GIBSON Motorsports

Rather than test our fate by driving through the rain to Grand Bend with no heater, marginal wipers and a ring and pinion that could fail at any moment, we had a much shorter drive back to Grimsby on Friday night. After a great rest in our own beds, the morning was spent bleeding the brakes and re-organizing the trailer. By 1pm, the Studebaker was loaded into the trailer, along with a much smaller list of spare parts and tools for the drive to Bowmanville. Without the intr

After returning to Grimsby to bleed the brakes and top up the fluids, we left early for the short drive to Cayuga. The drive across country roads was a welcome departure from the 400 series highways that we had traversed all week. Once underway, the noisy rear gears were a constant reminder that the Studebaker might not last through the end of our journey. In fact, it seemed even louder than our return trip from Shannonville the night before. Cayuga was the location of the

After a good night’s sleep at the Pictor Harbour Hotel, we provided the wakeup call for the rest of the patrons when the Studebaker roared to life shortly after 6am. After a short drive through the fog, we were the first team to arrive at Shannonville. Eventually, the other competitors joined us on-site, each making a point to welcome us back to the competition. Shannonville would host two time attack stages, utilizing the Nelson track in the morning and the Pro Track in th

Day 3 started bright and early, with a trip back to Grimsby for a day of repairs in the shop. It was clear that Tuesday was going to be a long day. We knew the flywheel had to be replaced and just getting to it represented a lot of work. This included removing the torque link and driveshaft, as well as disconnecting the exhaust to provide enough room to drop the transmission. Once the flywheel was out, we had to decide what to re-install. Do we wait for another day for th

Day 2 of the Ontario 1500 was the official kick-off for the week-long adventure with a full day of on-track activity at CTMP (Mosport) before a long drive to Calabogie, just outside of Ottawa. Whether it was the anticipation for the week long adventure to get underway, the uncertainty of competing in an unproven car, or a lot of apprehension over returning to the big track and a certain tire wall that we got to know a little too well, neither my father nor I got much sleep o

As it seems to go with all projects, the to do list seemed to get longer, rather than shorter as the Ontario 1500 approached. My father needs to be commended for all of the hours that he put into preparing for the event, and that's on top of the thousands of hours spent actually building the car. With such a unique vehicle, we knew that we would be on our own for spare parts. It's not like we can walk up to the counter at any Parts store to purchase heim ends, Wilwood brake