Parts Conundrum Sorted

Since we tore the engine down this spring, we've been scrambling to find a few critical parts. Without them, we'd have no engine, and no brakes.

Our search first led us to Russia, where we encountered some scammy-looking eBay sellers. We then contacted our friend Darren from Hagerty International, a UK based division of Hagerty Insurance. (As it turns out, their headquarters overlooks Silverstone Circuit) Darren was able to point us in the direction of Lada UK Ltd. They were extremely knowledgeable and helpful, but shipping was way too expensive for our tiny budget. Again, we appeared stymied.

Enter another long-time friend, Angus Forsyth, also of Hagerty. I described our situation to Angus, and he responded immediately. Get them to me here and we will get them out to you by hook or by crook." That's what you can expect from Hagerty. It's a great company with real car guys at the helm. Hagerty is based in Traverse City, just a few blocks from Total-Loss Racing's state-state-of-the-art facility and a couple of the guys from the team work there. Highly recommended both in the UK and stateside.

Tires!

Comrade Davin drove all the way to Wisconsin to pick up some Fiat/Alfa Romeo wheels. With a 98x4 bolt pattern, they're apparently the only thing that will fit on the Lada. We paid $15 for 3 wheels, which brought our total wheel count to 8.

Belle Tire in Traverse City donated a set 4 tires, mounted them and balanced them for no cost. I go to Belle Tire whenever I need new shoes. They're knowledgeable and very fair on prices. Highly recommended.

Beer Sponsor!

Right Brain Brewery became our newest sponsor, kicking in beer and cash for gas. Right Brain makes excellent, award winning beer, and it's a great place to hang out. No smoke, no TV, just great beer. Stay tuned this winter as Total-Loss Racing, Right Brain Brewery and TJC Design host UNLIMITED PINEWOOD DERBY. It's like Can-Am racing for pinewood derby cars.