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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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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THOTC announces new charities for the 2013 BABE Rally – Toys For Tots and Hot Rodders Children’s Charity!

Team Two Horsemen of the Carpocalypse are pleased to announce two new charities for whom it will be raising money this year by competing in the 2013 BigApple2BigEasy (BABE) Rally.  Both these charities have long been supported by THOTC’s sponsors and friends at North Georgia Mopar Club because of the important work they do in support of underpriveledged and at-risk children, and THOTC is honored to be able to suport them in kind.  Please consider pledging your support for these two great charities. As a reminder, THOTC does not handle money donated for the charities we support — all donations are made directly to the charities by those who pledge them.

The Pledge tab at the top of the page will be available for you to pledge your support in the next few days once it is updated to reflect information for these two great charities.

Improving the lives of children is the primary mission of the Hot Rodders Children’s Charity (HRCC). A registered 501c(3) organization, HRCC harnesses the enthusiasm and innate sense of responsibility found in the automotive enthusiast community and successfully raises funds and awareness of the various children’s causes at events throughout the year. While many charitable organizations focus on a specific need or
group, the HRCC aligns with a variety of local and national organizations representing a multitude of causes. This allows the HRCC
to effect positive change in the lives of many different children with many different needs. More information about Hot Rodders Children’s Charity is available at www.hotrodderschildrenscharity.org.

The mission of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots  Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December  each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in  the community in which the campaign is conducted. Over  its life span, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation has supplemented  local toy collections with more than 102 million toys
valued at more  than $750 million; plus provided promotion and support materials valued  at over $10.5 million. More information about Toys For Tots may be found at www.toysfortots.org.

 

 

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The Slant 6 Trio headlines at the Hot Rods at Hayes Muscle Car Show – marching to the beat of a different drummer, of course…

Crash took Dodge to the Hotrods at Hayes muscle car show in Baldwin, Georgia this weekend (put on by THOTC sponsor North Georgia Mopar Club) so Dodge could meet some fans and get some quality time on the open road. Dodge got lots of love and Crash was treated to an array of over 200 top-quality show cars.  Despite the huge Mopar turnout at the show, there were only three Slant 6 engines in the bunch and every one of them was an oddball.

First, of course, was Dodge.  Dodge was an oddball both for his dilapidated appearance as compared to the shiny, glossy examples of automotive near-perfection that surrounded him as well as his soon-to-be role of BABE Rally car. Ugly duckling though he was, Dodge was a favorite of those attending the show and garnered many smiles, guffaws and outright belly-laughs.

The Slant 6 Trio’s second member was none other than 24 Hours of Lemons (think European LeMons endurance race with $500 cars) Team E30/6’s bizzare BMW/Mopar hybrid — a BMW 325 with its original drivetrain removed and a Slant 6 with push-button transmission crammed into its place.  The car’s mere presence at a hot rod show drew a lot of very confused stares until people noticed the familar-yet-out-of-place Leaning Tower of Power nearly overflowing the Bimmer’s teeny engine bay. At that point, it became an immediate crowd favorite.  Team E30/6 is slated to re-take the track in their B-Mopar-W  in an upcoming 24 Hours of Lemons event later this year.

Rounding out the Slant 6 Trio’s act was this 1976 airplane tug, a U.S. Air Force veteran sporting a Leaning Tower of Power and a 727 3-speed transmission. This patriotic Mopar was acquired by its owners in a government auction for the bargain basement price of $500.  If only it were street legal and could exceed 8 miles an hour, it could have been a BABE Rally contender!

Photos of some of the more traditional but no less awesome contenders in the Hotrods at Hayes show should be available shortly.

 

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Two steps forward, one step back…

Crash took Dodge on a little road trip this weekend, about 140 miles total all on interstates and state highways, so Dodge could get a little love at the “big” early summer Hot Rod show (update on the show to follow).  Dodge did great all the way up and *almost* all the way back, until two miles from Crash’s pad.  At that point, three seemingly unrelated things happened:

1. Oil light. Crash immediately killed the engine and coasted to a safe spot on the side of the road. A quick check of the dipstick indicated a slight oil loss (less then an eighth of a quart) and while hot, the oil temp did not seem to be critical.  The oil light went off after a brief cooldown.

2. Coolant leak. Once the car stopped, a small amount of coolant began leaking from the bottom radiator hose. A gentle squeeze of of the hose incresed the dribble to a flow, but not a flood. It stopped on its own after a few minutes with less than a quart of coolant lost.  Closer inspection reveals the hose clamp was either fitted incorrectly or had backed off the fitting slightly. Upon repositioning and tightening the hose clamp and a subsequent test drive later in the day, the coolant leak did not reoccur. To be on the safe side, the original and aged radiator cap has been replaced with a snazzy new one.

3. Electric fuel pump.  After the cooldown, Crash was able to restart the car and get a few hundred yards before the engine suddenly died. Once again coasting to a safe spot on the side of the road and popping the hood, the fuel filter was observed to be completely empty. The electric fuel pump, while powered, was unable to fill the fuel filter more than one eighth full.  Crash switched the lines back to the mechanical fuel pump (which conventiently had been left installed) and was able to fill the filter three-quarters full.  Some time later, Crash switched the lines back to the electric fuel pump and it performed normally (with perhaps the slightest reduction in the volume of fuel it is delivering to the filter).

All three of these issues would seem to relate to heat. However, the temp gauge never went above 200 degrees even when the car was going flat out at [Crash takes the fifth here, but suffice it to say an impressively large number] miles per hour for over an hour.

The sleuthing (and banging of heads against walls) continues.  With less than four days before the team is schedule to (for the second time) try to get the car to New York for the start of the Rally, it may be time to figure out how to live with the problems rather than try to solve them.

Unrelated to the above but also of note, Dodge is the *least* convenient and comfortable car THOTC has taken on the BABE Rally, and so the team already has quite enough problems to figure out how to live with already.

More to come.

 

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THOTC honored by North Georgia Mopar Club

At their May 2012 meeting, North Georgia Mopar Club (NGMC) honored Team Two Horsemen of the Carpocalypse (including our honorary Third Horseman, Paul Chambers of Paul Chambers Mopar Restorations) and the team’s efforts to raise money for two great charities — American Diabetes Association and March of Dimes.  (The fact that the team has a track record of rescuing classic Mopars from fields and backyards and taking them out for the trip of a lifetime may have had something to do with it too…)

Believe it or not, Dodge was *not* the most spectacular vehicle present at the meeting. The slideshow below contains some of the unique Mopars at the meeting that upstaged him.

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THOTC raises over $3,000 for American Diabetes Association and March of Dimes driving the 2011 BABE Rally!

Thanks to generous individual pledges and the support of our corporate sponsors (Allpar.com, Allpar Forums, North Georgia Mopar Club, Polybushings.com, Paul Chambers MOPAR Restoration and Leverage Corporation) the team raised over $3,000 for American Diabetes Association and March of Dimes. Read on for the details and the team’s official 2011 BABE Rally photo. 

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Come meet Crash and Val at the NGMC Mopar Challenge on May 14th!

Val is still a little nervous about being out in public after so many years in backyards and musty garages. So, before her national debut in June at the 2011 BABE Rally , she wanted to make a local appearance and try out the limelight closer to home. With the North Georgia Mopar Club’s Mopar Challenge just around the corner (both geographically- and temporally-speaking), this seemed like the perfect opportunity for Val to re-take the stage.

Come out to Landmark Dodge in Morrow, GA on May 14th between 10 AM and 3 PM for good, clean Mopar family fun, to meet 2/3 of the Two Horsemen of the Carpocalypse team, and pledge your support for American Diabetes Association and March of Dimes!

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