[Fot] State of Vintage Racing

[Bill Babcock]

What makes you think bodies aren't already acid dipped? I'm working on  
that "personal lightening program"--have a weight bet going with my  
brother. Actually I think the most serious problem in vintage racing  
is more that the valuable cars can't be changed much--it would  
decrease their sky-high value--while specials and production racers  
can skirt the edge of the rulebook. That means there isn't a  
testarossa on the planet that can stay with Peyote, which is both  
silly and sad. We don't get to see them on track very often anymore-- 
they are too valuable to risk and the owners don't like getting  
hammered by cars they should be able to romp over.

I don't know how to fix that. Making Peyote slow won't change anything  
but the finish order at a few races. All the fast triumphs are  
rulebook-legal, more or less. Or could be without putting a serious  
dent in their lap times. The worst anyone is doing is running 89mm  
bores, and that's a tweak--not really worth much--you can get nearly  
the same horsepower with a 87. Pandoras box is knowledge, we all know  
how to make a car fast, we all have access to the learning of the last  
50 years, and it goes into our cars, while testarossas are stuck in  
time.

Of course if I had a TR the first thing I'd do would be to make a  
replica of the frame, only in titanium, and a carbon fibre body. Then...
On Oct 23, 2008, at 5:45 AM, Andre Rousseau wrote:

> I guess that is the nature of racing, those with money will do what  
> ever it
> costs to win.
>
> What's next acid dipping of the bodies?
>
> Frankly if I wanted to make my "future" racer lighter. I'd start with
> myself.
>
> A.
>
> -- 
> Andre Rousseau - andre at gt6.ca
> '68 Triumph GT6 MK1 - http://www.gt6.ca/
> Ottawa, ON, Canada
>
> 2008/10/23 <Group44TR7 at aol.com>
>
>> Good Morning
>>
>>       What I am observing is that  some vintage racing groups are  
>> going
>> down the same path as CanAm and FI by  allowing expensive  
>> modifications to
>> take
>> place. Is there really a need to have  Kevlar bodywork on a  
>> Spitfire or TR6
>> in
>> vintage racing?
>>
>>       It has always struck me as  rather hypocritical that vintage  
>> groups
>> wanted owners to use pre 1972 body  specification and have the true
>> appearance
>> of post 1972 cars destroyed. Now we  are putting Kevlar replacement  
>> panels
>> to
>> look like pre 1972 cars.
>>
>>       I have to wonder why the  people doing these modifications  
>> are not
>> instead running SCCA. I am just as  guilty as the next person here,  
>> our
>> engines
>> are too modified. They are nothing  like what was raced in the  
>> 1970s and
>> earlier.
>>
>>       Vintage may be making  itself too expensive too.
>>
>> Baseball Dad
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Bill Babcock
Babcock & Jenkins
Billb at bnj.com
503.936.7660
www.bnj.com

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