Bill,
I read your note regarding your dismay at the possibility of having
to bring your car into a more historicly correct vintage trim.
I think you'll find that most groups are experiencing the same
concerns.
I am wondering why there are so many cars that have been allowed to
race that are not prepared as vintage race cars. Are the fibreglass fenders
easier to repair and allowing people to attempt more risky manuvers? are
they lighter allowing better acceleration? The weight of the generator is
considerable and must slow you down, maybe you could gut the thing and run
constant loss without any horsepower draw at all.
The TR-3 's that were run in the 50's and 60's were controlled as to
engine displacement (valve sizes), originality of the suspensions, tires,
brakes, carburetors and handled, excelerated in a manner that the SCCA or
FIA wanted to effect even and safe race groupings. It would seem that your
not really wanting to race a TR-3 and are more concerned with your ability
to placing high in the final order. I personally think the Triumphs are a
fun car to drive within the spirit and rules of our stricter groups.
I had a chat with Bill Parish at a VARA event at Buttonwillow a
couple of years ago. He expressed concern over the preparation of the race
cars as not being in vintage preparation which resulted in higher top
speeds, handling, and braking potential. I think we looked at a Mark II
Jaguar sedan with Willwood brakes, BMW 5-speed gearbox and a XJ6 engine with
all the state-of-the-art performance modifications. He thought that the
spirit of that car and a number of others were not vintage and could hurt
the ability of insurers to provide inexpensive coverage for vintage events.
SCCA has in the past changed rules citing insurance as the predominate
reason.
I really like vintage racing and the HMSA philosophy that we are
only preserving the cars as they were raced. If you have a real land speed
record TR-3 that did Bonneville , I'd love to see it on the track. If you
have a rare TR-3 that was run in Modsports in the 80's it would be real
interesting. I don't think any one is terribly interested in a half baked
cheater weird "hotrod" Triumph or how it placed nor how disappointed you
are.
I would really be interested in seeing you and your TR-3 in original
configuration at a CSRG or HMSA race some time, and having a good time
after!
Stewart Smith
1957 TR-3
1958 TR-3
1962 Morgan +4
1958 Lotus 7 series1 F (Ford 100E flathead engine)
----- Original Message -----
From: Bill Babcock <BillB@bnj.com>
To: <fot@autox.team.net>
Sent: Monday, September 20, 1999 11:26 AM
Subject: The good news/ Bad news weekend
> I had a great weekend racing at Seattle International Raceway in SOVERN's
> fall finale. The TR3 ran perfectly, I drove fairly well, though I had some
> concentration problems at the end of the last race. I was too far back
from
> the first six pack, and too far ahead of the second pack, until a Lotus
> Elite started running me down. Bugger passed me in the last corner, last
> lap.
>
> I usually run in with the Vintage group, but my registration was late so
> they bumped me into the historics, where the cars a typically much faster.
> My lap times would have put me in the top three in vintage, but the best I
> could manage was eighth in historic (out of 41 cars on the grid).
>
> The bad news was my car was randomly selected for detailed rules
inspection.
> Sovern has been very loose about originality, engine tweaks, etc. until
just
> recently (except for the Porsche guys, who were continually flogging each
> other in the pits over originality issues). So now they're going a little
> far the other way. Basically I'm going to have to completely rework the
TR3
> if I want to race it next year. They even want me to put an original
> generator back in, and a lucas distributor in place of the mallory. Of
> course all the fiberglass I have on the car is verboten, so I'm going to
> have to find a bunch of tin (or rework the junk I've got). I'm not sure
it's
> worthwhile, especially since I have Peyote to play with, but it seems a
bit
> too sad to take literally the only TR3 running up here off the track (for
> that matter, oftentimes the only Triumph).
>
> I certainly understand the reasons for the rules, but we're all just doing
> this for fun. I don't give a hoot what someone else does to their car as
> long as I can get on the track and race with someone. I know most of you
> guys race in organizations that have always been strict, but I've never
> really understood how that all influences the amount of fun anyone has
doing
> this sport.
>
> I'll have to wait until my ox heals from this goring to figure out how I
> really feel. I know there's no such thing as a set of rules without a
> political agenda. Maybe I just need to go back to SCCA racing to
experience
> complete frustration for a while. Then this will seem minor and completely
> reasonable again.
>
> Ah, well, great weekend anyway.
>
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