Hey dcamomanx!!!

[manxter26]

Well yesterday was a good day. After breaking my buggy on the thill seekers run at Lone Pine last month, I was convinced that major tranny work was in order. As it turns out, I broke the right axle, side cover, side gear and bent the axle tube. All was able to be repaired without pulling the engine or trans. We got the buggy back on the road last night and being the great day that it was, I also got a check from State Farm Insurance, reimbursing me in full for the $570.00 tow bill to get my car back to Lone Pine. I may have fudged a little when they asked me what kind of road I was on. dcamomanx, (Doran) was also stranded with us above Cerro Gordo. He sacrificed his clutch on the same hill that ate my axle. The best part was coming out with my car on the back of the 4 wheel drive rollback with my son and I standing on the bed trying to deflect the trees and brush, looking off the edge of the world, while Doran and friend are hooked on with a tow strap, at the mercy of the tow truck driver. We all made it out safely and made some new friends along the way. I wish I could remember all of you that stuck with us to make sure we got out OK. Thanks for your company. So Doran, is your buggy fixed and ready for the next adventure? We'll be attaching pieces to the Felipe award this week so we can return it at the next event. Hope to see you there. If tomorrow is another Sunny Colorado day, (notice I said Sunny, not warm), we will have the Manx out for a bit. I'm having my second hip replaced in about 3 weeks and I need to get some Manx driving in before thats done. Hope to see you all at the next event. Jay

[Tom-Kathleen]

You're welcome. John Denmat and I were the ones who got you that cheap (not) ride out on the flatbad. I will just say that the "French buggy" was lacking some things to survive the extreme run. We probably should have been on the intermeadiate run. But what fun would it be if we didn't try the "hard one". We were happy that we got back "home" in one piece with no help, even thought 3 things broke on the car. It was still good fun. Tom

[manxter26]

Tom, Thanks to you and John for getting us rescued. I kept telling myself that one of the other buggys could have pulled us out, but after riding out on the tow truck, it would have taken something with low range low gear to get us up that hill and I wasn't about to take my Dodge truck in there, and I wouldn't wanted my 13 year old son to have to follow me out of there in the buggy. There isn't anything that I would have done different that day. We had a ball and the breaking and challenges that came with that just added to the adventure. I figure if I'm going to make a 1600 mile round trip, I had better get the most thrill for my money. My son told me that the best part of the trip was coasting from where we broke, down the hill where gravity finally gave up on us. It was cool, flying along, no engine noise, catching air and sliding the corners with absolutely no power to save our butts. Are you ready to build an offroad car now? As much fun as these things are on the street, isn't it just amazing what they will do out in the rough stuff. Thanks again for your help. It was a pleasure meeting you and Kathleen.

[Tom-Kathleen]

You're welcome (again). Any of the buggies that could have pulled you out, had the power to make it up the hill (and continued on) where 6 of us turned around. If we lived out there (CA), we would need 3 buggies, the 2 we have now plus a off road capable version. But, we have no where to off road here, so we build them to drive on the street. It was great meeting all the Manx Club regulars, sort of like the Saturday breakfasts, only with more people & cars. Maybe we will see you at the Texas Manx Club event in June 2006. We are hoping to go. Tom

[Gene-C]

Where in Texas? Long trip from CA.

[dcamomanx]

Hey Jay, Here is what happened to our buggy. I first pulled the engine to find the clutch completely incinerated, all that was left was the center metal disk. The clutch surface was a fine ground powder in the in the trans. I decided to replace the 14.5 lb lightened flywheel with a full weight one. For this I had to drill the new flywheel for 8 pins. Next came a new clutch and throw out bearing. Putting it all together I thought I was done. On the test drive there was a knock that occurred on acceleration and deceleration. It turns out the frame cracked by the E brake. Out came the seats, cut off the heater tabs, welded up the cracks, and added a metal plate to reinforce the whole area. Test drive # 2 yielded the same results. Checking the tranny, the bolts on the nose cone were loose. Retorqueing the bolts and everything seems to be fine. Finally I am ready for the next adventure. I will never forget that canyon. We did try to pull our buggy out with our other buggy, and well you saw how far we got. Later we talked with Rudy and he mentioned that last year it took 2 corvair buggies to pull one out of that same canyon last year. Jay thanks again for letting us hitch a ride out of the canyon. Talk about a thrill, being drug out of the canyon, then sheer cliffs tied to the end of a flatbed that looked as if it was about to slide off the edge. Oh what fun. I loved every minute. I can?t wait for the next run. Thanks again to all that were there. Doran

[manxter26]

Doran, Glad you're up and running again. I've made some of the same changes. We put in a new engine for Big Bear last summer, stock flywheel, stock cam, stock distributor, stock carb, etc. Its not as fast as the old motor but is way more driveable in the rough stuff. I had to weld up my tunnel also. It had about a dozen cracks going off in different directions. Have you got your old clutch attached to your Felipe award? We welded on part of our axle and it is now ready for the next recipient. I just got home today from my second hip replacement and hoping to heal up quick and be ready for the next run. Hope to see you there!! Jay

[thesandbug77]

missed you at thanksgiving dcamomanx! i'm only kidding. hey, will you be in socal over the holidays, or back east? i may head south, if i do, and you'll be there, perhaps we can catch up. md