Mine's basically done, although I may spend a few more bucks to gain some more camber and it needs a new windshield. Now, it's on to doing the brakes and bearings on my old trailer , and then renting a tow pig. Need to go buy a current spec helmet ,too.
In reply to DeadSkunk :
They have plenty of loaner helmets at the AutoX and you shouldn't need one for the drags unless your car warrants one per the rules.
We are planning to leave 3 weeks from today and want to do something fun when we get there. Any suggestions for the family of 4 (2 sons 24 and 25). We've been to the Garlits Museum 4 times, so we are not planning to go there even though it is totally awesome.
I finally got motivated and cleaned up our car trailer. But now I realize that just like driving a crappy old car, there is great comfort in simply not caring if it gets messed up. A cleaned up trailer needs to be washed, but a ratty one does not. So now "Wash the trailer" is a brand new addition to my week of The Show "to do" list.
I think I have some work to do....
Only a few more days left for me to work on it.... and Nate is ruining all of those days with his bullE36 M3 rain. Oh well, at least I paid for my entry.
Two weeks from now, we will know just how bad we did.
1 week from now, we get loaded up.
1 week and 3 days from now will be the internet reveal of the car.
I dont think we have enough time....
couple finishing touches should be done tomorrow, and will be able to load car next weekend if not tomorrow. did test fire it for the first time in over 3 months, still loud.
In reply to wheels777 :
The springs are great this time of year! I live in Gainesville. I highly recomend visiting either ginnie spirngs or ichetucknee springs:
Or
The locals call it... Itch me touch me
There are some cool areas to check out, Homassa and cedar key are great as well as Micanopy.
The FIRM has an open track day as well. Ill be there running it. you could get some track time in with your challenge car! We have full day or half day options.
I hope this helps. Best of luck at the challenge
I loaded my $2019 Challenge car in the trailer last night. 
Mine hasn’t left the garage yet. Hoping that happens today or tomorrow.
B13Birk said:In reply to wheels777 :
The springs are great this time of year! I live in Gainesville. I highly recomend visiting either ginnie spirngs or ichetucknee springs:
Or
The locals call it... Itch me touch me
There are some cool areas to check out, Homassa and cedar key are great as well as Micanopy.
The FIRM has an open track day as well. Ill be there running it. you could get some track time in with your challenge car! We have full day or half day options.
I hope this helps. Best of luck at the challenge
I would google or call ahead to any of the springs you might consider visiting. The rivers they flow into have been really high since hurricane Irma which raises the spring level. Some have been unusable recently.
Fairly new to GRM and may be able to go to the Challenge as a spectator. Can tickets be bought at a gate? Is there an exact time, date and address listed somewhere on the forum? Advice for a newbie?
Cheers,
Jim
In reply to Justjim75 :
Free to attend!
Full Schedule. Note that all the fast action happens on Friday. Autox starts moving at 10am. Drags start moving at 6pm. On Saturday is the Car Show/Judging portion. The rain contingency is that they will autox in the rain but will not drag in the rain so if it rains then Friday is autox morning and Car Show evening with drags being moved to the hopefully dry Saturday.
If you are really close by, one of the best times is the hotel parking lot Thurs night.
#1 advice for a the new...if attending Friday, wear clothes that you don't mind getting dirty. You can easily transition from spectator to active participant by just making it known that you are willing to help. This could be tire or engine help but can also be a willing participant in assisting with the running of the autox.
In reply to Justjim75 :
Tickets for awards banquet Saturday evening available for $65 but quite honestly hanging around the pool afterwards is as much, if not more, fun and free!
The $65 actually gets you two meals. First meal is BBQ at the track on Fri. Second meal is hotel banquet/awards dinner Saturday night.
MrJoshua said:B13Birk said:In reply to wheels777 :
The springs are great this time of year! I live in Gainesville. I highly recomend visiting either ginnie spirngs or ichetucknee springs:
Or
The locals call it... Itch me touch me
There are some cool areas to check out, Homassa and cedar key are great as well as Micanopy.
The FIRM has an open track day as well. Ill be there running it. you could get some track time in with your challenge car! We have full day or half day options.
I hope this helps. Best of luck at the challenge
I would google or call ahead to any of the springs you might consider visiting. The rivers they flow into have been really high since hurricane Irma which raises the spring level. Some have been unusable recently.
Thanks for the leads. We actually plan to go to the Zip Line in Ocala Thursday morning and then The Drag Racing Museum again (since we will be right there).
Right now we are doing everything we can to get the cars ready. Lost an engine last week and we are scrambling to try to make the event. Our budget is in good shape on the spread sheets. Haven't had time to get the receipts located and organized.
Thanks y'all. Montgomery Alabama, 5.5 hours away so may just leave EARLY Fri AM and go home Sat afternoon after drag/show. I'm DEFINITELY the guy to help with a wrench or reset cones and such just to be close enough to what's going on to learn as much as possible for maybe entering next year.
In reply to Justjim75 :
If considering entering the best thing you could possibly do to get yourself ready is to attend! Like myself, you have probably read about the event for years but until you see it and be part of it you might not really "understand it."
Also available to all who might be interested in a "guided tour in how to do The Challenge" there is also The Parking Lot Build (PLB) which is always looking for people to sign on as helpers. The PLB starts its building sharply at 7am Thursday Morning and has one day before the event to be completed. This year will be a lowered GM pickup. Last year was the G.I.Joe cart. Before that it was the stripped Lincoln Mark 8 and the first was the Fiero w/ the engine swap.
I will be in deep on this years PLB so stop by and say high and lend a hand.
The G.I.Joe cart which took 6th overall!
It has been a marathon effort, but car #57 is ready to go!
In reply to TheV8Kid :
OH! Those Turbo sounds made me gitty... hehehehehe.
Black s10 is ready, other than some paint touch up. Changed the oil this weekend and then picked up a tow dolly for $450 to help transport three vehicles to Gainesville.
Parking lot build truck has all parts on hand, I bought an electric orbital sander to use for the body work on Thursday.
Secret mystery car is ready except for last part which was ordered today.
Need to register parking lot build tomorrow.
I also talked my buddy into building a truck with his kids. His 17 year old and his 10 year old built it entirely by themselves.
pimpm3 said:Black s10 is ready, other than some paint touch up. Changed the oil this weekend and then picked up a tow dolly for $450 to help transport three vehicles to Gainesville.
Parking lot build truck has all parts on hand, I bought an electric orbital sander to use for the body work on Thursday.
Secret mystery car is ready except for last part which was ordered today.
Need to register parking lot build tomorrow.
I also talked my buddy into building a truck with his kids. His 17 year old and his 10 year old built it entirely by themselves.
Awesomeness. Also, I feel like two kids just showed me how much of a slacker I am 
Good on them! I look forward to seeing some more info on their build
In reply to TheV8Kid :
yesssssss!!!! 
Actual challege car is very badly broken/not done. Some beer helped us to realize that 2/3 of the team have cars totally crappy enough to jump in. Some testing revealed that the crappy VW is faster than the crappy Miata which is somehow faster than the not all that crappy CRX. Neither the crappy Jeep nor the old NAPA truck would start they will not be joining us.
Oh and I should fix the trailer.
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