It is good to see that other clubs are allowing newer cars into their races.
VARA has been doing this for several years so that we could survive, keep
the club solvent and the cost of racing reasonable. The future of vintage
racing is an expansion to cars from the 80's and 90's, they are long past
their prime in other venues, cheap and they bring in new drivers. They are
in fact 'vintage', like our cars were in the 80' and 90's. More important,
these are the guys and gals that lusted for a certain hot car of the that
era and now have older kids and the bucks to go racing. Without these folks
our sport will pass along with us.
The same is true of parts. Much of our equipment is worn out and not
maintainable without great cost and effort any longer. Gear boxes are an
example. I am down to my last good transmission case for my dog box. When
that goes, or the gear set is toast, I am making the switch to a modern box
(same ratios) that I can maintain. Like many of us I have missed races
because of transmission failures. Tony runs a Ford 8" because he doesn't
want to get hurt, and it is bullet proof for racing, even has a weight
penalty. A gear box switch is inevitable if we want to keep our cars on
track at an expenditure of time and money that makes sense.
There are tons of other parts that make engines last longer (and yes they
make more power). An old TR motor is nothing but half a Chevy Small Block;
those guys spent hundreds of millions developing motor parts that we can
take advantage of. Same is true of blueprinting techniques, there are much
better ways to build engines than 'back in the day' and if you read a book
and learn how to do it the bloody lump lasts twice as long. Last time I had
my motor out I could have put the coated bearings with 25 races on them back
in. At 36 races I had <5% leak down on the rings and valves. Started out
building the old school way, with old school parts, those days are over as I
don't have the time to spend five days in the shop for every day at the
track.
Oil. There is no such thing as cheap racing oil. Modern oil is the best it
has ever been and makes the motor last. I had technical help from Lake
Speed who is the 'man' for Joe Gibbs Driven race oil. The stuff is $18 a
quart but will last 500+ miles in the car (4-6 race weekends). Just change
the filter after every race and add on quart, total cost $30.00. I can run
all the way down to 27 wt. (mixing) but just run the 30 wt. racing oil even
at +100 degrees in the desert and the oil pressure is always spot on. Tight
clearances, light oil and great bearing life, well worth the cost.
My point in all of this is that "vintage" racing is changing, both the cars
and the people. We are going to have to accept and adapt or slowly see our
sport fade. They will always be a special place for those cars with a 50
year race history, prepared exactly like it raced in 1965. For the rest of
the grid, and those of us that don't have cars with history, there are going
to be cars with certain changes that get us to the track. Besides some of
us are just SoCal Hot Rodders at heart with a touch of 'good ole boy' NACAR
ingenuity. Now I need to get back to work on that 85% scale TR-4 body in
aluminum, or possible carbon fiber.....Everyone have a great 2018 season
racing!
Ken
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