The end of an era?

So, this weekend I went to a meeting called Trackdays, held by the danish club "Ramblers", for a little dragracing and a lot of fun! I have a very dear friend, Allan, who has build a '29 tudor from frame up, and he had asked people driving stock blocked model A's to show up for the race down the half quartermile (201 meters).
I have for some time had a suspisious mind about the condition on the engine in Ole-Henry. "But as long as he goes, we'll go!", so along we went.
The meeting it self was fine, pre '55 american plus a single Norton, racing one round in each class friday and one again saturday. It was held in a wasteyard, which led to some funny smells from time to time, but good fun in good company - and real food for dinner! Thumbs up from my stomach!
In the race we were in the stock class, along with Allan in his '29 model A, Anders in his '29 model A roadster and a girl driving her boyfriends Chevy pick-up for the first time - nice to see a girl race, we like girls like that!!! With no suprise, Allan got first over the line. But on saturday I- with a lot of help from Allan, thanx!- actually managed to tune in my engine a lot better, and in order to eliminate the centrifugal limiter in the industrial magneto, we taped it, so it wouldn't short circket the curent.
So although Anders got of to a better start, I ended up beating him by a foot! We won a race, great!... Well, not really that great, since his '29 was stock and Ole-Henry runs the Scintilla magneto and a weber carb. A classic example on a well tuned stock can beat a hoped up!
After the saturdays race, all the model A's parked side by side:





When all classes were done, we tryed to get a rematch between Allan and me, but in stead the centrifugal limiter in the Scintilla bended and broke the rotor! So there was another offering to the goddes of speed:


Wrenching a lot more on the ignition, and finally it ran great again! But idjit-me forgot to tighten the magneto bracket, so only the bolt in the head held it, which didn't last long! On a trip to Brems' shop US Pitstop with a MC from Killerbobbers, it shook loose. Back at the meeting, I discovered, the taper on the forementioned bolt was flattened, so it couldn't hold the magneto. Off with the bracket and cut down the bolt to decent taper, setting the ignition after the mark on the camshaft wheel, and then the battery died trying to start it to ajust the ignition. Bended over the front fenders, von Loco discovered, that looking at Jeppes '37 Chevy with Ole's roofline from his '49 Chev would make a great kustom bizarro!











This was pretty late saturday night, so we finally gave up and went to listen to the great band, the Green Cryptonites.
Next morning we tryed starting it with jumper cables from a 12 volt car, which made the electric fuel pump run fast, but that wasn't enough to start up Ole-Henry. I then started to adjust the ignition backwards, and with the help from the forementioned Chevy pick-up with it's owner at the stering wheel and an old rope, we towed it around the waste yard to dragstart it. On the first and second pause, I backadjusted the magneto some more, and finally got it to ignite! A fine tuning of it resulted in, that it had to be turned around 30 degrees backwards from top dead center! I therefore suspect the 2 year old drive shaft from the oil pump to be broke.
Now up and running, we made a quick round of farewells and took off. After being fueled, Ole-Henry seemed quite okay. Then, going up the Storebæltsbro (the bridge between Fyn and Sjælland), he slowed down, which I took as a sign of the side wind. But at the toll booth, the infernal noice began: "Rakadakadakadaka!" I have never heard a noice like that, and stopping in on the other side, Loco and Pfifters concluded on my behalf, that a conecting rod bearing had broke!
I then got road help to drive Ole-Henry to my garage at my in-laws, which closes a chapter in my life. I no longer have a model A, which I relatively easy can get running to the next meet! An end of an era... but the beginning of a new!
I called Allan's girlfriend, asked if she had missed me for the last six hours, and asked to talk to Allan. He thinks, I maybe, just might be, able to get it running with just another conecting rod. This starts a new chapter in the relationship between Ole-Henry and me: Besides the head gasket (which blows out every now and again), I have neer opened his engine. But that is to change!
So I got home via public transport, and now my '54 DKW two-stroke bobber has become my only motorized means of transportation!

Keep 'em kruzin - and hopefully not breaking down!

Dannerr