme happiness that it created. John offered to let me borrow the throttle module to go for a ride, and he rode with me. He also called his Dad and had him check Scott’s throttle module, and it was a match. Scott had gone to the river instead due to truck troubles, so his wasn’t being used. Grandpa offered to take it to a casino in Indio to meet up with us, so we made plans to head out after a ride. We had a fun ride, and I was impressed with the car, the power, and

the lack of negative effect on the handling. I don’t think I scared John too bad, but I was so happy with the car it was hard to think about anything else. After the ride Melissa and I headed for the Spotlight 29 casino to meet Grandma and Grandpa. It took just over 2 hours from Gordon’s Well to get there, and we met them and got Scott’s part. The casino was packed with people, and the buffet had over an hour wait, so we headed to Coco’s for dinner and then headed back to the dunes. We arrived to find that we had missed a fast ride, John’s big flight, hard landing, and resulting repairs. They had the car all ready to go for the next day. On Sunday, after breakfast and the egg hunt we took the car out for a ride. It worked great, and I was very happy with the handling.

I was so happy that I really started playing with it on a flat section heading back from Patton Valley, and I did some back and forth slides, followed by a hard right turn. I was still smiling, but Steve came on the radio to say that my car was smoking. I shut it down and we looked for a leak. Nothing was visible, and we figured out it was coming from the exhaust. We headed back to camp slowly, and began to formulate a plan. I had been having trouble with my oil idiot light at the shop, and had added oil and ended up with the engine a little over full. I optimistically hoped that this caused some oil to get into the intake, possibly through the PCV system. The PCV line connects to the intake manifold on the left side, and that is the side that was smok-ing, so it seemed like a good theory. We decided to take the intake apart to look for any clues, and besides the oil we saw way more sand than I would have liked. It had to be coming from somewhere, but it seemed the air

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Scott’s throttle computer, temporarily attached for the weekend.

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cleaner and intake tubing were good and tight. We took the intake manifold off, and once it was off the motor we could see that a vacuum port on the right side of it had not been attached to anything. Normally we would

expect this to make it run bad, but I guess the computer compensated for it because it idled and ran fine. We could see lots of sand in the intake manifold, and it needed to be well cleaned out. This is harder than it looks, be-cause it is far from being an open plenum. We used Carb cleaner, detergent, a water fire extinguisher, and even gasoline to make sure that the inner passages were all clean. I also wiped out the ports on the heads, and went through the roll of blue shop rags and two cans of brake cleaner that I had won in the Easter egg hunt. It didn’t help that it was windy that day, but we did our best to keep any further sand from accumulating in the motor. With Walt, John, and my Dad’s help we got it as clean as we could. Without any other option, we put it back to-gether to see how bad the damage was.

We changed the oil and got it all reassembled, and fired it up to see only a little bit of smoke on deceleration. We stocked up the ice chest with extra oil and decided to give it a try the next day. On Monday morning I tested the car around camp, and it sure felt good and didn’t appear to be smoking. John then drove it while I watched, and I liked what I saw. We took it on the ride and it worked great! It surprised and even shocked many of us, but I did-n’t care, my car was working again! It stayed that way, and I got some great video of the car as John followed me with the GoPro. My camera lens is pretty worn after a seson of use, but it still showed the car accelerating and lifting the right front wheel in slides through the Gordon’s Well bowls. We did an extra precautionary oil change on Tuesday morning,

and since my Dad’s shortstar had spit out a spark plug, I got to show him how well the car works up close and personally. He rode with me for the first time in years, and was impressed with the car as a whole, but especially the extra power and torque of the motor. With both of us in the car we could still pretty much just stay in third gear, whether we were idling through the steep spots or running at speed down the sand highway. Overall, I am super excited about how the changes to the car have turned out, and I can’t wait to run it again at Dumont. I hope the sand didn’t hurt the motor too bad, but so far, so good. My fingers are crossed, and there is a big smile on my face! -P.J.

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This month we’d like to thank Jim Kastle, Mike Bacon, and Don and Shirley Ford for contributing articles. It is great to have a 10 page newsletter leading into the summer months. Next month will likely be shorter, although we will cover the fun from Dumont as well as whatever other articles anyone sends in. If you have summer trip plans that you’d like to share with the group let us know so we can put them on the calendar and on the website. -PJ, Melissa and of course Allison