15.124 and a nightmare

From: STRICKLAND, Tate (tstricklan@shl.com)
Date: Mon Oct 12 1998 - 08:51:06 EDT


Ran a 15.124 just as pretty as you please Friday night - previous best was
15.379 - very, very, very happy. All hail BFG TA DRAG RADIALS!!!

This is where it gets sad/stupid/miraculous.

Robert T. has been the king of getting ribbed on the list for quite some
time now. Scoot over, Robert - thanks for keeping the seat warm. Went to
the line for a second run and my foot just kinda slipped off the clutch and
my other foot just kinda didn't push the gas down. Killed it on the line.
Puttered through with a 24 second scorcher.

Here's the sad part. Next run, Alan Short and I paired up. He had run a
15.2 and was cutting close lights - it was gonna be a great race. I wanted
my shifts to be fast, so like always, I was shifting hard. First gear, no
spin, second gear hooked up great. I remember reading Jon's posts about
hitting 5th instead of third, but I have never had a problem with it. I
sure do wish I had missed the shift by popping it into 5th. Do you know
what I did, boys and girls??? Tat got reeel smohrt and slammd his
tranzmishun into furst. The first gear in the shift pattern. The one
you're supposed to use when you're starting from a dead stop. So I'm going
50mph or whatever d it feels like I hit a brick wall, tranny makes this
funny cheese grater on a chalkboard sound, my motor turns over quite a bit
quicker than I think the factory recommends, and my tires do a quick reverse
burnout. Instinctively put it in third and nailed it. Ran a 16.whatever.
While I'm returning to get my time slip, I'm wondering what color and
consistency the fluid will be that is sure to be leaking from my drivetrain
and hoping I can find Alan to give me a ride. Freddy Kruger couldn't have
scared me more............

I swear before God and my Country that I don't plan on ever purchasing
another truck that's not a Dodge. I crawled all over and under and through
the thing trying to hear something, but everything sounds the same. A few
quiet rhythmic knocks and the ticking of the injectors - just like new. The
tranny had the same quiet whine it did when I got it broken in at around
10,000 miles. I had to keep asking myself "was that sound there before",
but I've done that a hundred times before - these motors just aren't kittens
- they don't purr. Anyway, point is, on the surface, I can't identify any
mortal wounds. Anything I can check without tearing the thing apart???
Tough truck with a spastic shifting owner. Thanks - sorry so long.

I am seriously considering making a shift pattern plate with a spring loaded
gate to prevent this from ever happening again.

Tate



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