Happy New Year!

The first half of 2021 was not good. But let's not dwell on that period, because already during summer and autumn 2021 things were getting better.

With better I mean that it was possible to travel again and a positive spirit was back again in the car community.

At Salt Slush we could start the journey back to the  racing track again, while turbo and supercharger sales were growing strongly.

When that happens, a lot of new interesting project and nice car guys apperes. Which is really fun.

So let's hope for a fantastic 2022 with a disappearing pandemic and high boost pressure!

Finally, at New Years Eve there should be fireworks. Right?

 

 Firework, Sisu and problem solving combined. 

Christmas and n+1

We all crave for more. Especially during Christmas. A well established fact in the car guy community is that the correct amount of cars is n +1. Where n is the number of cars you have today. This formula can be used for motorbikes too. It's very generic. 

Part like turbos, superchargers, cylinder heads, blocks, camshafts are nice to have at hand when a new project idea pops up. Besides, we all know that spare parts on the workshop shelves serves as comfort and a basis for a good night sleep.

To use the formula and ensure a proper amount of available parts can of course be an economical issue and time could be a hinder too. But the really serious issue is storage space. 

Some people buy stuff first, then starts to search desperately for a space to store it in. A stressful, but very effective approach. On the opposite, there are those who start the storage search before they buy a new car or a bulky part. A reasonable and logical way forward with one big drawback. There's no urgency and hence no real incentive to find a new garage spot.

All I want for Christmas is a large, dry and warm space of my own, with no rats, close to my home. For a low cost.

What's needed: A space where you can your store your parts the Alan Mest way. Pictured; His Flathead piston storage. There's no shortage. What so ever. Feels good. To know.

 

Shelves filled with nice to have parts. Deep in your heart you know that you need them all soon. If your so called intellect have another opinion, ignore it.

Next topic; floor space. A floor should be filled with cool cars. Or Bikes. Motorbikes. Stuff that is near to your heart. Once again Alan's place serves as a good example.

 

Outdoor storage. If you live in Sweden, Alaska or any other hardship areas, you know that stuff that is sitting outside will have a very limited lifetime. But if you on the opposite live in dry, warm area like California you can store stuff outside for years and expect a slow degradation. But still, the place for your sleeping ride needs to be clean from palm tree debris. Cina's pushing the broom to support a palm free surface for our Salt Slush bigblock Suburban.

 

 Grey on a surface of grey. Cleaned, waxed under a grey cover. Will it withstand Ventura, California until April? We hope so.

It's cold and dark outside. It has not been started for 18 years. But when a true war hero like a Dodge Weapon Carrier from 1942 needs to move from one barn to another, you have to gather the usual suspects to make it happen.

Again, it's all about the storage.

In addition 

 a workshop space, where you can work with the project of the day, is needed too. Salt Slush team are lucky to have just that.

The moral of this story is...that storage space makes people happy

Have a Merry Christmas and dream sweet dreams about dry, safe, cheap storage spaces.

Los Angeles

7 lanes moving in 70mph. In each direction. A solid block of bumper to bumper sheet metal rolling on rubber that crisscross concrete motorways.

Beaches, Deserts and Mountains. All within reasonable reach in greater L.A.

Pick oranges for breakfast. Love those lime fruits that find their way to the evening margarita. 

Make it or breake it. Hollywood. Hot rods. Homeless. 

Cold wine & Cold beer 24/7 in liqueur stores with flickering lights and few word exchanged. 

Palm trees and Pomelos. Cactus and citrus. 

Lana del Ray on the radio while sailing a big block Chevy Suburban to dry lakes.

Treasures everywhere. Me? Love every minute.

A sleek Buick at Pomona Swap meet. 

Size matters. Our 1995 Chevy Suburban feels small nowadays. 

Carina serves as size comparison.

A car couple. I understand...if your girlfriend found a pair of cool wheels, you'd better support. 

Rat Rod, Diesel and BorgWarner turbos i series. 

A crowd-pleaser in the December Sun.

Golden Caddy Cab

Early morning. Fog was to lift soon.

Breakfast means picking Oranges...

....and Pomelos. No Margarita Limes pictured. Too early.

 Meanwhile, in Palm Springs...the sun keeps on shining and the summer just can't find a good reason to end.

Haven't heard about Mid Century Modern yet? Check it out.

There's something about an old Suburban and clear skies. 

Pictured at Goodfellas in Corona.

Treasures spot 1. Cina at CW Moss, in Orange. An amazing goto place if you want to buy for pre -41 Ford parts over desk as if it was fish, meat of cheese. Love it. 

No need to dig for gold when a diamond obviously can arrive at anytime Erik's place. Pictured: Don Ferguson with an all aluminium Supercharged Ardun Engine.  

When art meets technology. 

Don brought a car too. A hot rod bracket that will host the Aluminum Ardun V8

Another treasure found at Alan Mest's amazing place. Where the past is alive and reach out a hand to the contemporary California. Me? I just found that treasure. A 1939 Ford Transmission. The one we've been looking for. Pictured while I confirm details with Magnus Börjesson. 

So what's the outlook for 2022? 

Cina at Seal Beach Pier serve as a picture of our outlook. It's foggy. 

Our plan is to go back to Greater L.A. in spring 2022 to race or practice landspeed racing in the El Mirage desert in order to be ready for Bonneville Speed Week in August 2022.

Right now we pray for the pandemic to not gain ground.

No need to worry.

Let's try instead.

As always.

As L.A.

It's was finally time for our Amazon to wake up!

Suddenly US was open again. On November 8th, EU citizens got green light and open borders. Carina and I had tickets waiting, a trip pending and a well prepared mindset. 

Meanwhile, we had stuff in US in need of attention. So...we took our bad conscience, our crave for Americana and the obvious Salt Slush need for future speed and set of to California. On arrival we found what we expected, i.e. our Landspeed Amazon and the Big Block Burb sleeping under car covers, possibly developing various technical diseases from not moving.

Luckily, our search for sun and wish to travel reduced our technical worries. Consequently, we had thoughts like;

- What could possibly happen to a 27 year old car that has been sitting outside for two years? Basically nothing.

- Is it likely that a race car, built by the Salt Slush Team could deteriorate after driven on wet salt back in August 2019? I guess not.

As expected that was all wishful thinking.

As the sun set on the first day, Erik helped us to tow the Amazon to the outdoor workshop spot surrounded by Palm and Pomelo trees.

  

We looked at the car. Rather starred. Thought about coming race seasons, tried to remember what to do, checked the fluids then called it a day

Next day it was about time. To start up. Sun was shining. Excitement. Ignition switch on. Milliseconds later a buzzing high pressure fuel pump. Finger on start button. Starter motor engaged. Then some first unsteady combustion...then we woke up the neighborhood. Happiness.

After that the work could begin. Working outdoor in under a clear sky and the warm sun in late November is nice. Really nice.

The tires were in need of pressure. While Carina needed some exercise. A match in heaven as it turned out.

After a couple of hours working with emery paper, the brake discs were cleaned from salt driven rust. On advice from Erik, we phosphated the discs too.

We had been running the engine for sometime and we were just about to start the celebration...when Carina noticed a small pool of water developing under the vehicle. After examination we could confirm that an expansion plug in the cylinder head had a small hole. The solution? JB Weld applied from the drivers seat in a very awkward position. Caused by grain of salt?

Then we found cables that had seen some heat. Carina checked them, fixed them and wrapped them with some heat protection and now it looks OK. The copper cables pictured? That's the decoupled cables to cylinder individual temperature measurement. 

 

We needed to change brake pads on the Suburban too and remove some salt rust here too.

After a lot of work in the sun, Erik's and Ruth's hospitality was really welcome. To start with, Erik had made a bar stool with Amazon race number 449 imbedded. Really cool.

 

In addition, he had made a bar for the bar stools.

Ok. We've got designated places to sit, a bar and fantastic company. Anything missing? Not after Erik arrived with 1,5 liter margarita based on lime fruits picked from the garden. At this point in time, technical problems were getting smaller...