I've been getting the Razor (Justin's former car) ready for when winter FINALLY goes away here (widened cockpit, relocated column & shifter, making seats, wiring issues) and was preparing to jump into the SLC build with both feet when I got some bad news.
My friend Tom Cate in Indianapolis who normally comes here to St. Louis every month in 10-day chunks to help with my projects is having some troubling health issues. He hasn't been here at all since before Christmas, and now it looks like he may have to have bypass surgery. Although that procedure has a great track record of success, it mandates a LONG recovery period, and Tom probably won't be doing any work more strenuous than changing wiper blades in 2014.
I know my own limitations and I'm afraid I don't feel comfortable on the SLC project without at least one other set of eyeballs and hands working with me. I'd resigned myself to not getting the car done until a year from now at the earliest, and have been talking to my airplane mechanic and local race car teams/fabricators that I know to see if any of them could come on board. No luck so far.
Yesterday my luck changed. I met Dontavius Johnson, former auto shop instructor at East St. Louis High School just across the river. He is setting up an outreach program for at-risk youth in the area, and said the SLC project would be perfect to get the teens motivated in a positive direction. Their shop needs a drill press, air compressor, and a few more hand tools before it will be complete, but I have all those things so that's no problem.
May 1 is the start of the program, but Johnson wants the car and the build manual a few weeks in advance to develop his lesson plan and plot the course of instruction. Naturally I'll be stopping in every few days starting in May to make sure everything's going smoothly.
My SLC is on the trailer and I'll be delivering it this afternoon, along with the tools. Looks like I'll be at the track with it sometime this summer after all!
JR
My friend Tom Cate in Indianapolis who normally comes here to St. Louis every month in 10-day chunks to help with my projects is having some troubling health issues. He hasn't been here at all since before Christmas, and now it looks like he may have to have bypass surgery. Although that procedure has a great track record of success, it mandates a LONG recovery period, and Tom probably won't be doing any work more strenuous than changing wiper blades in 2014.
I know my own limitations and I'm afraid I don't feel comfortable on the SLC project without at least one other set of eyeballs and hands working with me. I'd resigned myself to not getting the car done until a year from now at the earliest, and have been talking to my airplane mechanic and local race car teams/fabricators that I know to see if any of them could come on board. No luck so far.
Yesterday my luck changed. I met Dontavius Johnson, former auto shop instructor at East St. Louis High School just across the river. He is setting up an outreach program for at-risk youth in the area, and said the SLC project would be perfect to get the teens motivated in a positive direction. Their shop needs a drill press, air compressor, and a few more hand tools before it will be complete, but I have all those things so that's no problem.
May 1 is the start of the program, but Johnson wants the car and the build manual a few weeks in advance to develop his lesson plan and plot the course of instruction. Naturally I'll be stopping in every few days starting in May to make sure everything's going smoothly.
My SLC is on the trailer and I'll be delivering it this afternoon, along with the tools. Looks like I'll be at the track with it sometime this summer after all!
JR
