The rules say "mounted in a conventional manner" just because of those
cars.
The reason rear engine roadsters went backwards is because of center
of gravity being aft of the center of pressure in the lateral plane. They
were arrow stable going backwards just like most lakesters and top fuel
dragsters are now if it weren't for wings and fins.
Jim in Palmdale
----- Original Message -----
From: Glen Barrett <speedtimer@earthlink.net>
To: <FastmetalBDF@aol.com>
Cc: <jdincau@qnet.com>; <land-speed@autox.team.net>
Sent: Thursday, November 30, 2000 6:07 PM
Subject: Re: BACKASSWARDS ? THAT HAS BEEN DONE !!!
> Fastmetal
> There were several in the early fifties with the bodies on backwards.
> One of the reasons rear engine roadsters were banned was because of the
> aerodynamics sucked when these roadsters got backwards, most got upside
down
> because of the lift across the back of the TEE Body.
> Glen
>
> FastmetalBDF@aol.com wrote:
>
> > Jim, You said you can' t mount a roadster body backwards for
> > streamlining .
> > I am sure that is very true ...... nowadays ! However, this HAS
been
> > done !!!
> > Some years ago, I saw an article on the dry lakes, and there, big
as
> > life,
> > was a photo of a ' 29 roadster with the body actually mounted BACKWARDS
!
> > This was a meet in the post war years, or early Fifties, and I
think
> > it might have been sanctioned by either Russetta, or Cal - Neva , and
the
> > car looked ridiculously stupid, as you can imagine, and the caption
under the
> > pic mused about what length would these ( crazy ) hot rodders go to
.......
> > to make their race car go faster .......
> > As dumb as it looked, it might have made that oddball ride a wee
bit
> > faster,
> > and I wonder if anyone else on the list ever actually saw this car at
the
> > lakes ?
> > This would have been a REAL head turner ....... and ran LONG
before
> > drag racing' s backward bodied " Back Up Pickup ", and the name of the
fun
> > loving team that ran it must have settled into the dust of that dry lake
many
> > moons ago . We won' t see another like it ever run ....... but as
they say
> > nowadays ........ somebody has " Been there ..... Done that "
> > Truth is stranger than fiction / There' s nothing new under the sun
/
> > They said it couldn' t be done
> > Bruce
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