Grim Grinder and Welder in trance

Autumn darkness is lurking out there as days are getting shorter. All enthusiast cars needs to fall in to winter sleep soon...but for winter active cars guys another season starts. The garage season. Filled with engine assembly, sheet metal forming and coffee & socializing. Will we hear the Amazon roar before Christmas? Well, that's the plan. But let's see. 



The Welder, Anders, here with a mix of concentration and determination. Smells like roof rail deletion. A strange smell of-god-knows-what. Rust protection from the past? Or is this the smell that comes when a Station Wagon looses its practical soul? Hell no, then we should have smelled it long time ago.

 Angle grinders in a victorious pose on steel table. Limited edition.

Surgery on-going. 

Roof suture ready. We just need for the wound to heal. The bad news is that it won't heal without many hours of fine grinding 

Wound healed. Surface soft as baby skin. Mission completed. Time for a cold drink and a shower...or two.

Alternative to Yoga, Golf or Drugs.. A Roadtrip!

Make cars not war this is our twist for the Automotive United Nation and we make for sure more noise than Ban Ki-Moon. It was a lot of Hala Baloo when we gracefully drove from Göteborg to south of the border or at least to Hallandsåsen. When Kalle (KJ) Brought people together to do good deeds.

 

Why?

We a all need to nourish our souls, find our work-life balance, find our way to relax and bring the world together.

In the seek of the holy grail of stress relief and peace making we're a group of people that, two times a year, raise to the occasion and announce a day of vacation and leave  our home really early, drive long distance in enthusiast cars, while we wait for sensations to appear.

A German, An American and an Italian, one early morning is autumn at sun rise. This is a political correct example of a successful integration in to the Swedish society. Something for all politician to reflect and learn upon.

Who the hell is driving the Burb in the back? Well, it's me Håkan. Someone needs to be the biggest and have a decent displacement. KJ's happy reeving 302 is not impressed, big and slow is what Big Block Suburban is according to him.

 Olle's Lotus one of three at the Beach represent the British part. 

Charming but cold. No one was up for a swim.

Joakim B's Beetle Bus at Beach is so nice now, a real hippie Killer.

Håkan J's Factory 5 Cobra, It has some serious motivation. 

But hey, doesn't the right Lotus look a little bit wider? That's because it has a V10 BWM mill onboard. Then it has to grown a little, its natural, nothing strange. Johan Zachrisson has built a really nice car. There is however a rumor...the BMW powered Lotus was hotter than a Soumi Sauna in the middle of a dessert inside the passenger compartment. But that's only a rumor.

Sweden is represented by Volvo Amazon built for classic car track racing.

Carina, the undisputed No.1 At least for me.

GT40 has a very inspiring cooling system approach. No compromise.

Yes, we care a little bit extra for Amazon´s especially in race clothes.

Frank Högberg and man with fuel in his veins, in story telling mode, here showing us pictures of his collection of race cars. Entertaining and engaging.

One of them race cars, Franks' Ford Falcon. 

Our friend Leif Tufvesson meet up with his latest cool light weight Hot Rod/Gokart, Powered with a Gold Wing engine. Representing Japan partly

Car guys and a frame. Or rather, car guys and a AC Cobra frame from Auto Fab in Bjuv, Sweden. It always encouraging with frames and dreams associated with frames. A nice visit.

The Lotus Exige is already from the start somewhat less comfortable than a Mercedes S-class, but it's still possible to make them even more oriented towards car guy psyche only. When a V10 is added the car is more like rocket on rail.

 

The only issue is that you have to be very very slim and practiced Yoga to be able to enter the car and for sure to get out of it. KJ tried and only managed to get his rigth leg in to the car.

Tool, Juice, Wife time and taking care of business

We are doing progress in many areas and securing the basics for the next steps. Why live today, just now, when you can prepare for tomorrow?

The Amazon develops smooth and steady a lot thanks to Anders focus and determination.The drip rails are history as one example.

But as you know key is as always to prepare and take care of busines to be able to have progress tomorrow.

Tool Time ! Plasma Cutter

To be able to take away everything that not look like a super fast Amazon we need a tool to do it fast and precise and what is better then a plasma cutter? Voila! Therefore we have a plasma cutter on board in the garage. Not the best and the not biggest but a good start.

Juice Time, ! magic Voodoo Vitamins ?

Vitamins are important. Tapio, the bravest of them all regarding eating strange stuff, brought a new juice to The Garage. Let's just say that it tasted better than it looked. Håkan refused to taste it and had a hard time to even look at it.

The tricky question was if there is a tomorrow after a bottle Fresh Grass Jelly Drink

Looks different but Ok, could be good for tomorrow.

O Noooooo what is in the Juice ? Mega spider ? There is no Tomorrow.

PS 

We Saw Tapio the day after he drank the Juice including the Mega Spider.

DS

Wife time !!!

To be able to spend time in the Garage, Very Happy Wife is needed. Therefore Wife Camaro is doing progress, front is on and it's getting there step by step. Still waiting for some more sheet metal which is on it's way from Taiwan and emblems from Year One in US….. Wife is happy still waiting for the Amex bills then it maybe will change….. maybe buy more parts to wife car will make her happy again ?

New sheet metal is nice even if some massage and TLC is still needed.

The plan is to set up all sheet metal with love and care and paint it apart.

Bonus & Taking care of business 

Besides of that we are discussing new dreams, as you maybe noticed a ramp truck is one of them. But what to put on it when the Amazon is in the USA?

We are now in to MB Race Cars more precise a SLC set up for the track racing. Let's see what happens, dreams are for free.

Maybe something like above, could be with German Beer sponsors like Bitburger or Königs pils,…. Hmmm the right 16" AMG wheels …. fender flares ….. spoiler …...

As I dreamt about a SLC race Car I was of to Verktygsboden in Veddige today and bought necessary spare parts to our TIG welder.   That is taking care of business.

Car guys vs. Normal guys -roadside breakdown

There is one fundamental difference that distinguish car guys from the rest of humanity.

Carina picked up the Benz to support with some road side assistance. It was the fuel pump membrane that stopped the old Chevy. My smile is in vain.

Let me explain. The normal car enthusiast's heart frequency does not increase if his/hers beloved pair of wheels, without a warning, stops and end up at the side of the road. They do not panic, because they don't even think about the traffic situation. Instead they get focused. They can't talk.

Why? Thousands of pictures of every detail of the car flickers through their mind rapidly. Small film sequences in which they see how they wrenched every bolt, how they did not isolate THAT cable properly appears like a distant but clear memory from the past. -Was the fuel tank really properly cleaned in the left corner? Millions of questions runs through their mind like super computer on full CPU capacity.

We forget that we're dressed in our Sunday best. Our mind force us to jump out, and even in pouring rain, slide under the car with a happy, analytic mindset. We forget time and we smell the smell of adventure.

This should be compared to a normal, non-car guy who: call the insurance company, their mother, a towing company, the car dealer...before the vehicle halts and hit road side gravel.

When the speed is zero and the vehicle finally stops, they panic in a kind of disperse. In their mind, this is a deadly situation, close to a traffic accident.

Talking about breakdowns...the Salt Slush team is currently in road side breakdown therapy. Which is why we've started to think about an emergency vehicle solution and  we've found one. Ramp trucks!

The short ramp trucks are cool and still rather reasonable in size...

...but reasonable is a dull, an overrated word. Look at this. HRM's ramp truck at the Salt. The whole team and the race car and all the tools can travel in grace and comfort.   

Eventually, and in order to communicate the essence of the headline I have an example:

One silent Sunday some years ago, one of my motorholic friends were in the middle of a story when all of a sudden my old Benz stopped due to lack of fuel.

By pure luck I managed to cross a road in the wrong direction, find a down hill road and eventually again, by pure luck, I managed to steer the sloppy old S-class ship to a safe shore where fuel pumps lined up nicely. 

We had to push the car a couple of meters still. However, my friend didn't stop the story telling and I didn't stop listen, since it was a very good story. We filled the car up and when the Mercedes V8 fired up again I guess we both felt a certain unexpressed relief.  

Mid week sheet metal obsession.

Anders has got the Sheet Metal Fever. A dangerous garage syndrome which can lead to a weld tan, sleeping problems and project completion. For Salt Slush this means that we've got rid of one looong roof rail and that we can see the doors lining up nicely.

This gives the Amazon body a nice smooth touché (yes, we're still talking about the car, nothing else)



After 10 hours of metal fever: Passenger side, sleek and fast looking.

 At 0 hours: Driver side, a roof rail waiting for the grim angle grinder.

The fast looking side from one angle. 

The fast looking side from another angle. 

Changing subject...The Early Santa arrived today...and he brought...high performance fuel pumps and fuel pressure regulators! Soon to end up close to a tank in the back.

Tank in position, Parts delivered and Friends visiting. A Good Weekend!

Where to position the fuel tank? As usually we moved this important device around in randomly for a while before we eventually put it behind the rear axle and slightly off-set to the vehicle center line. With this position we'll still be able to have a tail duct in the back.

Why we put it offset with the fuel line pointing to the left?  Because we will build a small, serviceable fuel pump/fuel regulator and fuel filter station to the left, that's why. Must be the best solution...or not...time will tell.

Fuel tank in position. Picture taken from the vehicle's tail gate.

 Same tank, same position from another angle.

The engine part are arriving step-by-step. We now have pistons, cylinder head, and MLS head gasket and we're just waiting for the camshafts and conrods to show up in our workshop. The right picture illustrate the important Salt Slush Racing quality control on incoming gods. Kalle is simultaneously calibrating the Scale. So far everything ok.

As usually, friends come by to experience the Beast themself. Here's my old friend Thomas Sandgren caught dreaming about speed and salt.

All charge air pipes are now in place and welded together.  Anders has as well managed to seal the intercoolers. Karl-Johan is thinking about his water tank and fountains.

 A nice side view if you ask me.

And yes, we have as well started to remove parts of the roof rails. We all know that the body needs to be smooth to be fast as a shark...

The Piston !

It's almost a religious symbol. It's an essential engine part that has been tattooed on fearless arms. It's been pictured as a symbol for speed. It represent the resistant holy grail of heat & power... served as motor club symbols.... and we all know why.

I'm not intending to explain. You all know. The rest will follow.

One of our 6 hero's to be. We'll tell you more later