Nah, just waiting on Ticketmaster to refund my tickets. Likely they'll keep half of it as a "refund convenience fee" or some other nonsense.

 

Ticketmaster is a monopoly that needs to be fixed. I just hope they don’t take over MSR or one of the motorsport registration websites.

 

And they wouldn’t have half the grief if their technology platform was up to the task of handling traffic.

 

I hauled the Volvo up to Elizabethtown yesterday as I had a free space in the garage. I was surprised to find snow on the ground starting in about Glen Falls. Had a bit of difficulty as I was afraid that i wouldn't be able to drive the Volvo into the garage - skinny tires and slight incline and about 3 inches of wet snow. Got it done, however, and back home. Fed the birds before I left, so they should be happy this morning.

 

Oh wow, three inches up there already. We had a dusting on the ground here about 2 hours south of LP. Of course I wonder how much Marc and the folks in Buffalo got.

i think the skinny tires help with traction in snow too.

 

Roughly a foot of snow total through the last 3 days here. South of us got pummeled far, far harder. Orchard Park I believe set the record for snowfall in a 24 hour timespan in NY.

 

I'm trying to revive my 1981 Wheel Horse lawn tractor. It's been sitting for about 20 years, ever since the carburetor started to leak. What was probably a small gasket repair has morphed into a major project. The mice started living in the engine blower cover and ate trough the magnito and other wiring, plus caused a lot of urine damage. I sort of fixed that, but could not get the engine to turn over. So I took the starter apart and tried to sort that. Although filthy, it seems OK and it was my battery that had failed, Held a charge but no crank amps. So I bought a new battery and got the engine to spin, but no start on starter fluid. Double checked the magnito gap. Tried again a few times. It seemed like it wanted to go, but then the engine would no longer spin. Took the flywheel off, and one of the magnets underneath the flywheel had come off, damaging the alternator (stator) beyond repair. A second magnet was loose. I figure that I can JB Weld the magnets back on, but the alternator ring was crunched and damaged beyond repair. So I spent several hours on line looking for a replacement part. The part is no longer in service and the standard replacement did not look like it would work without me cutting reliefs into the housing. Finally found one (not cheap) and ordered. Hope I can get this thing into operating condition. If so, it will be sort of a rat rod tractor. Lots of rust as the paint started chipping off years ago.

In other news, I pulled the seat belts out of the race car and will try to send them in for re-webbing and recertification. I have to decide on what to do about replacing the fire bottle. It is out of certification, but in theory can still be used.

Hoping to hear from the machine shop soon so I can move forward with rebuilding the race engine for 2023.

 

I googled it and it looks like that tractor is a collectible now. Maybe they have a bring a trailer for lawn equipment where you can get rid of it if you have no use for it anymore.

It’s so nice to see you have a proper plan of action to get in shape for next season. I wish I were like that. The last few days I’ve been even thinking about possibly taking a break from some of the track events I do and staying more local. Especially since Steve closed shop and there is no tuner in the area that can work on Hondas.


Marc - a foot of snow isn’t bad. Enough to have fun with but not disruptive. Of course, knowing you, you’re probably a tad disappointed that you didn’t get more.

 

Hope all of you and yours have a Happy Thanksgiving. Be safe if you are traveling and enjoy the time with family or friends.

 

Thank you. Same to you, your family and everybody else who are here.