Repairs for Papa’s Toy. From Engine woes, to now it GOES!!

[tomblakeParticipant]

Mikey….Good to hear everything is going well after the first three weeks. What’s new on the Willis, knowing you don’t have lots of time to spend on that project but what have you got going?

[mikey]

Well, week 4 of Radiation and Chemo are done and I think I’ve got another week and a half of both and then I’ll get evaluated by the Surgeon to see what comes next. So far, I feel pretty good, although both treatments tend to make me weary or tired. So far, no real bad side effects other than being tired, and being careful passing gas, might be lumpy!! Anyway, I have been doing little things to the “Toy” just to keep myself busy, next big step is getting the front end aligned properly. I will probably get my friend Tony Lamb to give me a hand with that. Well, I will keep you all informed on my health and what I’m doing to the car. Stay well.
……………Mikey

[tomatoheadParticipant]

….. MIKEY 😀 Great to hear you are moving forward Buddy 😀 thats the best thing 😀 keep working on the “TOY” so when you come up next year we can “MATCH RACE” each other ❗ I see you are attacking your front end alinement ,thats just the same thing I am working on right now ❗ I have put new springs and shocks and then its off to the computor 4 wheel machine to set caster and camber ❗ so can go straight down the track ,instead of sideways ❗ 😆 …… tomato ❗

[mikey]

Keep at it , Mater. I’m going to set my front end jacked up 2 1/2 inches, which is about the ride height when the car is under acceleration. Just something I want to try, because the wheels tend to pull in at the top, and the toe pulls out at the same time. I think I can gain a little with the set-up I’m gonna try. I figure if I don’t give it a shot, I’ll never know. Oh, I spent Sunday and most of Monday in the hospital, the Port in my chest and neck for the Chemo started to leak, and was really painful. My face and neck on the right side started to swell up, so off to the Emergency Room!! Good thing I did, that’s when we found out that the line to the vein in my neck had started to pull partially out!! Many tests and medications to keep me quiet(stupid), and they did emergency surgery on me at noon Monday(today). They pulled out the old Port, and put a new one on my left side this time, and closer to my heart. I was up and about by 4pm, and came home about 5:30pm. The Surgeon told me to go ahead with the Chemo and Radiation tomorrow, so I guess it’s all better now. I will only get tomorrow and Wednesday in, since the Cancer Center is closed Thursday and Friday. Had a pretty good scare, but caught it in time. Hope you all have a nice Turkey Day, and stay out of trouble. …………………..Mikey

[tomatoheadParticipant]

“MIKEY” were ALL Glad they put you back together again 😀 and HappyThanksgiving to you and your family ❗ but the keepin out of trouble part , 😀 youre asking alot ❗ 😆 …….

[babycakesParticipant]

WOW Mikey!!! That’s one heck of a scare! 😮 Glad everything turned out all right and your back on track! 🙂 . To you and all the ODF’s have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends! Pete.

[dinoKeymaster]

Is that like “port & polish”? just kidding….gotta keep the ol plumbing in order.Tell the Doc’s about duct tape and wire wraps…thats what kept most of the Dover Cars going along with bailing wire and radiator hose clamps.

[mikey]

Here are a couple of pictures from my circle track days. @ of some Feature Wins at Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, N.Y. 1984. I built the car, cage, engine, and did the suspension, and also painted it and did a quick lettering job on it. (sorry Dino) I went partners with the guy, his name was Marty Timperio, cousin of our own 4X4 Marty Timperio. See, I’m a well rounded(No smart remarks please)racer. I have to find some of the Modified and Sprints, along with a Midget from Florida that I drove for a guy from Tampa. Lots of fun. On the health front, tomorrow will end week 5, and then I have 2 more days of Radiation next week and I’m done for the time being. I will find out about the Chemo tomorrow when I go to the Cancer center to have the Chemo pump taken off for the weekend. According to all my Drs. and my Surgeon, I’m doing great and I’m right on track, whatever that means. Anyway, now that I’ve bored you guys to sleep, I’m going to invade Facebook for a little while. …………………Mikey

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[tomblakeParticipant]

Pretty cool Mikey, bet that was fun.

[babycakesParticipant]

Mikey,I was always a 1/4 mile lover,and took a break in the early 70’s,helping and hanging around the likes of Ronnie VanEtten, Larry Hoyt,and Dougie Tyler. I learned ‘quickly’,what ‘dirt’ track ’roundy-round was! No doubt,the 1st. thing you done when you got home was wash off you dirt coated body,and the next day suffer with eye irritation from the calcium they laid down on the track mixed with water.I used to cringe when there race cars got ‘battle’ scars,cause I was used to our drag car bodies,never getting hurt! Sounds like I’m a bit ‘negative’ about it,however,I’m ‘NOT’, I enjoyed every minute of it! Expect the unexpected,tons of excitement,busy as a bee in the pits,and most of all,a ‘great’ time with the boys at the track,and afterwards stopping at the local ‘watering’ hole! Mikey,ya gotta say…some good ‘ole’ memories!!!

[mikey]

Cakes, I know/knew Doug Tyler back in the day, a very tough racer, mostly ran Accord. Then there are the Ricci’s, father and sons, Bobby and Rob Green, I Sponsored them both and did their engines, Bob is gone now, but his son Rob is still racing, and Robs son Randy is now driving too. Also good friends with the Heotzler brothers, Ralph and Jeff, and Jackie Brown and family. Lots of memories, you are correct. I would not change a thing. I enjoyed the Drags, but when Dover closed, it got to be a project to decide where to go. Then I had the opportunity to build an engine and loan it to Bobby Green to run Syracuse at the end of the year. I was working at Bard Chevrolet in Newburgh, and one of the parts guys, Roger Cook was a racer and introduced me to Bob. Things just went from there. I sure do miss Bob and the Sunday pepperoni and beer bullshit sessions. Oh well. ………………Mikey

[super-sport-pete]

MIKEY! HOW YA DOING GUY ? take the Willys around the block. feel the power, wave to the neighbors. hang in there,pete.

[babycakesParticipant]

Mikey,I ran into ‘Papa’ Rich Ricci,last May at the Rhinebeck Show. Talked ‘ole’ times and he mentioned the ‘boys’ ( Mike and young Rich) are still at it,but not as much due to ($$$) expenses nowadays ( what else is new,right?) I thought he still has his old yellow ‘406’ coach ( Ford powered) from the late 60’s stored in a tuck trailer.Sorry to say it met it’s demise just a few years ago. Bobby Green Sr. was a ‘hard’ and ‘tough’ racer to beat! Sadly he was taken too soon in life,and I’m glad his son Robbie followed in the ole man’s footsteps racing stock cars.

[mikey]

Pete, Bob Green was like my dad away from home, and a great friend. I learned a lot from him over the years. I helped to build Robs first race car, and all the rest, until I moved to Florida in 1990. Rob won the Track Championship at Middletown in 1984, 20 years after his Dad won it. How cool is that. I am happy that I was a big part of it, and that we are still friends and stay in touch. As far as Papa Rich, I remember him at Middletown, in the coach, get shoved through the backstretch fence off turn 2, and driving back through the fence in turn 4. I was just a kid, and I thought that was really cool. I have to look around for some more pictures of Bob and Rob, and maybe me too. I was there the night that Otto Harwi got killed, and also the night that Dee Dee Cruger was fatally injured. Sad times, both.
…………………….Mikey

[babycakesParticipant]

Mikey,you had to be ‘proud’ being part of the Bobby Green racing team back in the day! I remember Jeff Heotzler was another one hard to beat! I believe he worked for Bob at Precision Engines at that time. ‘Precision’ Bob ( one time was an engineer for Ford), built some ‘stout’ small block Chevys,for both drags and stock cars.If you bought one of his engines,he was always in the pits to assist you in ‘any’ mechanical problems you might incur with his racing engines.Here’s another sad note; at Middletown,when (young) Joe Winnie had a severe heart attack,and slumped over along the back stretch,pedal to the metal,and crashed and died.His whole family was ‘dedicated’ to the stock car sport!

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