Mike: Ah i feel so much better after sleeping, that stage was now a piece of cake.
Josh: That’s really great to hear man. munches on Dorito’s
Mike: Hey man give me some of those.
Josh: Okay man points bag in Mike’s direction
Mike: omg thank you bro.
Josh: now what were you saying on questioning our friendship?
Mike: No Comment…
both laugh
Day 2, 6:37 AM
Luke worked quietly on the car, the little last-minute things everyone had to do, between clearing out the last of the chip crumbs, making sure their patch-job on the radio still worked, and triple-checking the car’s fluids. Linda, Scott, and Amy were slowly waking up, and once they had, the speed at which they had the camp packed up was impressive.
Day 2, 8:30 AM
The driver’s meeting was a touch nerve-wracking, as they were all reminded that yesterday was easy compared with today. They were reminded that their prize at the end wasn’t for money, but glory, bragging rights, and some really damn good food. Luke looked at Linda, Scott, and Amy, who gave a chuckle, reading Luke’s expressionless face perfectly. They knew he’d drive just as hard to win as anyone else would, even though for him, the only prize was glory, and even that was minimal.
Day 2, 8:33 AM
As Team Arstotska took off down the mountain, Luke held the key down on the old Sinistra Sure-Start system, hearing the whining motor bringing the inertia-starter’s flywheel up to speed. The red light glowed angrily just before Luke released the key and brought the engine to life with a snarling roar. Hiding in the rumble of the engine was the screaming bearing in the power steering pump, and the chattering, wailing clutch for the engine’s cooling fan, the hissing of steam on a heatsink covered in dew, all little things that added up to the reasons the Sinistra’s price was so cheap.
Linda looked up from her new copy of Mountain Pass, then said, “Well, sounds like it’s okay. Well, okay, it sounds like shit and runs like hell, but we all know I don’t like old V8’s, okay?”
“How can you not like this sound? It’s iconic, a classic.” Scott replied.
“Because I like the sound of an inline 6 better. This sounds like a rust bucket.”
Luke looked at the clock, one of the few things in the car that was still working just fine. 8:35.
“Right, time to go.” he said, putting the car in Drive. For a terrifyingly long second, nothing happened, followed by a heavy clunk and a thud as the car started moving forward.
“Luke, why does it feel like the gears are being changed by a gremlin with a sledgehammer?!” Amy asked, seeming surprised by the violence of going into first, then first to second.
“I tried a little $80 fix last night. Drained the transmission fluid, put all new stuff in. High-grade hydraulic oil, with a high temperature rating and slightly more viscosity. Downside is, it’s going to feel like that when it’s cold.”
“And you just happened to have that with you?”
“Well… I was hoping to save it in the event I blew a line, but if that happens, the purity of my fluids is the least of my concerns. Transmission fluid will work in a pinch, trust me, I know that one from experience. Always use an appropriate jack when lifting a truck, don’t just grab the frame and hoist it up. Lesson I learned on that one.”
Day 2, Leg 1
“Oh, geez. Luke, we already know this car sucks down hills.” Scott said, feeling the car sliding a little on the way down the mountain. “Can you take it a bit easier, I’m getting nauseous.”
“You should be, you had 8 beers last night. And who-knows-what that you got from Southend or Bust.” Linda commented, giving a wicked grin.
“Not my fault that my taste for music and theirs overlapped, so I told 'em to turn it up.”
Luke shook his head, then said, “Yeah, but we’ve got a long drive ahead of us, and I’d have appreciated having all four available drivers having a clear head.”
As they made their way down the mountain road, all of them noticed that the brakes felt a bit better this time. “What’d you do?” Amy asked.
“Cold brakes. Between cold brakes and force-shifting the transmission, I can keep 'em colder so they’ll last longer. And this is child’s play compared to the first hill we had, where we found we had very little in the way of brakes on that one.”
They turned onto the highway, and the giddy gremlin with a gear to grind took a good whack at every gear change. They hurtled through first, thud, then through second, thud, and all the way to the top end of third, thud, before settling into fourth, with the rest of the car carrying all the usual noises that it could make. Bearings in the power steering pump shrieked, the fan clutch chattered and wailed at full speed, the alternator rattled as they approached their top speeds for that leg, and the engine roared as Luke put his foot to the floor.
An ominous rumble shuddered through the unibody frame of the old convertible, and everyone looked at the car with worry, wondering if this was going to be the end.
“Excuse me.”
Linda and Amy stared at Scott, followed by the instant look of panic turning into disgust. “I felt that through the god-damn frame! Oh my god, that fucking reeks!” Amy said.
“Top’s already down, only thing I may be able to do is try driving faster.” Luke said. The engine howled as Luke demanded all that was available from 662 cubic inches of twin-turbocharged V8, the turbos giving an angry hiss as he backed off a bit.
“What. The fuck. Did you eat?” Linda asked, gagging as Scott tried not to laugh, more from fear of breathing his own fumes than any retribution from the team.
“I don’t know, I was drunk!”
Luke let off the gas and the car shuddered as it slowed down, the air pushing against it dragging it down far faster than the brakes would at those speeds, before flinging it onto the country road. He poured on the gas again and hoped for the best, the engine picking up speed slowly.
“Hey, look, right there, isn’t that Team Arstotska?” Amy said, trying to distract herself from the lingering fumes from the back seat.
“Yeah, but they’re going to cross the line before we can pass 'em.” Linda said.
“True. But that’s not going to stop me from trying to pass them anyway.” Luke said, the engine roaring as they made up the time they lost going down the hill with raw speed on flat ground.
“Slow down, Luke, there’s no point in this!” Scott yelled, as every bump seemed extra fierce to him at that point, and speed wasn’t helping matters.
“Nope. I’m going to try to give them an excellent view of our grille in their rear view mirror. And sure, we’ll miss that target by quite a distance, but we’re not being slow.” Luke said.
True to Luke’s word, they weren’t able to overtake the little Communitasia Wagon, but he figured if they had another 20 miles of flat road, it would’ve been no contest.
Day 2, Leg 1 Aftermath
With the car smelling like rotten eggs from the overheated catalytic converters, and distilled death from Scott’s exhaust blast in the back seat, no one wanted to be in or around it for a good little while. Amy took one of the super-heated ceramic blocks off of the catalytic and used it to cook a late breakfast, resting one of Luke’s pans on top of it.
Scott, naturally, was told to keep downwind of the team so that his ‘exhaust leak’ wouldn’t possibly affect the rest of the team. Luke checked the fluids and found nothing to be out of place yet, and Linda decided to finish reading the copy of Mountain Pass they’d gotten from team Mountain Pass.
Car Condition:
Seems to be fine, despite behaving differently today due to adjustments being made. Mechanically identical to day 1, Leg 11 in what’s wrong with it. Currently smells really bad.
Team Condition:
MRL +8 overall. Feeling great. Scott’s worried someone’s going to attack him with the spare catalytic converter. Luke’s annoyed at a rip in the driver’s seat. Amy dropped three jellybeans in the carpet and now they’re a permanent fixture in the car. Linda is reading about fun FWD cars.
Leg 9
Aaron “This is getting even boring for me”
Paul “Don’t you have any music to play ?”
Aaron “Phone is dead”
Paul “God Danmit”
Leg 10
Paul “How long is this leg ?”
Silence
Paul " The length of the leg Aaron"
Still Silence
Paul “Aaron ?”
A quick look to the passengers seat shows the situation of Aaron.
Paul “Really ?”
Open mouthed Aaron is sleeping on the passengers seat
Paul “I got something to wake you up”
With a flick of a switch the siren starts playing
Aaron “JESUS WHAT THE”
Paul “YOU CAN SLEEP WHEN WE ARE DONE”
Leg 11
The van rolls on to the campsite
Aaron “This sure is it”
Paul “Look okay”
Aaron " Just park next to the Pickup of Team Space Wizards. We can put up the tent behind the van"
Paul “Tent ?”
Aaron “You did know this was camping”
Paul “I thought we sleep in the van ?”
Aaron “Next to all the spare parts, fuel cans and bullet holes ?”
Paul “Yesss ?”
Aaron “I think you gonna ready up the back then and i try the beer at the campfire”
Start Day 2
Aaron awakes first and stretches his arms.
There was so tent, but at least Paul brought a inflatable mattress.
Aaron “Wake up bro”
Paul “5 more min please…”
Aaron “No you have work to do.”
Paul “Why me…”
Aaron “I told you yesterday why”
Paul “Oh…”
Aaron “BUT, we have our music back”
Paul “At least one good thing”
Day 2 Leg 1
Paul " I heard at the end of this leg there will be steak"
Aaron “I heard the stage will be hard”
Paul " We will be fiiinnneee"
Aaron “This leg is just to get to the hard part.”
Paul “Then let us get there fast !”
RP will go as follows:
Well, fuck.
Cheers vic.
Day 2, Leg 1
Andrew
After a really good sleep and a tasty breakfast I felt my spirits rise to the challenge of another day’s racing. Pierre and I packed up the camp, loaded up the Kitten and prepared our plan of attack for the first leg. Since the first leg was mainly downhill sections comprised of good quality gravel and tarmac, we knew that we’d miss our optimum time due to the short gearing in the Bogliq. As expected the run was uneventful and the Kitten preformed flawlessly. As a bonus I’d managed to nudge the speed up a bit so our overall time was closer to the optimum than we expected. Overall not a bad start to our day’s adventures!
Pierre
I slept like a log and so did, I suspect, all the other teams as day one was surprisingly intense. After getting everything squared away I made sure Andrew filled up at Hainsley so that we didn’t have any nasty surprises and we set out without incident. The roads were generally good quality so we made good time. Andrew pushed the Kitten as hard as possible without killing our ears and we ended up shaving some time off what we thought we would do… Still not fast enough for the perfect run but closer than if Andrew had stuck to the agreed upon speed. It has been a great start to the day so far and I’m hoping that the weather agrees to stay clear and blue which’ll make life easier on everyone racing today…
Summary
Day 2, Leg 1
Car: No problems to report, the nice weather makes the blue Kitten positively glow!
Crew:Rested, refreshed, ready and rearing to go! MRL +1 (+5 Total)
#Team ‘Southend Or Bust’
Original Post - Previous Post
The story so far: Three uni students now turning their rally adventure into a classic student holiday. It had been a big night - having successfully annoyed most of the campsite with the complete run-through of almost all of Blur’s 90s discography, Seb had brought out the aniseed liquor and… well, most of it was now gone.
.
James awoke with the feeling of grass on his face, and the faint tinny sound of music playing. Trying to get up, he immediately realised the immensity of his headache. “Fuck” he thought to himself, “this hangover is bad”.
Wondering over to the car, slowly, he found that somehow, a Spotify playlist was still going. He read the name of it - “Ultimate All-Out Acid Jazz Evening Soundtrack”, though someone had queued a whole load of Childish Gambino songs too. What even.
Seb was lying in the tent, having slept in his clothes, using some of the bags as a makeshift pillow. He hadn’t even made it to his inflatable bed.
“Oi, mate” said James in a raspy voice. Seb stirred a little and mumbled something to himself. No luck with that then, time to go and find Martin. Thankfully that didn’t take too long. James found him round the front of the car sleeping next to a toolbox that he almost seemed to be spooning.
“Dude we all know you love your tools but at least get a room next time” he sternly said to him, as Martin woke up in a confused state. Realising it was James, he gave him a dirty look and went back to sleep.
.
A little while later and after a fry-up courtesy of James, they were on the road. It was easy going today, and James was thankful to be at the wheel. Partly because there wasn’t too much to worry about on this route, and partly because the other two were still clinically dead.
Martin seemed to be both asleep and not asleep at the same time, meaning how could still try to talk about what happened last night.
“Those Twin Sail guys were fun” he said with a vague smile on his face.
“There was a woman with them too you know” replied James.
“Oh” said Maritn, pausing to think. “No I remember that now. One of them put on some Pixies I think and I definitely sang along”
“Yeah, you did” said Seb in a grumpy tone.
.
Having made it to Calloway Flats, all three of them came to the decision that more breakfast was needed, as this hangover wasn’t going away.
“James I don’t give a shit what it is, I just need sustenance” said Seb, having yet to shake his grump from this morning.
“Alright, alright” said James in a mocking accent. “How much anis did you have last night?”
“A lot, ok?” said Seb. “And I was mixing with that wine we nicked from some other camp”
“Yeah, let’s gloss over that and hope no one notices” said James.
Martin watched the other teams come in. “Definitliey seeing more cars with problems” he said.
Seb came over while James made some food. “Mmm” he said “With any luck, we shan’t be joining them too soon”.
“Yeah…” said Martin, slightly troubled. He had a gut feeling that they soon would be.
TEAM OUTRIDERS
(Blake Worden wakes up to find Marc Levinstein already awake sitting at the campfire fiddling with something in his hand)
Blake: How long have you been up?
Marc: Just half an hour (points to several balls of foil in the fire pit) I’ve got breakfast started.
Blake: Awesome, I’ll get coffee started. What’s that you’ve got there?
Marc: Just a chain I wear around my neck.
Blake: And the piece at the end?
(Marc holds it up for Blake to see, it’s a Star of David that looks seriously bent and distorted)
Marc: Drug bust twelve years ago, I took one in the chest. This kept the bullet from going through.
Blake: Damn!
Marc: Let’s just say I don’t doubt my faith anymore.
Blake: No kidding!
The breakfast menu for Team Outriders consists of: An egg poured into a hollow onion then wrapped in foil, a hollowed out orange filled with blueberry muffin mix also wrapped in foil, the guts of the orange itself, and one packet of Instant Oatmeal with hot water poured inside and eaten directly out of the packet. One of each for each team member and all you have to clean up in the end is two spoons.
(By 8:30 they had camp broken and everything packed into the car, they learned a bit of what they can expect on day two as well as the reward at the end. Afterwards they set out)
Blake: You ready Roy?
Marc: I was born ready!
Blake: Contact! (Turns the ignition key, the engine cranks, Blake gives it some gas and the engine fires up with a puff of smoke from the tailpipes)
Marc: (Puts on sunglasses) Let’s rock!
Marc: What the hell is that?
Blake: I’m guessing something that coincides with the car warming up.
(After winding down the mountain the team gets on the highway, at cruising speed the noise dies down)
Blake: Sounds like our scream has gone away.
Marc: What would that be?
Blake: My guess would be the fan clutch.
Marc: I thought the Enforcers used electric fans.
Blake: Only from the Gen III cars '02 and up. This is a 97.
Marc: So what happens if the clutch fails?
Blake: We either have extra drag from the fan being stuck on, or we lose it entirely. On the highway stretches, that won’t be a problem, and at low speeds… well, we’ll have to use the “auxiliary” radiator.
Marc: Windows down and heater on full blast?
Blake: Ah, so you’ve owned a beater car too?
(Arrival at Calloway Flats)
Blake: I’m gonna spray around the inside of the pulley with WD-40.
Marc: What for?
Blake: Well, if the clutch engages and still makes a scream, then we know it’s the fan clutch, if not, then it’s a bearing going.
Marc: Great.
Calloway Flats to Goose Lake, overland
Thanks to a rather enthusiastic and generous private landowner and his convenient border with DNR land, the event coordinators were able to arrange for a completely overland section. There are ATV trails and occasional truck ruts crossing the wide-open space to Goose Lake. Shrubs, holes, rocks, and surprises litter the land. And to make it worse, it’s 25 brutal miles of this.
The sky is blue, with only the faintest wispy, white clouds high above.
Length 25; Avg Grade 0; Max Grade 2
@cpufreak101
LAE DNF; MRL -5 (+6 overall for journey); Notes: CRITICAL FAILURE: Misjudgement + obscured rock = pinion gear snapped, steering rack bent.
@Madrias
LAE Medium (slow); MRL +2; Notes: One of the four mufflers (and a section of tailpipe) are now missing. Passenger side rocker panel is crushed. But survived the stage. TEAM MORALE IS VERY HIGH.
@Fayeding_Spray
LAE Low (slow); MRL -1; Notes: Had to change punctured left rear tire with the spare, and the lifter tick is definitely getting worse. Also, the number of underbody scrapes was rather disconcerting.
@HighOctaneLove
LAE DNF; MRL -5 (+3 overall for journey); Notes: CRITICAL FAILURE: Fuse box and wiring harness caught fire.
@conan
LAE High (slow); MRL +2; Notes: A lot of scraping, and a new dent in the RF fender, but otherwise fine. TEAM MORALE VERY HIGH.
@DeusExMackia
LAE Medium (slow); MRL +1; Notes: Only about 12" of exhaust remain behind the cat, the rest was torn off.
@Mikonp7
LAE Very low (slow); MRL -1; Notes: The K-member repair had to be redone completely when the original wood block splintered.
@JohnWaldock
LAE Very low (slow); MRL +1; Notes: Accidentally tore off rear bumper getting un-stuck. TEAM MORALE VERY HIGH.
@DoctorNarfy
LAE Very low (slow); MRL +2; Notes: Took the stage very slow and kept everything intact. TEAM MORALE VERY HIGH.
@BobLoblaw
LAE High (slow); MRL +2; Notes: Radiator fan is still screaming when it kicks on.
@stm316
LAE Medium (slow); MRL +2; Notes: Fared well in this section overall. TEAM MORALE VERY HIGH.
@Dorifto_Dorito
LAE - Very low (slow); MRL -2; Notes: Front suspension is clunking unusually loud, and the odd bouncing is more pronounced. TEAM MORALE VERY HIGH.
@Darkshine5
LAE - High (slow); MRL +0; Notes; Scraped the side of the bed a bit, but other than that this section was a blast. TEAM MORALE VERY HIGH
@Rk38
LAE Very low (slow); MRL -1; Notes: Good thing you got a new spare yesterday – because you just had to use it.
@EnryGT5
LAE High (slow); MRL +2; Notes: Great fun challenge for the team on this leg. TEAM MORALE VERY HIGH.
@titleguy1 / @ramthecowy
LAE Exact; MRL +2; Notes: Picked a great path for this particular vehicle. Aside from the passenger side sliding door no longer opening, no harm done either. TEAM MORALE VERY HIGH.
#team Arstotska
Mike: the ride is going good so far, also was kind of that landowner to let us back here
Josh: mhm
Mike: yeah, anyway though at the end of this sta…
a loud scrape then a bang are heard
Mike: what was that
Josh: Idk
Mike: shit I lost steering.
Josh: well there’s your issue then.
Mike: fuck, let’s hope it’s something simple like a nut came loose.
checks under the car to see a shattered steering gearbox
Mike: fuuuuuck, that’s it for us Josh.
Josh: what you mean, can’t you fix it?
Mike: if I had a whole new steering gear, a full day, and an alignment machine maybe
Josh: guessing you have none of those?
Mike: exactly…
Josh: well fak
Mike: hopefully we can fix it up and come back next year… hopefully…
Josh: I’m more curious as to how long we’ll sit here waiting for the tow truck.
Mike: Idk man, Idk… probably should call them in…
~fin~
Day 2, Leg 2
When they heard that the next stage was going to be 25 miles of pure off-roading, the members of Team Twin-Snail had to admit they were all more than just a little nervous.
However, when they started up on the long drive, everything started to ease up a little. Luke kept in the power as much as he dared, Scott yelled out about obstacles in the way and Linda kept them going the right direction with her trusty compass, and Amy kept Luke up to date on the damage reports.
A loud grinding came from under the car, followed very shortly after by the car getting louder. “That’d be mufflers, Luke. A bit more left!” Scott yelled, as the old land-boat crawled over dirt, a completely new experience for the battered old car. A rock pounded a dent in the passenger side rocker panel, then crumpled the whole panel like a beer can as they kept going. The Gremlin in the Gearbox continued slamming gears between first, second, and third as needed, while the fan clutch and worn out bearing in the power steering pump wailed away.
“Look, isn’t that Team Arstotska over there?” Linda asked, pointing to the white car they were passing.
“I think so. Looks like either they’re stuck or out.” Scott said. Luke looked to Amy, who grinned and gave Luke a thumbs-up.
As they drove past, Luke yelled over to them, “Glory to Arstotska!” and waved as they rumbled past, rear wheels throwing dirt several feet into the air behind them.
With that, they drove up to the meeting area at Goose Lake, with the car only seeming a little worse for wear.
Aftermath
“Luke, that was good driving!” Amy said.
“Was it necessary to do that to them?” Linda asked.
“Well… Maybe not necessary, but maybe they’ll see the humor in it while waiting for the tow truck.” Luke replied.
Scott looked over the car, then said, “Seems like you kept the damage down. Crumpled bodywork and we’re a bit louder now, but nothing serious.”
“Well, I can’t win you guys a good meal if I drive into stuff. Break the car now, and our chances are over.”
Car Condition:
A little banged up, with some dents and a missing muffler, but running fine. Fluids topped up, gearbox gremlin currently satisfied with clunking the gears.
Team Condition:
MRL +10 overall. Feeling confident, and like they could take on any challenge and win, but keeping that restrained as they saw one of the two cars that went out this round, and heard about the other.
Sorry I havent been able to write much, ive been incredibly busy. But without further ado, here is Day 1 leg 8-day 2 leg 2
#Team Cunning Stunts: Day 1 Leg 8-Day 2 Leg 2
S:Stephanie
L:Lawrence
A:Alex
Start Day 1 Leg 8
S: Shall we get moving then?
L: Yeah, I’ve had a good rest.
S: 'Kay then I’m driving.
A: Sure thing, I need some sleep…
End Day 1 Leg 8
L: That was fast driving, but we did go quite a bit off course
S: Then next time give me better navigation. You’re the one with the map not me!
A: Guys calm down, I’m trying to sleep god dammit!
Start Day 1 Leg 9
L: Okay, looks like this route isnt so good for the car.
A: Looks like it, gravel…and its raining…perfect
S: On the brightside, the engine wont overheat.
A: And the car will have no grip so we’ll end up on the side of the road.
S: Way to be a kill joy Alex…
End Day 1 Leg 9
S: Come on Lawrence! Give me proper directions!
L: Im getting quite tired now, gimme a break.
S: Its almost the end of the day though.
A: Exactly, thats why we’re all tired. You were driving a bit slow in that last one.
S: I know but…fine…we’ll have a bit of a sleep here.
L: Hey, have you heard the news?
A: What news?
L: One more team just pulled out due to damaged cooling!
A: Before you ask me to inspect the car, ive already topped up the radiator and checked it. Its fine…
Start Day 1 Leg 10
A: I can see clearly now the rain is gone…and I can see all obstacles in my way…
S: Please stop singing, you’re going to piss off everyone else…
L: I take it you all had a good rest then
A: Yeah, shall we go?
End Day 1 Leg 10
A: That was a somewhat relaxing drive.
S: I think we were on course with that one.
L: Yep, the GPS tracking says that that was an exact route. Good navigating Alex!
S: Next time navigate when Im driving.
A: Anyone still tired?
S: …Again?
Start Day 1 Leg 11
L: This is the last leg of the day guys!
S: Woot!
A: Hurrah!
L: Just one more push and we’ve made it to camp
A: Alrighty then, lets go!
End Day 1 Leg 11
S: Good driving at the end, the car is still in one piece, and were all not dead yet.
A: True, but you could have been a bit faster
L: Lets just set up the tents before we start bickering again…
S: I guess… Alex check the car tonight before you sleep and no partying!
A: Fine…
End Of Day 1 report
Alex
Today was an interesting day to say the least. The car has held up fine. Needs a bit of a wash to be honest, but thats the least of my worries.
The suspension has been playing up a bit. Ive tried everything i could to fix it, but it looks like thats the big problem we’ve got, not the radiator…oh well, Ive got tomorrow to see if i can sort it out.
Start Day 2
S: Rise and shine!
A: Ughh, gimme ten more minutes
L: No otherwise we leave without you.
A: Agrhh fine. Lemme get dressed then
S: Hurry were due in 15 mins
A: Fine, fine…
Start Day 2 Leg 1
A: Okay, Ive had a shower and Ive eaten breakfast lets go!
S: Hop in then, were going now!
L: Heres the keys, youre driving today.
A: 'kay, 'kay. Alright lets do this!
—engine stall—
A: Crap…not again…
—start engine—
Race Marshall: Are you going?
A: Now we are!
—wheel spin—
End Day 2 Leg 1
S: Did you need to do the wheel spin?
A: No…
L: I do recall telling you that there was a steep drop out of the camp.
A: Yes…but on the bright side, we didnt crash!
S: Yes, because we nearly did!
A: Anyway, our time wasnt too bad eh?
L: Fortunately, you weren’t too bad, so I can almost let you off…almost…
Start Day 2 Leg 2
A: Hey, apparently one of the teams retired earlier today.
L: First Ive heard of it. Anyway, help me pack up the water so we can get going.
A: Sure, where’s Steph?
L: Hunting.
A: Oh…
S: Got a good catch! Some rabbits and amusingly, a small vole!
A: Where the hell did you find that?.. Wait nevermind…
S: It helps not skipping scouts when you were little.
A: Shuddup and drive…
End Day 2 Leg 2
L: What was that noise?
A: Clearly not a noise a car should be making. Ill check it out now
S: Alright you do that. I’ll sort out lunch for later.
L: Damn…two cars in one day.
A: You know, we might be next right?..ow!
S: Dont think like that!
A: Dont throw a spatula at me!
Car Condition Day 2 Legs 1 and 2
Alex
The car was fine earlier when I was driving it, so clearly something happened this leg. I’ve checked the front shocks, but there seems to be no issue. Ive no clue whats causing this. Ive tightened the bolts again, and put some threadlocker between the bolts to make sure nothing is loose. So clearly the problem is with with the entire suspension…and theres nothing i can do about it here…
#Team ‘Southend Or Bust’
Original Post - Previous Post
The rattling was starting to become unbearable. With every bloody mile they went, the more the boys resented that one past owner who’d used the car as a family runabout, and who’s said family had managed to loosen half of all the trim pieces in the car.
Right now, however, Martin was panicking. The weird exhaust blowing was worse than ever.
“Martin…” James started “…Stop.worrying. It’s been like that from the start”.
“I’m telling you James, it’s worse than ever today” replied Martin, very concerned. Another pot hole, and they all got jolted about.
Seb cursed something in Spanish. “Bastard fucking past owner” he shouted as he yanked the wheel to avoid another one. “Which way here?” he asked.
No answer.
“Martin, which fucking way?”
“Sorry sorry!” Martin said franticly. “Take the left”.
“Geez, this exhaust thing is really getting to you” said James.
“Don’t start me James” said Martin.
“Alright” said James mockingly. He found it quite funny.
Then, it all went very wrong. “Brace!” shouted Seb all of a sudden. A massive lump in the road had appeared out of nowhere and they were about to go straight over it. Moment later, the Berlose jolted violently. All three of them were thrown about, which nearly masked the sound of the exhaust falling off.
“Everyone alright?” asked Seb. The other two confirmed they were ok. And then, the entire car filled with a great drone.
Martin’s face fell. The blowing had stopped, and it was replaced by the distinctive sound of a lack of an exhaust.
Martin didn’t say anything else for the rest of the leg.
TEAM OUTRIDERS
Blake: I am the brother of a crazy truck driven’ mother! Boogity boogity boogity
(Beep, Beep)
Marc: You should sing for a living, audiences will really cheer when they don’t have to hear the song anymore.
Blake: Shut up.
(Shortly after the temperature gauge went up to operating temperature, the screaming sound from the radiator fan resumed)
Marc: Well, there’s that scream again.
Blake: Good.
Marc: How the hell is that good?
Blake: Rules out the fan pulley bearing, which would also be the water pump.
Marc: How would the bearing be silent until the fan engages?
Blake: It’s amazing how much difference an extra load on something makes.
Marc: So what now?
Blake: The way I see it, two things will happen. Either the fan clutch will seize and we’ll have the fan constantly on. In that case it would create a drag at higher speeds. Since a lot of these trails are lower speed off-road courses, That’s no reason to worry.
Marc: And if the fan clutch fails but stays loose?
Blake: Then we lose most of our cooling at low speeds, but I’ve got a thing of JB Weld in the glove box that I can use to permanently affix the fan to the pulley, which would be the same as the other situation then, so there’s still no reason to worry.
Marc: And if it instead breaks apart and we lose the fan?
Blake: Well, then there are still two things that can happen: Either we retrieve the fan and piece the whole assembly back together, we’d lose time but we wouldn’t be out so it would be foolish to worry. Or we lose it entirely, then we’ll be too busy swearing and being pissed off to worry anyway so why worry?
Marc: Point.
Blake: I’m just glad it’s not the water pump, that would be a little harder to deal with.
Marc: Hey, there’s that team Arstotska up ahead.
Blake: Ooh, did you see that jolt?
Marc: They’re stopping. Looks like they’re getting out to check their car.
Blake: Let’s see if they need any assistance.
Marc: Looks like it, one of them is on a phone:
(The Enforcer pulls up to the stranded Team Arstotska and learns of their predicament. Marc grabs a few bottles of water and a bag of Doritos and hands it to the team.)
Marc: I’m sorry it’s not much, but hopefully should tide you over until the tow truck arrives.
(The team then moves on)
Blake: Man, that’s rough.
Marc: At least they have a tow truck on the way.
Blake: I was feeling a little confident about this trail, I’m gonna keep a sharp eye out.
(Along the way, Team Outriders catches up to Team Mountain Pass in their trusty blue Bogliq)
Marc: Ah, the dudes in the Bogliq.
(Blake revs up the engine and speeds past the Bogliq, A bold move given the terrain and the shape of the car.)
Blake: He he, let them eat our dust… wait. Is that smoke?
Marc: Shit! Pull over, flag them down!
(The Outriders flag down the Team Mountain Pass to direct their attention to the smoke coming from their car, Blake runs to the trunk to grab a small fire extinguisher)
[I leave this portion open to HighOctaneLove to RP. We offer our assistance]
(Team Outriders arrives at Goose Lake)
Blake: Ha ha, I don’t believe it!
Marc: What?
Blake: Just look at the car, I mean look at it!
Marc: I don’t see anything.
Blake: Exactly, twenty five miles of overland Hell, and we power through unscathed! I am the man!
Marc: What are your thoughts on the fan issue?
Blake: I’m gonna pop that fan clutch out real quick and take a look, see if anything looks unusual.
Mike and Josh both collectively thank you for the gesture of kindness.
Day 2, Leg 2
Pierre
What a difference a couple of hours make! I turned the Kitten onto the field and headed towards where the finish line for today’s leg should be. About halfway there Andrew noticed a smell of burning then, just as the Team Outriders car roars past, we both notice the plume of smoke coming from the bonnet vents. Even as the Team Outriders crew is telling us to stop I halted the Kitten in a grass-free patch and Andrew and I jumped out, with Andrew brandishing the fire extinguisher. We gratefully accepted the help of Blake who, alongside Andrew, get the fire put out. Team Outriders then sped away and we assessed the damage to the car. Turns out the fuse box and associated wiring harness had shorted and the crappy soviet bloc insulation had caught alight! With no way of fixing the wiring Team Mountain Pass had no choice but to DNF…
Andrew
I’d love to be able to say that I had a bad feeling about this run but I didn’t, not even a little bit! Pierre had traversed open ground in the Kitten yesterday so I thought that today would prove no more challenging. Then the fire happened. Thanks to Blake from Team Outriders providing aid, we were able to put out the engine bay fire before it’d engulfed the entire car and I was able to assess the damage relatively quickly. Turns out the Kitten was harbouring a dark secret; dodgy wiring from the USSR! The insulation is both thin and flammable so the inevitable short usually leads to a destructive fire ASAP. The fuse box was cactus and we’d totally discounted needing to re-wire the car so we had to withdraw and DNF. We’ll be back, dear readers, next year and we’ll make sure you, the reader, are the reall winners of the efforts of Team Mountain Pass!!!
Summary
Day 2, Leg 2
Car: Engine bay electrical fire has stymied our chances of winning; we’re officially DNF’d
Crew: Massively bummed that the Kitten went from hero to zero in a single leg but are looking forward to coming back next year! MRL -5 (0 MRL total)
Goose Lake to Goose Lake (Town) via FR 4010
After beating their brains and chassis out for the last section, there’s a relatively quiet bit leading to a small village. Time to glue/tape things back together…
The last traces of clouds are gone. The air is warming up quite rapidly, and shade is becoming scarce as tall firs and pines give way to small clusters of lodgepoles and spruce.
Length 5; Avg Grade 1; Max Grade 2
@Madrias
LAE Low (fast); MRL +1; Notes: None. TEAM MORALE IS VERY HIGH.
@Fayeding_Spray
LAE Medium (fast); MRL +1; Notes: None.
@conan
LAE Low (fast); MRL +1; Notes: None.
@DeusExMackia
LAE Low (fast); MRL 0; Notes: Yeah, that droning without the exhaust isn’t fun. Too bad this little town doesn’t have a parts store so you could at least get a cherry bomb.
@Mikonp7
LAE Medium (fast); MRL +1; Notes: None
@JohnWaldock
LAE Medium (fast); MRL +1; Notes: None. TEAM MORALE VERY HIGH.
@DoctorNarfy
LAE Very low (fast); MRL +1; Notes: None. TEAM MORALE VERY HIGH.
@BobLoblaw
LAE High (fast); MRL +1; Notes: Not so screamy with the fan JB Welded to the pulley. TEAM MORALE VERY HIGH.
@stm316
LAE Low (fast); MRL +1; Notes: None. TEAM MORALE VERY HIGH.
@Dorifto_Dorito
LAE - Medium (fast); MRL 0; Notes: At inspection stop, finally found the suspension issue – the front springs are not seated properly. While they are still attached, it’s unknown if they will hold. And there aren’t facilities/tools to repair this. TEAM MORALE VERY HIGH.
@Darkshine5
LAE - Low (fast); MRL +1; Notes; None. TEAM MORALE VERY HIGH
@Rk38
LAE Very low (fast); MRL +1; Notes: None.
@EnryGT5
LAE Medium (fast); MRL +1; Notes: None. TEAM MORALE VERY HIGH.
@titleguy1 / @ramthecowy
LAE Low (fast); MRL +1; Notes: None. TEAM MORALE VERY HIGH.
Before the Stage
“Those ‘Southend or Bust’ guys busted their exhaust.” Scott mentioned, prompting a small discussion among the members of Team Twin-Snail.
“We knocked one off, as well.” Luke mentioned. “That said, it’s left our car’s exhaust a little mis-proportioned. After this stage, if we survive, you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Even the exhaust up, take off our spare baffled muffler and make a gift of it?” Amy asked.
“I kinda like that idea. I mean, the V8’s loud and obnoxious anyway, and while I hate the noise, there’s no way to quiet it up with one pipe missing a muffler.” Linda said.
“Let’s get to the town, then. Looks like a short little hop compared to the hell of the last leg.” Luke said.
Day 2, Leg 3
With only a short journey from Goose Lake to the town of Goose Lake, Luke took the opportunity to try making up time overall by blistering into town with all speed available. The gearbox gremlin bashed the gears each time the car shifted, the fan clutch squealed loudly, and the bearings in the power steering pump screamed alongside the engine’s even-mightier roar.
They arrived in Goose Lake rather quickly, with no damage to report.
Day 2, Leg 3 Aftermath
Luke looked under the car, contemplating whether the bolts were rusted in place badly enough to prevent dismounting the second muffler on the driver’s side exhaust system.
“I could probably get that off of there. There’s a bit of rust around the bolts, but I think I could remove the muffler if they’re not too rusty. The question is, will Team Southend-or-Bust want this muffler. Best to play it safe, because the asymmetric exhaust could play hell with our car, and it’s one less thing to break off the next time things get rough.” Luke said, before getting out the wrench kit.
Car Condition:
Functionally identical to the end of D2-S2, but now potentially missing another muffler, voluntarily.
Team Condition:
MRL +11 overall. Feeling very confident, though keeping any aggressive driving restrained to avoid causing unnecessary damage to the car. Feeling overly generous to other teams right now.
(@VicVictory, I don’t know if it’s possible to do this, hence the ‘potentially’ missing another muffler, but if it is possible, I’ve put it up for grabs. After all, at this point, Team Twin-Snail’s realized perhaps there’s more to this challenge than being first, and that after-race friendships aren’t something to throw away. And, if nothing else, it evens up the exhaust on our car. Of course, if it’s not something you agree with, as Game Master, you have full authority to veto the muffler gift.)
“You know what, there must be the better way to measure speed.”
Suddenly, Trevor exclaims that in the middle of nowhere. Which got the attention of the rest of the team.
He explains that instead of using guesswork. They should instead use the distance on the GPS. That combined with Jimmy Monnet’s cheap Chronograph. They should be able to get a more accurate speed than going with the wonky speedometer.
It doesn’t work really all that well. And soon they were back with looking at broken speedometer.
Noble thought, but your exhaust diameters are radically different; there’s no way to fab it up.
(seriously, 6 inches? Lol)
Ah, fair enough. I forgot that with the size of the engine on my car, I needed equally crazy exhaust diameters.