Hi all. I have been wanting to go to speed weeks in Bonneville for years, and If i can get my medical bills paid off, and find out that the greedy people I work for are not moving the company to another state, then I plan on going in 09. I plan on taking my daily driver 63 wagon, but have any of you guys been there? Can i take my cushman eagle into the pits ? (I hear the pit area is 3 blocks by one mile long) any thoughts? Thanks Mike s.

It is great! Went for my first time this year. An amazing bunch of iron in every form you could imagine. The pitts are at least a mile long (but I thought longer?) Every form of pit bike / atv seemed to be there. Just don't forget DARK sunglasses, spf 7000 sunscreen and a very large straw hat....you'll need them. Will email you some pics.

That car is too clean to put through the abuse of flying salt. My suggestion is to wait for a few years when the novelty of the Dyno that Jay Brown has wears off and he decides to build his very own racing complex for Ford FE's; it will have 1/4 mile, 1 Mile, area for car shows, suite for the editors of the major mags, and a time out area for the most PITA's of us.

I got out of work today to find 1/8 of freezing rain covering my wagon, so it got plenty of salt on the way home. so I put him in the garage and hope to give him a bath tomorrow. He's such a good boy and I think has a birthday coming up soon.

1762 miles to Wendover from my house. On the other hand, it's only 760 miles to Maxton, the location for the ECTA races. We run on a 1.9 mile section of a WW2 airport. That's 1K miles closer for me, and we run 5 times a summer.

KS

I'm in Illinois, and i think wendover is 1400 miles from here.

that it is at least a little closer to Maxton. Let me offer an invitation to come to an East Coast Timing Association meet. But beware, it's very easy to get hooked. (I drove there and raced twice before it really got to me that I might break something. So we've trailered since. I had an alternator die once, but it only took a trip back to town to get a replacement.)
KS

And it is a great time! The year before last (2007) the area surrounding the course was very wet and my 59 F100 was caked in salt and was a pain to clean, I thought more of the salt would fall off on the 800 mile drive home but it didn't. This past year was much drier and didn't stick nearly as bad.

I recommend going earlier in the week beacuse the show at the Golden Nugget has a lot more cars earlier in the week. Also I recomend staying at least one night at the bend in the road, usually a good time out there.

JMO Rex

it was a blast, but i should have listened to a friend of mine. he said that RIGHT after i needed to go to a carwash. yes, i said "needed". it was hard (read impossible) to try and explain to her why the complete undercarriage turned orange and the aftermarket exhaust tips and hangers rotted and came apart within 6 months of the trip(hadn't planned on taking the truck on the salt but we were on a "family" trip headed to windsor, california and couldn't resist the detour...........

After going there you'll wonder why you didn't go before. It's a great place to see even when there's no racing, did that this summer two weeks before Speedweek. I went there for the racing a few years ago and it was amazing. The darndest machines and there are FE's but also straight 8's, flatheads, huge diesels, tiny one cylinders and everything else. The pits are a mile or more but it seems like a lot longer when walking.

Big hat and sunblock for sure but PLENTY of liquid, you won't believe how thirsty you can get, also, something I learned the hard way from my pal Kepner. He looked at my knee length pants and said "you shouldn't be wearing those shorts". I asked why, i had slathered my lower legs with sunblock.

He said "red ball". I thought that was nuts.

Later on the drive back I came to painful awareness that the sun reflects off the salt and burns under your chin, nostrils and causes "red ball" a foot up the pant leg.

alongside Danny Thompson's 245 mph late model GT Mustang:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw-2C7xVBRI

I will sell my one eyed cat to be able to go! Mike s.

I use to ride my Dirt Bike on the remnents of a harbor dredging project that had a salt content, salt spray rusts anything from painted metal to chromed stuff if not removed ASAP. Salt has a way of getting into the very atomic structure of ferous metals and the only way I know how to get rid of it is to physically grind clear through many thousandths of the surface which I almost hate to say is hit or miss or to submerge the offending parts in DI water for a day or so to leach the sodium chloride out of the metal.
If you seriously painted everything I'd figure that could majorly reduce the ability of salt to get into the metal before you can get it off ASAP

Mike,
I have been to Bonneville a couple of times, a suggestion, you could park your car near the road and ride the Eagle around the flats. It is an amazing place to to to. Most of the cars are built in your home garage and fun to see all of the creativity there. I have a couple of Eagles my self and plan on going to the Cushman in Charlotte this year.

69Chop1
Jim in Minnesota

I know , I was looking at the info on CCOA and would love to go to that too, but getting the time and finding the money to go is the problem. Mike