Hi Calvin and listers,
Good question, and I will be interested in the responses, since I have one
of those fishy cheater cars in my garage.
Per Mark Donohue's book "The Unfair Advantage" the 1967 "Lightweight" Sunoco
Camaro once weighed 2500 lbs. This was at Sebring in March of 1968 when
they got it into the 12 hour race by taking the identically painted (3000
lbs) 1968 car to tech twice, once with number 15 on it and once with number
16 on it. We have photos of both cars with both numbers because they also
reversed the numbers during qualifying by using pieces of tape to close up
the 5 into a 6. When found in 1985 in a shed at a Canadian race track it
weighed 3200 lbs. The car had been raced for 5 more years in Trans-Ams
after being sold by Penske. In 1968, the first year that cars were weighed,
the limit was 3000 lbs. The subsequent racers added lead ballast (mainly at
the rear) to make the 3000 lb weight. The car originally had been taken
apart and the body pieces acid dipped by an aircraft company. Only one of
those pieces survives still on the car (another hangs on the shop wall, well
bent). There is no evidence that the body shell or sub-frame was ever
dipped.
I personally choose to run with Group 6 in SVRA and their rules are very
clear about weight limits and they do weigh cars from time to time, this
year at Mid-Ohio. This group requires that the cars have proven period
racing history (somebody tell SpeedVision's Bob Akin) and has developed a
set of well-defined rules using a democratic process. In 1990 using a
survey and a ballot, the rules were adopted by the racers and a promise was
made by SVRA that they would not change except by ballot. The rules closely
follow the SCCA GCR for the year of manufacture. 85% preferred this while
15% preferred that all cars could be prepared to 1972 rules. There have
been only two or three things changed by ballot since then, most noticeably
dry sumps (a then widely disputed safety/performance item I opposed, which
IMHO has since proven in practice to be safer). Compliance with these rules
has been exceptionally good, largely because the enforcement mechanism
written in the rules is "peer pressure". Credit also should go to Jack
Woehrle, SVRA Technical Director, for trying to stay the course under three
different SVRA ownerships.
The "Lightweight" 1967 Sunoco Camaro now weighs right at 3000 lbs dry with
no driver (SCCA GCR and SVRA for '67 Camaros rules specify 2800 lbs.
Minimum). Since the other (newer) Camaros we race with have the 3000 lb
limit, we choose not to take that "fair advantage" besides it would be hard
to find 200 lbs. without acid dipping. We have long since removed the lead
ballast.
What say you? Should this car weigh 2500 lbs? Should acid dipped pieces be
replaced with acid dipped pieces? Should Jack Woehrle make me un-section
the radiator support and poke the nose of the car back up an inch and a
half? And how about that cheater "screen door" handle on the hood? It
didn't come from Chevrolet that way.
Racing Regards,
Pat Ryan
PS "The Unfair Advantage" is now back in print, thanks to Mark's son David,
and you can visit his site and order the book.
http://www.donohueracing.com/
-----Original Message-----
I've been reading this thread, and thought I'd throw a litytle more
104 octane on the fire. Say you have an authentic vintage race car
prepped exactly as it was raced in the 60's, only it has a few
'features' that don't quite fit the rules of the era. One of them
cheater cars, like the famed lightweight T/A Camaros. Since it ran
then, shouldn't it be allowed now, illegal or not? Just curious,
nothing fishy in my garage.
Calvin Krug
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