Life's Journey

CLICK TO SEE ALL THIS PICTURE We sure lived up to the bumper sticker on the back of the car on this trip. First outside of Puebla Mexico we were rear ended by another race team while we were pulling up to a toll booth. The race car was on the trailer and the rear end took all the damage. we thought for sure we were out of the race before it began. The next day in Cotzy short for a name I never in pronounce in my lifetime we checked the car over and drove it the rest of the way to Tuxtula. Once there many teams offered to help get the car fixed by any means necessary. We decided to leave the car alone and see if we could get it past tech inspection, the car passed and we were ready to race. We went for the qualifying and felt the car was good to race and it drove really good all we had to do was to go to the start line the next day and race for the next seven days. Little did we know the next day we were in for the ride of our lives. That will be the next post.

The Unsung Heros of the La Carrera

Nobody can start or finish the la Carrera without the support crew who live in the shadows of the race. This year we were blessed to have on our crew Kevin Sullivan and Jim Blett . Kevin and his wife Jackie spend their winters in San Miguel while living in New Jersey during the summer. We met Jackie and Kevin on our first trip to San Miguel two years ago and instantly became friends; it must be a Sullivan thing. Jim built the engine for the Volvo which preformed excellent all the time. When arriving at a service stop seeing the crew there is always a welcome sight. Many thanks to Jackie Sullivan and Jann Blett for allowing their husbands to join us on this adventure The crews pretty much travel the same roads as we do with the exception of some speed sections. The crew is the main reason most cars are on the road the next day preforming repairs on the cars at night with little to no sleep..Tom and I just want to thank Kevin and Jim for keeping us in the race and being there for us. Kevin speaks spanish which really helped us out and Jim's knowledge of Volvos really proved to be what kept us going. So when you see a Carrera car cross the finish line on the final day it is the crew who got them there.

We are in Tuxtula

Racing legend Herschel Mcgriff and me in San Miguel de Allende. Today we unloaded the car and drove it to Tuxtula we went from sea level to 3800 feet we passed tech inspection and the car is ready to race tomorrow Tom and Jim are going to adjust the carbueration for altitude. Go to catch up with some friends from 2006.

We're almost there

I got to meet a true racing Legend Herschel Macgriff who won the first La Carrera in 1950 a very nice man who also was the oldest person to win a NASCAR race thanks to Gary Faules who Introduced him to me. He also signed the dash board of the Volvo for us. We are currently in Coatcoalcos Mexico which is on the Gulf of Mexico we arrived tonight after a 13 hour drive to get here a very stressful ride to say the least. Tomorrow we arrive in Tuxtula Guteirrez to start to go through the whole process of tech inspection and all. Just a note anyone can post to this blog site and as time permits I will try to update spare time will not be a luxary from now on . I have tried to upload images and it won't work Sorry

We Now Have Shirts!!!

We now have shirts for Dover Bros. Racin' sizes available are small to 3XL the cost is 25.00 each including shipping. We are using this as a fundraiser for our Mexican adventure in October. To find out how to get the shirts e-mail doverbrothersracin@hotmail.com and we will e-mail you the address to sent the money to . We feel this a more secure way to do this.
The car is coming along good we found a small pin hole leak in the radiator so that was repaired and reinstalled in the car . With all the cooling problems we had in the past this really didn't surprise us and this is another reason to have plenty of time to do testing on your car before you make the trip to Mexico. We are bringing a spare radiator along just to be on the safe side. Our last trip we didn't bring a spare alternator and it froze up and we were out for a half a day. I would say if a part has a chance of breaking bring a spare because the one item you leave home is the one that is going to fail. We had a spare transmission with us and another Volvo needed one so we worked out a deal and they were running the next day. One thing all the racers do is to help each other out with much needed advice or parts or car knowledge. Never shrug off advice from a veteran racer they are always willing to give some really good tips to help you out. And then you can listen to some really good stories from past races while having a cold beer with them.

Mechanicial Surgeons

Well we have the Volvo back running again we finished assembling the engine last night. It fired up right away and tonight we are going to reset the valves and re torque the head. Jim Blett really knows his way around the Volvo engine his value in Mexico in going to prove to be

quite a bonus for us to us. From now on Jim will be making all the mechanical decisions on the car. We still need to do some minor work on the car now the major thing for us is to wait to leave for Mexico.

This weekend we are taking the car to a Volvo meet at the Gilmore Car Museum and put some miles on it. I hope to post some more pictures from the weekend next week.

Your Help Appreciated

We have decided to offer space on the car for sponsorships .What you get is a 4"x8" space on the roof of the car for 150.00. The hood is open for someone who is willing to offer more support to our team. If anyone can your help would be greatly appreciated and you get to sponsor a race car with two really great guys. To contact us e-mail at sullivan.g.j@comcast.net

Now for the Volvo update. The engine was disassembled and Jim looked everything over and the lifters are going to be replaced and while the engine is apart all new bearings will be installed and of course all new gaskets. The cam and pistons were all in perfect condition . We had some serious cooling problems the last day of the 2006 La Carrera so we felt this was necessary to check everything over. Now the front suspension has been rebuilt the rear end has been changed, the exhaust and finally the engine. We should have the car ready to go with two months to do some testing and any changes we feel necessary.