Preparing for the Great Mexican Race!

Welcome to the Blog of SSRacing. Our race team is a natural offshoot from the SSR whitewater rafting enterprise we have been operating for the past 10 years or so. The name is a tribute to the coordinating skill of the team members, ShitStormRafting. We bring that same skill set to vintage car racing.

SSRacing is entered in the Original Panam class of the 2007 La Carrera Panamericana. It's a 7 day race in a European rally format, running about 1,700 miles from Oaxaca in southern Mexico to the US border at Nuevo Laredo. The 2007 version of the race runs as follows:

Oct 26 Oaxaca to Tehuacan

Oct 27 Tehuacan to Puebla

Oct 28 Puebla to Queretaro

Oct 29 Queretaro to Morelia

Oct 30 Morelia to Aguascalientes

Oct 31 Aguascalientes to Zacatecas

Nov 1 Zacatecas to Nuevo Laredo

Background information about the race is available on the official Mexican website http://www.lacarrerapanamericana.com.mx/ (just click the "English" flag for the English version of the website) and on the companion website http://www.panamrace.com/links.html

This year is the biggest race ever, with 100 cars entered, and at least 12 cars running in the Original Panam class. On the official website, if you click on "Participants" then enter the password "panam", you get a listing with pictures of all the participants. SSRacing is Car No. 425, way down the list.

SSRacing is running the same 1953 Studebaker Commander coupe we ran two years ago as part of Stewart Robertson's Crerar Racing team, in the 2005 La Carrera Panamericana. In the 2005 race our team had to drop out on day 3 because of a cooked engine. After a futile search of Mexican salvage yards looking for a replacement Studebaker engine, I swore that would not happen again. This year we have a spare engine and many improvements to avoid the problems of 2005.

The past 6 weeks have been busy and, yes, chaotic, to say the least. Earlier this year I purchased and installed a rebuilt engine. Over the past 6 weeks I rebuilt the original engine (new crankshaft, bearings, rings, reground valves, etc.). Actually, I rebuilt the engine twice, because I messed up the timing alignment the first time (part of the SSR legacy!) and bent a valve on startup. I had to tear it down, and start over. Two engine swaps later, and the engine is running perfectly.

I also installed an external oil resevoir, oil pressure and temperature warning lights (idiot proof!) and a new floor shifter (no more on "3 on the tree" shifting!).

On Oct 10 I trailered the Studebaker to Monroe, Washington, where it was loaded on Duane Wilcoxon's 4 car transport, with Stewart Robertson's 1954 Studebaker and Duane's 1962 Jaguar XKE. Stewart has stepped it up this year and is running in the Turismo Major class (better known as the "Big Dogs"). Duane will pick up one more car in Sacramento, and continue to the border at Laredo, Texas.

Piloto John and Co-Piloto Chrislana fly to Laredo on October 18 to meet Duane and his transport. We intend to unload the Studebaker, and drive it as part of the 20+ car "Coyote Convoy" to the first layover at San Miguel de Allende for October 20 and 21. There is a gala fundraiser for the local "Feed the Hungry" charity, and all the Carrera cars are displayed. Check out their website at www.feedthehungrysma.org

We continue to Oaxaca on October 22 for 3 days of pre-race preparations (registration, medicals, technical inspection, installation of the GPS transponder, decals, etc.). There is a time trial on October 25 to "seed" the cars, then the race starts October 26. Our crew chief (actually our only crew member) Alex "The Mechanic God" Flavin joins the team in Oaxaca on October 24, hopefully in time to fix whatever problems the Piloto may have created on the drive from Laredo!

We will update this blog, in true SSR fashion, during the race. Viva La Carrera Panamericana!