Solo Drivers
The following is a letter from Solo Vee Owners Association to the Solo Events
Board. The SVOA Members have deliberated long and hard on these issues. We
feel that the proposal is timely and appropriate. Our hope is that you will
support this proposal with your letters comments to the SEB Members. If you
have questions or comments or questions that you would like to address to the
SVOA Members we would be pleased to receive them, and to respond if
appropriate.
Thanks, Ricardo Gonzales
SÚOÙ
Solo Vee Owners Association
8037 Lake Shore Drive
Miller Beach, IN 4640
email Porsche1vw@aol.com
219/939-9946
March 25, 1999
Solo Events Board and Howard Duncan
Sports Car Club of America
9033 Easter Place
Englewood, CO 80112
Dear Solo Events Board Members and Howard Duncan,
First let me introduce you to a newly formed organization, the Solo Vee Owners
Association (SVOA). A news release is enclosed describing the SVOA. One of
the major objectives of the SVOA is to promote
Solo Vee ownership and participation in Solo ll. We plan to actively work
toward increasing the number of Solo Vee participants at both the Regional and
National levels. It is our hope to eventually increase our numbers so that at
some time in the future a Solo ll class may be justified for Solo Vees.
The SVOA is in the formative stages. At the present time there are about 20
founding members who are working on the details of building
the new Association. We have deliberated on many major issues and have
arrived at a consensus regarding our current situation in F Mod. We have
carefully analyzed all options that might be possible, and have come to some
conclusions.
First let me state the things that we have considered and do not want to
recommend to the SEB:
1. We do not want to move to another class such as D Modified. We
expect to stay in F Modified for the near term.
2. We do not want to recommend any changes in the F440/500 to achieve
parity in F Modified. If parity changes for the F440/500 are appropriate, the
changes should originate with the SEB, a SEB committee assigned the task, or
the F440/500 drivers.
3. We do not want to make major performance modifications to the Solo Vee in
order to attempt to achieve parity with the F440/500 in F Modified. We think
that the Solo Vee should remain an inexpensive modified solo car. Also the
constraints and limitations of the Solo Vee design make it impractical to
attempt to match the performance of the F440/500. In general, our performance
in F Modified is therefore not expected to be on a par with the f440/500. The
present Solo Vee specifications are very close to ideal with regard to cost
and performance.
What we would like to propose is a change in the cylinder head specifications.
We request that this change be implemented by the SEB at the earliest possible
time. The details and the rational for this follow.
The heads specified by the current rules are not readily available in the
marketplace. They are expensive to build from stock heads, and the
performance improvement over stock valve sizes is minimal. The original
choice of these heads is viewed as a serious mistake in the current rules.
There are better heads, readily available, and these are the street
performance heads of choice throughout the VW industry. These heads are much
lower in cost than the present heads specified by the rules.
It is proposed that the Solo Vee head specifications be changed to read as
follows:
1. "Maximum valve sizes of 40mm intake and 35.5mm exhaust are allowed.
Valves shall be +/- .100in of standard length with standard stem diameter and
be made of steel." (This would replace current Modified Class F rule C.2.j.5)
2. "VW Type 1 style cylinder heads shall be used. Spark plugs can be of any
reach and the centerline of sparkplugs may be relocated within .25in.
Porting, polishing, and machining of ports and combustion chamber is allowed
but no material may added. Examples of acceptable cylinder heads are: CB
Performance 044, VW 040, Mofoco 042. Examples of non-acceptable cylinder
heads are: Autocraft 910, CB Performance Eliminator 2000, Super-Flo." (This
section would replace rule C.2.k)
3. Delete from existing rule C.2.l "providing that the spark plug
centerline is not changed"
Note: The spark plug changes are necessary to allow use of some of the
aftermarket heads that use a longer reach plug and move the centerline
slightly to avoid cracking between the plug and valve seats.
The proposed heads would:
1. be cheaper than the current heads specified by the rules, $400-
$800 compared to $800-$1200. This would be attractive in recruiting new Solo
Vee competitors because of lower cost.
2. result in a small performance improvement, but this would not bring
the Solo Vee into parity with the F440/500. There should be no question on
this issue. Again, our performance in F Modified is not expected to be on a
par with the F440/500.
The only disadvantage of this proposal is the cost of changing heads for those
who have already prepared costly heads to the current rules. Since the
improvement is small, many of our members will probably stay with the old
specification for the time being. The long-term advantages clearly dictate a
move to these heads as soon as possible.
We realize that the SEB has a schedule for implementing change, but we ask
that you consider this request and take action as soon as possible. The
proposed heads should receive unanimous approval by the F Modified membership.
The proposed heads will not make the Solo Vee a threat to the dominance now
held by the F440/500. Immediate action and implementation of this change will
enhance our efforts in recruiting new Solo Vee owners because of the lower
cost and slightly better performance. We do not expect this specification
change to require a great deal of debate prior to implementation.
We look forward to your evaluation and comments on this proposal.
Sincerely,
Ricardo Gonzales
President SVOA
(FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE)
Solo Vee Owners Association (SVOA) Formed
The Solo Vee owners that compete in the SCCA's F Modified class have announced
the formation of the Solo Vee Owners Association (SVOA). The purpose of the
new group is to promote the growth of Solo Vee race cars within the class, and
ultimately to develop sufficient competitors to justify the creation of an
SCCA Solo ll class.
A board of officers has been elected with Ricardo Gonzales, a long time Solo
Vee competitor, as President. According to Gonzales, the SVOA will act as a
focal point for contact with the SCCA Solo Events Board. They will provide
technical information to current and prospective owners, as well as assistance
in locating Formula Vees for conversion to Solo Vee specifications, and
identification of parts sources and engine builders.
The SVOA is open to current and prospective Solo Vee owners and drivers. Those
interested in membership can contact the Association through the SVOA
Treasurer Norm Dively, 5287 Birchcrest, Swartz Creek, MI 48473, phone
810/635-9319, or email Normesp192@aol.com. A web site is available at
http://www.wenet.net/~wordex/svoa
The SVOA Officers are:
President Ricardo Gonzales, Porsche1VW@aol.com
Vice President Chuck Buysse, cjbuysse@webtv.com
Secretary Jesse Wills, djwills @ix.netcom.com
Treasurer Norm Dively, normesp192@aol.com
Director Rudy Bahnsen, brbahnsen@egl.net
An email list server is also available: To subscribe to the SVOA list server,
send the following email message "subscribe solo-vee" in the body (not the
subject line) of an email message sent to:
majordomo@autox.team.net
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