Hi all,
Well, I broke another one, that's the bad news. But, that's racing. And
race I did.
The 2nd annual Classic Motor Works (my Moss Motors Guy) vintage race was
good for many, bad for some, plain unlucky for several. No scratches were
put on any car in any class, except the 2 Formula Vee drivers who were
running hard for championship points - and often almost touching wheels.
One eventually lost with a broken rear hub (the wheel bolts on to the brake
drum, the drum is bolted to the axle with a bigass nut....touch, stress
crack, break, spin, end of race for Pete, oh well, he did bring spares).
Our Vintage grid was about 10 this year, the Mustang GT 350 was the fastest
car out there, staying ahead of the Formula Ford(s) most times and, later
Sunday, annoying those pesky Honda production racers turning 1:06's in the
mixed grid. Strictly vintage, though, we had the 'stang, 2 Formula Fords, a
Porsche 912, a Formula Vee, a hot Beetle, the Lotus Cortina, a Datsun 510,
and two Honda civics of the very old variety.
Very quickly, there were not 10 cars running. The pace was fast, nearly as
fast as the modern cars, and attrition took its toll. Liz Stadther, 1/2 of
the husband and wife "Dreamsicle Racing" Formula Ford team blew a connecting
rod right out the side of her Lotus type 61. May as well do it right, I
guess. Pretty car, though and it went best just before the BANG. Later
that day, I had a crack at driving her Husband's Merlyn Mk 11 FFord for 3
laps in a pro solo. Not having been in a F Ford since 1988, this was a
thrill - and rewarded me with an outright win in the pro solo against some
VERY hot street cars. And I was driving the Ford at about 7/10ths, mindful
that the motor was worth more than my entire Triumph.... and it was the
spare that is to replace the blown up one in the wife's car ! One of the
civics broke a motor mount, and he went home and got his "spare car" to
finish the weekend in the club class points hunt. The beetle went faster
than it should have, and then displayed its anger by permanently
de-selecting 3rd gear. Back to the shop. The 10 went through a clutch
slave cylinder and a rear tranny seal, minor but setbacks just the same.
For some reason, they don't let you use the "smoke screen" button on a race
track!
The Cortina's weekend mixed, but was less successful than hoped for an
ex-runoffs car from the early 80's. we knew nothing about the motor except
that it had sat between 1987 and 1999 and had turned hi 1:10's on slicks
back then. My mission, 10's and not a scratch on the fresh Team Lotus
livery.
Practise 1. Hmmm. This thing is geared for 100 mph, it should get there
quick. What's wrong? Buzzy, nothing until my foot is flat on the floor,
should run away from its self. Problem, sunk front Weber float. Remove,
resolder, replace, no more flooding, but practise was a write off as far as
learning the car.
Race 1. First lap, no incidents. Pheuh, not bent yet. Lap 2, diving inside
up the F Vee (see next race), drop to 3rd, shifter breaks off at the floor.
Box full of neutrals at 85 mph in turn 1, inside of an open wheeler.
Hmmmmm. Pull off track, look at where shifter belongs and see only a shift
boot. Slacken belts, pull off boot, there is a "thumb sized" stub left that
I can reach if I leave the shoulder belts slack and really lean over. Got
3rd, got going again, back of the pack. Float repair failed, had to keep my
foot flat on the floor to keep the motor running. Passed the event sponsor
in his Mini within 2 laps. Started 4th, dropped to 10th, finished 6th in a
13 mile race.
Race 2. Lap 1. Grid 6th. Formula Vee spins ahead of me in turn 1, in
EXACTLY the same spot as did the Healey last year (that caused the carnage).
4 wheels off to the outside vowing not to repeat. The vee driver knew his
stuff and did not slingshot across the track (thankfully for us both). Back
to 9th (all but the spun vee).
Car ran ok, but not great. Liz blew up her FFord. Finished 4th behind the
GT 350, FFord and the Datsun 510. Without the "off", I'd have got the 510
too. But the other Fords were Fast Fords and the best I could hope for was
3rd anyway.
Race 3. Grid 3rd (Datsun DNS). 15 laps this time instead of 10. Carb
still ok. Newly welded up shifter still intact but the R&R did something and
it's difficult to get gears now. No biggie. Carb still ok. Car owner
leans into the cockpit, yanks out the rev limiter chip and gives me an extra
500 rpm. Car runs better from 7 to 75 than it does anywhere else. Yee hah.
The Big Ford and the Little Ford ran away (again), leaving me to fend off an
increasingly fast Porsche who was just learning the track. I made the
"mistake" of backing off and "letting him by" after about 4 laps. I
neglected the Formula Vee right behind him, and, yielding on a blue flag to
BOTH cars, I now had some work to do.
The Vee, with about 55 screaming gerbils under the cowl, was as fast in the
corners but not on the straight, and in 2 laps I got tired of following and
"forgot" to use the brakes in turn 1 and shot by in the next braking zone
with all that extra speed. But the Porsche had opened up a nice lead on me.
Sideways is fun, and in this car it is also quite fast. Making quite a
display in getting there, I caught the car every time we got to the twisties
where handling mattered. But Dave was less inclined to let me pass and we
treated the "hoardes of spectators" - - including my parents (at the track
for the first time ever), my car owner, and the wife of the Porsche guy - -
to a show of 11/10ths driving at 70 mph.
And then the fuel pump quit on lap 12, a victim of vapour lock.
Day 2.
This one was really short. I was recruited to cook breakfast and slaved
over a breakfast grille for 90 minutes. I was so covered in grease from the
sausages etc. that I had to shower again. Why wear a fireproof suit when
you are greasy enough to spontaneously combust? My 25 minute practise
session again lasted about 12 laps before the fuel pump said ENOUGH, again.
When the motor re-lit, it looked like London fog coming out the tail pipe.
Head gasket failure, contaminated dry sump system, no spares. End. Car
went on trailer, I got into my Whites, and was off to the corners to relieve
marshals.
The drive home was sombre. Tired, sunburnt, and a bit self conscious about
all that went wrong - despite expectations of worse by owner and driver - I
found the GT6 to be quiet, comfortable, and well mannered. See, it IS all
relevant.
A happy postscript: Despite my showing, the car owner called me at lunch
today (he lives 8 hours West and had left early to get home at a reasonable
hour... I thought maybe he was just upset) and asked me to find some
equipment for him. Gord wants to see the car running again in three weeks
at Brainerd, MN... with yours truly at the wheel. I may be just crazy
enough to try again.
"Hi, my name is Dave, and I'm a Race-aholic......"
Dave Terrick
Winnipeg
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