Henry,
Well put. We have really enjoyed 30 years of vintage racing and club racing.
However, I am seriously considering retiring from Vintage Racing after this
season and going back to club racing. I loved the open spirit of CanAm in the
day, but that is not what I got into vintage racing a vintage 60?s era sports
car for.
We may give our race TR4 a well deserved frame off restoration and it can be
preserved as closely to the way it was raced during the late 60?s and 70?s as
possible. It can enjoy some restful retirement time with some of the others
that we really care for. We can focus our energy on prepping another race car
for Midwest Council or SCCA Club Racing, and not have to deal with some of the
dilemma?s that we are facing with car prep for vintage. Most club racing
organizations have made it very simple. If the rule book does not say that you
can make a specific modification, than you cannot make it. It makes things a
lot simpler.
Paul
> On Mar 15, 2018, at 5:32 PM, Henry A. Morrison via Fot <fot at
> autox.team.net> wrote:
>
> I just can't disagree with this statement more.
> 1. Vintage racing is dying. There are way fewer cars and races than
> there were in 1986 when I started.
> 2. The newer cars and drivers scarcely know what a road course is. Car
> culture was different after '72 and especially now, just look at the current
> Fast and furious movies that sell the current car culture.
> 3. how many old TR gearboxes from my personal collection would you like
> to have delivered to your place tomorrow? Or buy some of the ones on ebay for
> $150, that seems to be the going rate.
> 4. Clubs that accept cars from the 80's are selling out for the entry
> fee, and in doing so driving me away in the process.
>
> Have a great racing season,
>
> Henry Morrison, Albuquerque, NM
>
> Sent from Outlook <http://aka.ms/weboutlook>
>
>
>
> It is good to see that other clubs are allowing newer cars into their races.
> VARA has been doing this for several years so that we could survive, keep the
> club solvent and the cost of racing reasonable. The future of vintage racing
> is an expansion to cars from the 80?s and 90?s, they are long past their
> prime in other venues, cheap and they bring in new drivers. They are in fact
> ?vintage?, like our cars were in the 80? and 90?s. More important, these are
> the guys and gals that lusted for a certain hot car of the that era and now
> have older kids and the bucks to go racing. Without these folks our sport
> will pass along with us.
>
> The same is true of parts. Much of our equipment is worn out and not
> maintainable without great cost and effort any longer. Gear boxes are an
> example. I am down to my last good transmission case for my dog box. When
> that goes, or the gear set is toast, I am making the switch to a modern box
> (same ratios) that I can maintain. Like many of us I have missed races
> because of transmission failures. Tony runs a Ford 8? because he doesn?t
> want to get hurt, and it is bullet proof for racing, even has a weight
> penalty. A gear box switch is inevitable if we want to keep our cars on
> track at an expenditure of time and money that makes sense.
>
> There are tons of other parts that make engines last longer (and yes they
> make more power). An old TR motor is nothing but half a Chevy Small Block;
> those guys spent hundreds of millions developing motor parts that we can take
> advantage of. Same is true of blueprinting techniques, there are much better
> ways to build engines than ?back in the day? and if you read a book and learn
> how to do it the bloody lump lasts twice as long. Last time I had my motor
> out I could have put the coated bearings with 25 races on them back in. At
> 36 races I had <5% leak down on the rings and valves. Started out building
> the old school way, with old school parts, those days are over as I don?t
> have the time to spend five days in the shop for every day at the track.
>
> Oil. There is no such thing as cheap racing oil. Modern oil is the best it
> has ever been and makes the motor last. I had technical help from Lake Speed
> who is the ?man? for Joe Gibbs Driven race oil. The stuff is $18 a quart but
> will last 500+ miles in the car (4-6 race weekends). Just change the filter
> after every race and add on quart, total cost $30.00. I can run all the way
> down to 27 wt. (mixing) but just run the 30 wt. racing oil even at +100
> degrees in the desert and the oil pressure is always spot on. Tight
> clearances, light oil and great bearing life, well worth the cost.
>
> My point in all of this is that ?vintage? racing is changing, both the cars
> and the people. We are going to have to accept and adapt or slowly see our
> sport fade. They willalways be a special place for those cars with a 50 year
> race history, prepared exactly like it raced in 1965. For the rest of the
> grid, and those of us that don?t have cars with history, there are going to
> be cars with certain changes that get us to the track. Besides some of us
> are just SoCal Hot Rodders at heart with a touch of ?good ole boy? NACAR
> ingenuity. Now I need to get back to work on that 85% scale TR-4 body in
> aluminum, or possible carbon fiber???..Everyone have a great 2018 season
> racing!
>
> Ken
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