Test Drive in The Desert!

Test drive. A crucial part of vehicle development. That goes for race cars too. Even more important for Salt Slush Racing since we need to know that the car is race ready when we set off for Bonneville Speed Week August 2022.

Consequently, Magnus, Cina and I flew over to Erik & Ruth in Orange, California to push out our Landspeed Amazon from the storage, load it to a trailer and drive up to El Mirage for a test drive. El Mirage; a high desert area, two hours drive from Los Angles. 

 

We were worried about an electrical issue that we experienced at Bonneville 2019. We found errors and we modified the electrical system, but we needed to confirm if we really fixed it. In addition we want to make sure that we had no other problem. I mean let's face it. Any car deteriorate over time. Race cars too...

 

So we started up the car. Shortly after we noticed that all fuel hoses that has been exposed to desert sun and race fuel were crispy as chips, so we changed them all. Anything else? Well, that big aluminum alternator bracket were loose and the alternator belt did not align. Fixed that too. At that point we learned that our focus on serviceability could have been better.

We killed one of our rear tires too. An expensive mistake.

 

But...the turbo, engine, clutch, transmission, rear end and brakes were just great! Magnus and I drove at least 10 x 1km test drives in the desert with no stop or any other failure.

 

Salt Slush Test Drive at El Mirage Desert on a Monday. Blue skies. Our Race Car and Dust. A lot of dust. And the desert wind that softly howled.

 

 We logged all runs to be able to analyze the tests performed afterwards.

Magnus and I adjusted our new safety belts too.

 

We noticed what we've noticed before. The rear shook absorbers and perhaps as well the springs needs to be renewed and updated. We need more damping to make the vehicle more stable at higher speeds.

 

Our old but solid big block 2500 Suburban hauled Erik's Trailer and our race car with ease to El Mirage as always. Magnus was dressed for desert sun. As always.

 

Carina and the trailer in the empty desert

It's nice to see when a dog is wagging tail. But when a high speed race car do the same...you want to go to The Ohlin Guy i.e. Dough Brenner at Brenner Shocks to stop that rear end from rocking. The man to the left? The Motorcycle Hall of Fame Motor Cross Champion man; Gunnar Lindstrom.

 

When you need one new Good Year Eagle Landspeed Race tire, you need luck and Nate Jones at Cowboy Tire. Luck, because Good Year only produce them in batches. Nate Jones because he knows land speed racing and is a really good guy.

No competition. No top speed. But a very good way to get familiar with the car and find issues that needs action. 

 

We got dusty. We got exhausted. We found things to fix. Still we declare it a success. Are we ready for Bonneville Speed Week 2022? Not yet. Will we get ready. Yes!

 

You can't be serious...

Some of us can be serious most of the time, while some others can be serious sometimes. But we all need to be unserious some of the time. You work hard at your daytime work while you trying your best to work on your private projects and keep your family and friends happy too.

If you're about to hit a race track any day soon, you know that it will require focus in addition to all of the above. Pressure is building up inside.

What to do? 

My advice is to let things go and let that inner kid come out and play. How? When? Where? No rules applies. Just take the opportunity when it's given to you. During a transmission change in the workshop or at a costume party. It's up to you.

  

When you're at a party where grown-ups looks like this and there's a smoke machine, take the chance.

If you managed to get out that Muncie transmission and dog approach you, take the chance.

 If you´re serious about life, never forget to play around.

 

 

Spring?

There are signs of spring in south Sweden; The sun is-a-shining. Birds are loud and annoying. The white hard light that makes trolls burst in no time hit the workshop windows like laser rays. But the road is dry and the time is right to optimize cold start. 

 

Spring is what we're all looking for and warm weather makes us all feel fine. All of us? Nope. The early sunlight brings stress too. Because we all know what's coming up next. Spring and Summer. Race, Shows, Party...and your ride needs to be ready to run.

Everything's cool...but the clock is ticking. 

Salt Slush Saturday Sun. 

Pictured: Magnus and Chicko-The-Dog in waffle battle. Magnus won.

But you cannot dwell in the sun if you're a man with a plan. 

Magnus have plans. A million plans. At least.

 

 Kalle is in transmission mode too. The Tremec TKO has not arrived to its final destination yet, but the Camaro has reached another level and Kalle is planning to gear up.

 When not serving as Salt Slush CFO, Carina is in engine bay mode...

 

..cleaning, painting and preparing for the Rocket to reach the Ride. 

It's still cold outside, but spring is coming up and therefore the mechanical puzzle is coming together and yes, a test drive confirmed clutch function.

Lillebil. A Salt Slush fan who have seen more springs than most of us will ever see. Her view is basically that we need to get our shit together soon.

Me? Since the road were dry, I managed to make a 5=5 this week....meaning....a different commuter car each day this week.

Here's what; 

Pre-war Monday = 1941 Buick Super Coupe

Art Deco Tuesday = 1938 Oldsmobile Coupe

Post War Wednesday = 1946 Freedom Ford Coupe

Modern man Thursday = Cadillac CTS

Feel good Friday =1979 Chevy C20
 

Summary; it's getting colder again. Spring is not here yet. But summer will come this year too and we better get ready.

Stay hard on your way down

According to science we start to rot as we celebrate our 30th birthday. Physically. The heart is pumping less blood day by day from there on. We obviously have to live with this process and try our best to rot down gracefully. But the really annoying factor is that before 30 you've got no money. So, when you finally have gained some ground and managed to gather some experience, get a decent job and have some money to spend on useless dreams, body starts to go down. I mean...ain't life a bitch?

What to do?  There are ways...but rule number one is to fight back, stay hard and not let that rotting body control your mind. As you're not continuously broke anymore, it might be tempting to travel in deadly boring means of transportation, because of comfort. Don't do that. Crank up the spirited ride of your liking instead and avoid to slowly but surely sink in to incapability. 

Just do it. Get dirty. Go there. Race. The body will protest. 

Ignore it.

 

Kalle's Z28 -69 is waiting for a Tremec transmission. A painful operation, but Kalle is preparing mentally. Revitalizing.

BMW bikes are not like they used to be...Anders is performing 30 000km clutch change. A Meccano for grownups.

'

 Life ain't easy for an Oldsmobile girl that prepares for a Rocket Ride. But small  steps every day makes our Olds -49 engine compartment...

...ready for the summer. Pictured: Carina, tired but happy.

It's still cold outside, but the road is dry and the sun is shining. So I thought that those GM coupes from the 30-ties and 40ties should start to serve a commuters.  At least until rain start to fall in one form or the other.

No fan, no heater and choke doesn't really work. The -38 Olds is piece of art and represent poetic way to travel before the Magnuson Supercharged Corvette starts to growl. It happens every April.

Take the Salt Slush advice and pay no attention your aging and the associated reality. Instead, nourish the remains of the youthful spirit, do deeds and feel the pain. 

Why? Because it will make you better on your way down.

Advanced Hot Rodding 2022 - An Anglo-German celebration

Serious conflicts are all around us. We're drowning in a flow of information about the bloody conflict between good and evil in Ukraine. But let us distract our minds between news updates and celebrate the strength of the west. I'm here thinking about competitiveness, creativity and technology.

Here's what; Should you go for Mercedes or BMW? Turbo or Supercharger? American or European?

According to Magnus @ Salt Slush, we don't need to choose, because we can have it all. At this point you might ask yourself; How? What is he talking about? Before we go into details, it's important to point out that hot rods and hot rodding, in the past and in the future are all about creativity and freedom. Doesn't happen in north Korea.

Now, to the point.

 

What the f...did OM605, i.e the Mercedes turbocharged 2,5L 5 cylinder diesel come with a supercharger?

Nope. But Supercharger + Turbocharger made by Magnus will provide towering torque a low rpm and make transient smoke go away. 

American Supercharger from Eaton combined with a diesel engine from Daimler is a good combo when you're prepared to do deeds.

The Salt Slush team have built Supercharged LS engines as well as Rocket, Ardun, Nailhead, Hemi, Flatheads, Straight 8's, Four banger and obviously Small & Big blocks and we've done Mercedes M116 and M117 too. Not to mention our 900hp turbocharged Volvo 6 cylinder engine...but pictured is the new hot rod kid on the block. The Mercedes OM605.

Still missing: The BorgWarner AriWerks S200SX-E turbo from US that soon will   replace the slow stock stuff.

 

But hold on... what's this? Isn't that a BMW ZF 6 Speed transmission on the Mercedes engine? Yes it is. It's the best of the west...Germany. A super strong BMW transmission and a robust fast burning Mercedes diesel engine from European junk yards merged together with heat, love and precision. 

 

But where will this 500hp power pack end up? Well...Magnus is preparing a kind of Chevy S10 based Baja Diesel Truck contraption. 

What's a Baja Truck? Here's an educational video clip.

Summary: It's still possible to dig gold at the junk yard. Boost pressure, Creativity and Determination will make it go fast. In the past, today and in the future.

 

Get it Fore it's Gone

The War in Europe is pounding our brains.We follow news that flows like a violent river through our minds. We're full of wrath while practically paralyzed. We need  clear mind activities and think of good things that happened and still happens.

So, how do we find peace of mind? Here's how.

Cina and I took our 1941 Buick Super Coupe for a spin in the cold early spring. Felt good. Until I started to think about Pearl Harbor 1941 when Japan without and obvious reason attacked US. 

But still, the straight 8 still sang a song of hope.

 

Meet up with friends and do deeds. A way to sooth the soul. 

Pictured; Magnus during manifold modification.

Remember sunny days. Summer is coming up again. Sooner or later and there will be new days to remember. 

Pictured; Kjelle Power and Salt Slush Kalle.

Celebrate what has been accomplished. Still love to look at that interior.

 We're working on making dreams come true. 

The pandemic stopped us for years, but we're working on getting back on track step by step. It's soon time for a shake down test drive in the El Mirage desert. Will be exiting to see how that goes.

Business as usual. When providing turbos and superchargers, you get to know nice car guys with dreams, schemes and ambition. It's really rewarding to take part of all the creativity that is out there. Makes me happy.

Long Live Western Democracy

Long term they'll go down. Always. There's no escape. I'm talking about maniacs in power surrounded by yes men. But their evil force can spread death and destruction before they eventually meet their own destiny and humiliation.

 

Let's make it faster this time than back in the 40ties. The sooner we put a pin in Putin's war wheel the less the world will suffer. But where should we have the 2023 Nuremburg Trails? In US, EU or Ukraine. Let's think about that while we follow how the Russian economy develops from tomorrow and onwards.

Long live Western Values.

And Freedom!