I guess it's my turn. (I'm the guy that writes the race reports so you know
this will be a long one. There is a prize for reading to the end.)
All this madness is not my fault.
I got my first car at age 12. (A Nash Metropolitan when someone couldn't
pay my dad for a horse he bought.) Drove it around for a year and my dad
sold it. The go-kart lasted through 3 or 4 motors (2 or 3 years) until the
frame broke from jumping it from one ramp to another one.
At 15, my neighbor gave me her dad's '56 Ford wagon for mowing her lawn for
the summer. My family was into horses so I also got to drive our horse
truck ('48 Dodge I think) a lot.
In college, my mom gave me her '67 Dodge 427 Wedge Head Cornet with a Hurst
4-on-the-floor. My buddies were taking bets on how soon I would kill myself
in it.
Up 'till now autos were merely transportation and no real fun. (Burn outs
in the Wedge Head were fun.)
(Here comes the start of all my automobile problems.) When I met my wife to
be, she had a Spitfire. She let me drive it on our second date and I was
hooked. (On her and sports cars.) (In that order.) Before we got married
she moved up to a big Triumph (TR.-4 IRS).
We have owned many, many cars in the 30+ years of marriage. Some of the
stranger ones were 2, 1951 Porsche 356 Coupes (1300 Normal and 1100 Super),
a VERY rusty 356A coupe, 1937 Ford Pick-em-Up, 6 bugeyes at one time, Merkur
Xr4TI, and an SHO.
The racing bug bit early. We autocrossed the TR.-4 when we lived in the NYC
metropolitan area.
The Datsun string started when we lost the rod bearings in the Alpha. New
510s were really cheap, the Alpha dealer also sold 510s, and the cost of a
510 was about the same as a new lower end in the Duetto Spyder. Autocrossed
the 510 for a while.
A cool couple like us couldn't stay in a boxy sedan for ever. We got one of
the very first 240Zs in the northeast (at list price even). Autocrossed it
for a while. Became a member of the Bob Sharp Performance team. One day at
Bob's shop "I might be interested in racing" slipped out. Bob took me out
to his barn in the back and said "Now that we are racing the Z I'll sell you
any one of these (5 to 7) roadsters really cheep." Opportunity lost (didn't
buy any).
We moved to Seattle (set many TTODs) for 6 months and then to San Francisco.
Need more room so we bought another 510 (full race suspension, LSD, wide
wheels,)in Seattle. Fun to smoke vetts with 96HP.
Somewhere in the autocrossing period Flash Racing Ltd. started. Flash (me)
is the EVP of Wrenchen' & Racen' and Flashy (wifeypoo) is EVP of Lunch. The
Two Useless Mechanics (sons) complete the team's roster. The older one is a
510 freak.
When I came home from work one night, "I sure would like to go road racing"
slipped out. Connie said sure without blinking. Two weeks later we bought
a 2000 Roadster racer sight unseen out of Competition Press from LA. The
guy had raced it for a year or so and blew up 3 or 4 motors, got pissed,
parked it for a year, and put the add in Comp Press. A week after I brought
it home, we found out Con was pregnant with #1. I bought a motor out of a
rear end wreck, installed it and Flash Racing went road racing. We raced
and had kids on the same budget. Son #2 arrived a couple of years later.
We ran the roadster for 3 years (second in SFR one year) and couldn't afford
an engine rebuild. Sold her and bought our first Formula Vee (D-13) for
half the cost of a 2000 rebuild. Did that 2 years (7th out of 85 cars in
SFR one year). Sold the D-13.
Bought a series of Datsun 1200s to race at a local dirt track (Baylands
Raceway) for a few years. We ran every Thursday night for 22 weeks a year.
Fridays were tough at work. Saturdays were for crusin' junkyards to replace
whatever broke Thursday night. We actually won more in prize money that the
cost of entry fees.
Then we took a boat break for a few years.
One night on the way home as Con was complaining about my going too fast, "I
autta start racen again" slipped out. She said, "If it will slow you down
on the street, you should go back to racing." Two months later Flash Racing
Ltd. had Vee number 2 (an Autodynamics).
One day, at a gas station, I recognized the guy I sold the 2000 to, fueling
his motor home. He still had "my" racecar. "Is she for sale" slipped out.
(I gotta stop that slipping out stuff.) He forced me to buy the racecar,
his street car (that he scarfed up on a guardrail) and 2 parts cars.
Another Vee (RCA) found its way into the stable also. It replaced the
Autodynamics when I had a BIG THUMP. Then I found the Lotus Super 7 that I
had always wanted.
Too many projects--The 2000 is still for sale. Been for sale for years.
Anybody want to go vintage racing? Its a good deal.
Prize??? Oh yea. I write race reports for various magazines. Most people
think they are pretty funny. If you would like to see a few, E-mail me off
line and I will send you some.
Dick Ryan ex. 24022
(650)312-4022
Risk Management Dept.
SM 960/4
FAX (650)312-5830
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