The Social Side of Salt Slush

The Spring is here and the sun is shining even at Latitude 57. We're now providing Tremec Transmission kits from Silver Sport, BorgWarner EFR and Airwerks turbochargers and Magnuson Superchargers to our customers so we're busier than ever before. In addition we need to prepare for Bonneville Speed Week 2023 and keep all our private rides on the road too.

But we have to admit that we've been socializing more then usual lately. I mean wrenching is nice and find technical solutions for customers is as well fun, but when that rare blue sky is clear and rain has stopped falling over south Sweden, the Salt Slush team are getting more sociable. 

We have hosted a Gearhead Party in our workshop (see below) and in addition to that we've traveled to other Garage Parties far away from Gothenburg. We have travel long distance in our enthusiast cars and yes, it takes time, but it's really inspiring and provides energy. 

The moral of this short post is that working focused alone in the workshop is efficient and does bring your project closer to the finish line. But at some point in time it's important to drink beer, talk loud and have fun. To fill up the mental tank with new ideas and get energized for the dark months. When? I suggest in the summertime. When the living is easy. Or at least easier. 

Coming up soon. Tremec installation stories from our customers.  

Stay tuned!

 

We're learning. About Clutches.

We've been worked on cars and bikes for decades. We know how a clutch works. In fact, we've fabricated our own flywheels and applied race clutches to these. Are we clutch experts? Nope. Far from experts actually.

But we're learning and we learning fast from the best. How? We went to our supplier McLeod and to their facility in Anaheim, California, where we meet Lisa and Gary Kubo who took us through the world of street & race clutches.

These guys have theoretical knowledge about clutches. But even more important, they have practical experience from many years of successful professional racing and they have the McLeod and PTT-McLeod engineering team as a knowledge base too.

 

Gary demonstrated, with a lot of enthusiasm, how modular and flexible a PTT-McLeod clutches really are. Basically there's a clutch for every application. From 4,5 inch diameter multi disc clutches (2 to 4 discs) to 7,25 inch diameter (1 to 4 for discs). Ceramic or organic.

 

 How about pressure plates? We learned that these can be adjusted too. To make your ride as drivable as possible for a given peak power and vehicle configuration. 

Moving over to quality. These US designed and manufactured billet parts looks like something you just want to look at. A clutch equivalent to the Swiss watch. I'm not kidding. Amazing machining and finish.

It's worth to mention that the clutches are worn in from factory. Less things that can go wrong. A relief.

If you get inspired but are anxious to know if there's a PTT McLeod clutch for your ride and your engine-transmission configuration you can rest assured. There's a solution for the vast majority of the go fast-commuity...

...trust me, I've never seen more splines. 

 

 

So, to Lisa, Gary at McLeod; Thanks!!

To our readers-racers; You can ask us for clutches. We will guide you to proper power transfer and drivability.

Waiting. The Essentials.

We're all waiting for something. Always. It could be Godot, Jesus or Death. 

But waiting can be near term too. 

Our new transmission customers are waiting for their Tremec transmissions to arrive in Gothenburg. The turbo customers are waiting for their performance device . Salt Slush Race team are waiting for flight SK931 to take off from Copenhagen and take us to US of A where we will prepare (and test drive) our Amazon for the Bonneville speed Week 2023. Carina and I are waiting for the paint shop to get ready with our 49 Olds 88. Anything else to wait for?

Yes...Spring, Summer, Barbecue, lower inflation, a better SEK to USD and SEK to Euro exchange rate...and for El Mirage Desert to dry up and be open to public. We're as well waiting for the Salt Flats to dry up. Always.

Is there a good way to wait? Is there a noble art of waiting? A way to consume time and make waiting less painful? 

Get lost in Social Media? Sleep? Get drunk? These examples represent the most common, contemporary and comfortable ways to wait. 

But an additional alternative exist. It might feel far fetched. But we tested it. In spite of all odds. We call sober Sunday socializing. I'm talking about the time before 6.00 pm.

Before we move on I have a word of warning. This type of time consuming activity is inspirational and can give you new dreams. Be aware.

 

Our space in the workshop is empty. Olds Bertha is in the paint booth  Scheduled work with the Heep and the Cadillac is done. It's now a social arena.

 

We even had time for a visit to a nearby garage where there are there's a lot of cool stuff...

...and a lot of dreams. Big Block Speed Boat, Muscle Cars, Amazing Italian race bikes and a 502 big block equipped XJ6

Waiting can be frustrating. The only safe way to cope wait safely is social media. The fun and dangerous way is F2F talks.

Don't say we didn't warn you!

 

Spring Snow, Business flow and garage go.

According to the calendar, we're approaching spring. The reality; Snow shoveling, another layer of clothes and need for four wheel drive. 

Depressing? Wet grey snow, cold nights and crunching road salt brings one positive aspects. Quality time in workshop. No need to think about barbecues and beers in the sun when the wind is howling and snow approach you horizontally. It's instead time to turn up the heat in the garage go to work and avoid winter sadness.

That's what the Salt Slush Team with friends are doing and that's obviously how our customers spend their time too.

Examples: 

Carina is really fond of her Jeep Grand Cherokee 5,9. But the viscous coupling in the transfer case was crap. After a few evenings in the workshop the coupling was replaced and the Jeep is now working perfectly. A swift job? Nope. A job for a summer evening? Nope. A winter task? Yes. 

While the wind was howling outside, Carina escaped to a house in a house, turned up the heat and painted her antique lawnmower parts.

 

Karin also found shelter from the storm and continoued to work with her Subaru engine.  

Magnus on the other hand is in maintenance mode as the annual Swedish inspection is coming up soon. It's better to do what you have to do where the sun don't shine.

But how about Anders Ford 34 project? Progress? Yes! The 4 door body that was cut in half is step by step being transformed to a 5W coupe. Background music; The angle grinders.

 

 

 Is it only us? Are everybody else binge watching Netflix?  Nope. Transmission,Turbo and Supercharger customers seems to be active too. A statement based on incoming orders to Salt Slush Racing AB. As an example, the first batch of transmission kits is soon on its way to our customers.  I really look forward to deliver these to customer before the barbecue party begins!

In need of a particular place (to go to)!

Car guys who's in need for speed need a particular place to go to.  To test the vehicle prior to race day. To understand if the contraption is race ready or not. For this type of mechanical debugging asphalt or any concrete surface is preferred since it's reliable. 

The Salt Slush Race team is no exception. Since we are in Sweden and our Amazon is in California, we tend to fly over to Los Angles during Easter to work with it to get it in shape for Bonneville Speed Week in August. 

And we want to test drive it. So we normally take the vehicle to El Mirage. Which is good. If the facility is open and available for a test drive that is. If it is not open, we fly home to Sweden again, only to find ourselves unprepared for Bonneville Speed Week 2023.

So we're now looking for an reliable alternative. A place where we can test drive our race car to understand that everything is ok. We don't have to drive fast. It would be good to test the vehicle only at +120mph (190km/h) to understand how our chassis improvement (Ohlin shocks and new rear end geometry) has influenced the vehicle behaviour. The chassis would be our primary focus since we're rather confident with the powertrain (engine, turbo (EFR) and transmission (Tremec))

El Mirage. A nice test place...if it's open and not flooded.

What we would prefer. A reliable test track. With a surface the dry up after rain. Like this old desert air field...

If you know a place like this in Southern California where we can run a few test laps in our race car, please contact us: hakan@saltslush.se

To own or not to own. That is the question!

I had once a friend that got stressed when there was one thing in his wardrobe that he didn’t use daily. When I left a rear door for an old Mercedes in his empty basement storage for some weeks he got totally stressed out. Would this guy be feng shui today? Or feel endless emptiness?

On the contrary, the vast majority of passionate car guys and girls that circulate around Salt Slush Racing workshop have the opposite problem. The have a lot of stuff and if it wasn't for space and money they would have had more stuff. Because they thrive when they're surrounded with things.

Each car, bike or part have a story to tell or it represent a dream or opportunity. Sometimes it soothes their soul to just look at a machine for a couple of minutes. It makes the heart slow down and while you find peace of mind.

But life ain't easy for car collectors, motorcycle maniacs and part hoarders. Nope. The have to battle the angry landlords, barn rats, rust and rain. 

They are however rather resilient and their passion for parts normally balance the barking people with blank look that surrounds them.

  

Tools, toys and lack of space in Salt Slush Shop.

Always.

 

When for once the weather is fine you can always take your ride and shine for a little while. If you're the owner...

It feels soooo good..

I've only done it twice before. We've talked about it a lot. I dream about it from time to time. But still, we rarely do it. There are reasons for not doing it. It's exhausting. It's dirty. It's expensive.
 
But when you've been waiting for a long time, it feels so good to get it done.
 
As you've understood by now, I'm talking about a paint job.

 

Our Olds, the 1949 Rocket 88 that we bought in Wendover 2019 as we were at Bonneville Speed Week was finally ready to get painted.

 

So we drove over to Universalteknik, a company that we've trusted before (they painted our 449 Amazon land speed race car) and spoke to Lars...

...and after some rearrangement, we finally parked "Olds Bertha". She's now in the preparation area. The massage and surface treatment can now begin.