According to the Feb. 2000 Fastrack news, all the TR's, Spits, GT6's and
Heralds are in the newly formulated FSP, along with pretty much all the
older cars. A house cleaning of sorts.
Bob Kramer
rgk@flash.net
----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Lang <LANG@ISIS.MIT.EDU>
To: wiseman <wiseman@titan.com>
Cc: <triumphs@autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2000 3:11 PM
Subject: Re: wheel transport question
>
> On Fri, 14 Jan 2000, wiseman wrote:
>
> > Howdy Robert
>
> Howdy-ho neighbor!
>
> I cc'd the Triumphs list, just for yucks. This kind of info beats the ol'
> "vendor bashing stuff" hands down.
>
> > Well, I am about ready to buy autox wheels and tires for my TR6 [
> > and maybe even some magnetic numbers if F/SP is really stable now ]
>
> ... isn't it ESP for TR6's. Hmmm. I'd better get the rule book! Ah - what
> the heck. I'm running AP next year. I know that hasn't changed. ;-)
>
> > and wondered how you get your stuff to the track/lot ? Trailer, or
> > just throw-em where ever they fit ? Will they all fit in the car ?
>
> For the last 5 years, I've put one tire on the trunk lid rack, one in the
> trunk (sort of angled in) and two on the passenger seat. I run the
> Hoosier 225/55-15's - they're sort of wide. I leave the spare at home,
> and throw a floor jack, a torque wrench and a few misc tools into the
> passenger footwell and any space left in the trunk.
>
> I also use a min. of two bungie chords per location - you don't want
> tires bouncing around in the car when you go around a corner or slam on
> the brakes!!
>
> I've even been able to put all that stuff in _and_ enough camping gear
> and spare clothes to do an NE Divisional a couple of times. Yee - hah!
> Heck, I even drove from Boston to Hudson, WI two summers ago for the VTR
> National with my race tires... I even had to sleep in the car with all
> that "rubbah". Alright!
>
> That having been said, I'll offer these tidbits:
>
> 1. DON'T DRIVE YOUR AUTOX TIRES ON THE STREET. The more "heat cycles"
> they do, the shorter thier useful life. Don't ask me how I know this. Oh,
> as you are probably well aware, a set off 225/55-15 Hoosiers costs about
> $600. ;-)
>
> 2. If I were to continue driving that car in xSP (assuming that it's ESP
> for now), I would buy a little utility trailer from Harbor Frieght or one
> of the cheap places and built it up with a box to accomodate all 4 tires
> and a few things - like the floor jack and some tools. I'd leave the tires
> and tools in the box and just "hook up" the night before an event. That
> way I wouldn't have to go through this bizarre ritual that I perform every
> time I go to an autox. This is very important considering that many times
> I'm loading my car up _before_ I have any blood-sugar level. Very
> dangerous.
>
> As for how to hook a small trailer to a TR6, if you have a '75 or '76
> TR6, the rear bumper is pretty "stout" and a bumper mount trailer hitch
> will work. However, I'm partial to "reciever" hitches, and you will be
> too the first time you smack your shins on a "hard mount" bumper hitch,
> so I'd approach a Welder/Fabricator of a trailer shop and have them
"custom
> fit" a reciever hitch that uses the tubluar x-member and the frame rails
> ar mount points. Then you just yank out the reciever when you aren't
> toting things around.
>
> The utility trailer can double for baggage toting when you aren't racing.
>
> Just an idea. FWIW, there's a picture of a similar idea in the latest
> Grassroot Motorsports - although it is behind a _Miata_, of al things -
> but it does give you an idea of what you need to do.
>
> 3. If you have access to towing capability - try it out. Get the car
> ready with tires and everything and then just drive it on the trailer.
> With this scenario, you have maximum time to walk the course, setup -
> whatever you need to do before an event. This is a big plus in my eyes
> even though I've never actually done it. I've been pretty proud to drive
> to/from the event everytime and change my tires and all that. But it's
> getting hard to do after 4 or so seasons of autoX.
>
> I know that 3 is heresy to the hardcore Triumph crowd - but think about
> your time. Frankly, the bast part of my AutoX day is the drive home with
> the top down - but the AP car can't do that (unlees I sit in it and have
> someone else drive the van on the way home!!)
>
> The problem is - once you tow - you'll be spoiled.
>
> > thanks
> > John Wiseman
> > 76TR6
> >
> > PS
> > Its hard to keep excited about next season when it has been snowing
> > for the last 2 days [got to love the lake effect snow ]
>
> Hmmm. You should take up ice racing or something.
>
> I just keep working on my car. It really helps my mental attitude. As
> soon as I sit down and start thinking about how much money and time I'm
> investing in my project, I get depressed.
>
> This weekend I'll be showing a bunch of my Triumph friends how to rebuild
a
> TR6 gearbox.
>
> Kewl.
> rml
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