Fabulous write-up Charlie..thanks so much for sharing with us!

 

So thanks for reading y'all.

They talk like that down here y'know.

Nice manners...

So whattayado while waiting in Nashville for New Years Eve (after having toured the Country Music Hall of Fame)?

Well - kart racing of course!

Lovell and I had the track to ourselves, and he (being such a good and respectful lad) let me by on the third lap so we could both try and find the best line.

My sweet Lord my forearms were so swollen I was grateful that the races were not longer! Wrestling a kart on slicks is a WHOLE lot harder than dancing with a Mini - MUCH harder. They do slide in a similar manner however!





I should add, in deference to our taxi driver, that we were unkind. First LJ and I encouraged this dear man to the north side of the river, and then east, and then around the back side of an enormous industrial building. Then we paid the fare, and left him to the collapsed right front tire that appeared rather suddenly indeed, rendering his taxi immobile.

On our return to the back side of said enormous building - two races and three cigarette breaks later - we found him in the last stages of fitting the spare tire.

Consequently we asked him to return us to the place he had picked us up at - and tipped appropriately given our obvious culpability in his predicament.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Happy New Year y'all.


Cheers,

Charlie

 

Since Lovell and I did not drink New Years Eve, we were bright eyed and bushy tailed and out the door at a decent hour on the 1st - and back in Stevens City VA by dusk.

The grey finally lifted, and our return up I 81 gave us ample opportunity to appreciate the pastoral beauty surrounding us.

The 3 cylinder Mini is not an obvious choice for grand touring - not having the cachet of the Aston, the Jag, or any of the brilliant high-end motors built in Germany and Italy.

It is however a VERY effective choice! Two up with adequate luggage (no golf clubs) Gollum is quite happy to amble along at 2,600 rpm over hill and dale, with power in reserve to keep our distance from the road trains.

That works out to a distance-eating average just under 80 mph, and at that speed the mileage is still in the high thirties.

What's not to like?

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Great writeup Charlie (as always). The F56 Justa sounds like a great Mini overall. At times I wish I'd held out for an F56 too.

 

Life can be so cruel at times, and ten minutes before we arrived at the house on the way home my son's phone rang.

The news he heard when he answered that call broke his heart, and damned near mine. For me it was like watching him be stabbed by an unseen dagger.

One of his dearest friends who had stood by him in many dark hours had just been found dead.

There are some things that parents can't fix.

So he got out of the Mini, and got into his truck, and drove to the family's home, and has been helping in every way he can since that hour.

My heart is full of pride to see the man that he is, and full of grief.

No more on this topic - sometimes words fail.

Charlie

 

Wow - lots of drama. This thread certainly has digressed ...

 

Indeed, and I am perhaps wrong to sully a motoring tale with such a sad matter.

I look forward to the resumption of the merry adventures of Gollum the 3rd.

Next Saturday the New England Region of the SCCA will have the Annual Meeting up in Southern Vermont, and that is always a great pleasure.

Apart from the many well-earned awards, it is my chance to catch up with my many friends in the NER community during the cold dark winter.

Perhaps I should grow a pair, and get some Hakkas, and go ice racing during the winter. My inspiration would of course be Chang-Ho Kim who manages to win autocrosses, and rally crosses, and ice races - all with one of his selection of '89 Hondas.

I bet the Mini would fare well in that endeavor, but at the moment with the temperature outside descending towards zero, I am not too tempted!

Any ice racers out there?

Cheers,

Charlie

 

When I started autocrossing with NER at the beginning of the 21st century there were many fast drivers and fast cars for me to be impressed and intimidated by.

One of the most noteworthy combinations was a white Turner driven by Charles Levesque - a man who was essential to the New England Region for decades. The car was so fast I remember somewhat timidly asking him if the whine from under the hood was a supercharger - the answer was nope, just a slightly weary pump!

Charlie stopped racing shortly after I returned to the sport, but his son Brian was and is one of my best teachers in racing. Although Brian has given me many tips over the years, his most important lesson about autocross is simply this - "if you are not having fun you are doing it wrong".

In tribute to Charlie, the NER organization created a new award this year to recognize folks who although perhaps not the quickest of the quick were nonetheless emulating Charlie's spirit of sportsmanship and camaraderie.

At the end of the awards presentation, I was stunned to discover that I was the recipient of the inaugural award.

I have never received any award or recognition which has touched me more deeply. For Brian to pick me this year seems undeserved, but the effect for me is to confirm my sense that the NER folks have over the years become like a second family to me, and to reassure me that despite my occasional bad days the joy I feel participating in our events is at least partially reflected back to my friends.

I'm deeply honored indeed.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Congratulations Charlie , that sounds like a good group of people to run cars with. Wish there was some of that around here.

 

Anyone else experiencing what I have recently?

I find myself at 3k rpm in top, without intending it (rather than 2.5k).

I'm in Massachusetts traffic, which is quick, but still! Dammit son, slow down!

Them's tall gears, and cruising between 85 and 90 is a bad idea...

Should I blame it on the car mebbe?

Guilty, but repentant,

Charlie

 

I hear you. My 2007 MCS was manual, and I'd be going about 70mph at 3k. My 2014 is auto, and I'm going over 80mph at 3k I think.

 

I just re-read the first post in this thread, and noticed I had been flapping my gums...

"And perhaps - just maybe mind you - I'll put a dent in those over-powered Ford Focus ST cars that presently think they own GS in the 2015 season. Stranger things have happened..."

So now that I have the 2015 schedule, and know that Warren will be gunning with the WRX, and I hope Nick in the Focus ST, and that Barbara has sold the 'Vette and will run her new ST car, and that the GS class was one of the top three in NER for attendance last year, I am starting to contemplate just how to put my best foot forwards. Oh heck I hope Pat Huxley doesn't run GS!

When are the Evo schools again?

Has Koni cranked out a Yellow for the F56 yet?

Has Toyo changed the treadwear to 200 for the R1R? Is there anything else faster that can still handle cold and wet?

Months to prepare...

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Well thank you very much! Heck even with the back exhaust ripped out I still can't hear the darned thing at highway speeds. It's as bad as my Grandmother's Mercedes 280 SE, which would (accidentally, I swear) go 100 mph without any sign to the driver except that little speedo.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

By the way, Summit Racing redirected my beg for a F56 friendly Koni Yellow to Koni, so apparently no joy yet.

I begged to Koni - offered them SCCA attention to the extent it's within my powers.

We'll see what happens...

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Yep! The Mini's do have quite long legs without meaning to. I have to watch speed also.
My other cars are a little different the Honda will definitely TELL you with a high RPM sing, plus the Fit is godawful loud inside.
The Mustang... well, goose it a bit and you'll be doing 140 before your brain kicks in.

 

I see some of your "pixie dust" tires are now in a 200.
But you will have to jump up to a 225 width - ooooh what fun that would be.

On the highway I fixed the "over speed" problem with the cruse control and good tunes on Pandora. A wonderful combination for boring roads with speed traps. Now, there are a few roads in VT on the way to Stowe that get my full attention to enjoy the fun...

 

Hmm.. thanks for the heads up on the Pixie Dust tires - but I have never liked a 225 on a 7" rim, so that will take some thought.

I'm nuts, but I have thus far not used the cruise control because it turns the damned stability control back on (overriding my startup drill which includes turning it back off). Why would that bother me? DamnedifIknow - must be the nuts.

And by the way y'all, it was ME that let the air out of those 11 footballs!



Charlie

 

I run 225 R888s on 7" rims. It is a little pinched but still very workable.

Also, like a beautiful woman in a nice fitting jean, those tires fill out the back end of a MINI nicely...just sayin'

And about the footballs, I think there might be a bookie or 2 that want to talk to you...

 

Eddie for chrissake don't tell the bookies. Frankly with Tom BRady's dissertation on ***** Thursday, followed by the taciturn lecture from Belicheck on atmospheric conditions heard Saturday, I have had a most entertaining week!

I actually spent parts of two seasons trying to get 225s to work in competition on a 7" rim - the details are in the original Gollum thread. The bottom line is they look great, work great on the street, but when measured using GTech and the course elapsed time they are slower than 205s - and the feel at the wheel is a bit mushy.

I really tried hard, and it might have cost me a few races to be honest.

So other's mileage may vary but in my book that's a done deal.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Well it's fair to say the F56 is a tough and handy little car, given we've 40" of snow around here recently (and another 15" on the way).

Start at -4 degrees? No problem.

Go up and down hills on ice and snow? Sure.

Warm up quickly for the shivering driver? Yep.

Inspire confidence on dangerous roads? Certainly.

And all this with the OEM M&S Continentals - no Hakkas or the like.

And for all this poor Gollum gets to wear a steadily thickening coat of grime, as the car wash has been inaccessible for weeks...

ENOUGH already!

 

Way too much fun with the handbrake turns.

But for the next 36 hours - in the garage.

I know when I'm whipped!

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Now that the next blizzard has started, I've tucked Gollum back in the garage for at least another 24 hours - but is he safe?

I've had guests in the extension of the house you see - in the ceiling and the tops of the walls - and energetic guests they are! Sometimes the noise is such that sprint races or wild cavorting must be the source.

But I've not heard the gnawing sounds that characterized the rats whom I trapped two winters ago in the same area - and more chittering than squeaking.

And yesterday morning when I went once again to refill the windshield washer reservoir I found a little nest marked by peanut shells on the top of the engine!

Ah HAH! SQUIRRELS!

I dunno why I prefer squirrels to rats, as both are rodents and have similar habits, and the suburban rats I was trapping a couple of years ago were cheerful critters not accompanied by the plague fleas. Yet I do prefer squirrels - perhaps I am a sucker for a fluffy tail?

All that notwithstanding they have to go, as when a critter moves into the car it's war.

So the Havaheart trap is baited with nice fresh peanuts and I am trying to decide where the heck to put them when I catch them.

My son is contributing too, by sharpening his aim with the air rifle and also striking a deal with a local red-tailed hawk. So far the score is hawk - 1, and 0 for the air rifle. I prefer the trap myself, but when you mess with Gollum you gotta take your chances.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

+1 for the havaheart trap.

I am a sucker for just about any 4 legged creature and spent about 4 weeks with one of those traps cleaning the mice that came in one winter. I released them and figured that they might survive or that the feral cats got them but at least that is "the nature" of things.

Good "hunting"; stay warm and hope the snow blower is working well.

PS - peanut butter also works...

 

Thanks for the peanut butter suggestion.
The ultrasonic repellant also works a bit, but not entirely - seems to **** them off a bit.

Meanwhile - as this is NAM - let me observe that the B38 equipped F56 is dead nuts reliable down to -10. Who would ever have expected THAT from something built in the UK?

Ah times change...

Cheers,

Charlie