Return of the 1984 Volvo Wagon Mini Car

Well, as you know if you read last year's racing report on my Volvo, I had said that I encountered some problems with my Volvo, causing me to get stuck in the sand/mud. Well, I fixed the tie rod problem for 1999, and took the car to the Belleville race with a few fresh changes to the paint job (this was my last race before getting married the next weekend!). So, thinking that my Checkered flag trick from Tweed had brought me such good luck, I installed it on the Volvo wagon. We got the car running better than before and figured we had all problems fixed. This year's mini derby at Belleville was the best one I have seen in years. There were almost 30+ mini cars there. There were 6 Volvos in the derby counting mine (Two wagons, and four sedans). I got out in my heat, made a few small hits, then the front bumper broke off. Stupid aluminum bumpers should have been replaced anyway (Next year!). Anyway, on my last hit on a Ford Tempo, the car stalled. It would not even re-fire, so I got counted out. Upon inspection after the derby, I noticed that someone had spliced the main power wire for the ignition coil and the hit I had given actually pulled the wire apart. We twisted it back together and the car fired up. So, we will make sure that this wire is SOLDERED next year! None of us can figure out who spliced it. Probably a previous owner! So, I think it is safe to say that this car does not like the Belleville race because it came home almost the same the last two years in a row with a few more dents but minus a bumper. I have some tips from a Volvo mechanic on how to get more power out of the stock engine. We will be doing that shortly as well because this thing is majorly GUTLESS right now! Maybe I will take this car somewhere else (only a few races here in my area allow mini wagons to compete with the other mini cars). This year, I will find a stronger set of bumpers to use.

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