My first TR was a TR4A that I restored when I was 15... in 1977.
(Funny to think that a 10 year old car needed a total restoration!)
Long story short.... I set up that engine nearly full race.... and as
a teen... I used to street race any car that I could find willing to
give it a shot... Yes, I would smoke 289 Mustangs and leave them in
the dust. I pretty much beat just about anything I raced. I recall
racing a Corvette.... and we were neck and neck between lights and he
never could pull ahead. He yelled through his window, "What the hell
have you got under that hood?" I'd smile and said, "stock". (Okay, so
it wasn't really stock, but it was the original motor!) They just
didn't expect it from a little wire-wheeled TR!
My favorite street race was with a Sunbeam Tiger. At first, I couldn't
get this old guy to go for it... (LOL, that "old guy" was probably about
as old as I am now!) I kept revving my motor and taunting him between
lights, but he just wouldn't race. Finally, after about 3 lights... he
knodded his okay... and we watched the cross-lights....
green-amber-red-GOOOOO!!!! I dropped the clutch and catapulted off
the line. We were neck to neck! I chirped it into second....chirped
into third... and before I knew it, bam I was in fourth.... YES...
we're talking well over 100.... and I looked over... and he was right
next to me... I thought I had him at a tie.... but then... I heard
it....
He still had another gear....
So he pulled ahead of me, but we ran out of runway and stopped at the
next light. You could see he was exhilarated. And he was also
impressed that my little four-banger had matched his V8. He just beat
me at the top end..
There's a lot more stories like that, but then I'd have to worry about
indictments being handed down.
--Justin
RACER BUD wrote:
> Street racing..now it's coming back...1966...I had a 1962 TR4...San
> Francisco Bay Area...East Bay...the car was stock except for a self
> done valve grind and de-arched leaf springs(ala Steve Froines'
> suggestion as 'The first thing to do to a TR4 to begin making it a
> race car)...Late nights in the city of Oakland....coming home from who
> knows what party ...I could blow off 289 Mustangs between
> signals..probably up to about 50+ mph...there were/are 2 ways to shift
> the old Tr4s with the stock box...pause in between gears..OR shift so
> fast that it just blasted right in..WHAM, WHAM, WHAM!!
> great old days
> Racer Bud
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