8.15.2005
Bonneville
Speed Week
I
decided to take a trek in the '50 to the Bonneville Salt Flats for
Speed Week, to watch my neighbor Mark Miller run his '49 Chevy
inliner. I was thrilled at the prospect of having the car on the
salt for a photo shoot, and had never been to the salt flats
before.
I left home mid afternoon for the four hour drive, packed with all my
gear and bike to tour around the pits with. I had just gotten on
the interstate, when the car lurched, and stalled while rolling along
at about 65mph. The car would not restart, so I coasted to the
side of the freeway and put the hood up. I determined that the
carbs were not getting fuel, and that it had spark. Not wanting
to get run over by the dozens of 18 wheelers that were whizzing by, I
decided to call a rollback tow and get off of the side of the
road.
It took three hours of waiting in the car for the tow truck to arrive,
and another hour to get back home... a dissapointing end to my
trip. Rather than miss speed week, I decided to leave the car at
home and take my daily driver instead, the next morning.
When I returned, I found that the new fuel pump had failed. The
pin that the lever arm rotates on had worked it's way out, and the
lever had fallen off inside the pump. I could have fixed it on
the road, but it would have been difficult at best in the dark, and
dangerous with the heavy traffic.
I pulled the pump and put the pin back in place, and it seemed to fit
tightly. I put the pump back on, and drove the car to work the
next day. On the way home, about a block from my house, the pin
fell out agan... I have a new pump now, and will keep the old one
in the trunk for a spare just in case it happens again.
Speed Week was a great trip, worth going if you've never been.
I'll be making the drive again to Speed Week in August '06... this time
in the '50.
 
 
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