The now straight body shell is back in the workshop in Pattaya and looking amazingly straight. The panel man has done a fantastic job, even replacing the floors where Ferric Oxide was starting to make them resemble lace tablecloths. 45 year old cars can have additional problems.
The time frame is our next hurdle, with the race meeting at Bira, May 4, 5, 6. The car was completely stripped to allow the panel shop chap access to every part of the body. This meant wiring harness, fuel tank, pumps, lines, new radiator, intercooler, fuel tank, door cards, secure towing hooks, instruments, side windows (made of shatterproof Lexan-polycarbonate) and laminated windscreen.
Thomas Raldorf, who is in charge of fettling the car, puts the likelihood of our being on the grid at 90 percent. I get the feeling that it will be a runner, but not necessarily 100 percent finished. Desperate race drivers have been known to use a screwdriver as a gear shifter when the gearbox wasn’t fully assembled in time. The final work is to “sticker” the car, to show off our sponsors.
A new sponsor is Casa Pascal restaurant, which came just at the right time. Fortunately, Pascal won’t fit into my race suit, so his position will be lap scoring or timing or ‘gopher’. All very important in getting the message through to the driver during the race. In the Retro Class we don’t have all the F1 style electronics, the driver takes note of frantic hand signals from pit wall.
