“Why have one when you can have two for twice the price”

 The title of this blog is a movie quote from one of my favorite movies (Contact). It is very fitting in my case because as of today, there are two unfinished ProMods in my shop. A few years ago, I never dreamed I would have one much less two of them. God has truly bless me!

We are veeeery glad to be home after driving nearly 3100 miles in 4 days, plus a day loading at both the Janis shop and the RJ Race Cars shop.

We had a great day at the Janis shop and got to talk to Mikey and his dad for 3-4 hours. They are such good friends and good people! They had all of my stuff ready to go and we packed it for the long trek home. We talked longer than we should have and kept them from working but we had a great time!

Next we went to RJ Race cars to pick up the new chassis, body, and lots of other stuff to build the car. Traci and I had to strategically pack the chassis and body into the trailer and keep everything from being damaged on the long trip home. That is a challenge with our crumbling infrastructure in America! Our highway system is a disaster! 

It was a tight fit getting everything in the trailer and keep it from being damaged on the trip!

We managed to make the whole trip without having any bad weather. We had some thunderstorms during the last hotel stay but they cleared out before our last day of travel. We were truly blessed with great weather!!

We got home on Thursday afternoon and other than a couple of small scratches on the body, nothing was damaged!

Driving in the gate after 3100 miles. This is a sight for sore eyes and bones. Driving that far at 62 years old is hard on the body!

After unloading everything out of the trailer, I had to look over and compare the two cars. They are VERY different! I actually sat in the new car and it felt like I was sitting in a school gymnasium compared to the old car. There is so much room to stretch out my legs and the door opening is at least 6-10 inches further forward than the old car. This allows me to to get my left leg out of the car without having to contort my body in ways that a 62 year old guy should not do! It will be a much safer car for me!

I have soooo much room in the new car. The 67 Mustang was the perfect choice!

This is going to be an awesome looking car!

While we were at the Janis’s shop, we talked about our plan forward. We all realized that debuting the new car this year is probably a lofty goal. We have decided to take our time, test later in the year, and hopefully debut in Gainesville (1st race) of 2024. Hopefully, we can also get some seat time in “The Resurrection Project” on 1/8th mile tracks this year. We also want to test “The Salvation Project” at a safe and fast track like Bradenton this winter so we can get the Janis’s help in their off season.

We also learned something that we did not know. A couple of months ago, I told Mikey about the paint schemes I had decided on for both cars (I even sent him color swatches). He didn’t say much but humored me and just comment that those are going to be “bright colors”. One of the colors I chose for “The Salvation Project” was a really bright, metallic, neon green, with Shelby Mustang style stripes on it.

When we were at their shop, we brought it up again and Mikey said “I didn’t have the heart to tell you but you should not do green”. I asked why and he informed me that a high percentage of green cars meet a terrible death at the drag strip! Mike Janis Sr. confirmed that fact. I confirmed the superstition with yet another racer and sure enough, most racers say NEVER paint a drag racing car green! That would have been good to know before I bought 100 feet of vinyl wrap to cover the car with, ha!

I am not a superstitious guy so I don’t know what I will do but I believe God will protect me no matter what color the cars are. I have listened to everything the Janis’s have told me to do and that decision will come much later in the game! 

Comment in this blog or on Facebook about if I should go green like I had planned!!!

OK, that is very GREEN! If superstition matters, this really a bad color, ha!

Hopefully, the hub dyno will arrive about the same time I get “The Resurrection Project” completed an d we can get some dyno time on the car, get our routines worked out, and test everything under full load. That is going to be a game changer for us. 

The NHRA taking the Dallas race off of the schedule really messed up our chances of debuting this year.

All in all, Traci and I had a very successful trip! It really could not have gone any better! The only bad thing about the trip was leaving our animals and home for 6 days. We missed them and our home terribly. I understand how people become home bodies as they get older. Home is safe and comfortable!

Today, I started trial fitting all of the suspension components on the car to see if everything fits and there were no missing parts. Everything fit perfect and the craftsmanship and welding are unbelievable! I could not be happier with the new chassis! 

Penske shocks, carbon on carbon brakes, and a new style 11 inch ring gear differential (this is a killer combination). I followed Mikey’s specifications on everything. This car is very capable of achieving our goals!

New 16 inch liner type wheels. Uses a tire within the tire to pinch the slick against the rim and prevent it from slipping on the wheel. Checking for clearance and fit here.

High end Penske shocks

High end Penske front struts as well!

Tomorrow I am going to try and set the new engine in the chassis to check the fit and start planning where I will mount everything.

God has given me the desires of my heart and I am going to try and live up to his blessings by honoring Him every step of the way.

Luke 1:37 “For nothing is impossible with God”