Bernal dads race Muni-themed car for 16 hours
Taking “dadcore” to the next level, a group of dads in Bernal Heights hacked their 1991 Volvo station wagon into a Muni-themed race car and drove it around the track in a 16-hour race over the weekend. Why? More like, why not??!
“We’ve always raced Volvo wagons, which are obviously rather bus-like. But when it came time to build a new car, we ended up with an old Volvo that just happened to be… Muni gray. Once we realized that, it took about one nanosecond for everyone the team to agree that a Muni race car was the way to go,” says Todd Lappin, one of the Bernal Dads, whom you may also know from Bernalwood.
The Bernal Dads entered the car, aptly named “Bus 670” in honor of the 67 Muni bus, into the “24 Hours of LeMons” race in Thunderhill Raceway Park (just left of Chico). In this endurance racing of cars that cost less than $500, the Muni-themed race car did experience some very Muni-like troubles:
“We actually had a clutch failure on Day 1, which required an engine removal to fix. Drama! But it was great on Day 2. Very Muni-authentic.” With a new clutch in place, “Bus 670” continued for seven more hours around the race track.
You can see lots more photos and videos on Bernalwood.
The dads actually got some free stuff from the company that makes many of the illuminated signs for Muni. The third brake light in the rear tailgate is an actual “STOP REQUESTED” sign, and the passenger side features a route number sign too.
No details were spared. Inside the race car:
Appropriate warning in the back:
Here are the dads with their Muni shirt racing uniforms:
And the Muni race car in action:
Lastly, the Bernal Dads are pretty confident about their car:
The Bernal Dads Racing Team estimates Bus 670 has the potential to transport commuters from Pinhole Coffee on Cortland Avenue to the Ferry Building downtown in five minutes or less with limited-access traffic controls. To verify this, the Bernal Dads look forward to strapping SFMTA Director of Transportation Ed Reiskin into the rear passenger compartment for a high-speed proving run.
All photos by Todd Lappin at @telstarlogistics