We arrived into Sydney on Monday morning and met by Elaine’s cousin Edward. The weather was post card perfect with white clouds and blue skies as it is summer time Down Under. There was a great Burmese dinner prepared for us and friends and the green papaya salad and the Paboom (morning glory greens) were great. I took a run into the Maquerie University close by and found out the 45% of the students are directly from China. Well, the American dollar is not worth so much as the Australian dollar is so very strong. At the Eastern Creek Race Track I met Brian (director) and instructor James Stewart from prior races and James took me on the track afterhours to show me the lines once again as well as the important “wet lines” in the event of racing in the rain.
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Wednesday, Dennis Russell, of Australia came to help crew as he knows Cobras well and has a perfect kit Cobra made in Australia. The Old Yeller II and the Cobra were in the upper deck of the shipping container for some reason making it almost impossible to unload as the clearance of the roll bar on OYII and the aluminum hard top for the Cobra was barely an inch… the big transporter truck had to be put on tall wood blocks to lift the rear ramps to unload the cars. The cars had to be passed by the government quarantine team as it is one of the very strict countries not allowing any grass or dirt. The two cars were on the upper paddock and there was the” assigned committee” to push the cars far into the paddock …they were “senior gentlemen” as I felt bad steering the cars and four men were straining and puffing as they pushed. John Chalmers and Sandy (niece of Bruce McLaren) arrived from New Zealand as they offered to help us in Australia. Since there was no gas and oil in the cars we proceeded to prepare the cars and hook up the battery. We could not get fuel into the engine with many attempts so we pressurized the rear tank and finally got fuel to the front. The battery for the OYII was dead and needed a bump. We finally got the Cobra started and it had a “mule” and spare motor as our race motor imploded just days before loading. I took the Cobra around the paddock slowly and the clutch was rock hard and soon could not catch a gear… by the time I got the Cobra into the pits there was the sound of a Jamaican Steel Band… we found out that the “thrust bearing” collapsed into the fingers of the clutch. Later we found out that when the gear box was removed… the bearing fell on to the floor in the shop and the yolk had to be repaired. Dennis went to find a spare trailer from an Alfa racer and hooked up the trailer with the Cobra on to his “Ute” truck and he was off. Dennis was so well connected that he had a special shop prepare to repair the car as Dennis went to buy the parts needed. The Tech committee were all over us saying we needed every kind of red triangle for Tow Pickups… cut offs… headlights needed full clear strong tape… where are the wipers and do they work?… extra springs on carbys…made me unzip my entire driving suit looking for the international tag for safety…etc. So in jest we put the required big red triangle for “TOW” on it and spelled out “TOE”… but heck that fits the Old Yeller II style. Dennis brought WWII “jerry cans” as we needed to fill with racing gas, spanners., air compressor, two floor jacks, hoses, and on and so much more. Amazing as the Cobra was back on the track for the Friday PM Race… and since we could not qualify the car, we started at the back which was good as it was the first full test session ever since the re-build. The Cobra was a huge handful to get around corners at exits but was running… and with the clutch fixed. The fans were so excited as this was the first cobra they saw on the racing track in Australia. We all had on the brand new Shelby American Team and Crew shirts thanks to our friend John Dishman of PEP Supply Company. The Selby Cobra motor was “stumbling” and would not “hook up” smoothly with the throttle… and on the first lap on a small rise with stumbling… had rear oversteer and looped the Cobra on to the grass. We noted that there was 4 ½ inch clearance from the top of the tire to the fender rim and photos show an incredible amount or lift with the front tires not touching at times causing the big push at exits. With the major change out of the suspension parts and no time… the leaf spring is sprung too high and spring rate and spring will have to be changed in New Zealand as it is difficult to race. We taped a double foam at the door hinge as I had to brace my leg with force to control the car around corners. Regardless, the Cobra was for show this time… so styling points were more important as the Cobra motor did not have “pull.” The new Cobra race crate motor from Arkansas was at the Airport and Edward knew the importing company as he secured the documents as we need to get the official documents that the crate motor will leave Australia… which Edward processed. Dennis came through again to take his Ute and load up the 650 Lb crate motor to store at the company that he works for near the track. John and Sandy were everywhere helping and so much to do with the challenging problems.
The races start with the drop of the Australian flag and all hell breaks loose with smoke and wiggling all over the place. In one race, the rare Cooper formula car must have broken a half shaft as he gracefully arched the car to the right and smack into the concrete wall. They have the “take no prisoners attitude as it is constant fender to fender during each race. The Old Yeller “is what it is” and the rear over-steer has to be corrected as in turn 2, I felt like a “dirt tracker” going sideways through the turn. We got the tech guys coming back as someone saw oil… there was oil on the floorboards and coming from the tunnel… it was a leak in the gasket at the right valve cover which was corrected as well as from the old soft rubber hoses at the front which were changed out. In a Saturday Race (there are four full on races for the event) and on the last lap, we ran out of gas. The stewards found out and with good humor placed some Australian coins on the hood as they all know the American dollar is not worth much! We had to cut off a section off of the new air scoops as it was hitting the sway bar. The rear new lexan window flexes and will change when we get back as there is a shimmer in the vision to the rear.
On the last race on Saturday, the Shelby Cobra had a “thud” blasting down the front straight and “flat lined” with lost power from the weak motor. Since the motor was not running cleanly, it was thought it may be the plugs… but Sunday morning checking, the #2 was gone and later found the push rod was bent and stud bolt gone… so no more races with the Cobra. We went to the Sunday Flaggers meeting and presented trophies with gifts to the “flaggys” as we always do. The rains came off and on and we were lucky to just have a sprinkle during the OYII race on Sunday. The end of the day came to the incredible scramble to get the OYII and the Cobra into the containers… and Dennis brought the new crate motor for the Cobra as that was loaded as well in the rear. It was cold and wet with their new team shirts were all a shade of gray, but we all had a great weekend of a constant string of race fans… blessed to race and participate with all of the challenges at hand.
The most touching moment for our entire crew was when a lone race fan came up in a wheelchair to the OYII on Sunday and mentioned he came just to see the car. This senior gentleman must have raced or crewed as he knew a lot about race cars while talking to John, Dennis and Elaine. We pinned a “badge” as they say on his hat and made him feel at home as he did spend time in our paddock. He mentioned to John that he did have some health issues. Later and late that late Sunday afternoon when it was somewhat dark and wet… this same gentleman arrives in his wheelchair again to our pits… this gentleman pulls out of a bag… two beautiful bottles of Champagne to present to our team… I said- “let me get a camera” and he stops me and says… “no photos please.” We ask him when we will see him next… and he was very emotional and voice cracking as he said to us… “this is my last race”… and wheeled around quickly and left us speechless and very touched as he disappeared into the darkness of the late afternoon in Sydney. We know that he signed our book, but we will never know who he was. Racing cannot get much better than that.
