I am currently in the process (at home) of building a front-engine top fuel car for the Hot Rod Reunion, complete with a Donovan for power. Only problem is I don't have one yet. Do you have any leads on blocks, sleeves, good parts, rockers, etc.? Call me at home (253) 845-9090 if you can help.

This is Robin. How are you doing? Don't send any messages to my hotmail address because I forgot my password. How is Australia? Seen any sharks lately??

Well we've finally done it. We are now the proud owners of a 1997 Ford Expedition. It is a 4X4 and has a V8 engine. The towing capacity is 7900 lbs. so I guess we can pull a house if we want to. It took an incredible amount of time for all the paperwork to be done, not to mention how long it took to come over by barge from Vancouver. All things said and done we are pretty happy with it.

Has your container arrived in Australia yet? Mom said you called on her birthday and at that time you figured it would probably take another nine days before you saw anything. I assume things are going well for you down there and all the plans you set up are falling into place. I noticed on your itinerary you didn't state a return date but Mom has written June 15th on her calendar. Is that date for sure or just tentative?

Everyone here is really busy right now. Jenny with track and Robin trying out for the All-Star baseball team. He's a pretty good player but there are 36 kids trying out for 13 spots, so we have no idea what the outcome will be. He's pretty excited about the whole thing but we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed. Well, everyone is starting to complain about wanting dinner so I guess I'd better get on with things. Talk to you soon.

If you are wandering around Australia would you please keep your eye out for any Duggan 6-cylinder blocks? It seems that our block has lost its ability to hold ring seal at (CLASSIFIED) compression ratio. One run is all... Next run is later. We ran 6 mph over the national record on our first pass this year. We need more aluminum structure in the design. Thanks for any help.

Not long now until the car arrives. I hope everything comes together neatly. I started a new job this week at Queensland Fasteners, which is in the industrial area at Slacks Creek/Springwood. So, if you need any high tensile bolts or screws etc. or if you are in the area and feel like a coffee and a bit of a chinwag feel free to drop in. We are on the Pacific Highway service road just a bit north of the Watland Street overpass. Catch you later.

You want to avoid those TV cameras at Willowbank; they do about as much for you as they do for me.... 'nuff said.

Thanks for giving me the address of the Willowbank website. Got all the info and a ticket. Will catch up with you there. Thanks. PS: Great web site. Been on it for hours.

Well I am now a believer... Hard work can pay off, we just completed the Sacramento Division 7 meet and the car ran a 5.86 at 238 and qualified #7. It's still Pete Kaiser in the driver's seat until we get time to test and upgrade my license. In the first round we ran a 5.91 at 236 to John Wendland's (In-n-Out Burger car) 6.11 but we had one of those nasty red bulbs glowing in our lane.

Overall though, we couldn't have been happier with the results and the exposure that the team got. Well now we're headed for the Division 7 event in Salt Lake City (Utah). Hope all is going good for you and your toy gets fired up soon.

G'Day mate. So now you're here, why haven't you made a day trip to Sydney to say g'day? It's only a few hours down the road. It's easy to find, hit the Pacific Highway and head south. Alternatively, head out to Syrobank and keep driving south. HA HA!

Did Tom bring his drinking boots with him? He's going to need them! Did you bring me a cute Canadian girlie with a genuine Canadian accent? Didn't? Knew there was no such thing as god. Time for bed, talk to ya soon.

On your very nice website, in the North American Drag Babes section, I noticed you had two pictures of Miss Hurst Golden Shifter, Linda Vaughn, standing in a lake wearing a white T-shirt. Would you happen to have, or know where I could get, larger, higher-resolution scans of these two images than you have on your site? There's a somewhat higher-resolution version of one of these at the Linda Vaughn website, but I'm looking for still better resolution and the owner of that site did not respond to a couple of previous e-mails. Thanks for any help you can give me.

Please add us to your links. www.uddernonsenseracing.com. We appreciate it!

Will be off to Bill Phillips' "wake" at his shop this afternoon. Will make sure you are there in spirit. Just wanted to let you know we are in the middle of three days in the high 20's and not a cloud in the sky... real "Oz" kinda weather, oy mate?

Don't worry about the house, a bunch of skateboarders burned it down last nite. Don't worry, they took your computer out first. Those discs full of "adult stuff" were really cool!

The Mission race (FMDRS) was pretty neat, except the fact it was a marathon. My time with (Tom) Compton was very interesting. I hope to not have any more problems getting press passes, but we'll see. Ashcroft (FMDRS) is next weekend and full fields of alky cars may be wishful thinking.

Hopefully your saga will have a happy ending. Hang in there bud! PS: What are their trophies called? Wazoos... or? Be good, and if ya can't be good.... be GREAT!

Thank you for the continuous updates on the adventure... they make the surfing worthwhile.... thought you would like this weather report: For the May long weekend, well, the weatherman got it wrong again. He said cloudy Saturday, sunny Sunday. Well, it got up to a warm 78 (F) on Saturday; the nicest day of the year (so far). Sunday, well, what can I say? HOT is a good word, into the 80's... left Abbotsford and the read-o-graph was saying 31 (C) and that was 6:00 pm.

Hey, with a little luck on your side you'll make the race. Remember when Brotherton crashed in Seattle... they worked all night to fix the car. Good luck.

The progress on the track is coming along slowly. We are waiting on the electrician to wire up the tower and lights. As we have limited funds and won't be paying for this, we can only wait until he has time of his own to do this. We are also in need of a few more barriers, although some recent help from our mates at Willowbank with some Armco was a bonus. We should have enough when we are ready to race. The last thing we are waiting for is spectator fencing. We have it; it is just a matter of putting it up.

There was (and maybe still is) a scare with the braking area surface in one 10 foot section. Now I can't say for sure, as I have not seen it, but some say it is soft and will sag. Others (like the person that put the road base in) say it's fine. Who knows? I will let you know more as I do. At this stage I don't think (nor have I been told) that it will hold up progress.

So, as I really hate to stick my neck out, I'm going to say we should be ready to race around July. At least that is what the vibe is around here. By then we should have the track finished and the lights tested. I would like to see something like a Burnout Comp(etition) before our first regular meeting. To get some rubber on track, among other things. I don't know about that, but I will be bringing it up at our next meeting on the 7th of June.

I will keep you informed as information comes to me. I won't waste your time (or mine) e-mailing if nothing has really happened.

Good day! Happened upon your site and saw that Drag-O-Rama was linked. Thank you. I returned the favour... go check it out. Best of luck and keep on racin'!

Your latest notes of the adventure down under are great to read. There is no quick way to circumvent the bureaucracy, but don't back down. You've done nothing wrong. Customs will cooperate with the right attitude, so first and foremost, don't let Tom talk to them. Otherwise you won't even be racing at next year's Winternats!! Secondly, emphasize your economic impact on the arrival of the container. Last, but not least, throw money around, everyone understands that.....

Hi Bob. Still waiting to hear from you and hope you contact me soon. Sorry to hear about the computer trouble you've been through but I had one here you could have had the loan of as you were told. I had already gone and bought the new, well, second-hand monitor as well so it was complete with Windows 98 and I had copies of Netscape to load onto it as well, from 4.06 to 4.50 if you needed them... but you made your decision.

Hee Hee Hee... Sorry, don't really mean to laugh. Just that it always seems that us guys always find the hardest line to get to the right solution. Hope the new 'puter is doing the job for you and you're not having any major dramas now. If you need a hand let me know and I'll do all I can to help you get to the Winters.

Time has come to renew your web hosting account for http://www.northernthunder.com. The cost is $29.95 per month and you can pre-pay 11 months and get the 12th free. Please let me know what you would like to do and if you wish to pay by Visa or MasterCard we will need the new number. Thanks.

Your site mentions that you welcome new link suggestions. Well, I've got one. Our new site: www.enginecore.com would fit well under your engine section. It's a brand new site, but it's growing fast. Thanks for your time.

Am taking care of everything in your absence. Your place is all safely rented. Those Harleys are cool, eh? And all those big lights... These guys must have some kind of skin condition, eh? They are being real nice to your former girlfriend who moved in too. Nice "attributes"!

I got a really good deal on what tools were still here, and I know you really didn't like your job much anyway. Besides, that little dude from Kosovo who just came in is so much faster than you were. And a lot cheaper too!

Ya know, that call from Glendora I got saying you weren't coming back was a bit of a surprise, but hey, I know how much you love it down there, and donating all the stuff we can't sell to the Bill Phillips memorial fund is something I'm sure he would have really appreciated.

Mr. Buffy loves some of that old stuff. And all that booze! Man, were you planning a party or what? No worry, we had a fabulous send-off for ya, and selling your furniture paid for almost all the damage to that guy's Mercedes.

Makes me almost glad I didn't make the trip, but the Harley guys promise that once all those plants growing in your bedroom are sold, we can all come down there and visit you for a few years. Now if all those cops would just stop driving by.... Have a nice day, eh?

Bob, how's Australia? Hope you can find a few moments to collect some memories of Bill for our tribute. If possible, could you e-mail us this weekend as we are on deadline, thanks again.

Just another quick hello to see how you're doing in the land of down under. Hope it's all coming together so far and hoping to hear from you soon mate. See you soon.

Hi Bob. I saw Jeannie at the Federal-Mogul race at Mission and she wondered if you had left yet. She has your seatbelts. If you don't want them, I could use them for my new rear-motored dragster. If you need them, you had better call her. Good luck down under.

Sorry if you miss this e-mail before you jump on the "Kerosene Canary". If you do read this before boarding: Have a good flight. If you read this while sitting in "Godzone": Welcome to Orstraylya, mate! Talk (literally!) to you soon.

Hi! Thanks for having a link to Svensk Dragracing on your site! We have now changed our address to: www.dragracing.se/. Please update the link. Thanks.

Hi! I assume you are receiving this message downunder. You seemed to be a little frazzled when I phoned you on May 5th. Hope you got everything under control and made it to the airport on time. Say hello to the koala bears and kangaroos for us. Good luck on getting your car out of customs and assembled in time for your first race. Talk to you later. (I'll get your itinerary when I go over to see Mom on Friday). TTFN.

Bob, this will be my final e-mail for a while I reckon. I got your phone message and from your e-mail I figured out the FedEx info is what you needed. Have a safe trip and get some rest on the way. God knows you need it and it won't get much better when you are here so get your rest when you can.

I have to go and tech a car at 1:00 pm on Friday and leave for Willowbank about 2:00 pm which will probably put me back here around 5:00 pm.... Just in time for dinner. It will be an early one for me on Saturday morning, but you and Tom can sleep in if you need to. I will be leaving the house about 5:45 am on Saturday and grab a McSomething at Goodna. Leave me a message if you need anything else that I can help you with.

Help! My son refuses to have a bed in his bedroom. He has bolted workbenches to the wall and he won't tell anyone what he's doing in there. He won't look for a job and he sleeps all day and works in his bedroom all night. He has no pin-up pictures like a normal guy, just one black and white picture of Albert Einstein. Sometimes he warns me that I am going to smell some weird chemical like blueprinting spray or brake cleaner but it will be only for a second and it is never carcinogenic. What can be done for him? Will therapy help?

Had heard there was a national event to be held there but cannot find any info anywhere. Can you help verify that there is to be anything there. If there is could you e-mail me back please. Thanks for news either way.

Glad to see that you blokes are finally on your way down here. It seems like an eternity since the plan all started to come together. (In it's own strange, convoluted way). I must apologize for my absence of late: too much work and no play, although it hasn't been enough to keep me away from the racetrack. Even punted my family car down the track a couple of weekends ago at the official's family fun day. Managed to wring a 17.80 out of my box stock fuel-injected 2-litre Ford. A great time was had by all.

Just putting things into some perspective after the "Nightmare Championships".... our day during a race is very similar to the racers, EXCEPT where they get to drive down the track and have some measure of fun doing so, we have to spend the same time, if not longer, at the track. (7 - 8 am to anywhere between 10 pm and midnight), but we walk the same length of the track, time and time again, either chasing up a bracket or walking the track after an oildown. But isn't that what it's all about? We all do our various things for the love of the game, don't we? And a day like the family day really makes it all worthwhile. Anyway, I look forward to catching up with you; will you be at Willowbank this Saturday? Catch you soon.

Good luck on the beginning of your adventure. I guess you'll leave the day before the biggest race in your hometown. It might have been good to see you there, as I will be there, but I do have an invitation to the Aussie Winternationals, so maybe I'll see you then. I have got to decide soon for the 30-day ticket deal, but I've got plenty of work right now, and don't know if I can fit it in. See ya, maybe.

For the moment, I can't remember a drag racer (you're a close second) who has been a buddy of Bill's for as long as I. What an admission, insomuch as I always told Bill he was the Methuselah of the NorthWest drag scene.

My wife Callie and I visited with Bill, in Vancouver General Hospital, an hour or so prior to his passing. I'm erasing the last ten days from my memory. You and I know and will remember the Mad Man as the great racer, workaholic and opinionated (understatement) friend of ours, and of drag racing.

I read your morning write-up regarding Bill, and like you, I could write volumes about his adventures/misadventures. But for now, I'll just echo your sentiments. Good bye Bill, good friend, fanatical drag racer and inspiration to so many.

Bob, I would really like to use your stories on Bill Phillips in our next issue of Quick Times as we would like to do a tribute/farewell to one of drag racing's great pioneers. You seem to have some great stories about Bill and I hope you can share them. He was one of the good guys. Thanks.

I'd just like to wish you and Tom a safe trip to the Great Southern Land. I hope that everything goes well and according to plan. If you need a hand at the Winternationals, I'll pack a set of overalls. I'm no technical whiz but if things are tight -- many hands make light work. I would also like to pass on my commiserations about Bill Phillips; it's those sort of people who drag racing the wonderful sport it truly is. Enjoy your flight and see you at the Winternats.

Good luck Bob and Tom... And Bob, by the way, you have made your mark on the internet, and there is nobody ready to let you disappear. You are now going to have to accept your status as the "go to" website. I know your accomplishments on the internet have changed you from the loser we once knew. The facts are clear; ya done good and we all like it. There's no turning back now: onward and upward.

Thanks for the words of encouragement concerning our new dragstrip. We have waited so long for our track but we are sure the quality will be worth it. Perfection takes time and we want most everything to be perfect for our first meet. It is our first show for the drag racing community and we not only want, but need, to make a good impression. We are hoping to run a meet sometime in June, but as we have spent so much on the track, we are short on funds for the safety barriers. In fact we haven't paid for any yet.

Kindly, our local Government "Skill-Share" program made and donated the moulds and the local cement supplier has been filling four a week for what seems like years; all at no cost. All done with leftovers. So we are lucky to have a supportive community behind us. However, like I said, money restricts us from buying them. Therefore we have to wait to get the barriers. We expect to be ready to go in June, but are not going to run a half-baked meet just for the sake of it. As a racer I'm sure you will agree that it's nice to see at track at 100%. Makes for good racing I say.

As for the Winternationals, I will be attending them (more than likely as part of the Santo's Cranes Top Fuel team) and would like very much to stop by and talk to you guys. If you have some spare time on your hands before the Winternats, come on up to Warwick and I'll be happy to show you around the track. It's only about 160 kms. from Brisbane and quite a nice drive. Anyway, I look forward to seeing you in the near future.

I got your email and (if you remember) a few weeks ago I sent you a message about a computer for use when you are here. That is all organised. I knew you would need one and that the one you probably have in the Chap(parrall) will not be coming on this trip so I knew you would need one. I have this guy that gets them for me cheap and he is holding one for me now just awaiting your arrival.

Any web work that you need to do can be done with our Pentium 366, with 32 MB of ram, 5.1 GB hard drive, 56K modem and 36X CD-Rom. I don't have a colour printer but we have two laser printers plus a range of dot printers as well as a flat-bed scanner. Time to close now, I'm done for today.

We just returned from the Willowbank Test 'n' Tune. We only got one run in due to rain. We had the car adjusted (to keep it from spinning the tyres in low gear) and it worked as planned (a little fine tuning necessary) but it smoked the tyres going into high gear! This is on a modified car with 16" wide tyres! Now I'm going to have to make some more changes to keep it from spinning the tyres in high gear as well.

Well, you missed the full moon this month. After we left the track the skies cleared and the moon was out clear as a bell. When we returned to the shop with the full moon the light was bright enough to read by.

I just wonder what the Winternationals will be like with the track preparation? It could be a pedalling contest. Remember last year's excitement? A few more races like that and we won't have a Top Alcohol field left.

Absolutely beat now, off to bed and up early tomorrow and back to work on customers' stuff. Mark (Brew) is coming down to use the fuel flow bench tomorrow as well. Monday we have some more work for Warner Brothers Movie World to finish off as well. I'll close now, log on, send this, check the email and then off to bed.

Went and saw "the guys down the road" today and asked about the monitor (for "your" computer). They have second-hand 14-inch monitors for about $60, but they also have some used 17-inch monitors that I might be able to get a deal on. I'll go and see him later in the week to see what he can come up with. That way it saves you getting another monitor and me buying a big one down the track as well.

I hope it is all coming together okay at your end and the money is falling into place. Yeah, like that actually happens. But anyways, wish you all the best and when you get here be sure to give me a call. Hope to hear from you soon.