during the rebuild of the sports racer i removed over 250lbs of scrap from
the car. the old rollbar was too thick in it tube wall thickness and
excessive in it's structure and all over the car were things like the pedal
box that had solid steel side plates wich i swiss cheesed to remove non
structural excess steel. even the pedals were drilled during the
restoration. there were numerous steel mounting plates and tabs for things
wich had come and gone over the years also. in a car with 750cc's weight
is critical. the H-modified class was (except for the last year or so of
it's exsistance prior to becoming the SCCA's D- sports racer clas wich
exists today) a 750cc class displacement limit. my sports racer weighs in
at 800lbs wet(both fuel cells full and cooling system full). i still weigh
too much to be competitive inthe car. but i now fit the seat and am rather
comfortable in it. a funny side note! i got in the car at summit point
and started to get strapped in and latched the lapbelt and it was over a
foot away from my lap! i held it out as far as it would go and latched it
went to just short (about an inch) of the steering wheel! it adjusted down
with a huge amount of material flapping on either side of me. but i could
not believe that i drove this car at all like i was! i know my driver's
suit looks hilarious to evryone who sees me in it walking around in the
pits. it looks like a child wearing parent sized clothing. i do need a
new suit! but as long as proper "fashion" is not importaint i'll keep
wearing my baggy old "giant" driver's suit. they are very expensive and
my money is better spent elsewhere right now. (sons b-day 7th, wife's b-day
15th mine 16th christmas, etc.!) and i need to come up with sebring money
too(that trip is so long as far as fuel and other expenses. so i figure
i'll look funny to evryone in my baggy suit. but in my own way it's one
huge badge of courage to me. :)
chuck.
ok-ok, now back to spritely matters! :)
----- Original Message -----
From <John.Deikis at med.va.gov>
To: <spridgets@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, December 03, 2002 9:11 AM
Subject: Re: turkey bowl..."add lightness"
> A buddy of mine who runs an old Lola sportsracer at Waterford Hills came
to
> that conclusion himself: He realized he was spending big money on
titanium
> washers and super-light-alloy foot pedals. Then he asked himself, what
> would I pay to knock 50 # off the car. That became his motivator to
change
> his eating habits. Each pound he lost equated to a known dollar figure
that
> he kept reminding himself of. To this day, he diets before race season
and
> (talk about screwed priorities) does not drink beer or eat corn chips
until
> winter!
> --JohnD
> ===============================
>
> Date: Mon, 2 Dec 2002 19:19:39 EST
> From: HealeyRic2@aol.com
> Subject: Re: home from the turkey bowl (still alive!)
>
> chuck,
>
> Wasn't it Colin Chapman who advised to go faster, "add lightness"? Don't
> know if he ever thought of going after the driver, instead of the car.
Glad
your maiden run worked out. Perseverance is obviously one of your strong
> suits.
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