Crash’s folly…

 

There is a wrinkle to THOTC’s participation in the 2013 Explore The Shore Rally. The original plan was for Burn to fly down to Atlanta and for Crash and Burn to share the 850 mile drive to the starting line in northern New Jersey. However, this will not be possible due to Burn’s knee injury and surgery earlier in the year. The team’s backup plan was to have Crash fly to Albany and for the team to drive the rally in Burn’s daily driver in the Open class instead of running Dodge in the Banger class.

That backup plan hasn’t been sitting well with the team for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is that the original plan *also* called for Dodge to go home to Albany with Burn and begin a well-deserved restoration.

Crash spent a day getting Dodge ready for the road before the Georgia Cool Cruisers Cruise-In and was pleasantly surprised at how well the car did after sitting for a few months after the last BABE Rally. There are a few small issues — a power steering pump hemorrhaging fluid with every turn of the wheel, a more-gradual-but-equally-concerning disappearance of motor oil and transmission fluid, brake lights that turn themselves on at random when parked, a brake shoe that has gotten a little too snuggly with its drum, and so forth — but nothing that would physically prevent Crash jumping in Dodge and starting to drive north.

And so, with the same reckless abandon and disregard for personal safety and sanity that got Crash and Burn into banger rallying in the first place, Crash will be driving Dodge solo to the starting line. As Crash has now booked a one-way ticket back to Atlanta from Albany for the Monday after the rally, he is committed — and probably should be.

Watch for updates on www.thotc.com as Crash finishes preparations for his folly and strikes out on his Kerouac-esque (sans the drug use, of course) journey up the Eastern seaboard for the wilds of Northern New Jersey!

If you haven’t already, please visit the Pledge page and pledge your support for the two great charities THOTC is supporting in the 2013 Explore The Shore Rally — Hot Rodders Children’s Charity and Toys For Tots.

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THOTC 2013 BABE Rally Wrap

The 2013 BABE Rally is over… It was a fantastic experience, as always.  The array of crappy old cars (and one crappy old semi-truck) was staggering, Costume Day the most humiliating one yet, and the parking lot parties in the evenings still the stuff of legend. It also was a bittersweet experience as the 2013 BABE Rally was the last BABE Rally ever.

 

Dodge (the team’s beloved 1969 Dodge Dart Custom) had few mechanical problems… A broken oil pressure switch caused an oil leak of massive proportions that caused the car to be temporarily re-christened “The Exxon ValDart.” A weepy power steering pump at the start of the Rally degraded over four days of hard driving and threw a tantrum (and all of its power steering fluid) all over the Night 4 hotel parking lot. Dodge’s  44 year old un-rebuilt suspension proved strangely unsuited for off-roading and the car has developed a marked list to starboard. Best of all, after off-roading also loosened Dodge’s exhaust system in its mounting brackets, an unexpected encounter with a raccoon corpse in the road separated the muffler from the downpipe and necessitated a challenging (and icky) roadside repair. However, Dodge came through the ordeal with flying (albeit sun-faded) colors and is awaiting transport to Burn’s New York garage where a survivor restoration (and potentially a turbo-charger re-fit) await.

Team Two Horsemen of the Carpocalypse successfully completed four of the five stages of the Rally, racked up 1,250 miles, and raised $1,328 for two great charities – the Hot Rodders Children’s Charity ($682) and Toys For Tots ($646). (The team was unable to complete the fifth stage of the Rally due to a friend’s medical issues requiring the team to return home early.)

The Two Horsemen of the Carpocalypse would like to thank StreetSafari, Misfit Toys, Allpar.Com, North Georgia Mopar Club, Year One, Leverage Corporation, Pathfinder Advisors LLC, our (very patient) families, our friends, and all our fans for all their support on the 2013 BABE Rally and those two great charities. It isn’t just that we couldn’t have done it without you… we *wouldn’t* have done it without you.

Though the BABE Rally is no more, Team Two Horsemen of the Carpocalypse remains committed to driving beat-up old Mopars in wacky automotive events to raise money for worthy charities. Have a look at Asphault Adventures (www.asphaultadventures.com) and 24 Hours of Lemons (www.24hoursoflemons.com) for hints about what lies ahead for Crash and Burn and look for more details in the near future.

Thanks so much for coming along for the ride… See you on the road!

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THOTC take Dodge a little off the beaten path…

True, the 1969 Dodge Dart Custom sedan was not designed for dirt tracking and hill climbing, but the old girl did pretty well with it. Special thanks to Justin (the BABE Rally organizer) for providing the musical cue that accentuates the video.

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Dodge has been invited to two more car shows…

On the heels of a highly successful appearance at the Dunwoody Driving Club’s Friday Night Lights Show a few weeks ago, Dodge the Retro Dart Rally Car has been invited to put in two more public appearances before the start of the 2013 BABE Rally. We’re not quite sure why — Dodge may be a sight to behold, but he isn’t much to look at… but we can hardly say no to a chance to meet some more adoring fans!

If you are within walking, driving, or towing distance of Kennesaw, Georgia or Braselton, Georgia please feel free to stop by to say hi and have your picture taken with Dodge at the Braselton Bash at Year One in Braselton on April 20th or Joe’s Crab Shack Open Car Show in Kennesaw on April 28th!

Whether or not you can come by to say hello in person, please also take a moment to visit the Pledge tab at the top of our homepage to pledge your support for the two great charities the team is supporting in the 2013 BABE Rally — Hot Rodders Children’s Charity and Toys For Tots!

 

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Ah, memories… (They could be twins)

For anyone who cares to reminisce or catch up on THOTC BABE Rally history, every one of THOTC’s posts from the 2010, 2011, and 2012 BABE Rallies is available on our website at www.thotc.com.

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The Dart is… alive!

No, not the 1964 Plan A Dart… The 1969 Plan B Dart. (Yes, we know it gets confusing.)

Well, it turns out everyone who had an opinion as to what was wrong (no two of whom had the same opinion) was right… In the past two weeks we (with much help from our honorary Third Horseman and miracle mechanic Paul Chambers) have:

1. Replaced the distributor (the old one definitely had a wobble)
2. Replaced the fuel line from tank to pump
3. Replaced the fuel pump twice (first with another manual and then with an electric)
4. Unstuck the heat riser valve
5. Rebuilt the carb (again) to repair frozen linkages, a stuck accelerator pump and a bad float.

Each of these repairs rendered some improvement but did not solve the problem. Fortunately, the sum of these repairs is a car that accelerates smoothly even under load and even can maintain highway speeds!

We aren’t ready to declare total victory yet – we want to put a couple hundred miles on the car this weekend and next week, but it is looking pretty promising.

Assuming those fixes hold the only other significant repairs between us and the start of the Rally are to repair the windshield wiper motor (not sure if it is the motor itself, the regulator or power to it… turn the switch and absolutely nothing happens) and to source a spare tire (anybody know of a good place in north Georgia to source a 14″ 5×4 wheel?).

In the meantime, Burn continues to set fire to and de-mouse poop (these are unrelated procedures) our Plan C car (*not* a Dart, just for the record), just in case we need it…

Stay tuned!

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