Recently, Gil Stuart went off to Mexico, and that's why we didn't see him at the Midnight Rally at the end of October. Please see Gil's news below.
October 23, 2010
Basic Text for Article: Volvo Club of BC Newsletter
Adventures of a Volvo Guy in Mexico by Gil Stuart
It is October 23, 2010. Here I sit writing to the readers of the Volvo Club of BC Newsletter in the cramped back seat of a Ford F250 crew cab on Mexico Highway 150D between Oaxaca and Tehuacan. We speed over the beautiful Sierra Madre de Sur heading north on a toll road after a disappointing first day of La Carrera Panamericana 2010, a 7 day international performance rally for pre-1972 cars. I am the service truck driver for a Texas based 1963 Ford Fairlane entry to this event.
The Historic “C” class Ford of Jake Shuttlesworth and Tony Bogovich had gone off the road during the fifth speed stage and suffered major damage to the right side and right front suspension. The car had hit a concrete road marker and some trees and was no longer driveable. The plan is for Jake, Tony and I to go to Queretaro, make repairs and try to get back into the competition on day 3 of the 7 day event.
So, you say, what is a Volvo guy from Nanaimo doing in Mexico and how did he get there? Here’s the story:
Having participated in two of these “Mexican Road Races” in the past – 1995 in my 1958 PV444; and 2000 in Nick Woodhouse’s Anglia 105E – I always wanted to go back again but never seemed to have the resources. These days, three weeks of time and a 25000 dollar budget are needed in addition to an eligible and suitably prepared car. I couldn’t enter with my own rally car again in 2010 so rather than wait until 2011, the compromise was to sign up as a service truck driver and part time mechanic for a crew already entered. A few e-mails and phone calls after deciding to “just do it”, Jake and Tony agreed to have me on their 1963 Ford Fairlane team.
My plan was to depart from Nanaimo on October 8 and drive my 1967 Volvo 123GT to Jake’s home in Troup, Texas. There, I would join he and Tony for final preparation and loading of the truck, trailer and race car; and for the drive to rally start at Tuxtla Gutierrez in the south of Mexico. The itinerary would be: October 16 – cross into Mexico at Nuevo Laredo; October 17 – participate in a car show in the main square of San Miguel de Allende; October 19 – reach Tuxtla Gutierrez for registration and tech inspection; October 21 – undertake qualifying stage at Tuxtla autodrome; October 22 – start the rally from Tuxtla; October 28 – finish the rally in Zacatecas with overnight stops in Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Morelia, Guadalajara, and Aguascalientes. Upon return to Texas after the rally, I would pilot the 123GT back to Nanaimo arriving home approximately November 4. Total driving distance would be 15000 kilometers in 28 days..
For those readers wishing to learn about La Carrera Panamericana and the results for the eight Volvos entered, refer to separate article. Refer also to the official rally website for detailed results, photos and other information: www.lacarrerapanamericana.com.mx
Shortest driving distance from Nanaimo to Troup, Texas is 4000 kilometers. If I could use interstate highways and average 100 km/hr driving daylight hours only, this initial phase of my Mexico adventure would take 4 days. Starting October 8 and following a diagonal route across the USA (through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas), I arrived at Jake’s farm near Troup about 4pm October 11,
The 43 year old Volvo 123GT did not miss a beat the entire trip although a few hours were lost in eastern Oregon having a flat tire repaired. The route offered a wide variety of mid-continental USA landscapes. It was quite scenic through Washington, Oregon and Idaho; terrible traffic in Seattle and Salt Lake City though; very scenic south and east of Salt Lake, Utah into Colorado and New Mexico; flat, dry and boring for 1000 kilometers from Albequerque, New Mexico to Wichita Falls, Texas; green fields, trees and rolling hills the remainder of the distance to Troup in east Texas.
The most exhilarating section was 300 kilometers of mountain roads south of Grand Junction to Durango, Colorado. Don’t take this route in winter or if you are in a hurry or afraid of heights. Over 100 kilometers of this road was steep, narrow and twisty with a posted speed of 40 km/hr. Elevations at three passes on the route were 11100, 10900 and 10600 feet respectively. Luckily, traffic was light and there was no snow on the road so I was able to “press on” in rally fashion. Memorable indeed.
Jake Shuttlesworth is the owner and driver of the 1963 Ford Fairlane entry into this year’s Panamericana. He was raised and schooled in Troup and is now retired from international assignments in Mexico and South America with Brown and Root. He has farmland in the area where he raises cattle and hay, shelters stray dogs, and keeps a collection of 1960’s Ford cars (some restored, some for parts, and some for future projects). His love of cars and adventurous spirit led him to build and enter a 1963 Ford Galaxy big block into La Carrera and sister rally Chihuahua Express several times since 2006. He wanted something lighter and more nimble than the huge Galaxy so built and entered the Fairlane for 2010. This would be the first event for the newly completed car.
Soon after I drove into Jake’s place on October 11, Tony Bogovich arrived from Pennsylvania. Tony is to be co-driver for the Fairlane. He, in fact, built and installed the engine. His business in Pennsylvania is building competition Ford engines and this one, a 302 CI with single 4 barrel Holley, sounds very potent. Tony is a young guy compared to me and Jake; and I wonder if we can keep up with him during the marathon upcoming two weeks in Mexico.
On October 14, everything is loaded and we depart for a ranch near Austin where we will stay with a friend of Jake. The ranch buildings are beautiful and luxurious. We get to stay in the living quarters attached to the barn where the cutting horses are kept. There was unexpected excitement after dinner when the son-in-law took me for a ride across open range in his pickup to chase wild pigs. We continued to Laredo on October 15 where we met up with a number of other American based competitors in this year’s Panamericana. Our early arrival in Laredo allowed us to walk into Mexico to obtain tourist visas and car import permits; and, of course, walk back again. There was no problem with this except for the dust, heat and humidity.
Early on October 16, a convoy of 18 Panamericana trucks and trailers with race cars was formed to cross the border into Nuevo Laredo. Although the Mexican army had heavy presence at the border itself, the crossing was quite fast and trouble free. Getting the paperwork done the previous day paid dividends. The convoy was barely out of Nuevo Laredo when a Mexican pick up truck with no brakes ran into the back of one of the rally car trailers. The only other significant incident on the way to San Miguel de Allende occurred when a Carrera novice filled his gasoline engine truck with diesel fuel by mistake. Our siphon hose was put to work and he was soon back on the road. We all arrived in San Miguel early enough to do some sight seeing and, of course, taste the food and beer.
San Miguel de Allende at 6200 feet above sea level is a fabulous place - a Spanish colonial city of about 100,000 people 10% of whom are American or Canadian. It is famous for its scenic setting, cultural endeavors and beautiful weather (clear skies; not too hot; never cold). On October 17, the Panamericana cars were put on display for 5 hours in the main square. Mobs of locals came out to ogle, fingerprint and photograph them. Afterwards, everyone was invited to the new home of one of the racers and this small party of a hundred or so was treated to conversation, fine food and wine. I could get used to this kind of treatment.
On October 18, the convoy took off for Tuxtla. Happily, we all took the new 168 kilometer toll road (Arco Norte) around Mexico City which comes out near Puebla. What a relief to avoid the mayhem and hassle from police when travelling through that city of 20 million people. Just before Oaxaca, we left the convoy feeling we could make better time travelling by ourselves only to be stopped by a major student protest blocking the main highway through Oaxaca. Thankfully, a motorsport enthusiast on a motorcycle guided us safely around the blockage. The convoy had significant delays when it got to the protest line.
We got to the overnight stop at Tehuantepec quite late and had to settle for tacos and lemonade at a late night street taqueria. We arrived in Tuxtla reasonably early on October 19 and went to the fairgrounds where registration and tech were taking place. Nothing much seemed to be happening so we checked in to our assigned hotel and went straight to the pool.
Tuxtla Gutierrez, in the state of Chiapas, is quite a cosmopolitan city at 16 degrees north latitude and about 5000 feet above sea level. It has modern shopping malls and many English speaking young people. The Crowne Plaza Hotel where we stayed was absolutely first class.
On October 20, Jake and Tony drove the Ford Fairlane down to the fairgrounds and I took the truck. Wow! What a sight. Top notch vintage rally cars and crews from around the world were everywhere jostling for position in the various registration line ups and tech. My camera was quite busy. And what a surprise to see a 1954 Studebaker painted white with giant red maple leaves. I was quite pleased to meet driver and codriver John and Chris Gregory from Vancouver, BC of all places. The paperwork took all day to complete but, in the end, the Ford Fairlane, service truck, driver, codriver and spare driver (me) were all registered and approved to rally. Next on the schedule at 8pm was the competitor’s mandatory meeting with organizers. No rest yet but after the meeting a super dinner at, would you believe it, Applebees.
Next day, October 21, was the qualification speed stage to determine starting positions. Qualifying consisted of five laps at speed around the Tuxtla Autodrome using rally instructions and timing – standing start; flying finish. Jake and Tony did everything right and were assigned 24th starting position for the rally. A good sign!
Friday, October 22 found all the rally cars and crews down at the big arch on main street in Tuxtla for an 8am start. Apparently, the locals came out in the tens of thousands to watch as the cars were started at 30 second intervals. Me and the other service truck drivers didn’t get to see the start since we took off from Tuxtla at 6am to get ahead of the rally in order to set up for the first service at Tehuantepec. The first car was due at service at 1130am and it was going to take us four hours to get there.
I was about 40 kilometers from Tehuantepec when my cell phone rang. It was Tony with the sad news they had gone off the road in the final stage before service and damaged the car too badly to proceed. A tow truck was picking them up and they would meet me in Tehuantepec.
With great excitement and some sadness, I watched all the rally cars come and go from the service area in Tehuantepec. Some were damaged already and continued on; others were being towed or carried on trailers unable to continue on their own. It must have been pretty exciting on the road over those 100 kilometers or so of speed stages. About 2:30 pm, the tow truck carrying the forlorn Ford Fairlane and its two dejected crew members arrived. The right front wheel and suspension were mangled. The fiberglass hood was smashed, the right headlight and bezel were broken, the entire lower right side bodywork was crushed inward, the roof above the passenger door was dented, the rear wheel was bent, and the entire car was full of Mexican flora. After the Ford was gingerly transferred to our trailer, we immediately took off towards Oaxaca about 6 driving hours away. We arrived Oaxaca quite late coming across the same protest barricades and consequent traffic jams encountered on the way south. The hotel was eventually found using a taxi as a guide and our beds were found very soon after.
Overnight, the decision was made to go directly to Queretaro (day 3 overnight stop for the rally) bypassing Puebla (day 2 overnight stop) to undertake repairs. The distance is about 800 kilometers so the drive will take most of the day. Queretaro is a modern city with many automotive suppliers and competent repair shops concentrated in a central area.
And so here I am on October 23 writing this in the cramped back seat of a Ford F250 crew cab on Mexican Highway 150D between Oaxaca and Tehuacan.
Prologue:
We made good time towards Queretaro. Just before the Arco Norte bypass around Mexico City, a gas and nibblies stop at one of the numerous Pemex stations was needed. Tony was resting in the cramped back seat of the crew cab and stated he didn’t need anything when Jake and I climbed out to gas up and get some food. When we got back in the truck, we started concentrating on the toll booth coming up and the exit to Arco Norte immediately afterwards. After a few kilometers, in the line up for the toll booth, Jake’s cell phone rang. He looked at the screen and said “It’s Tony’s phone. He must be resting on the send button.” At which point, we turned around to find Tony not in the back. My goodness; we had left him behind. Since it was going to be a tremendous hassle and a long distance to make two u-turns on this 8 lane free way and go back for him, it was agreed Tony should catch a taxi and we would wait for the taxi just past the toll booth. Sure enough, they came along about 10 minutes later and we carried on. It could have been disastrous without cell phones.
Everything was closed by time we reached Queretaro; and the next day, October 24, was Sunday. We tried all day to find repair parts for the front suspension and/or someone to do welding repairs. There was no success although we did establish some contacts for Monday. Sunday was used to bang out the body work, repair the fiberglass, clean the flora out of the car and fix the headlight. We disassembled as much as we dared since the car was still on the trailer in the hotel parking lot. The right side leaf springs were found to be pushed back so repair parts for that had to be found on Monday also. The big item, though, was the right front lower control arm which was totally mangled, bent, cracked in two places and thought to be unrepairable.
The rally cars were due at the Queretaro Autodrome at about 4:45pm so we caught a taxi out to the track to watch them come in and compete. While there, we got another possible source for a lower control arm from participants in an associated car show.
Monday October 25 was rally day 4. Our best chance was to undertake the repairs Monday and get back into the rally on day 5 which was to start in Morelia about 250 kilometers away. Downtown at the supply stores early Monday, we determined there was no possibility to get replacement parts in time to do us any good. None were available locally and had to be brought in requiring a few days. One of the contact names led us to a competent repair shop which accepted the assignment to straighten and weld the mangled lower control arm and provide other needed parts before 4pm. This the shop did using a photo of a good control arm as a sample. While the control arm repair was in progress, we fixed the leaf springs and got everything ready for delivery of the front suspension stuff. Delivery was only half hour late and the technician pitched in to help with assembly including doing a front end alignment. After assembly, Tony took the car out for a test drive and proclaimed it satisfactory. We headed for Morelia arriving at the hotel about 10pm.
Jake and Tony successfully completed all the stages on rally days 5, 6 and 7 and were reported as finishing 85th overall out of 120 entrants. Each day, I uneventfully trundled the truck and trailer to the service stops; to the overnight stops at Guadalajara and Aguascalientes; and to the finish at Zacatecas.
Zacatecas is a beautiful Spanish colonial city at an elevation of about 7200 feet. It is famous for its silver mine established in 1586, for its mountain to mountain cable car, and for its wonderful hotel Camino Real built around an old bull ring. Tourists are treated to a parade through the narrow streets every evening led by a donkey, a brass band and guides carrying back packs filled with tequila (given free to those who participate in the parade). A good time is had by all.
After sightseeing in Zacatecas for a day, we headed first to the border (used Columbia crossing and had no problems); stayed overnight in San Antonio; then Dallas to drop Tony off at the airport; then Troup. I retraced my route to Canada with the 123GT (except I went through Moab, Utah rather than Durango, Colorado) arriving home in Nanaimo Nov 4.
The 43 year old Volvo 123GT never missed a beat; I was tired but happy.
Submitted sincerely,
Gil Stuart
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Gil Stuart, long time member of IRC and motorsport enthusiast in all forms, was recently found racing in California. The following newsletter shows some exciting events and Gil's success.
SDVSA newsletter Q2-2010
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Byron Wallace, a member for a number of years now, with only a short lapse in membership when he moved out of province for a while, has the following announcement requesting your support.
I have signed up for the 2010 Give To Live Cycle For Life ride. Check out the official website for more information. http://www.givetolive.ca/
In October 2010, Lyndsay and I will be leaving on a 2 week cycling journey from Vancouver, BC all the way to Austin, Texas. In order to participate, Lyndsay and I EACH have to raise $5,000. So yes, that is a huge combined fundraising goal of $10,000.
I am not asking you for donations, but rather to ask you to create awareness for our cause. The ride is not until October 2010, which means that training is to start pronto! We also would love any fundraising ideas or advice you may have to offer us.
We have an email that I have created, specifically for the cause: lyndsay.byron@gmail.com
Please feel free to email us if:
- You have any questions about the Give To Live 2010 Cycle For Life ride.
- You would like to lend a hand with fundraising
- You would like to sponsor us
- You know someone who we can speak to about cycling and/or nutrition
- You know of a business or corporation that would be interested in sponsoring us.
- You know of a business or corporation that would donate items for auction for a fundraising event.
- You know of a business or corporation that would donate its time/location for a fundraising event.
- You have connections to either the Times Colonist or local radio stations 107.3 Kool Fm, The Zone, 100.3 The Q!
- You want to share some words of wisdom or even moral support! :0)
We have also created a Face Book group called "Give To Live 2010 (Lyndsay & Byron)". Just search it, it should come up. If you join, it merely just shows your moral support for us! Invite your friends if you feel so inclined - the more the merrier!
It should be easy to spot in the search index as our ugly mugs pop up right away LOL. This Face Book page will be used as a blog and information update about our training, fundraising events, and donations.
Gil Stuart, a long time member of IRC is an avid vintage racer.
The two photos below were take by Warwick Patterson, of Formula Photographic, at the Vintage races at Mission on July 18 2009, and show Gil's 1958 Volvo PV444 race car in action.
Courtesy of Formula Photographic
IRC is proud and happy that long term member, Gil Stuart, was chosen to be one of the Olympic Flame runners. Here you can see him just before he hands over the flame to the next runner, near Courtenay BC.
If any other club member, or rallyist does the same, please send me a photo so that yours can be added here.