Need More Cars is officially ending its hiatus. After a truly sad first half of 2023, I am making a return to the blog read mostly by my family and friends. I regret to report that I am down one reader after my dad passed away in February. A great deal of my automotive enthusiasm can be attributed to his passion for the hobby. He was in a funny car crew in the late ’60s and early ’70s, brought me to races, bought me my first car and taught me how to drive a manual transmission and wrench on cars. He is missed as a father, grandfather, husband and member of NachoFriend Racing.
I inherited a few of my father’s cars – a 2012 Ford F150, 2003 Ford F150 SVT Lightning, 1977 Corvette, 2008 Corvette and a 1957 Chevy Bel Air. The 2012 F150 proved handy during a road trip to a race in Colorado. It has a comfortable ride and interior and a powerful engine. The Lightning has impressive acceleration and air conditioning that could cool the Kingdome if you opened the doors and put it on full blast. The 1977 Corvette is a low-mileage (19,000) original that has sat long enough that it will need some effort to get it back on the road. On the bright side, that’s more content, right?
Events not covered from earlier this year include two 24 Hours of LeMons races – one in Shelton, WA and the other in Colorado (the furthest we’ve traveled for a race). NachoFriend Racing finished second in class in both races. We endured many electrical problems during the Shelton race, but the monsoon in Colorado benefitted our Seattle drivers. There was also a road trip down to the Bay area in California to pick up a 1994 Hyundai Excel I purchased from noted automotive journalist and YouTube master Jason Cammisa. The trip home in the Hyundai (which was missing a passenger window) was almost as rainy as the race in Colorado. Other than the door glass, it made the trip without drama.
The remainder of the year will include some fun automotive activities that I will cover here. Radwood PNW happens August 26. I plan to take my 1988 Porsche 944, 1995 Mazda Miata and the 1985 Plymouth Colt GTS Turbo down to Griot’s Garage in Tacoma for the event. In early October, the 944 gets to make a road trip down to California for Driving While Awesome’s Sierra Rally 4, my first time for attending a DWA! rally. A week after that, NachoFriend Racing will participate in the Smells Like AMC Spirit LeMons race in Washington. Ideally I will have some much-needed garage time. The 1972 Pontiac LeMans needs a new fuel pump, the 1971 Corvette needs a new starter, I have a new timing belt, water pump, etc. ready to go into the Miata and those projects are just the ones on the top of my head. It’s good to be back.
