Apologies if this goes out twice... I think my first attempt yesterday failed.
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Hello,
Thought this would be a good place to ask some vintage racing questions.
I've decided that I want to give this vintage racing thing a try.
I've been an old car buff for a quite a while, and have really enjoyed
watching vintage races- and I think it's time to do a little more than
spectate. My wife is equally enthused about giving this a go. How
serious are we?... last night I sold one of my pride and joys- putting
cash in hand to start shopping for a race car.
Right now we're thinking that a frog(bug)-eye sprite might be the perfect
car to get started with. Just fast enough to be fun, easy to work on, easy
to get parts for, and (as far as vintage race cars go) very cheap. I'm
hoping that it will be possible to get/build a car which can do vintage
racing, club (scca) racing, and be (occasionally) streetable. Here where
I'm at pre-1960 cars are smog-exempt, and so, with streeting the car
now and then desireable, a pre 1960 MK1 sprite is what I've got my eyes
open for now.
I've rebuilt a few old cars, including a 1960 Cadillac and
a 1959 Jaguar (http://www.jag-lovers.org/saloons/ryan), and so the
mechanical side of things doesn't scare me at all. After cutting my
British car teeth on a Jag, it's been quite a surprise to
see how inexpensively one can find Sprite parts.
OK- Here's a few questions off the top of my head:
1) It's my understanding that for some (all?) vintage racing associations,
that your car must have a (scca?) log-book showing that it has a
racing history. What (typically) needs to be in the log-book for
a car to qualify? ie: when car shopping what do I need to be checking
for in its log-book (obviously vin numbers must match, etc.)
2) I assume that "period" modifications are mostly allowable. What about
things like putting disk brakes on a Sprite. Allowable because old
racers used to do it? Allowable only if I use period (not 4 piston
Wilwood calipers) parts?
3) Are safety mods (for instance dual master cylinders) typically exempt/
encouraged? What about something like a modern roll-bar/harness system.
4) If you stay within the specified tire size restrictions, are there
typically other tire limits (do you need to run a vintage profile,
tread, and compound)
5) Is it completely unreasonable to think that I could build a car which
would be eligible for vintage events, but still be relatively competitive
in the (less-restrictive) scca club events?
6) What about driver licensing. What (roughly) is the procedure I'll
need to go through to be eligible to start racing?
As you can see, I have a lot of things to learn. Right now I'm just
trying to gather enough info so that I can start shopping for the right
car. It's my intention, for now, to try and get a car that will be
eligible for the most events... which I think means conforming to the
rules for the 'strictest' vintage racing association.
aTdHvAaNnKcSe for any info-
Ryan (rborder@cup.hp.com)
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