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[Fot] New Cars, New Parts

Subject: [Fot] New Cars, New Parts
From: Bill at ponostyle.com (Bill)
Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2018 07:10:03 -1000
References: <002701d3baf6$3fe28f90$bfa7aeb0$@klaenv.com> <CY4PR14MB1160BB43D5C8FD1C9EF98B7390D00@CY4PR14MB1160.namprd14.prod.outlook.com> <D88F7BD1-62F4-48B0-909D-AC2D8DD304F2@att.net> <E8D23F06-B788-4520-AAB2-0E6B9124EC22@ponostyle.com> <CY4PR14MB11600B47E1D5CCAE2C02E5C390D70@CY4PR14MB1160.namprd14.prod.outlook.com>
Different strokes I guess. I don?t care what the other cars are as long as I?m 
having fun. A CRX ruined the aesthetic? How many people were watching the TR3?s 
run back in the day. I used to go to Thompson and Limerock to watch the sports 
car races. Me and thirty other people. Sepia toned nostalgia is safe because it 
doesn?t have to be real. 

I know plenty of snobs who just think anyone who isn?t doing what they do is 
wrong.  

> On Mar 16, 2018, at 6:40 AM, Henry A. Morrison <dos_gusanos at msn.com> wrote:
> 
> Solipsistic?  
> 
> I would keep vintage racing if I were racing with TR's and MG's etc.  I went 
> to a race and finished between a X1/9 and a RX7 and said why am I working so 
> hard to keep my Elva running?  Can I race a Dodge Neon or other POS?  
> 
> At the Last VSCDA event there was one Honda CRX in the field.  Were these 
> ever raced?  Wait I know they were but NO ONE cared to watch.  The CRX ruined 
> the aesthetic of the field.  Please forward my message to the owner and tell 
> him to get a real car.  
> 
> I grew up in the 80's the cars sucked, they still suck.  1000 years shall 
> pass and they shall still suck.  I know very few people who long for those 
> cars and do not wish to associate with them.  Old bad wine, is still bad wine.
> 
> Remember a Snob is merely one who appreciates that which is, good.
> 
> I do appreciate all Triumphs.
> 
> Cheers, Henry Morrison
> Sent from Outlook <http://aka.ms/weboutlook>
> 
> 
> From: Bill <Bill at ponostyle.com>
> Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2018 10:43 PM
> To: Paul Ricco
> Cc: Henry A. Morrison; Friends of Triumph
> Subject: Re: [Fot] New Cars, New Parts
>  
> I?m trying to figure out what Henry is disagreeing with, or what Paul is 
> saying. If you?re leaving vintage racing, why would you care what the rules 
> are or what cars the organizations permit? And if vintage racing is dying, 
> then how is accepting 80?s cars selling out for the entry fee? If you started 
> racing in 86, then the cars from 1950 (probably older than whatever you 
> raced) were 36 years old. Cars from 1980 are 38 years old. Does vintage mean 
> just those cars that were cool when you were a kid? That?s a bit too 
> solipsistic for me. 
> 
>> 
>> 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   
>> 
>>> 
>>> 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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