Tim,
First, welcome to the jungle and I am glad to hear another TR is being put
to good use.
A few comments on your questions. First on the enduro stops, I can only
reference the SVRA and Brian Redman events, others may be different. It is
typical for a 1 hour enduro to have 1 fuel stop as is done at the Jefferson
500 in WV (Brian Redman), and as I recall there are either one or two
manditory stops with the SVRA events depending on hte duration of the race.
Many are of 1 1/2 or 2 hours and those traditionally have 2 stops/driver
changes each being a mandatory 5 minute duration. "Fuel Safe" cells have
been used by a number of folks I know and are less pricey than the ATL
units. These are available as "economy cells" with capacities of 8, 10, 12
and I believe 14+ gallons. I know of nobody in the SVRA circles running a
modified gas tank, but rather all have gone to the commercially available
cell and I am sure you will have many responses from those folks.
As far as a seat, I promise not to climb to high on the soap box here but.....
Having experienced a rollover last year in a Spitfire and needlessly
breaking ribs as a result of not having a seat with side protection, I
highly recommend you go with a "proper" race seat. I had one of the
inexpensive fiberglas units that offers reasonable head support but little
more. I encourage anyone going into Vintage Racing to spend the most
dollars on the safety of the driver and the last dollars on added speed
only after brakes and steering are attended. Racer's Wholesale has some
excellent deals on "Korkay" seats. These are aluminium, not fiberglas. I
had a fiberglas unit and it snapped during the multiple rolls and could
have potentially resulted in contributing to additional injuries. Please
protect yourself, we want the magazine to continue. The aluminium seat with
padded vinyl cover ran about $130 a month ago.
The issue of roll cages and roll bars somewhat differs depending on the
group you race with, but for the most part HSR and SVRA are fine with a
well supported bar with 5 points of attachment. SVRA in fact, might well
take issue with a TR-3 showing up with a roll cage. On the other hand the
new SCCA Volvo vintage series mandates a cage so here once again it depends
on who you plan to run with. The TR-3 would be in Group 3 in SVRA and
certainly someone like John Harkness, Mike Jackson, Jeff Snook, Glen
Effinger, Bill Dentinger or even the SVRA office can give you more group
specific information.
Many have used an Autopower unit with an added strut forward to stabilize.
An additional brace behind the upper part of the driver's seat is also a
recommended add.
Please also do speak with any of the above named folks on the problems with
axles and hubs failing. We have had a number of rollovers and incidents as
a result of this problem on TR-3s and 4s. There are currently some new
items the above folks have had built. I am sure they can offer information.
If I can be of any service to you please do not hesitate to contact me. You
will find Triumph racers among the most loyal and supportive folks around.
I have spent many of my life's finast moments with them and as a result of
them. We also have a group on the net called FOT or friends of Triumph
that is helpful for someone getting into it and I copy this to them.
Best of luck with your project and say hi to JK for me.
Russ Moore
Spitfire 49 SVRA
Ithaca, N.Y.
At 11:10 PM 6/4/98 EDT, you wrote:
>Hello,
>
>J.K. Jackson and I are prepping our 1957 TR3 for HSR, SVRA and/or
VSCDA
>racing. We are planning on running sprints and/or enduros.
>What is the latest on fuel cells. Are you guys buying ready made cells
or
>converting your fuel tanks? Is there a standard size cell that fits a
TR3
>well? How big of a cell is everybody running? For enduros how often do
they
>make you stop for gas? Is there a rule on cell size? What fuel
mileage do you
>get with these cars when racing?
>What is the latest feeling on cages versus roll bars? Webers versus SUs
and
>stock versus aftermarket driver’s seats.
>Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
>Plus, as this is a Grassroots Motorsports magazine project car for next
year
>we will send any interested respondent a free copy of our special
vintage
>racing issue next month.
>
>Thanks,
>Tim Suddard/Publisher/Grassroots Motorsports
>
>
>
|