Brookfield. Quack Quack!
What weather! After walking
the dogs in the morning, I
jumped in the truck to meet
up with Dad and head to
Brookfield. Not quite soon
enough though as he got
nervous and left without
me..@#@$%. The power is out
at home (again), the weather
is fit for a duck, and my ride
left without me to the show.
Well, I never... actually I
have.. might as well take
some pictures of the Paul
Shirley 99 and WooWoo while
I comtemplate the short (at
this point) drive to Brookfield
in the rain. Aaaaannndd,
yep, the batteries are dead in
the camera.. MOM!! HAVE
YOU GOY ANY BATTERIES???
My mother has got to be a
saint to put up with these
shenanigans for all these
years, and she's prepared, yes
she has batteries. Dad has
been tinkering on the 99 and
has the radiator in, as well as
a front bumper to protect it.
Made from two front axles I
think it'll suffice.. good thing,
wouldn't want that Lincoln
radiator squashed. The car is
looking better all the time.
Into the shop and he has
WooWoo tore down and
loosened up. The camshaft is
a Harmon-Collins 6153 grind
and looks hoppy, not a lot of
lift but plenty of duration.
Adjustable lifters, port and
relieve, the heads are cleverly
filled.. This is a nice engine,
4" Mercury crank, 3 & 3/8
bore, 8BA rods, he was
looking for the correct
flywheel to add and I brought
a pyle to find he's got what he
needs. Looks like it isn't
balanced so it's coming apart
to get that done and then
we'll have a really good
engine here. The heads are
stock but the transfer area
has been weld filled - an old
trick to boost compression
like the racing heads and still
fit under the rule of 'Stock'
heads - nicely done too. Ok,
off to the Madison County
Fairgrounds.
The club used to come here
twice a year and race. The
track was gritty, flat, sharp
cornered and poorly lit - a
real challenge. It was either
really muddy or really dusty,
tough place and we loved it
there. Always drew a good
crowd and put on our own
show, it was fun. We haven't
been there racing in years
but always try to make Wheel
Days. Walking through the
gate I see the Mouseville
Monster and Jon Button's
Hillegas #77. Jon is affable as
he tells us of the history of
the car and it's present state.
It's powered by a DOHC
Cosworth now but retains all
of it's roots; Dayton wire
wheels modified by Harley
Marsh to remove the
knockoffs which caused many
a wreck when drivers rubbed,
a 1935 Ford rearend which
was narrower than other
years, mechanical brakes and
correct racing tires. It was
owned by Jim Carroll and
driven by him, Graeme Bolia
and a host of others, and held
fast time at Indy one year. I'm
looking for the quickchange
but not in the right place..
and it costs me breakfast. No
big deal, learned something
as Jon points out the
LeBaron quickchange box at
the front of the center
section, nice car. Hiram
Hillegas didn't just build
racecars, they're art. Us
lowbrows like the Monster as
well and as the years have
passed, the patina grows on
the 43 and it looks better and
better in my eyes. The day is
looking up, after breakfast
with Jon, Dad and I take in
teh grounds and find two
stuffed animals (babies) for
my boys, oh happy day! We've
got stuff to do so we load and
take off, it was a great way to
spend a rainy Sunday but
now it's football season and
I've got to check on the
Packers. Our next event (at
this point - there may be
more added as some late
season races are in the
works..) will be at CRAP
Speedway on Oct. 17th. See
you there.
What weather! After walking
the dogs in the morning, I
jumped in the truck to meet
up with Dad and head to
Brookfield. Not quite soon
enough though as he got
nervous and left without
me..@#@$%. The power is out
at home (again), the weather
is fit for a duck, and my ride
left without me to the show.
Well, I never... actually I
have.. might as well take
some pictures of the Paul
Shirley 99 and WooWoo while
I comtemplate the short (at
this point) drive to Brookfield
in the rain. Aaaaannndd,
yep, the batteries are dead in
the camera.. MOM!! HAVE
YOU GOY ANY BATTERIES???
My mother has got to be a
saint to put up with these
shenanigans for all these
years, and she's prepared, yes
she has batteries. Dad has
been tinkering on the 99 and
has the radiator in, as well as
a front bumper to protect it.
Made from two front axles I
think it'll suffice.. good thing,
wouldn't want that Lincoln
radiator squashed. The car is
looking better all the time.
Into the shop and he has
WooWoo tore down and
loosened up. The camshaft is
a Harmon-Collins 6153 grind
and looks hoppy, not a lot of
lift but plenty of duration.
Adjustable lifters, port and
relieve, the heads are cleverly
filled.. This is a nice engine,
4" Mercury crank, 3 & 3/8
bore, 8BA rods, he was
looking for the correct
flywheel to add and I brought
a pyle to find he's got what he
needs. Looks like it isn't
balanced so it's coming apart
to get that done and then
we'll have a really good
engine here. The heads are
stock but the transfer area
has been weld filled - an old
trick to boost compression
like the racing heads and still
fit under the rule of 'Stock'
heads - nicely done too. Ok,
off to the Madison County
Fairgrounds.
The club used to come here
twice a year and race. The
track was gritty, flat, sharp
cornered and poorly lit - a
real challenge. It was either
really muddy or really dusty,
tough place and we loved it
there. Always drew a good
crowd and put on our own
show, it was fun. We haven't
been there racing in years
but always try to make Wheel
Days. Walking through the
gate I see the Mouseville
Monster and Jon Button's
Hillegas #77. Jon is affable as
he tells us of the history of
the car and it's present state.
It's powered by a DOHC
Cosworth now but retains all
of it's roots; Dayton wire
wheels modified by Harley
Marsh to remove the
knockoffs which caused many
a wreck when drivers rubbed,
a 1935 Ford rearend which
was narrower than other
years, mechanical brakes and
correct racing tires. It was
owned by Jim Carroll and
driven by him, Graeme Bolia
and a host of others, and held
fast time at Indy one year. I'm
looking for the quickchange
but not in the right place..
and it costs me breakfast. No
big deal, learned something
as Jon points out the
LeBaron quickchange box at
the front of the center
section, nice car. Hiram
Hillegas didn't just build
racecars, they're art. Us
lowbrows like the Monster as
well and as the years have
passed, the patina grows on
the 43 and it looks better and
better in my eyes. The day is
looking up, after breakfast
with Jon, Dad and I take in
teh grounds and find two
stuffed animals (babies) for
my boys, oh happy day! We've
got stuff to do so we load and
take off, it was a great way to
spend a rainy Sunday but
now it's football season and
I've got to check on the
Packers. Our next event (at
this point - there may be
more added as some late
season races are in the
works..) will be at CRAP
Speedway on Oct. 17th. See
you there.
