Ayrton Senna: Living Life to the Fullest

As you probably saw on my FaceBook, a few days ago, I got to watch "Senna" which is a documentary about Ayrton Senna's racing career in the F1 league. He began with go-karting and eventually moved up into Formula 1, racing some of the world's fastest race cars. Ayrton Senna was very open about his faith in God and was often found talking about praying to God, asking God to use him. But we're not going to look at what cars he raced or what companies fought to try and sign Ayrton as a driver. We're going to look at how Ayrton fought to do his passion for a living.

Ayrton got into the Formula 1 world by driving aggressively. His parents didn't bribe anyone. He didn't cut deals with other drivers. He simply drove because he loved to. What stood out to me was how aggressively he drove. He took the race cars he drove in beyond their capabilities and made them perform better than they were supposed to. In fact, in the first race in the documentary, the Monaco Grand Prix of 1984, it began raining during the race. Ayrton started thirteenth and started passing the other racers as if they were sitting still, eventually passing the second place race car. The first place racer, Jacky Ickx, decided to wuss out and waved, alerting the race officials that he felt the track was too wet to continue the race with so they pulled out the black and white checkered flag, waving it at the finish line. The first place car crossed the finish line slowing down toward the side while Ayrton, barely a second or so behind, passed by flying with his arms waving as if he had won. He was just overjoyed to have placed on the podium. Even if you're not a follower of the Formula One race, you could clearly see that Ayrton Senna would have easily won the race in the rain. Ayrton knew that.

What Ayrton did for Formula One is one of the best stories I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. He exposed how political the racing league was. He exposed how unfair the President of Formula One, Jean-Marie Balestre, was. He fought to race fairly, overcoming the odds placed against him occasionally. Jean-Marie was a good friend of Alain Prost which was one of Ayrton's rivals between 1988-1994. Both Ayrton and Alain signed to McLaren in 1988, winning all but one of the races that season. Ayrton won his first World F1 Championship with McLaren in 1988. After that, Alain felt that Ayrton was being unfair for not letting Alain win some races so often during the racing season, both butted heads and could be found during the race racing each other for first place. Eventually, Alain started using his friendship with Balestre to his advantage. One such occasion during the 1989 racing season was at the Japanese Grand Prix, where if Alain finished the race, the World Championship would be his. Ayrton went to overtake Alain on the inside of a corner. From the footage, anyone can see that Alain turned into Ayrton earlier than he would have for the corner, which resulted in both cars tying to each other and driving off course. The service road they were sitting on was designed for racers who felt they could not tackle the difficulty of the corners laying ahead and could simply drive through the road which had four sets of barriers laid out making the drivers have to swerve around in a slalmon. While sitting on that road, race officials separated Ayrton's car from Alain's car, Alain elected to not race after that while Ayrton urged race officials out of his way for access through the access road. Eventually, Ayrton won the race in first place.

However, Alain Prost felt that Ayrton cheated by taking the service road and promptly went up to the officials building to debate with the race officials and president Balestre on the outcome of this race. Based on the fact that Ayrton Senna took the service road as opposed to driving back into the oncoming traffic to take on the corners, they ruled in Alain's favor and Ayrton was stripped of his victory while Alain took possession of the World Championship. That caused a huge controversy in the F1 world. Footage later was revealed that a couple of the other racers simply elected to take the service road as opposed to the corners and the records showed that they were not punished for making the same decision Ayrton chose to make which was an outrage and questioned the consistency of rule enforcing within the racing league.

Another incident where Balestre treated Ayrton Senna unfairly came when Ayrton Senna won the pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix in 1990 but Balestre, which no one else but the president has the power to, decided to change the lines on the grid in favor of Alain Prost who had second position. Ayrton argued with race officials claiming that the pole position should be given the left-hand position which is cleaner than the right-hand position. As a result of this, Alain was able to get a quicker start with his Ferrari over Ayrton's McLaren, getting ahead. While turning into the first corner, Ayrton kept his racing line, refusing to yield to Alain, which resulted in Alain turning into Ayrton like the year before. While the situation was similar, the outcome was different. Because Alain did not finish the Japanese Grand Prix, Ayrton won the World Championship. Yet another controversy.

One incident involving Balestre happend when Ayrton flipped his race car in a corner when he went off the corner into the sand trap and then the tires. His car hit the tires and flew into the air, flipping over and landing upside down. Ayrton felt that had the tires not been there, he would have safely stopped the car. At the race car drivers' meeting, he argued with president Balestre over the incident, wanting to help improve the safety of the other race car drivers. Because of Balestre's favoritism towards other drivers, he strongly disagreed with Ayrton, saying "the best decision is my decision" emphasizing that he knew best. After a lengthy argument, Balestre asked the crowd of race car drivers what they felt and to vote whether the tires should be taken away for their safety. Almost all the drivers rose their hands and the tires were removed. Then Balestre asked the crowd who was against the motion and none of the race car drivers raised their hands. Later on, Alain Prost came into the same corner too fast and slid off, safely coming to a stop further than where the tires were. The media asked Alain what he thought of the situation and he acted as if he didn't care, striving to not acknowledge that Ayrton's influence possibly saved Alain from serious injury.

In 1994, Ayrton Senna was racing at the San Mariano Grand Prix when his steering column snapped inside the tube and sent him flying into a wall at over 135 miles a hour. Before the race, he had prayed that God be with him in this race and for Ayrton to perform for the glory of God. In the wreck, Ayrton did not have any bruises. Ayrton did not bleed any. He was killed when a piece of the suspension on the front right wheel broke off and hit his head. Had the suspension piece been 6 inches higher or lower, Ayrton would have gotten out of the race car and walked that day.

In the documentary, the medic that worked on him at the scene said that as he was working to save Senna, he could see signs of head trauma that led him to believe it was inevitable that Ayrton would die. Ayrton took one big breath and then as he sighed, he died. The medic stated that he did not believe in religion or God but said that he believed as Ayrton sighed, his spirit was leaving the body.

"Senna" is a wonderful documentary that is filled with some amazing footage of the short live of Ayrton Senna which he lived to the fullest. There is so much more in that documentary than what I have included here. I would be hard pressed to pick which documentary is more emotional, "Love the Beast" or "Senna." This documentary is definitely worthy of watching a couple more times.

RIP, Ayrton Senna da Silva
03-21-60 to 5-1-1994

"Nada pode me separar do amor de Deus."
-Ayrton Senna

Obsession or Attraction?

So, as I mentioned on my FaceBook, I got around to watching "Love the Beast" documentary about Eric Bana and his personal relationship to his 1974 Ford Falcon XB coupe which he has rebuilt three times throughout his life and now a fourth after his crash in the Targa Tasmania. He initially bought this when he was fifteen and rebuilt it in his parents' garage using very basic tools. He sits and interviews Jeremy Clarkson of "Top Gear" fame, Jay Leno known for his Late Night show and Big Dog Garage, and Dr. Phil McGraw and dissects their minds on why men have such strong attraction to cars.

You don't have to know me all that well to realize that I am a huge gearhead. I obsess over automobiles usually of the vintage kind but my tastes dabble into the newer generations occasionally. Watching the documentary, it was as if Eric Bana, Jeremy Clarkson, Jay Leno, and Dr. Phil were able to put into words my strong attraction to these machines and how much a major influence they are in my life. My eyes were absolutely glued to the TV screen, mentally taking notes of what each person said that rang a bell within myself. I chuckled at moments where his friends made fun of his relationship with the Falcon XB as I experience those moments myself but I shared the heart-ache and the gut-wrenching feeling Eric had when he crashed his Falcon XB sliding off a bank during the Targa Tasmania race. I felt so heartbroken for him because while to other people, his car is just that, a car. To him, it is a means of escape from reality, from the world, and a huge part of his upbringing. He talks about how he became fascinated with the Falcon XB watching the Bathurst race in 1977 when two Ford Falcon XB coupes became the first ever in the history of the Bathurst to record a 1-2 win. A 1-2 win means that both cars, as partners, crossed the finish line for first and second place. The same has occurred in many other races but the most famous would have to be the 1966 Le Mans race where the sleek and sultry Ford GT40 clinched a 1-2-3 win. He then added that his love for the Falcon XB was cemented when he saw "Mad Max" featuring Mel Gibson ripping across a post-apolycaptic Australia in a Falcon XB coupe with a supercharger that could be switched on with the flip of a toggle switch from the inside. (In reality, the supercharger was never functional. The producers wanted the concept of a selective supercharger so a plain carburetor was installed on the engine inside the empty blower case.)

For me, it was my father, who I miss very much day after day, who got me into this hobby which has since then became a lifestyle. He had owned over 80 cars throughout his life, including big block Chevy powered '55 Chevys, Camaros, Chevelles, Novas and Impalas of various years, lifted Chevy trucks, a '69 Charger, and many many more, usually of the General Motors brand. Once I asked him if he have kept a car from any of the cars he's owned his whole life, what it would be. He immediately responded with "That white with a blue-stripe 1971 Pontiac Trans Am with the 455 H.O. and a 4-speed. That car was so much fun." In fact, it was so much fun, he once got a speeding ticket for doing well over 130 miles a hour in a 60 miles a hour zone while headed home from college in Clarendon. Of course, that was during the '70's when tickets were just tickets, well before the law-enforcers started taking it personally with the points system and stiffer criminal charges. Even then, I sort of have a goal of beating my father's highest ticket one day, just for the sake of it. "I was filled with piss and vinegar," my dad remarked at that story.

Automobiles in my life have been my escape from reality. My hot rod project in the garage has taught me a lot about learning from my mistakes, self-discipline, and has made me value hard work for what it is. It keeps me honest and sane. It keeps me out of trouble, so to speak, in a world that is hell-bent on pulling today's youth from good moral values. I'll take transmission fluid in my hair any day over sitting and suffering through an episode of fist-pumping Jersey Shores, skinning my knuckles on motor heads over trying to hook up with different girls, and metal dust in my nostrils over worrying about which fraternity to join. Automobiles are a form of art to me. It makes me a better person, mentally, spiritually and physically. There is such a wide range of diversity when it comes to style, class, taste, performance, or even just making a statement. In the documentary, Dr. Phil remarks that Eric Bana would not be who he is if it was not for his love for racing and that racing provides a thrill for Eric that would not be found elsewhere. It makes him a better father to his children and a better husband to his wife. He is able to take from racing a zest for life that he instills in his fathering and his love life. If he was to stop racing, the he would lose that zest and his children would not have the father they have today and his wife would not have the lover that she does now. Mrs. Bana has also talked about how she enjoys seeing Eric do what he loves. She also states that she doesn't feel she's in a position to tell Eric what he can do and what he cannot do because that's just who Eric is.

To me, there's so much more to cars than just transporting people from point A to point B. Back in the day, it was how you met girls, it was how you made friends, it was the cornerstone of your social life before cell phones became as mainstream as it currently is. Cruise nights were held on the weekends and drag racing was done for the fun of it, or to show off how much more power you gained by swapping out your stock cam for a 3/4 race cam, or new heads. Speed runs at Bonneville or El Mirage were much more affordable to the average gearhead in the pursuit of going faster than everybody else. In a sense, it was either, you compete with others or you compete with yourself. There is nothing like that feeling of seeing the fruits of your labor after years and years of building a car, or seeing that your idea that you worked on for the past few months actually improved the performance of your car. It was out of that that Stu Hilborn started a company selling products to the most famous drag racers. It was out of that that Vic Edelbrock started a massive company that still sells products to the hot rodders today. These guys were able to make a business out of doing what they loved. You hear "do what you love" a lot when it comes to career choices, but let's be honest with ourselves. How many people do you know that actually do that? Usually, your career choices are determined by past choices in life.

That's why I'm grateful my dad got me into hot rodding while I was still young. Nowadays, the government is trying to implement stricter regulations on cars and are pretty much doing what they can to kill off hot rodding. I do have to admit, even if they were to ban older cars, I would still drive one on the street. Old cars have soul. They have character. They cannot and will never be replaced with the plastic crap that our automakers are trying to pass off as cars. I find the 1969 Mustang fastback so much more attractive than the new Mustangs. How about those four-door Chargers? They didn't have those back then. The Impala today is a embarrassment to the Impala of yesteryear. Independent Rear Suspension in a new Camaro nowadays? Today's automakers just don't get it. Not anymore.

I guess you could label me a romantic when it comes to cars.

Introducing The Nelson Garage..

Basically, The Nelson Garage is a dream of mine. I want to open a shop specializing in traditional hot rods and customs as well as doing some high-performance builds.. Aesthetic value, taste, class, are all a very critical element of any car build so I emphasize on those. So, without a question, I don't do "rat rods." Period. I'm not a professional by any means, nor do I claim any kind of "holier than thee" stand over anyone. I just believe that automobiles are a work of art. I'm not a shop that can offer my services to the public however. I don't even own a shop. I'm only 24 and still pursuing a degree in college. To be more specific, my name is Matthew Bridges and am from Amarillo-Canyon and currently studying Printmaking at West Texas A&M University. The plan is to get my BFA then begin on my Master's next year.

I do have a car build going on however. It's my first ground-up build and I have been learning a tremendous amount from this build.

I began with a 1928 Ford Model A Sports Coupe and have cut every panel of the body to alter it in some way aside from the cowl sides and trunk lid. This Sports Coupe is getting converted into a roadster. It will be labeled a "Coupster" by some people but by definition, this is a roadster as in this car has no side windows nor does it have top that is permanently attached to the body.

The tech sheet on this includes a 1957 Chevrolet 283ci V8, a 1939 Ford 3-speed, a closed driveshaft with torque tube attached to a late '40's Ford banjo rear axle. I'm hoping to find a Weiand WC4D intake which will be where I mount 4 Holley 94 carburetors on top. The front end consists of a dropped Model A axle with later spindles, Ford juice brakes on all 4 corners, '40-'48 Ford steel wheels that will get chromed, blackwall 4.50/.75x16" Firestone bias-ply tires on the front and 7.00x16" Firestone bias-ply tires on the back.

The roadster will be an as-period correct-as possible build for 1959 which means that all parts have to be older than 1959 with the exception of perishable items like tires, paint, a battery, fuel, radiator fluid, et cetera, et cetera. The body will have a long list of modifications in the pursuit of aesthetic perfection. The rear edge of the cockpit opening has been cut off and moved forward 7 inches so the cockpit opening is dimensionally the same as a stock Model A roadster's, the door frames for the windows have been cut off, then the doors have been narrowed and will be capped. The A-posts have been sectioned as has the cowl brace on top for a sleeker profile. The gas cap on the cowl will be cut out and replaced with a vent or filled. The body line on the door has been sectioned half an inch in between the upper and lower body lines to give it a slightly different profile and the body line will continue around the rear edge of the cockpit opening. Then the body will be channeled 4 inches over the frame to bring it closer to the ground.

The frame has been upswept 5 degrees which appears to have brought 2 to 4 inches of drop. I need to check that however. The rear has been Z'ed several inches and the rear crossmember moved rearward to relocate the spring to the back of the axle, again to lower the car itself. The lowest point of the frame will be at 7 inches at the front of the cowl. Updates on this car will be few and far in between because this blog has been created to record my automotive thoughts. I won't be updating this blog on my roadster exclusively as I have a FaceBook page for that and a thread on the Hokey Ass Message Board..

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Nelson-Garage/209201702478948

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=594849

I will, however, share a couple of photos to give you an idea of what's to come..

Originally as found..

Fixing the damage to the rear quarter..

Moving the rear edge of the cockpit opening forward..

 

Sectioning the A-post..

The motor and transmission..

Mocking the body up before Z'ing the rear of the frame..

And finally Z'ing the frame with the quarters mocked on..

As you can see, I have a ton of work in this already. It's been a little more than two years since I officially began on this build. I've worked on this in my spare time while at school and during my summers. I have most of the parts to get the body done, the frame rolling minus the tires, and the motor and transmission mocked up on the frame. The goal is to get the frame totally done this year but I doubt I'll accomplish that.

I also have a 1948 Chevrolet 1500 truck that will get finished after this build, then a 1968 Chevy C10 that I use for general truck purposes. I currently drive a 2007 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor as my daily driver. I also have some more Model A parts that may become another project down the road.

There is no shop here in Amarillo that specializes in primarily traditional hot rod builds so my primary goal throughout this is to find a reasonable shop to move all of my stuff into and hopefully begin my dream as an actual shop offering my services to the public.

Thank you for reading through this.

-Matt