"Christine" the 196? Rugg (I think)

Well here's Christine. Yeah, like the killer car. I guess you could debate the validity of the story behind that, but I wouldn't because I swear it's truth. Back in the day the east side of the state had a strong circle track racing scene for these things, and once or twice a year they'd get together with the racers from the west side and have a weekend of hauling butt on the dirt. There were two just like each other, one red, one blue. I remember when it was a pretty new machine, back in a small (bigger than where I live now by far) town called Omak, north of here by about 45 minutes give or take. The guy who owned it and it's sister/brother machine owned and operated a very popular small engine and mower shop in the next town over. Fast forward to when my oldest was about 5 (he's 16 almost 17 now) and I lived in the same town as that shop, maybe 4 or 5 blocks away and to get to the store I had to walk by it. The owner had it and another chained to the big sign out front, bringing them in at night. Never saw them raced, but whenever he'd fire it up I could hear it for blocks and it flew down the street like a bat outta you know where. He swore he'd never sell it, but did end up selling the red one. I guess this one was his baby.

Couple years later I heard the man had passed on. Heard also that the shop inventory had been sold to a bigger dealership over by the highway, but don't know anything about any of that. Kind of forgot about the whole thing over the next 8 or 9 years. Then, one day on the local FB marketplace I saw an ad for "old racing mower/go kart... $50, YPU" So I click on it. IT WAS THE ONE I WALKED BY ALL THE TIME, THIS one! Apparently I had responded almost exactly 3 minutes after the guy posted it for sale, and I was on my way with cash in hand - no lowball, no trying to lower the price. Pics in the back of the truck bed show it'd been sitting a long time in someone's shed and had seen better days.

I've been working on it since, getting things working:

drivetrain - leaks sealed, bled, new pads, new O rings on random unknown model suzuki hydraulic brakes, repacked and cleaned all bearings, cleaned and greased no. 35 chain, new skateboard wheel tensioner, regreased/oiled (my proprietary mix lol) the 700 trans, new tires, etc.

engine and exhaust complete removal, inspection and flush of 28ci cammed and prepped engine, cleaned up some porting and head work already done, inspected flywheel for cracks (full race engine, cast flywheel pre-USLMRA invasion) and rework exhaust so wheel doesn't hit it (it would hang up if on a hard right turn)

electrical completely redone - switches, wiring, battery (uses a mini-quad battery now) and charging system all fixed

fuel system reworked - fuel line, carburetor replaced, fuel shut-off valve added


NOW THE REST OF THE STORY- Last summer I was hired to tune up and repair this murray lawn tractor for a fellow outside Omak. Told him the last mower I worked on from up here was the racer I now own. He asked about it, and I told him. He then went on to tell me that not only was this mower was a winner of almost every local annual race for 20 years (I did see something about that part), but a circuit champion and the fastest he knew of in the state. (I have NO way to verify anything there) BUT, it was also the reason the race scene shut down here - in a series of wrecks a guy lost his leg to this machine during a race and supposedly more than one person had been severely injured by this machine either driving or going up against it. Again, I have NO way to verify this information in any way, only going off of what the guy said - and it was almost too detailed to be a lie. The tone of his voice, the details he knew... yeah.

So, I've ridden it before I heard most of that and it scared the deuce out of me. It's insane how fast it is and almost impossible to control in anything but a straight line when then it's just hard to control. It's been down for months while I figure out how to tame this thing. Figuring a governed engine, slight regearing, etc to bring it to about half it's estimated top speed... something more easily managed.

Sorry it's so long a story - but I guess I'm both proud and p**s scared of the machine so why not.

That 8 horse engine must be pretty built up to push that guy to those speeds

TechnoChicken wrote:

That 8 horse engine must be pretty built up to push that guy to those speeds

it's an early 12hp according to the block #, but yeah, I agree. Still, it's a lot smaller than it looks. I know it's powerful enough to throw my 330lb butt right off the back at any speed if i goose the gas.

TechnoChicken wrote:

That 8 horse engine must be pretty built up to push that guy to those speeds

Ever watch carsandcameras youtube?  8HP is quite a bit, all it has to do it move the tractor.  No mowing or other engagements.  Just moving.

MightyRaze wrote:

TechnoChicken wrote:

That 8 horse engine must be pretty built up to push that guy to those speeds

Ever watch carsandcameras youtube?  8HP is quite a bit, all it has to do it move the tractor.  No mowing or other engagements.  Just moving.

Especially when the tractor is lighter than I am (barely) and maybe 4 and a half feet long lol. It's probably about 8hp right now, spec'd at 12 and who knows what it was built. Sucker is worn out BAD and still flies no questions asked.

A machine with history, pedigree and a dark, nefarious legacy that demands respect... it's a thing of beauty!

Love the reference to the king of horror too, seems fitting!

I love a machine with a good story!  Feel free to post on about your updates to the machine!

Oh, and it is in the header rotation now.

I have seen so many vehicles on youtube that are name christine (Even like a 1960's road grader)
I have been told that's from a horror movie, but never watched the one...

The movie is based on the Stephen King novel, it's one of my favorite and a good adaptation!

TechnoChicken wrote:

I have seen so many vehicles on youtube that are name christine (Even like a 1960's road grader)
I have been told that's from a horror movie, but never watched the one...

It is. "Possessed" killer car attaches to one owner, changing him in the process. Bunch of people die or get severely hurt or whatever. Owner's friend figures it out, tries to destroy car, car goes on rampage.

And I know the grader - that's from Diesel Creek lol

Yep, you watch his channel?
I didn't know it was possible for a machine to want to kill someone that bad
Did the severed leg come with the purchase

TechnoChicken wrote:

Yep, you watch his channel?
I didn't know it was possible for a machine to want to kill someone that bad
Did the severed leg come with the purchase

Sure do, love it. My big 'thing' is fixing old stuff too, he does it because it's cheaper, I do it because I want to

Probably one of my favorite channels on youtube, I just like heavy equipment a lot