[Land-speed] Preventing Salt Damage & Rust

[Ed Weldon]

WARNING...RANT INCOMING!!
I'll give JGMagoo the benefit of the doubt and assume he's not part of the
strange side show that has gotten to going in recent years. This consists of
seeing who can make the biggest salt ball out of an unrestored old hot rod
or rat rod.  First off, I have nothing against rat rods whether they be
newly built safe drivers,  bizarre art forms safe only for very limited use
under power or original unrestored hot rods.  And I think it's way cool to
drive one to Speedweek even if it's only the 10 mile trip from Wendover
instead of a body wasting trek across half of the Great American Desert.

But I really cringe when I see nice old rods that have never been out of dry
country or spent the last 40 years in a barn away from the elements now
covered roof to frame rail with corrosive salt from purposely driving at
speed through salt brine or whatever they do to get it all over themselves.
It's like in the old days where games of oneupmanship would involve who
would light his cigar with the highest denomination banknote.  IMHO
purposely damaging a historic vehicle for no better reason that to say
something like "look at me, I'm rich enough to do this without a second
thought" is disgusting and puts our entire LSR culture in a bad light.

And while I'm at it I'd like to say that I'm not a big fan of sideshows put
on by "kids" with ratrods doing donuts in the saltbed near the Bend like I
saw in 2007.  I don't know how to practically stop that kind of "Salt
damage"; but I certainly would not want to encourage it.  I'm not sure I'd
want to one of the BLM reps to see that going on.

Old Fogey's Rant Over;     Ed Weldon

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bryan Savage" <b.a.savage at wildblue.net>
To: "Tom Bryant" <saltracer at awwwsome.com>
Cc: <jgmagoo at comcast.net>; "land-speed-digest" <land-speed at autox.team.net>;
"Ed Weldon" <23.weldon at comcast.net>
Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2008 10:56 AM
Subject: Re: [Land-speed] Preventing Salt Damage & Rust>From>JGMagoo
> An ORIGINAL '32 ... I missed that. All I see these days are repo. '32's.
> Just do what Tom says or put it in shipping wrap and bring it on a flat
bed.
> Bryan

> Tom Bryant wrote:
> > JGMagoo,
> > Quiet frankly, I would never drive a vehicle like that onto the salt if
I
> > could avoid it. Especially it there is standing water to go through. It
will
> > never be the same regardless of efforts to clean it up. Salt will get
into
> > places you never will access with clean up, short of an off-frame
> > restoration. (Maybe I am just envious that you have an original '32 and
I
> > don't!)
> > You could park it at the end of the access road and catch a ride to the
pits
> > Tom, Redding CA #216 D/FCC