Hi all!
I am very pleased to have been nominated to this list (thanks Bob and
Joe!) and am eager to jump in with both feet! I am looking forward to
chatting with you about subjects Triumph.
I have a 1967 DP 1300 Spitfire (Tristan) that I got last September. It
had been run in SCCA road racing as an FP car, and had set a track
record somewhere or other -- I'll have to find out all of the details.
After replacing the clutch and pulling some hair out in the process, I
got the car to the last Equipe Rapide event here last season and had a
blast! He has a fiberglass bonnet and deck lid, Mallory electronics,
Accusump, oil cooler, twin 1 1/2" SU's, Koni's, Pyrotect fire system,
three rear ends (3.89, 4.11, and 4.55 -- no, you can't have the 4.55),
an extremely solid roll cage (probably adds lots of weight but boy, do I
feel secure -- even goes around the fuel cell), Iskey cam (not sure what
degree, but hotter than street), and is shod with Yoko Y-801 200/550-13
cantilevers. He showed 104 hp at the rear wheels on a dyno test the
previous owner did, and I'll be back there for another reading after
some tweaking.
I started autocrossing at the beginning of last season, when my
boyfriend asked me if I wanted to co-drive his 1976 DM Spitfire. I
think you know what my answer was! I had a total ball, and ended up
beating his times by the end of the year. He wasn't too thrilled, but
to give him credit, he was nice about it, and we are still dating.
For those of you who don't know me (and hi to those of you who do!), I
was the president of the Red River Triumph Club (Dallas/Ft. Worth) for
the past two years, and brought in the VTR 1996 SW Regional and the 1997
National. Whew! I also am the Trophy and Merchandise chair for the
Texas Region SCCA Solo II program and hospitality chief for our
divisionals, and the Promotions co-chair for Equipe Rapide. I was named
the Novice Driver of the Year for the Texas Region SCCA, as well as 1st
place DML, at our annual awards banquet a couple of weeks ago -- I am
thrilled! All this on top of being the marketing director for Grote
Consulting, a performance management consulting firm. I get some sleep
every couple of weeks...
The race Spit makes my Triumph lifetime total 8 so far -- 6 Spits and
two GT6's (all by the tender age of 31!). Right now I own the race
Spit, a green 1968 Spit Mk3 (Elliott) who you may have seen in the
People's Choice at the 1997 National (not terribly original, but
rock-solid reliable and pretty cute!), and a blue 1973 GT6 I got
complete but in need of an overhaul (had been sitting up for 10 years).
It's been shelved for a while due to the race Spit's demands, and may be
on its way out if I can bear to part with it. I also have the 1979
Monster Jeep Cherokee tow beast and a 1993 Honda daily driver.
I will be going to vintage race school and starting to race with
Corinthians Vintage Auto Racing at Texas World Speedway in College
Station, Texas, in August (buying the Jeep kept me from going for the
spring session, but I couldn't pass up the deal). I went down to pit
crew for a friend this past weekend, and ended up in his race-prepared
MGB for my very first ten minutes of track time during the lunch-time
lapping session. WHEEEE! All I can say, is... FASTER!!!! FASTER!!!!
(They had a 50-60 mph limit for the session, with no passing except on
the front straight.) My face still hurts from the huge grin I had while
going around the track! :)
One last thing I'm pretty happy about -- Tristan (race Spit) will be in
the annual Dallas AutoRama this weekend! The SCCA has 10 spaces
reserved, and a fortuitous cancellation let me get him in there! So I
will be having a happy Valentine's Day, car-wise. (He IS red... gotta
tie in some roses somewhere...)
So, that is my novella, and thanks for taking the time to read it! I
have a jpg of Tristan if anyone would care to see him (email me
privately and I'll be happy to send it. mjb is tired of me trying to
post jpg's to the whole list, I am sure -- I have learned my list
protocol by now, Mark). I would also love to see pics of your cars,
listers, if you want to email them to me.
I am looking forward to corresponding with you, and if any of you are
ever in Dallas, look me up! I'm always happy to meet Triumph folks,
especially go-fast ones.
Keep Triumphing,
Susan Hensley :)
|