Roulette Runner [FINAL RESULTS]

Community Challenges & Competitions
219

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!


(A short while into the drive, both men started to hear a horrible screaming sound under the hood of the car)

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.

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Day 2 Leg 2 Data

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.

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#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~

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Team Twin-Snail

Day 2, Leg 1

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.

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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…

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#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.

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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.

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Mike and Josh both collectively thank you for the gesture of kindness.

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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)

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Day 2 Leg 3 Data

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.

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Team Twin-Snail

Day 2, Leg 3

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.)

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“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.

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Noble thought, but your exhaust diameters are radically different; there’s no way to fab it up.

(seriously, 6 inches? Lol)

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Ah, fair enough. I forgot that with the size of the engine on my car, I needed equally crazy exhaust diameters.

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But Luke’s an android. I’m sure he can squeeze it down to size, or laser-eyes or something. Come on, be a sport.

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#Team ‘Southend Or Bust’
Original Post - Previous Post

Seb got out of the car having completed the third leg. Everything was a bit of a daze; his brain was getting used to the lack of the thrum. Or was it a drone? He didn’t even know anymore.

In fact, it took him a few seconds to realise that James was trying to talk to him. “Seb. Seb!” he shouted. Seb snapped back.
“Huh?” he said.
“Mate, I’m concerned about Martin. He seems to be on the verge of a mental breakdown” - James spoke with an unusually loud voice.
“It must be because he knows he won’t be able to fix that exhaust” Seb replied, also loudly. “Speaking of which, where’s he gone?”

.

A short while later and their hearing had managed to recover. However, Martin still wasn’t to be found.
“Hang on” said James all of a sudden. “He’s over there.”
James had spotted him next to the Twin Snail team, holding an exhaust piece. He came over to them shortly, looking pleased.
“Guess what I’ve got us!” he said, presenting a large section of metal piping.
“Good find” said Seb. “Looks a little large though”
“Yeah…” - Martin’s mood seemed to change - “it’s 6 inches”
“That’s not gonna work” said Seb, sighing. Looks like they were gonna be stuck with the drone.

“Yes, but…” Martin began, “I could botch it on? There’s some spare metal bits in the boot, and the least it would do is reduce the fucking noise”.

Is it possible to botch it on @VicVictory? Or is this going to Southend Or Busts Achilles heal? :grin:

Either way, big thanks to @Madrias and Twin Snail for offering us the replacement exhaust in the first place, tis very kind and is especially kind given how noising my team have been so far.

EDIT: Corrected “b*tch” to “botch”. Blame auto correct…

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Previous Post ---- Next Post

Day 2 Leg 1

Halfway back down, Bill was rummaging through his backpack, looking for his tapes. Toni was at the wheel.
Wookiee: So, maybe we don’t push it too hard. If Bill says it was overheating, maybe it was.
Toni: I’ll just watch it. If it gets high, I’ll back off.
Bill: Aha! A-Ha!
Toni: Er, huh?
Bill: No. A-Ha.
Wookiee: Oh, hey. chuckles Did you see what I did there?
Bill: You’re in charge of navigation, not entertainment.
Wookiee: Couldn’t do worse than you.

Toni: Sign says “Calloway Flats”. We’ve made it this far. Let’s find a place to grab some snacks.
Bill: Wonder what’s actually here.
Wookiee: A town.

Day 2 Leg 2
They Wookiee stops at the Grasshopper edge of the overland section, looking carefully at the field.
Wookiee: I’m liking this. Bush bash in a four wheel drive van. Grab something… and start praying.
Wookiee throws the shifter into 1st and mashes the pedal, dropping the clutch when the tacho hits 3500 ( because you can so much drop a patch at 20km/h). Aiming for the highest point he can see, they take off. He crests the first small hillock and slows down to a more manageable pace
Weaving around tree stumps hidden in the grass, the three of them watch for anything else that could be a risk while trying not to fall out of their seats.
Bill: There! Follow that trail, it should take us near the dam.
Wookiee: I’m on it!
They clear a small natural jump and land quite hard on two wheels as Wookiee tries not to roll it over.
Toni: May the force be with us!
Bill: Hey, look! That’s the Mountain Pass team. Australians in European car. Traitors.
Toni: Shut up. Karma’s a bitch.
Bill: What could possibly go wrong?

They roll up to the designated area at Goose Lake, and get out.
Toni: Ok, Bill, you go get the details for the next leg. I’ll see if anyone knows what happened to Mountain Pass, and try to get a count of who’s out.
Bill: Done. walks off
Wookiee: I’ll re-tape the back, and see if I broke anything else.

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236

@DeusExMackia not with the tools/facilities available at this time.

237

@VicVictory Ah, fair enough. The drone lives in then!

238

@DeusExMackia Yeah, but at least now if the opportunity presents itself, you do have a muffler.

After all, Luke’s primary concern was about the asymmetry in the exhaust pressures and what effect that would have on the turbochargers. What he would have done with the now-reduced-to-spare muffler otherwise would have been to throw it in the trunk, in the can labeled “Broken Shit” along with the set of warped brake rotors from before.

As far as he’s concerned, Team Southend-or-Bust can carry it until such a time as they can find the right parts to mount it up. Until that time, it can quite happily rattle and bang around in their trunk.

@stm316 While Luke could theoretically squeeze it down to size, he lacks sufficient heating supplies to do the job right. Yes, he’s got an oxy-propane blowtorch in the trunk, but it’s for cutting and welding, not for heating. Different tips for different flame concentrations. The last thing he’d want to do is damage the muffler in such a way that neither team could use it. His thought process is that now Team Southend-or-Bust has a muffler. Yes, they need to adapt it to fit, but they now have one of the parts they’d need.

As for tools Luke has onboard, well, he doesn’t have a laser onboard that’s powerful enough to cut steel or cast iron. It’s powerful enough to cut some plastics, and Luke uses it to trim plastic parts, but that’s all it’s good for. Other than that, he has a soldering iron and compartments, in one of which he’s stored a rotary cutting tool, but those also wouldn’t help.

His plan worked as it is: He’s solved the car’s exhaust asymmetry and provided Team Southend-or-Bust a ray of hope with a spare muffler. The fact that they have to adapt it to fit their car didn’t escape his thought processes, but he doesn’t have parts to make that work. The spares in his car are only really for the Sinistra Savage.

In other words, Luke’s done his half of the job. While the muffler currently won’t fit, it’s in the hands of a team that needs it more than he did, and more importantly, Luke knows fully that necessity is the mother of all invention. He knows they’ll find every piece needed to make that fit, but it’s going to take a while. And he knows there’s a chance they’ll find a muffler with a closer exhaust diameter instead.

So either way, it’s gone perfectly to Luke’s plan.

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