3/15/2008 St Patrick's Baja

Some of you may be aware of the special kind of abuse I subject some of my Scouts to.



Just a little note, that the Cascade County 4-Wheelers of Cascade County, Montana held their annual Winter Baja / St Patrick's Baja on Saturday, 3/15/08.



A Scout II finished 2nd in the Competition-Modified obstacle race held just prior to the baja.



Unfortunately, in the 20-minute baja I was outclassed by two trucks, and while running down the '79 Bronco that I could actually race against, I lost the power steering belt, which made it very difficult to turn, which slowed me down. Then after a while the B&M shifter cable managed to lay against the headers, and I wound up stuck in 1st gear, which further slowed me down.



The other three trucks had no problems, so I finished 4 out of 4. The same 3 trucks were also in the Comp-Mod obstacle event, which I took 2nd in. :)



After the race, I also found a transmission cooler hanging by the hoses, so it was a good time to put it on the trailer.



The good news is, this was a good showing for a break-in event.



Damian is working on a new Racer for me, but it isn't ready yet, so I patched up Little Devil to begin his 8th year of racing.



Last October I blew up the 304, losing a head gasket. It had also been smoking a little, so after quite a few years it was time for another overhaul, including new valves and valve springs this time, since the old 304 had been floating the valves at 6300rpm.



I showed up in Cascade today with < 1 hour on the rebuilt engine, so the baja was break-in time for me, to help cure some of the new-engine-crankies.



So all in all, a success, that also netted 2nd place and prize money in the obstacle.



My wife and daughter joined me for the race, cheering Dad on and being part of the team.







And definitely getting in on the action..







And going for her first ride in the race Scout through the pit area and back.







The straight-pipe'd headers didn't even bother her.



A few highlights..







(continued..)

Late 2007/early 2008 Winter Overhaul

I managed to overheat the engine a bit in Powell, and it was a bit due for an overhaul anyhow, so when the head gasket went in Powell, that really clinched it.



It also turns out I was about ready to drop a few valves from floating them at 6300rpm for all these years.







Engine Tear-down and rebuild



If your oil comes out like this, it's time to overhaul it - or at least put a hood on it and change the oil.







I stripped and powder-coated a bunch of the parts this time, including using some new chrome powder.













I also added a new 90amp alternator while I had it out..







I had the heads flow-benched while it was apart.. these should be pretty accurate HP/torque numbers out of this little 304..



Potato Salad Hill - 7/29/07

With some time left over while in Moab, I went in search of Potato Salad Hill, hoping maybe someone would be foolin' around - no such luck, but I did find it.



I was also advised, by my wife, that I shouldn't attempt it - we still had another 700 miles to get home.







Potato Salad Hill is in the background.



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