Don't misunderstand my posting--every car I use on a track has a very good
cage. I just believe in doing everything I can to hide them, or make them
look good. I see a few cars on the track with high, spindly single
squared-off bars that simply look dorky and couldn't work very well in a
rollover. I also see a few cars with cages that look like they belong on
World of Outlaws car with a huge wing bolted to them. I think you can build
a great cage that stiffens your frame and provides a safer experience
without it looking like and arcane shower system.
You're absolutely right about these cars going faster, and the unrealistic
expectation of safety that we sometimes have. I'm stripping Peyote to the
bare frame this winter and checking everything. I know very well that I
could get killed doing this.
-----Original Message-----
From: William G Rosenbach [mailto:wgrosenbach@juno.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 23, 2004 10:02 AM
To: BillDentin@aol.com
Cc: Bill Babcock; alfetta95@optonline.net; jaboruch@netzero.net;
fot@Autox.Team.Net
Subject: Re: 50 series tires-cages
When I first became involved in vintage racing, I saw there were two basic
requirements of the sport. We needed to be having fun and we needed to do so
safely. We were engaging in an inherently dangerous activity, driving old
cars fast. Pretty much all of the safety rules of various race sanctioning
bodies are there due to some ones severe injury or death. Some basic safety
equipment is clearly needed. Today, we are often required to fit safety
elements that are clearly post period in design, though our cars are
performing well above what they were capable of in their day. That holds
some justification for requiring those safety upgrades. That said, the
continuing requiring of the latest, most advanced safety equipment is
lulling drivers into a false sense of invulnerability. If you have two
identical cars, give one to a driver and tell him "there is nothing you can
do in this car that can possibly allow you to be injured". Give the other
car to a driver and tell him "DO NOT have an incident in this car, dropping
a wheel at an apex could cause serious injury or even death". Those cars
will not be operated in similar fashions. Vintage sanctioning bodies are
trying to make us feel invincible, regardless of what it looks like.
We have come along way from the English gentleman in a white shirt and tie
with a leather helmet, motoring about in his XK-120. Bill 70 GT-6+
On Sat, 23 Oct 2004 10:10:25 EDT BillDentin@aol.com writes:
> In a message dated 10/22/2004 5:12:00 PM Central Daylight Time,
> BillB@bnj.com
> writes:
>
>
> > I built some extensions to the frame that carried the main hoop
> out close
> > to
> > the edge of the car. It was still necessary to jog the bag
> inwards, but I
> > wound up with full width. IMHO, the biggest problem with SCCA
> cages is
> > they're ugly. The greatest thing about our cars is that they look
> so
> > cool--they don't look that great with a jungle gym on top of them
>
> >
>
> Amici:
>
> Do you all remember when editor, author, photographer, Art Eastman
> pulled our
> chain with an electronically doctored picture of a TR3 with NASCAR
> graphics
> and an unbelievable roll cage for his VINTAGE MOTORSPORT article on
> roll bars
> and roll cages in 'classic' vintage cars? At the time there was a
> thread
> running through the FOT as to whether the car existed and whose it
> was. Art
> finally came clean and said, "Yes it exists, but only in my mind."
> With all the
> cars Art Eastman knows and loves, he has a special place in his
> heart for the
> TRIUMPH TR3.
>
> Bill Dentinger
>
>
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