In a message dated 30/11/00 9:19:19 AM Pacific Standard Time,
marshall@nefcom.net writes:
> I'm willing to cut the cage and replace the brakes if necessary, but before
> I take the time and spend the money to downgrade them, I'd be interested to
> know whether there's anything to this and if I may actually be compromising
> safety in the interest of originality. I'm aware that some groups are more
> liberal in their interpretation of "safety" upgrades than others, and that
> if I decide to keep the bars and brakes I might be limited as to where I
> can race. I'd also hate to downgrade the car and then roll it into a ball
> because something broke that could have been avoided.
>
>
My personal inclination (not backed by any particular organisation's rules,
no doubt) would be to leave the cage as is - sure it may give you a more
rigid chassis, but IMHO the safety aspect overrides any notional advantage
you might get in performance.
I don't believe there are any serious problems with the TR front hubs (let me
know if I am wrong - I use them on my TVR race car), but OTOH, the alloy ones
really don't give you any advantage. Prepare two identical cars except for
the front hubs (or run laps before and after changing hubs) and my bet is
that there will be zero difference.
The ventilated discs are another issue - they do enhance performance, and are
not necessary for safety. I could run them on my TVR, but do not, because I
don't feel they are in the spirit of vintage, any more than I would fit 4 pot
Girling callipers all around on my Twincam race car and argue safety.
If you can't run alloy hubs without the ventilated discs, my personal opinion
would be that you should remove the hubs as well.
Bill S.
63TVR
58 MGA
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