There are two main schools of thought on tying down a racecar, each with
pros & cons:
-- Tie it down by the wheels/tires so the suspension is free to move,
which should save the car from getting rattled to pieces
-- Tie it down by the chassis, partially compressing the suspension,
saving some wear on the racecar's shocks. If you have a $5k set of
Penskes, this may matter to you.
I'm not religiously attached to either of the above. If your car is
stiffly sprung and you drive on any of the bumpier racetracks, you're
probably rattling it around more on the racetrack than you ever will on
your trailer, assuming the trailer has some kind of suspension.
One thing I _am_ sure of is that if you attach to something other than
the wheels/tires, attach to a part of the car that was meant for such
abuse. Most race sanctioning bodies require one or more tow hooks on
every car, so use them to tie down. Your 912 might even have a pair of
towing hooks front & rear, which would be really convenient. You
_really_ don't want to attach to an A-arm, radius rod, driveshaft, etc.
Yes, these are all beefy parts that were designed to carry substantial
loads in some direction, but not the direction your tiedown strap will
be pulling. You don't want to show up at a race with bent suspension
bits and tweaked alignment because you tied the car down wrong.
You should also think about how you'd tie the car down Sunday night in
the unlikely event it isn't exactly the same size/shape as it was before
the race. Make sure your straps are long enough in case you have to
improvise.
KeithKa
Elva 300 FJr, dismantled enough to fit easily in my pickup
> ----------
> From: Rich Lambert[SMTP:red912@acmenet.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 1997 2:40 PM
> To: Vintage Race list
> Subject: Securing 912 to trailer
>
> I need some advice as to the best way to secure my '68 912 vintage
> race
> car to a flatbed trailer. The trailer deck is 2 x 12's. Some of the
> ideas I've heard so far include running straps through the spokes of
> the
> Fuchs and attaching them to D-rings on the trailer, have some hooks
> welded to the body as strap attachment points, and running straps over
>
> the tires and attaching those to D-rings. Any pros or cons to these
> methods? Any other ideas?
>
> Thanks,
> Rich Lambert
>
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