The good folks over at DNA ran this story on us

Reproduced with permission

Wednesday, 27 October 2010 11:16

This was our final hit-out before the Nostalgia Match Race next month on the 21st November.

The day before (Friday) it rained after a picture perfect and hot Thursday, so heading into Saturday it didn't seem real good, then on the weather channel the night before, they said extreme weather with lots of wind, possibly no rain, for the Sydney basin. Well, the 'lots of wind' notice was perfect. It was howling at 4am when the wind rustling through the whole neighbourhood woke me up. It just didn’t get any better from there weather wise. Sure the sun was out, but 100 mile away in the mountains, it snowed. Was it cold....look at the pictures (on the new site listed below).

We arrived at the track about 7.30am after Joey had a slight confrontation with the ticket box and the trailer on the way in. No problem, as the trailer was wedged against the box, we just had a dozen guys lift the ticket box up and to the side, moved the trailer, put the box back and everyone was happy.... well everyone except Joey. The 'instances' that people just won't let you forget.

After we parked the rig, we wasted as much time as possible before rolling the car out just in case the winds may have died down any..... well, when we left at 6pm, the wind hadn't dropped off at all.

Unloaded and set the car up on the Buddy Jax and the boys went to work preparing to fire and warm the car. Everything was still as we had it set for the washout on Sept 5th, so it was just a matter of refreshing what we had the engine set at. Fired the engine on petrol and checked the timing, and all was where it should have been. Tommy had the offset mag drive out between events and rebuilt the whole unit to make it run perfect, so Vince needed to check his timing and Mario wanted to double check everybody before firing the old girl on fuel.

Primed the engine, cranked the starter and that beautiful roar that only nitro and a drag racing engine can produce wafted through the pit area. Ran it for a little while, played with the high-low system, set the idle speed and then shut her down. All looked just fine.

As there was a small attendance at this event (the Track Championship Series) they brought our scheduled on-track time forward to about Noon. We towed out to the lanes and proceeded to get Mark belted into the car, then pulled forward onto the start pad.

The Officials pointed at us, and said it was our turn. I started the engine and handed the starter and the

Notice the nice new sponsor on board?

batteries to Big Tony, as we are moving a few guys around on the team to give everybody experience in every position (Tommy has put his hand up to drive for his next experience) and Big T was filling in for Joey, who was out on the start line with Vince, doing 'work experience'. In one of the videos of the day, you will see Vinnie waving Joey's hands around like a puppeteer.....bit funny when you actually see it. Joey remarked "Man, it's different out there...." In our current 'move around crewmember mode', Tommy actually got to wash parts this time, an experience that he will never forget...or become accustomed to.

Oh yeah, back to the run. Mark did a nice burnout, and as we had moved our burnout start a little further toward the start line, it meant that we didn't have to bring Mark back so far on the pad, and we stopped his reverse about 3 metres behind the start line. Mario checked the engine over, didn't need any adjusting, blessed her and again said to send it.

Mark rolled into pre-stage, pulled the high side, focused, and then lit the second light. Vroooom and gone.

The plan was to run it out to about half track or just beyond, with Mark having the final say on when to pull the throttle back. 4.1 seconds into the run, he lifted, pulled the chutes and touched the brakes and stopped in the shut down area. Everything looked fine, and we towed the car back to the pit to analyse what we were going to do next lap.

Incrementals for that lap were;

1.171 60 foot. 4.322 to half track at 177.86mph and backed off to a 7.324 @ 123mph.

Back in the pit, winds still howling, we checked the data logger and all appeared pretty fine, so we done a leak down on the engine, 5 and 6 were a little shy of the others, but not overwhelmingly of the scale to warrant an actual inspection. So, we decided to leave it together, and send it again.

The Officials asked if we would be ready at about 2.30pm, and we said no probs, we will be in the lanes waiting. So we buttoned it all back up, set the clutch, packed the chutes, added some fuel and headed for the lanes.

Once again, same guys in there new positions, but a little bit smoother in their operations, and Vinnie only having to move Joey around by the waist this time (as he thought the car was going to run over him on the backup...check the videos). Started the engine and proceeded to the burnout pad. Another nice sharp burnout, back her up, stop, check the engine over, pre-stage, pull the high lever, stage...... gone.

Super straight, right down Broadway. Mark kept the throttle wide open all the way. The car left really really lazy and you will see by the figures, same good mid track mile-an-hour, and a six, our first, and only our second full power run. Yeah, not bad, not bad at all.

Incrementals for this lap were:

1.209 60 foot. 4.446 to half track at 176.86mph and crossed the stripe at 6.710 @ 211.20mph.

Returned to the pits, analysed the logger and the car, and decided to have a look inside, so the order from DeDon came to 'strip-it'. You will see in the pictures that Vinnie, Big T and Joey are in the heat of the battle, little clutter and confusion, but intent on their work.

The engine checked out perfect, not a ring, piston, bearing or even gasket needed refreshing or replaced. Darn fine. Changed a few nozzles while the top was off the engine to balance the cylinders out a bit, and the 'Bomb Squad' put her all back together. Come this time to set the clutch and Mario pulled the inspection cover, slid in the feeler strips, and the clutch had worn more than we wanted, anticipated and had hoped for. We were done. Our new discs had not arrived, so we were standing there with a fresh race car, a keen crew....and no clutch. Sheeeesh, what a let down.

OK, what we then had was a fresh engine, ready to run the next time out. A crew that had been moved around for experience. A group of guys that laugh at each other and had a great day out. A gaggle of ladies that laughed all day that made their trip a sensory overload. But above all, we had a race car all in one piece, time slips what were dropping every time out, and a crew that have a great time when there together. What more could you ask for. OK, well we may ask for that, but not just yet.

Our next event is a display at the Top Fuel race at Sydney Dragway on 30th-31st October, then we head into the 4 way match race at the Nostalgia event, also at Sydney Dragway on Sunday 21st November. This is the first time outside of the Continental U.S.A. (the birthplace of drag racing) that an event with 4 Nostalgia styled nitro burning cars has occurred. We have been building toward this coming event since we received the car in December last year.

Naturally to make this event, or for that matter, any event happen, it takes people. We have some super people helping this whole deal come together.

3 weeks from this event, and with nothing major to happen on the car maintenance wise, Joey and I decided to 'reconfigure' the inside of the trailer. Phew, lucky we had 3 weeks. Lucky Joey is a sheetee. We re-laid all the items and locations that we were just not happy with from when we first finished the trailer for the Purple Haze, some 6 years ago (how long....gees). We have also doubled our itinerary of parts that what the trailer was made for and also the tools and equipment necessary to perform the correct maintenance on the vehicle at the track. Well, it all just about fits nice and neatly now. We have also cut down to nearly zero the dependence on Joey and myself to point the guys in the right direction to access tools or equipment, as everything is labelled and custom fitted. A super cool deal inside now.

Mark Mariani launches the black widow

Speaking of tools and equipment. We are super proud and excited at the same time to carry the Teng Tools logo on the car, trailer and Hyundai van. Teng Tools, through Claye Brierley and Steve Kane have taken our operation on board as a marketing partner for their iconic brand of hand tools. Quality is the word association here. We now have Teng Tools toolboxes in the pit box and the inside of the trailer, and coupled with all of the engine storage items they have, our hand tool program is super organised. When you are visiting our team at a venue, please ask for a Teng Tools brochure of their nearest stockist and have a good eyeball of their range of products exclusively used by the Black Widow Team. They are superb. When we started out with this operation, we desperately needed the hand tools upgraded, and it was us that approached Teng Tools to use their equipment, as they are renowned for quality. They are not a household name here in Australia, but throughout Europe, they are in the top 2 in every Country, and you would know how competitive that market is. There is a link here on our website, so click on and browse some quality hand tools. As I have said beforehand, we are very tickled that Teng Tools have hooked up with our team.

Every Wednesday night is our team/car night, and religiously all the guys turn up to massage the car and receive their orders (some foreign orders) for the coming week. Wendy and I can never thank these guys enough, they are all dedicated and skilful to boot, and we make no bones about it, the "Crew Make This Car Happen". Again, Thank you.

This will be the last "Blog" that we will publicly present, as our brand new website is finished and has just recently been launched, so please join our supporter network through our site, and every time that something is posted about our travels and comings and goings, you will receive an automated e-mail. We will have our site as a very up to date tool, as there is always something happening and we would like all of you people to enjoy the ride with us.

NitroFED.com

Many thanks, Steve and Wendy Turner..

Our racer handout was leaked to the press over on the Classic Funny Car Board.

Check it out for yourself - way cool.

The good folks over at AA/FD News ran this story on us

Reproduced with permission

SYDNEY DRAGWAY – 7-25-10

The following was sent in to us from Steve Turner in Australia as he wanted to share the magic and excitement of their first test-n-tune.

We greatly apologize for our delay in posting it accordingly; urgent family matters on our end required our immediate attention.

Thanks again for sharing your excitement with us and the rest of the nitro community!

Hi All,
Well we finally caught up from our washout Test 'n Tune from May last Sunday here in sunny old....cold Sydney.

The weather wasn't the kindest to us on the day, as we were able to sneak a lap in about Noon, then a heavy shower, which was good as we pulled the unit apart anyway, then as the rain stopped and dried up a little, we got out again about 4pm.

Still, the track was clean with all of the water, but from about 150 feet out from the start, it started to get a little slick.

The track guys done all that they could under the circumstances, with even the little used track dryer making an appearance, but also the cold temp didn't help anybody in the end.

Our week heading into the event was a bit comical, as Wendy and I had been away for a while, and the guys had not been anywhere near the car, so the first trip back into the shop was opening drawers and doors to remember where all the tools and parts were located.

A bit funny actually, as most of us are senior citizens 'in waiting', and just remembering how the car went together brought a lot of laughs from everybody associated with each task. Ah, can't wait to get to a ripe old age......

Tommy had made a new trolley to load the car from the shop into the trailer, and apart from a few very small bugs (like muscles needed...) the unit performed flawlessly. Sure makes backing the car out of the shop a whole lot easier.

We also had some really neat pinstriping applied to the car before the last rained out event by Lee Holt at Coupes Pinstriping. It gave the old girl that retro look.

Shame Mark tried to clean the cowl at the event from the excess oil on the body and took some of the design off the cowl.... possibly not as bad as me when a few days after the pinstriping was applied, I attempted to clean the body with prepsol...yep, one lot of pinstriped cobwebs from the side of the body 'gone'....

We were pretty much ready to go for the rained out event from May, so there wasn't a lot to do. Mario and Vince when over the fuel system again and again, just checking and double checking.

Tommy had our new offset mag drive unit ready to roll as well, and after a few teething problems to install it, we were good to go. Loaded the car up Saturday afternoon, with Tommy's new chassis trolley, and was watching the footy on the TV at 5pm.....never had that happen before.

Sunday dawned cloudy after some overnight rain, but was pretty nice by mid morning, till the DARK DARK grey clouds rolled in about 2pm.

Unloaded the car and set up camp, and put a marquee at the front of the trailer this time for the crew, their wives and our friends to use as a lunch room.

We had 17 people along for the ride this time, as one thing Wendy and I have always stated, we want EVERYONE to enjoy the car and the day out, no matter how good or bad.

Again Mario was not happy with a section of the fuel system and kept checking the return poppets, tried several competitors leak down units, but after a while, decided to stick with what he had set the unit up with beforehand.

Started the engine and warmed everything up. Again Mario went searching through the fuel system, and again several times we lit her off, and in the end, the verdict came....send it.

Buttoned all the car back together and towed around to the staging lanes. Man, this was a BUSY Test 'n Tune day. There were a lot of racers waiting in the lanes, I think with oil downs and breakages that it was developing into one of those days.

Suited Mark up and belted him in the car, then gave the nod to the officials that we were ready to attempt a lap if possible. They were excellent, and pushed us to the pointy end of the lanes and before we knew it, we were on the start pad.

Since the last visit here, we have revisited our procedure from the start-up to the staging, and nearly have a nice settled program in place. Everybody was a lot more aware of their role this time.

Some people had NEVER been on the line and some people had been a VERY long time since they were on the line, but we are rapidly bringing all our guys up to speed.

The engine fired, Mario looked her over again and motioned to move to the burnout box. Vince gave Mark the fist pump (Explanation-burn up Turners dollars) and the car sounded sweet and executed a nice little burnout across the line.

We brought him back to the line, Mario gave the send it signal, he staged, and zoom. About 1100 feet, she sounded a bit off like she had ran out of fuel.

The time represented that with a 7.1 at only 151mph. We cruised to the braking area where Mark had pulled up in the braking area still on the track, and as he had pulled both chutes, and the carbon brakes...well that little old gal just pulled up like somebody threw a dime in front of her.

Funny question from the track crew to Mark. 'Where do you want the chutes put' after they had rolled them up...to which Mark replied 'Gees, dunno, we have never been this far till now...

Fixed all that up and towed back to the pit to an expectant Mario who was waiting to look his baby over. Decided to pull the heads and pan and have a good look, as Mark had noted, and the Racepak told us....no fuel.

Number 4 piston had just nipped the ring lands, so decided to put a new soldier in for duty. All the rest was fine, bearings and oil were great.

Lost 8 spark plugs though. They were a little light on in the electrode department. Our latest celebrity crew appearance was Tony Delutis, cousin of Mario, who has always crewed on these engines in the big show.

With he on one side, our resident celebrity Vinny on the other, and grass cutter Joe underneath, it is just like having your own personal ' A Team' on board. These guys are slick.

We had the whole unit back together again in no time with a 'no hurry today' attitude, and as the rain had stopped, and the pit was a tad dry, we decided to head back out and try our luck again.

Arrived at the head of the lanes and the Officials told us if you get ready in 5 minutes, you can run virtually straight away. Cool deal.

Same thing, rolled through the water, nice straight burnout, brought her back before the line, Mario blessed her, then Mark dropped her into the beams.

Bit of clutch dust again (as we have not got it tight) and she was up on the tyres and motoring pretty good. A little wiggle to the left, Mark corrected, then a big wiggle to the right. Ooops, that's enough.

Mark lifted off the throttle, and coasted through for whatever the time was. Track was a tad slick out mid way down. Went to the bottom to retrieve the car and Mark, and on overall appearances, everything looked fine.

No re-appearance of the small oil leak from the first run, and nothing looking out of place. OK, let's tow back.

Some very huge black clouds were bearing down on the track as we came through the pit, and we figured that we had about 30 minutes to load to avoid a bigger shower.

Put the car under the awning, half the crew getting the car ready for travel and the other half packing up camp. When the boys were backing the rockers off....holey dooley.

The inlet pushrod from Number 4 had broken about 2 inches from the top. On analyse of the computer, it happened in the burnout at the hit of the throttle.

Dumped the fuel and oil, loaded the car and chattels and headed off just as the day was canned cause of the impending shower that had arrived.

On Wednesday night, we will tear the engine and car apart and start all over again. Try to figure out our fuel problem and why the old gal broke the pushrod. Ah, too much fun!

Some thanks need to be acknowledged here;
The Black Widow Ladies Auxiliary. These gals (Wendy, Pam, Annette, Natalie, Hiam and Marie) kept everybody fed and watered all day.

It's a bit sad when you go to the track, work your butt off all day, yet come home weighing more than when you went. 'Thanks Gals'. Tony D; Thanks for the hand man, you were an asset today. You are the best apprentice Vinnie has ever had!

Jeff Rogers Wholesale Cars; Jeff Rogers, is my oldest (and I mean that) and longest buddy ever. We met when he was 19 and I was 21. You do the maths. Jeff has always supported whatever deal Wendy and I do, has utmost faith in our choice of racers, and has backed us 100% of the way. His company has been associated with every race car that we have ever owned. Twas a pleasure having your wit and wisdom for the day. Thankyou!

Also thanks to Lee for the pinstriping, and a very BIG shout out to Grant from Angel Signs. I send an e-mail with what we need, and he sends one back saying 'come and get em'. How do you beat that? Good deal Bud, thanks much.

Geoff Paradise from Transport Today, one of our majors. Geoff is the link with Hyundai and our team, the glue. Continually working on the three way arrangement between Transport Today, the Black Widow and Hyundai. Wants the deal to succeed just as much as us. A great guy to have in your corner.

Santo Rapisarda from Santos Cranes. Many times I went to Santo with cap in hand, and he always had the same reply. 'Go see Robbie and fix it'. Damn, it's great to have people with such an understanding of what it takes to make these cars run. Thanks mate, Freddy would be proud!

OK, this just may get boring here, but the following people make this car happen.

Make NO BONES about it, Wendy and I just could not run this car without these people. They put in plenty of hours that nobody sees. They ring at all hours with what they have been thinking about and are going to do. Gees, it's a luxury we have not been used to before.

In no order, but as I look at a photo-Tony Thomas, Joe Camilleri, Buddy Ryder, Mario Mariani, Vince Della Cioppa, Tony Delutis, Mark Mariani and Aaron Turner. GREAT JOB GUYS.

At this very stage, we do not have a further date, but after we tear the engine down, check her all out, then we will jump at the next opportunity that presents itself, and YOU my lucky reader friend, will be able to view another saga in the 'Black Widow-What I done last weekend' diaries.

Many thanks, Turner and the Blonde...

Below is a video that Neil Larsen from Madman Productions put together from the Test 'n Tune last Sunday... CHECK IT OUT!

YouTube

Make sure you turn your You Tube settings UP TO 480p!!

The good folks over at DNA ran this story on us

Reproduced with permission

Wednesday, 28 July 2010 14:14

The Steve Turner Black Widow nitro FED hit the track last weekend at a Sydney Dragway test and tune, this is Turner's blog on the day about getting one of these beast down the quarter

Well we finally caught up from our washout Test 'n Tune from May last Sunday here in sunny old, cold Sydney. The weather wasn't the kindest to us on the day, as we were able to sneak a lap in about Noon, then a heavy shower, which was good as we pulled the unit apart anyway, then as the rain stopped and dried up a little, we got out again about 4pm. Still, the track was clean with all of the water, but from about 150 feet out from the start, it started to get a little slick. The track guys done all that they could under the circumstances, with even the little used track dryer making an appearance, but also the cold temp didn't help anybody in the end.

Our week heading into the event was a bit comical, as Wendy and I had been away for a while, and the guys had not been anywhere near the car, so the first trip back into the shop was opening drawers and doors to remember where all the tools and parts were located. A bit funny actually, as most of us are senior citizens 'in waiting', and just remembering how the car went together brought a lot of laughs from everybody associated with each task. Ah, can't wait to get to a ripe old age.

Tommy had made a new trolley to load the car from the shop into the trailer, and apart from a few very small bugs (like muscles needed...) the unit performed flawlessly. Sure makes backing the car out of the shop a whole lot easier. We also had some really neat pinstriping applied to the car before the last rained out event by Lee Holt at Coupes Pinstriping, tt gave the old girl that retro look. Shame Mark tried to clean the cowl at the event from the excess oil on the body and took some of the design off the cowl, possibly not as bad as me when a few days after the pinstriping was applied, I attempted to clean the body with prepsol...yep, one lot of pinstriped cobwebs from the side of the body 'gone'.

We were pretty much ready to go for the rained out event from May, so there wasn't a lot to do. Mario and Vince when over the fuel system again and again, just checking and double checking. Tommy had our new offset mag drive unit ready to roll as well, and after a few teething problems to install it, we were good to go. Loaded the car up Saturday afternoon, with Tommy's new chassis trolley, and was watching the footy on the TV at 5pm, never had that happen before.

Sunday dawned cloudy after some overnight rain, but was pretty nice by mid morning, till the DARK DARK grey clouds rolled in about 2pm. Unloaded the car and set up camp, and put a marquee at the front of the trailer this time for the crew, their wives and our friends to use as a lunch room. We had 17 people along for the ride this time, as one thing Wendy and I have always stated, we want EVERYONE to enjoy the car and the day out, no matter how good or bad.

Again Mario was not happy with a section of the fuel system and kept checking the return poppets, tried several competitors leak down units, but after a while, decided to stick with what he had set the unit up with beforehand. Started the engine and warmed everything up. Again Mario went searching through the fuel system, and again several times we lit her off, and in the end, the verdict came, send it.

Buttoned all the car back together and towed around to the staging lanes. Man, this was a BUSY Test 'n Tune day. There were a lot of racers waiting in the lanes, I think with oil downs and breakages that it was developing into one of those days. Suited Mark up and belted him in the car, then gave the nod to the officials that we were ready to attempt a lap if possible. They were excellent, and pushed us to the pointy end of the lanes and before we knew it, we were on the start pad. Since the last visit here, we have revisited our procedure from the start-up to the staging, and nearly have a nice settled program in place. Everybody was a lot more aware of their role this time. Some people had NEVER been on the line and some people had been a VERY long time since they were on the line, but we are rapidly bringing all our guys up to speed.

The engine fired, Mario looked her over again and motioned to move to the burnout box. Vince gave Mark the fist pump (Explanation-burn up Turners dollars) and the car sounded sweet and executed a nice little burnout across the line. We brought him back to the line, Mario gave the send it signal, he staged, and zoom. About 1100 feet, she sounded a bit off like she had ran out of fuel. The time represented that with a 7.1 at only 151mph. We cruised to the braking area where Mark had pulled up in the braking area still on the track, and as he had pulled both chutes, and the carbon brakes...well that little old gal just pulled up like somebody threw a dime in front of her. Funny question from the track crew to Mark. "Where do you want the chutes put" after they had rolled them up...to which Mark replied "Gees, dunno, we have never been this far till now...". Fixed all that up and towed back to the pit to an expectant Mario who was waiting to look his baby over. Decided to pull the heads and pan and have a good look, as Mark had noted, and the Racepak told us, no fuel.

Number 4 piston had just nipped the ring lands, so decided to put a new soldier in for duty. All the rest was fine, bearings and oil were great. Lost 8 spark plugs though. They were a little light on in the electrode department. Our latest celebrity crew appearance was Tony Delutiis, cousin of Mario, who has always crewed on these engines in the big show. With he on one side, our resident celebrity Vinny on the other, and grass cutter Joe underneath, it is just like having your own personal 'A Team' on board. These guys are slick. We had the whole unit back together again in no time with a "no hurry today" attitude, and as the rain had stopped, and the pit was a tad dry, we decided to head back out and try our luck again.

Arrived at the head of the lanes and the Officials told us if you get ready in 5 minutes, you can run virtually straight away. Cool deal. Same thing, rolled through the water, nice straight burnout, brought her back before the line, Mario blessed her, then Mark dropped her into the beams. Bit of clutch dust again (as we have not got it tight) and she was up on the tyres and motoring pretty good. A little wiggle to the left, Mark corrected, then a big wiggle to the right. Ooops, that's enough. Mark lifted off the throttle, and coasted through for whatever the time was. Track was a tad slick out mid way down. Went to the bottom to retrieve the car and Mark, and on overall appearances, everything looked fine. No re-appearance of the small oil leak from the first run, and nothing looking out of place. OK, let's tow back.

Some very huge black clouds were bearing down on the track as we came through the pit, and we figured that we had about 30 minutes to load to avoid a bigger shower. Put the car under the awning, half the crew getting the car ready for travel and the other half packing up camp. When the boys were backing the rockers off, holey dooley. The inlet pushrod from Number 4 had broken about 2 inches from the top. On analyse of the computer, it happened in the burnout at the hit of the throttle. Dumped the fuel and oil, loaded the car and chattels and headed off just as the day was canned cause of the impending shower that had arrived.

On Wednesday night, we will tear the engine and car apart and start all over again. Try to figure out our fuel problem and why the old gal broke the pushrod. Ah, too much fun!

Some thanks need to be acknowledged here;
The Black Widow Ladies Auxiliary. These gals (Wendy, Pam, Annette, Natalie, Hiam and Marie) kept everybody fed and watered all day. It's a bit sad when you go to the track, work your butt off all day, yet come home weighing more than when you went. "Thanks Gals".
Tony D; Thanks for the hand man, you were an asset today. You are the best apprentice Vinnie has ever had!

Jeff Rogers Wholesale Cars; Jeff Rogers, is my oldest (and I mean that) and longest buddy ever. We met when he was 19 and I was 21. You do the maths. Jeff has always supported whatever deal Wendy and I do, has utmost faith in our choice of racers, and has backed us 100% of the way. His company has been associated with every race car that we have ever owned. Twas a pleasure having your wit and wisdom for the day. Thankyou!

Also thanks to Lee for the pinstriping, and a very BIG shout out to Grant from Angel Signs. I send an e-mail with what we need, and he sends one back saying "come and get em". How do you beat that? Good deal Bud, thanks much.

Geoff Paradise from Transport Today, one of our majors. Geoff is the link with Hyundai and our team, the glue. Continually working on the three way arrangement between Transport Today, the Black Widow and Hyundai. Wants the deal to succeed just as much as us. A great guy to have in your corner.

Santo Rapisarda from Santos Cranes. Many times I went to Santo with cap in hand, and he always had the same reply. "Go see Robbie and fix it". Damn, it's great to have people with such an understanding of what it takes to make these cars run. Thanks mate, Freddy would be proud!

OK, this just may get boring here, but the following people make this car happen. Make NO BONES about it, Wendy and I just could not run this car without these people. They put in plenty of hours that nobody sees. They ring at all hours with what they have been thinking about and are going to do. Gees, it's a luxury we have not been used to before. In no order, but as I look at a photo- Tony Thomas, Joe Camilleri, Buddy Ryder, Mario Mariani, Vince Della Cioppa, Tony Delutis, Mark Mariani and Aaron Turner. - GREAT JOB GUYS.

At this very stage, we do not have a further date, but after we tear the engine down, check her all out, then we will jump at the next opportunity that presents itself, and YOU my lucky reader friend, will be able to view another saga in the "Black Widow-What I done last weekend" diaries.

Many thanks, Turner and the Blonde...