Yeah it was totally the trucks fault. Haha you have no idea what you are talking about.
Trust me if you prep a brand new Herbst on a budget with people that have no idea what they are doing and out of time in a scramble you get the same results.
It’s not the trucks fault. So your comment shows how little you understand what is happening. I could buy a mason and prep it like poop and still DNF. Would you say buy a new truck? Clueless.
Mike
Clueless indeed.
The fact that a guy can perform basic mechanical tasks like brake jobs or half shaft replacements on their daily commuter HAS NO BEARING ON THEIR ABILITY TO WRENCH ON A STATE OF THE ART RACE CAR OR TRUCK.
It's my guess that after buying the truck, the constant purchase of high wear components to maintain it, gas/food/lodging for the chase crew, pre running costs, shop/storage space yada yada yada, that MTPyle doesnt have an extra 10 or 15 grand laying around to pay for professional race prep services. Hence, the "have no idea" group of guys that work on his car for free while Mike throws down some carne asada on the grille with Corona chasers in an effort to show his appreciation for all the "help" they provide.
Unlike top mechanics, racing "enthusiasts" are learning things as they go. They will use that 150,000 psi tensile bolt on an exhaust flange thinking if it holds a shock on, it surely can keep the exhaust pipes together, OR, use a control arm pivot bolt twice without a clue on the reduction of clamping force that a used bolt will have compared to new using the exact same torque value. Or even have a clue that Loctite is a friction modifier and torque values should be adjusted accordingly. Or perhaps they tie a fuel line close to an oil line unaware of the surprise they just manufactured for race day. Here's a good one, handles then torques a grade F911 or whatever fastener with his "carne asada" fingers , only to yield it as a result, causing it to fail FAR before its time.
The top race trucks today are engineered, and require people with comparable knowledge to wrench on them.
I can't even pretend to know the challenges Mike faces as a privateer campaigning a SPEC TRUCK of all things with minimum sponsorship dollars. Hope the kids are ok with a community college! Haha!
Mike, It sounds like you could benefit greatly by having some of the "to win" series of how to publications at arms reach (engineer to win, tune to win, prep to win, build to win). Carroll Smith is one heck of an engineer and shares so many relevant facts about race car design and prep. Knowledge is power. There is no substitute for it. I read every one of his books and many others as well before building my first race car. I applied as much crossover technology from road to dirt as one could. Geometries that are common place in todays cars, but were not even considered in the desert cars of old.The result was an overall victory in the very first race for the very first race car I ever designed and built.
Whatever you decide to do, at least this endeavor allows you to stay connected with your kids, and that alone is worth a handfull of DNF's. Race on my friend.
