Today the Cruiser is looking rough. Both rear wheels bent, all the sheetmetal is scarred and haggard. The cage has been repaired twice from rolls earlier this season. One of the rear "high bling" aluminum Wilwwod calipers is junk because it got bounced off a big rock, and ripped the thread insert out of the fitting bore. The "purty" hood has been beaten back into shape all season long, only to have me reintroduce it to bigger rocks each time. It is beyond repair now, and might find a home hanging on a wall at Claude & Annie's. The second (and freshly installed last Wednesday) Griffin radiator is sitting cockeyed in it's mount as I type. Hopefully I can salvage it for SuperCrawl.
But I'm not discouraged, in fact quite the opposite, even after a rough weekend in Jellico! Yeah it rained up there in those mountains, turned the dirt into the thickest, gooiest mud I recall ever spending time in. The comp was even delayed for an hour it was so heavy. The spectators were drenched, the spotters beat down from carrying the extra 10lbs of mud that collected in the treads of their boots.
So why am I so stoked? Well, after a few dissapointing showings this season, we managed to finish 4th in the series standings. Qualified for SuperCrawl, with far less to do than last year to get ready. But the big boost was a special surprise I got in Jellico. Uroc hooked me up with Spike TV, which had a crew on site to tape for a NEW tv show that airs in January. (Thanks Tim and whoever else was in on this bonus!) Many details weren't available yet, but they intend it to be part of the "Power Block", similar to Trucks with a host that builds extreme rock crawling machines. They attached an on board camera on my rig, shot lots of film from the roving cams, and concluded the weekend with over an hour of tape,interviewing me, letting me ramble on about the sport, the excitement, and getting lots of info about my rig, and the things that competitiors use to be safe and competitive. Woody knows getting me to shut up is a challenge once I get wound up, and these guys didn't even try, they just changed the tape and kept shooting. I'll be sure and post up as info on the show is made available.
So................. Plans are forming now for an all new rig for 2005. Waiting on the new rules to be made public then all hell is gonna break loose again! Watch here for pics of the progress, but here's a sampling of the wish list:
Aurora V6, some call it the shortstar, 904 auto which bolts right up to the Atlas, full custom frame, max 48" at the widest point, still a two seater, modified class rig. Reusing my current axles, shocks and links, steering, seats, and a few little pieces, abandoning most every thing else. Shooting for something near 2600 lbs, 102" wb, 23" belly clearance and overall shorter than I am now. I see a narrowed cruiser hood in my future!
Thanks to all those that helped out this season, especially AJ, and of course Badlands Machine Shop (Troy, Lisa, Robby, Brian, and Jesse) and those companies that supplied us essential parts and services: HighAngledrivelines, T-max winches, Blue Diamond ropes, BFGoodrich, Marlin Crawler, Green Filters, and Howell-Efi.