Chuck... How's the Foot?
And oh by the way.... A rotary in a 510... hmmm YEP that's a Hot Rod....
Keith
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> From: Chuck Rothfuss <crothfuss@coastalnet.com>
> To: Dave Lum <dimer@ix.netcom.com>; land-speed@autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: LSR list Bio's
> Date: Saturday, February 06, 1999 10:46 AM
>
> Dave, List,
>
> At 07:42 PM 2/5/99 -0800, Dave Lum wrote:
> >How many are on this list and how about some bio's? Or did I miss them
> already? You guys already know about me somewhat. Next?
>
>
> I'll try not to bore everyone with this, but sitting around with my
foot
> in the air after surgery I have nothing else to do. I'll try to keep it
> entertaining, but since my whole life revolves around machines...
>
>
> I'll be 38 next month, grew up on a small farm in rural Michigan
> surrounded by mechanical oddities. My Father is a Computer Tool Design
> Engineer, and self taught machinist. He would drag my brother and I all
> over the Midwest to antique tractor shows and steam thresher meets when
we
> were little, and always had either an engine under construction (from
rough
> castings) or restoration. This early exposure to steam, hot air and
early
> gasoline and diesel engines set the stage for my continued fascination
with
> all things mechanical.
>
> After filling the barn with discarded outboard motors and other small
> engines (many of which are collectable today) throughout High School, I
made
> the decision at 18 to join the U.S. Marine Corps. I had become fond of
> antique and military firearms when I first began hunting and had become
> quite a target shooter with a variety of front loading long rifles. I
was a
> recruiters dream, walking in and asking how many years I could sign up
for.
> For some reason my mechaninical skills test scores were unusually high,
and
> after a glance at what gunsmithing jobs might be available in the Corps I
> opted for the "Z-4, Mechanical/Electrical" program. While on the delayed
> entry program prior to Boot Camp I spent the summer testing the off-road
> potential of a '68 Pontiac LeMans, four wheeling through the Michigan
> backwoods in a '63 Jeep Wagoneer, and spent a month on a bicycle, touring
> the State.
>
> Nobody ever clued me in that I wasn't supposed to have "FUN' at Marine
> Corps Boot Camp, so I had a great time. What could be better? Trucks,
guns
> and travel! I was living my childhood dream of being a "World traveling
> bum." Other than being the guy with the highest rifle range score in the
> recruit series I wasn't really a stand-out as a recruit. I didn't run
very
> fast, unless someone was chasing me, and although I had the mechanics of
> swimming down pat, I lacked boyancy. (swam ilke a brick.)
>
> Follow-on training after Boot Camp brought me to Camp Johnson, NC. I
was
> trained as a basic Motor Transport Mechanic, and graduating first in that
> course, went on to the U.S. Army Automotive and Ordnance proving Grounds
at
> Aberdeen, MD. There I was "trained" (somehow, the Army school failed to
> live up to my expectations.) in Fuel & Electrical System Component
Repair.
> If the Marine Corps had a component with a wire or fuel line, and it
wasn't
> off an aircraft, it was mine to fix. Straight from school I was ordered
to
> Quantico, VA. where they had no clue what to do with me. I bounced from
a
> job as Assistant Harbor Master (!) to a fiberglass canoe repair shop at a
> camp ground! I didn't even wear a uniform that first summer! When I
heard
> they were looking for volunteers at the Rifle Range I raised my hand and
was
> snatched up in a minute. I was on the line teaching young Lieutenents
how
> to shoot rifles, pistols & shotguns for about 6 months when I was finally
> discovered and ordered to Okinawa, Japan.
>
> Finally I was working in a shop! 1790 cubic inch V-12 air cooled Tank
> engines, turbocharged and blown truck engines, transmissions, axles,
> you-name-it and we fixed it. I learned how to rebuild and calibrate
every
> diesel and gasoline fuel system and every Starting and charging system on
> every piece of ground equipment the Corps had. I was in hog heaven!
> Okinawa was like a trip back in time. It was the 50's all over again.
> Cruising the A&W Rootbeer, street racing late at night, even the attitude
> and feel of the place were a step back. One popular spot an a nearby
island
> there was a 2 kilometer straightaway between an oil tank farm and a sea
> wall. This was Okinawa's version of land speed racing, and as a regular
at
> the long, early morning "drag races" out there I began to see the
potential
> that small cars could have. The cars were different, naturally, but they
> were indeed Hot Rods. There was no doubt about that.
>
> That was my introduction to small cars. I returned to the States after
> that first year overseas and bought a BIG American car, a '72 Pontiac
Grand
> Prix. I rebuilt the heads and changed the intake, but I was never
> completely happy with it. (Maybe the fact that it weighed 5500 pounds had
> something to do with it.) When I returned to Okinawa a year later I
> planned to explore these small cars. I stayed for 3 years. Getting a
job
> as the Commanding General's driver gave me a chance to go to college, and
my
> professor, Harry Brobst, (Himself, a World Traveling Bum.) just happened
to
> be a former Mazda mechanic. That first rotary engine was all it took to
get
> me hooked. I built one as a college project, and finished my Associates
> Degree in Automotive Service & Repair completing the car that it would
> ultimately go into. (How it came to be a Datsun 510 is a whole 'nother
> story.) I went through 11 different cars during this stay and got to
know
> local speed shop owners, who taught me engine tuning tips in exchange for
> translation services. We put rotary engines in VW Bug's, two Porsche
914's
> and a variety of Japanese cars. I was rebuilding turbo's and blowers at
> work, and learning about turbo applications on rotary engines at the
speed
> shops. The Group B Pro Rally series was in full swing during this time
too,
> so I saw some truely AWESOME little cars.
>
> When the Yen-$ exchange rate got bad in '87 I bailed from Okinawa, came
> home and settled down, got married, got promoted a few times (Like Keith,
I
> also went the Warrant Officer route, but remain grounded as a Maintenance
> Officer.) and drove the overpowered little car that I had shipped home to
> work every day for several years. The 510 kept getting faster, but I had
> nowhere to really drive it. I attended The Chimney Rock Hillclimb every
> year, and seeing other rotary powered cars there got me interested in
SOLO I
> and hillclimb events. It was at one of the hill climbs at Beech Mountain
> that I first heard about the ECTA. I was a subscriber to lots of car
> magazines back then and had followed the salt racers for years. It was
> fascinating to see those familiar flathead engines and read about Racing
> Beat's rotary engine performance, but it was just too far away. The ECTA
> provided my chance to see some Land Speed Racing close to home.
>
> I had started autocrossing at Maxton with the Tarheel Sports Car Club,
but
> after my first visit to the speed trials there I had finally found
something
> that my 510, dubbed "USS WANKEL" by a couple of my best friends and
racing
> partners, (I came back from Norway last spring and found "USS Wankel"
> stenciled on my windshield.) was suited for. My first season went well,
and
> I look forward to many more. My son Matt is already claiming the RX7
> project car as his own. Meeting nice people like Keith Turk, John
Beckett
> and a score of others with similar interests in cars has made this the
> perfect sport for me. While the rotary projects (peripherial port 13B is
> under construction) continue, I have spread the LSR virus to my friend
Eric
> Pare', who has collected all sorts of interesting vintage cars. We'll be
> exploring the XO engine classes as soon as we get something together.
>
> Having fun with our toys and meeting nice folks. That's what it's all
> about for me.
> I'm hoping this list will help us hold together friendships while we're
away
> from events, keep us up on the latest gossip and allow us to get answers
to
> those nagging little tech questions that come up during project
construction.
>
> Chuck "Is there a Special Construction Class for wheel chairs?" Rothfuss
> ECTA
> Pole Cat Hollow, NC
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