Thunderbird in storage for 33 years

[Delta28]

Well your pay day must've been richly deserved Mike... You made a wonderful job of it!!

...and the "proof-of-the-pudding" was there in the fact that she competed in, and finished, one of the most challenging races yet.

All the best, ian

[DAREDEVIL]

Originally Posted by Delta28

Well your pay day must've been richly deserved Mike... You made a wonderful job of it!!

...and the "proof-of-the-pudding" was there in the fact that she competed in, and finished, one of the most challenging races yet.

All the best, ian

I AGREE, who did the restoration..very nice work !!!!!!

[FLYING FISH]

Mike,what were the actual engines fitted in Uno for the CTC.I heard they weren`t Teague.What power?

[Martin The Talker]

Mike - I saw you & MM at Drivers, when the Teagues were in UNO.
I too would be interested in what replaced then, as I belive you went to a non-supercharged set up ?
I assume both Uno & Dry M are staying in the UK until 2011 ?
How about one, or both running at the end of Sept, in the UKOBA race ?

[Cookee]

Originally Posted by Martin The Talker

Mike - I saw you & MM at Drivers, when the Teagues were in UNO.
I too would be interested in what replaced then, as I belive you went to a non-supercharged set up ?
I assume both Uno & Dry M are staying in the UK until 2011 ?
How about one, or both running at the end of Sept, in the UKOBA race ?

First picture post 75 looks like supercharger pulleys to me?

[littlenige]

Rob told me that the replacement motors were 600cu.in. each - did he mean 600hp each?

[Jon Fuller]

I understood the ones it shipped over with, were 8.2 litre, Teague, supercharged @ 900hp.

Dunno about the last min replacements, but the rules only allow 8.4 litres of SC petrol per side.

Maybe the replacements were Normally Aspirated.

[Rob Gray]

Testing. Wrote a lengthy piece an hour ago but it seemed not to have landed!

[littlenige]

Try again Rob - looking forward to reading your story.......

[Rob Gray]

Aha. That's better.

The engines are normally aspirated Cobras of 600 (yes) cubic inch which are rated at 725hp - and Randy Garciga who owns Cobra says they dyno with all pumps etc. which probably bleed 30 - 50 hp. We had way oversized props (too big even for the Teagues) so at the CTC start we could not pull more than 3,800 rpm - although I suspect Mike Mantle had us pretty trimmed down and the bow tank full in an act of self-preservation against a novice driver.

The story for those who can stay awake. I shipped Embassy to Mike Bontoft on the US West Coast in an act of instinct. You have seen the result. Extraordinary dedication and an outstanding outcome.

Mike was going to scratch build engines but Father Time dictated otherwise - the lead time on various items was extraordinary. So we bought Teagues as a well-known brand. And went blower in innocent ignorance of the capacity treatment. I was actually not much bothered and just wanted to get out there.

In the UK the port engine stopped within 15 minutes of Drivers first time out. We wondered if we had a fuel problem. No - stripped distributor drive gear. Mike replaced but it seemed that stripping had retarded a pot and damaged it and the block and blown the gasket. They had to shut down near Poole as we went over for the Needles Race. Burnt piston and damaged block. Stuck at Poole. Dilemma. Not much in the block to play with in a re-bore clean-up. We had six days inc. a weekend. Obviously marginal qu. mark over starboard engine. If we could not turn around rebuild succesfully we would miss the race. So we went for new engines which we flew over from Randy Garciga in Florida. He knew me only as a voice on the phone and a mobile number and late on his Friday palletted up and despatched two engines into the European unknown without any payment - the banks were all shut. Act of faith. They should have dropped straight in but the pans were deeper, carb controls reversed etc etc etc Mike and his mate Eric Krume (amazing guy and mechanic - drag racer) worked into the night day after day to get us to the line - with help from Mark Cordial - against a fast ticking clock. Cowes 100 impossible, CTC maybe just. Mike and Eric were awesome and both perfectionsts. I was not alowed to start up without one of them there with an ear tuned like a stethoscope.

We had a great race. Innocent inexperience combined with luck sometimes works. It did for us. We played safe at the start (Pete Dredge had just signed me off - for which many thanks Pete - and the last thing I wanted was his embarrassment). We skirted Portland. Bit bumpy after. Enjoyed Skerries and Torquay. Lyme Bay back we stuffed the boat behind Portland (just like Dick Benge in 1976 and smashed the same perspex) and the sea came in. Banged my back. But then we were round Portland and then Poole Bay and then .....

The prize for guts goes to Bontoft. He breaks ribs after 45 minutes. I have broken ribs before - it is hard to stand and breathe. He decides to do another 4 hours of powerboat race in bad weather. Unbelieveable tribute to his father who would have been proud. He did the business.

EVERYONE I have met in this saga has been extraordinarily kind, helpful and welcoming. It was a great experience I had dreamed of for years which would never have happened without Mike - and Eric. I was happy to have Mike Mantle on the throttles in the lumpy bits (and they were lumpy ....) and as I said to him - he throttles nearly as well as he yarns but in fairness that is very high bar!

I owe all to Mike Bontoft for an unique experience. If ever anyone farms out a project - go Bontoft. He'll get you there whatever it takes.

Sorry to ramble.

Thanks for the great photos to all you guys.

Rob Gray

[FLYING FISH]

Ramble all you like Rob,that was a good read.Many thanks.

[Delta28]

Originally Posted by Rob Gray

The story for those who can stay awake...
Sorry to ramble.

I'll second that! Ramble away. Could stay-up all night reading this...!

Thankyou for a good write-up.

Just the stuff we want to hear. Brilliant!!

[littlenige]

Absolutely. You're living the dreams of people like us Rob so we are just grateful to get it from the horses mouth as it were. Cheers and thanks for having the passion for the glory years that we all wax lyrical about. It was such a joy to see the boat at Cowes.

[Martin The Talker]

Originally Posted by littlenige

Absolutely. You're living the dreams of people like us Rob so we are just grateful to get it from the horses mouth as it were. Cheers and thanks for having the passion for the glory years that we all wax lyrical about. It was such a joy to see the boat at Cowes.

Hear Hear - Can I too say what a great "Ramble" - so good to see the boat back racing - It was built (Planatec Hull) about two miles from where I sit here, & so good when I first saw it at Drivers the week before the Poole race !
We all just love these great boats being race-restored - thanks so much Rob !

[timtap]

[DAREDEVIL]

Originally Posted by timtap

a little to much trimm but other then that ok...and its missing about 150 KG in the bow..lol

[littlenige]

It's called rough water.....................................!!

[DAREDEVIL]

Originally Posted by littlenige

It's called rough water.....................................!!

WHERE ?????

[DAREDEVIL]

this was ruff water but the boat stayed level !!!! And yes..."REAL 5-6 footers"
in a 31.5 foot single engine boat @ 80 MPH !!!!! just saying....

and here is a 38 tg look how its flying level .... it can be done ..lol

[Delta28]

CARE LESS WHAT OTHERS THINK ... obviously...