Team Oxracers, Ep. 5: Rolling up the sleeves (but getting some parts first)
After Jane has finished her closer inspection of the Kando, she drew up a list of parts to get in order to modify the car for the 24h race.
During her inspection, she had been joined by Lucas who had kept asking her car engineering questions. “Can I join you? I’d like to learn more about finding good parts.”
Jane thinks for a second. “Yes, you can maybe help us getting stuff from the top shelves.”
Lucas is momentarily taken aback. “Sure.”
“And you’ll also learn how to conduct shrewd negotiations”, adds Mary while getting into Jane’s trusty Saarland Siegel Pilger. “What are we after?”
Jane has a look at her list. “Main things are a turbo and other engine stuff not to make the thing explode right away. And, of course, a new front suspension to exploit our critical success roll. The narrow track width will make finding something challenging, but my friend has everything - and what he doesn’t have he can get pretty quickly. Oh, and some bodykit parts, perhaps.”
“Where are we going?” wonders Lucas.
"To a friend of mine, Ludo. He operates a junkyard and has the largest collection of car parts you’ve ever seen.“ Jane pauses for a second… “He is a bit special, though.”
"What does that mean?“
“You’ll see", is all Jane says as they turn on to the road.
After a short drive they arrive at a nondescript and a bit rundown brick building.
"That’s it?“ Lucas wonders, as he exits the Saarland.
“What did you expect?" Jane laughs. “A palace? This is a palace to him alright, and the junkyard is behind the building.”
To enter, they have to ring a bell. The door is buzzed open immediately. “I let him know that we’ll come. Otherwise we’d have to wait”, Jane explains.
They make their way through a narrow hallway towards a badly lit room with a counter at the front. The area behind the counter is full of boxes, palettes and assorted car parts.
“That’s quite some stuff.” Lucas is astonished.
“And totally chaotic”, Mary adds.
“That’s nothing. He has tens of thousands of times more in the back." Jane rings the bell on the otherwise empty counter.
After a short while, a man of indeterminable age in a greasy blue overall and long scraggy black hair shuffles into the room.
Mary and Lucas exchange amused looks.
"Hello, Jane. You said - need parts?“ he mumbles.
"Yes!“ Jane is considerably more enthusiastic than Ludo. “Seongu Kando Mk2. We want to take it racing.”
“Kando? Racing? Kidding, right?” Ludo seemed unimpressed.
“No!”, Jane replied in a half-failed attempt maintain her enthusiasm. “That’s what we rolled.”
“Rollin around in, you mean?” Ludo mumbled. “What you need?”
“Small turbo, double wishbone suspension parts, spoilers, and some extra wide 13 inch wheels. Rollcage bits, too, if you have any.”
Ludo pondered things for a second or two. “Model year?”
Jane has to think for a moment as well. “1992.”
“3-door or 5-door?”
“3-door.”
“Some weird stuff for a Kando. Have to have a look. Can take a bit.” Ludo shuffles back through the back door.
Jane’s two friends had watched Ludo’s exchange with Jane and his mannerisms in awe and astonishment. “You don’t want to know how it looks back there”, Jane adds.
“You do know?” Lucas is eager to know more. Meanwhile, Mary can’t help but look through the boxes placed haphazardly on the shelves around the room.
“Yes. Wait, I think I still have a photo from the one time he allowed me back in there.” Jane flips through a number of old photos on her phone. “Found it!”
Lucas stares at the photo with an open mouth. “And he finds stuff… In there? This guy?” Mary joins Lucas after a short while to look at the picture on Jane’s phone.
“Yes. You’ll be amazed. If you noticed, there is no computer here, and there is no computer in the back room either. It’s all in his head.”
Lucas wants to know more. “How many parts does he have in store here? Thousands?”
“Hard to tell, as he can find stuff, but not list a complete inventory. Hundreds of thousands at least, if not millions.”
Lucas shakes is head in disbelief and tries to get a peek into the back room from leaning over the counter, but unsuccessfully.
“There is a small performance intake in one of the boxes - ‘hardly used’, whatever that means”, Mary reports. “Could it fit the Kando? The box says ten horsepower.”
“We take it”, Jane decides after a quick look.
Ludo returns. “I have some wide small wheels. Not the newest, but they should fit, probably. Suspension parts, too, for narrow track width but you have to make them fit.” He takes a deep breath before continuing. “I have some old small wastegate turbos, too. But I also have a Kando in the yard. Rear ended. Many things from the front should still be good. Have a look and let me know what you need.”
"Where?“
Ludo closed his eyes for a second. “Third row, second from the right.”
“Thanks, we’ll check it out.”
“Alright, I open the gate, and get some bits out in the meantime so you can build a roll cage.”
The three Oxracers make their way to Ludo’s junkyard…
OOC: Ludo is based on some of these folks (time index gives a glimpse into the storage area): Die Ludolfs - Die Schrottbrüder - SWR Reportage - Teil 1 von 2 - Video .......Oeni - YouTube (unfortunately only in the language of the… well… insert inappropriate ww2 joke here 
)
