[Fot] authenticity

[jwoesvra at aol.com]

What puzzles me about authenticity is the ban by nearly all vintage
sanctioning bodies on front air dams. It appears from historic photos that
most production race cars in the 60s had them, and in all manner of "styles",
from integrally designed molded fiberglass units to a square-cut sheet of
aluminum tacked onto the face of the cowl with pop rivets.
Steve P.





Steve,

I believe that you have some misconceptions about dates and time lines which
are a vital part ofB the Vintage experience. Virtually all Vintage
organizations have time lines that have historic precedents which must be
respected.

Rudimentary spoilers first appeared on production cars in 1969 with the BRE
"spook". SCCA actually addressed spoilers in PCS about 1970. Spoilers always
had to be below and between the spindle centerlines. Only in the late
seventies did the actualB airdams become permitted.

My point is the that the statement "most cars of 60's had them" is incorrect.

You may very well see spoilers and airdams of the sorts you describe in
photos. Rarely are those photos dated and it is easy for a layman to conclude
that an 1963 MGB with an airdam is correct for Vintage Racing. That would be
true in the post 1976 period. However, most Vintage organizations expect MGB's
to be prepared to the pre-1972 or even pre-1967 periods.B 

As you can see, seemingly insignificant details can be significant in the eyes
of a historian.B 

All Vintage organizations have the right and authority to specify time lines
and periods of eligibility.

If you are a year, month or even day past the time line, you don't fit the
template. If you want to race MGBs, GT6s or TR6s with air dams, you are
outside the acceptance envelope of most of the traditional organizations. If
you want to use such a device, that is fine, just don't expect to to be racing
against cars that are correctly prepared for the sixtiesB period.

This may seem arbitrary, and it actually is in a sense. However, if you wish
to participate in this arena you must respect the standards as they are
defined and history dictates.

Jack Woehrle

SVRA Technical Director