ARDUN DOUG and Group
I'm going to throw in my two cents worth here for the very last time
regarding our "soon to run" Blown Fuel Altered that has become a focal point
for discussion on this list. The reason our car is "soon to run" is that I
had a technical question regarding the configuration or our rollcage prior
to the 1998 meet. Rather than get shot down in tech, I called Steve
Batchelor. I explained how our 10 point roll cage was welded to the subframe
connectors that were welded and crossbraced in our 68 firebird. After a
lengthy discussion with Steve, he didn't seem convinced that our car would
meet the minimum safety requirements for the Altered class. As a result I
gutted the car and fabricated a 14 point funny car style tube chassis. I
have to say, I was disappointed when I went to Bonneville and saw another
competitor, with a motor considerably wilder than ours at that time, running
an identical bodystyle with no subframe connectors, and a cage that in my
opinion, wasn't as safe as the one I just scrapped. I choked it down as part
of the price I had to pay making the jump from the drags to the flats and
took piece of mind in the fact that I had a superior design. For 1999 a
personal emergency forced my brother to return home early. Rather than rush
to finish the brake lines and fire system on the car we decided that it
would be better to wait than miss something that may cause a problem at
speeds in the 250+ mph range - all in the name of safety!
I guess my brother and I are sensitive to this subject because we've
been told that inspection is for safety purposes only and classification
(unless blatantly outside the rules for the class) would be decided (or
objected) only upon qualification for a record. I have absolutely no
objection to this whatsoever, particularly since both Doug and I have taken
great care to design a car that is safe while paying close attention to the
safety guidelines set forth by the SCTA.
Instead my problem lies in the fact that judgements are being made
about our altered, albeit controversial, in reference to our classification,
merely from a picture of the vehicle. It began at El Mirage dry lake when a
tech inspector (also a competitor in the Altered class) told me my front air
dam was illegal. I objected that it was and stated verbatim, the rule
regarding airdam design for the altered class. Still he insisted that it was
illegal so I suggested we visit the rule book to rectify the situation.
After reviewing the rulebook it was decided that yes, the air dam was legal
per the rules, and that he, an SCTA inspector, competing in the same body
class did not know the general regulations for that very class. Moving
forward to the land speed forum here, similar issues arose from our
interpretation of the rules surrounding pictures of our car on our webpage.
You are 100% correct Ardun Doug, we will roll into tech and see what they
say, but Doug and I have already resigned ourselves to running for time only
rather than remove our spoiler and run a car that is potentially unsafe.
Darrell Ferguson
BLACK RADON ENGINEERING
# 939 BBFALT
http://my.cybersoup.com/blackradon <http://my.cybersoup.com/blackradon>
Paranoia is indeed treatable. You seem to have built a case against your own
"soon to be run" car without any Tech person actually looking at it. Why not
finish it and bring it to Tech, letting the cards fall where they will.
Many of us have poured our heart, soul, and pocketbooks into projects that
we were so sure would break records, that we had in the back of our minds to
just have SCTA send the trophy and the Two-Club mail the hats. Reality is,
indeed a different story as many of the Group will attest.
Regards your stories about doing Tech from an observers post, I think that
very few competitors would honestly say that under the old method they have
never seen something slip by Tech as a result of the past "good-old-boy"
club. One year while I was recruited to do Tech with absolutely NO training
I was told by a since-replaced official to "just sign off" a VERY FAST car
belonging to a VERY well known racer. At that time only one inspector was
required to sign-off any car, regardless of the speed it was capable of. I
handed him my clip-board and walked away.
The "big-top" method, as I call it, of Tech inspection has made huge
improvements in the quality and consistency of the procedure. The log-book
system is a HUGE plus also.
My understanding is that the Tech people will not disqualify a car for being
in the wrong class. If the car owner calls it in a certain class, they
SAFETY TECH it for that class. The determination of class correctness comes
in the impound area after a record run.
Safety Tech or class designation-wise, if some inspector objects to
something on a car, and you don't agree with it, have him write it in the
log and sign it. The next step is the Class Committee for the type of car,
followed by the SCTA Board. Believe me, these guys are all pretty practical
independent thinkers and will not necessarily "scratch-each-others-back".
Once the questionable innovation passes the Tech at impound following a
record run, the innovation becomes a precident, cast in stone.
I don't know if a spectator can protest a car going through Tech, but a $100
bill and a discussion with Dan Warner should test the rule at the next SCTA
meet.
With a litttle knowledge of the LIMITATIONS in the rule book combined with
the input from the various committee's, I can see little possibility of
one's getting to the races with some major disqualifying innovation and / or
violation of the class rules.
Ardun Doug in CA
In a message dated 01/20/2000 10:01:55 AM Pacific Standard Time,
dferguso@ebmail.gdeb.com <mailto:dferguso@ebmail.gdeb.com> writes:
<<
well ardundoug, i havent run at ANY scta events, NOT A SINGLE ONE , but ive
spent many hours watching other cars go thru tech at them, possibly more
than you, so i can speak from some personal experience, and what i saw with
my own eyes was a joke safety and rule wise. ILL FLAME THE FIRE RIGHT NOW
!!!,- i saw a record holding modified sports running well over 200 mph
year after year, and when this guy came thru tech, he had violations obvious
to me , a dumb , unexperienced, rookie bystander such as:
1. closed end acorn nuts on his wheels
2. no washers on alloy wheels
3. a backseat bulkhead fabbed out of some kind of plastic shower
curtain material ty-wrapped in flapping in the breeze with huge gaps to the
drivers compartment
4. a true garbage rollcage without any scta required gussets, and
safety padding quite questionable
5. a driver side restraint consisting of a window net from the roof to
the rocker panel held in with several small ty-wraps thru sharp holes on
sheetmetal that were literally punched with an awl, i could have thrown a
fastball at the net and it would have ripped out !!!
there were quite a few other problems which i cannot remember right now,
but the car overall was a safety NIGHTMARE, not to mention it was a real
piece of **** to be going 200 + mph - i watched this car slip right thru
tech, with the CHIEF tech inspector , yes, numero uno, of the scta
performing and signing off his primary inspection, but they knew each other
on a first name basis so that makes his car safe, his independent backup
inspection consisted of the first inspector walking over to the second one
and saying quote " hey, sign off (name's) car, its good to go", and he
signed it off without even looking over his shoulder at the car. a couple
cars later a guy with a beautiful, safe, well constructed altered who came
all the way from austrailia literally got his balls BUSTED by the scta
inspectors because his same metal backseat bulkhead had tiny gap that a
fruitfly couldnt get thru , im talking 30 thousandths of an inch , i was
truly disgusted that another guy was ok with a bulkhead that would have
instantly melted if it came in contact with fuel, not to mention plastic is
flammable on its own, and he was already lining up in the staging lanes. so
this is a SPECIFIC PROBLEM I HAVE, with this sanctioning organization now
that you have asked. i also have seen some other "gems" about safety and
rules if you would like me to contact you offline
now i know everyone is gonna say that inspectors have alot to do , they are
there to help, they arent perfect , they are volunteers, AND I 100 % AGREE
AND compliment their efforts , that is not the issue here, i can tell from
feedback on our vehicle already that these same inspectors are trying to
tell me our car is illegal, when it is by the book 100 % legal, and very
safe to boot, but their interpretation is right and mine is wrong , even
though it meets scta rules verbatim, and there is nothing i can do about it
except take it. actually ardundoug, our car has been "questioned" by several
inspectors alredy, spoiler, airdam, chine blades, breathers, etc. - but i
dont know them on a first name basis either, so, ardundoug i dont think im
just talking out my *** even though im not a seasoned vet in the landspeed
world .
i mean this in a nice way, TO ALL, im actually a nice, easygoing person in
real life
im sure the scta will have a warrant waiting for black radon engineering at
the bonneville entry road checkpoint this year, MY FIRST scta event as a
competitor ardundoug, positive regards to all- im thru with trying to
discuss this rules thread, really
doug-
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