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The $400.00 bucks won at the 1st bracket race at Carlsbad was just about enough a month or 2 after we bought it to get the car a really cheap (Earl Scheib, believe it...), paint job in blue. They screwed up everything, painted it, pulled it out into the shop, and some fool stripped another car next to it, we showed up to pick it up and little pcs and balls of butcher paper were stuck to the whole car...everywhere!

Needless to say they sanded it all down again and repainted it. They ended up not charging us for the paint job.

1994 The economy sucked in CA, then the Northridge Earthquake hit us from 1 direction early morning, and the same day from the opposite direction in Twenty Nine Palms another quake hit (we decided within a couple of weeks to move to N.W., AZ), so I moved the race car, other vehicles, family and household to AZ...I still had a few employees we had not laid off yet in our struggling at the time Landscape Construction business, but at least 6 months worth of contracts and jobs to finish up, so I travelled back and forth and started racing the car E.T. brackets and Div. events in Stk. to gain grade points in 94 for 95 Nat. Event entries.

I bracket raced the car and started to do well with it at Vegas (long before the 4 wide existed), Speedworld, Chandler, Bakersfield, and a few other places. Even claimed a Runner Up in a S/SS Combo Shootout Race at Surprise put on by Petre C.P..

First Div. Event was at Las Vegas, NV in 94, got to the track with pump gas in it, drained, added a couple gals of VP C12, and promptly failed a pre-race fuel ck. nice tech guy called on the radio to the tower, and he asked for a maint. guy, who he requested a single gallon of red offroad diesel from 1 of the temporary lights way out at the far end of the track, and when he brought it by, he said pay the man...I did. He taught me what I needed to know and do...Wash the oxygenators' out of my fuel system using diesel.

Including this process (because nobody wants to do it if they do not have to), it is a pain, but I got good at it over the next year or 2.

Pumped out the race gas (saved it in same container I had recently drained my pump gas in), made sure not to start the car so no diesel makes it through the injector, just circulates tank, filter(s), up to throttle body and back through return line, and also bounce the rear of the car to splash that 1 gallon all over the inside of the tank, drain diesel and save it in a different container. Add 1-2 gals race gas, wash system to remove the diesel. Save that too. Then fill tank with desired (no more than 2 gals expensive race gas, retest at fuel ck. (yeahhhhh I passed, and I learned what to do, never failed another fuel ck again).

I drove the car on cheap unleaded pump gas from event to event, always arrived early & ready, and took after a few times doing it about a half hour to complete the process before I had the pre-race fuel ck. done...And I sold a lot of unused pre-tested fresh race gas to a lot of friends over the next 2 yrs., at the end of every event.

While I did it driving to events coast to coast and back, it is a pain, so I would not suggest anyone else attempt it unless they have to, and my new rebuilt engine today, no way is Diesel getting anywhere near those combustion chambers again. A 5 gal cell is now installed, it is not a drag and drive car anymore.

Next change I made was calling TCI and having a great torque converter made (Winter of 1994). That is still in the car now in 2023.

At this point in time (i had collected enough grade points to enter Nat. Events), it is just about time for The 1995 WinterNats by the time I got that converter in the car. My first National event will be a test event for that lone chg. pc, but it feels good and while not a whole world of difference it is looser, it flashes and stalls a bunch higher than the prior stock 1.

First 3 Q passes are much improved. And I have always loved Pomona! (My Grandfather went with me and we towed it there). By this time, I had completed all my contracts, and finished up business in CA, sold off our company, filed our last tax return, put our State Contractors Lic. back in the hands of the CA Contractors board, waved goodby and moved the balance of business equipment to N.W., AZ...My wife was happy, life was happy, and she said go racing for a while if you want, you had a rough year in 94! 1995 was going to be spent driving the budget stocker to Nat. and Div. Events and Bracket Racing in between full time travelling, me, the car, and about 1,500 lbs of tools, supplies, clothes, luggage, etc. in the budget drag and drive Class Car.