[Fot] Midwest Triumph News Update With Grattan Magic

[billdentin at aol.com]

Jason...

Another fine Race Report.  Hasty says it made him feel like he'd been there.  Maybe so, but I've raced GRATTAN so many times that it just made me 'homesick'.  I sure wish I had been there.

Tony's axle issue sounds scary.  It reminded me of the half dozen rear axles we broke at GRATTAN.  It was common early on.  I can't remember, but I think it was the 'Southwick' fix that addressed that issue.  For sure it kept the wheel with the car.  Maybe there was something else we did to stop breaking axles at GRATTAN.  I can't remember.  Of course, at my age, I can't remember if I had breakfast, until I look in the mirror.

How about the Barracuda?  Did the Cuda Pilot run at GRATTAN like he said he would.  That's a tight track for that beast.

Jason...you've always gone FAST, but taking the checker in racing sessions was often a disappointing issue.  That makes this particular trip to GRATTAN special.  Very special...very impressive.  Good for you!

Bill Dentinger

PS I've already got my airline tickets to fly back to Wisconsin for That Loooong Race at Blackhawk Farms Raceway come October.  I'm looking forward to it.  That season ending Midwestern Council event provides a nice opportunity for FOT racers to experience Blackhawk prior to next June's Kastner Cup event.  





-----Original Message-----
From: Jason Ostrowski <jason at multivintage.com>
To: triumph friends <fot at autox.team.net>
Sent: Wed, Aug 24, 2016 3:13 pm
Subject: [Fot] Midwest Triumph News Update With Grattan Magic



Prelude to Grattan:
Since My last post (which left us with a broken Hub kit after the Hawk at Road America)...Great strides were made in August for our Friendly Ghost Racing GT6 program.
The timeline for getting the new hub made for our #69 Zippy GT6+ didn't seem reasonable to get the car ready for the Midwest Summer Party at Grattan Raceway near Grand Rapids Michigan. 
A Beady-Eyed Favorite event for some 3 decades...
This Grattan venue has a powerful Hook.
Bringing the best of track, party, and competition to a weeping willow, sand and lake-littered spot that is almost too fantastic for the Triumph Faithfull.
The magic that happens in the mind when your Triumph runs well at Grattan fills you up with the inner smile of personal victory that we all strive for in this game.
Somehow the track is both calm and punishing; 
It has a flow when driven well that locks beautiful visual reference in your brain. 
A magical freeze frame in your mind that exists inside you as pure reason for the racing disease to run in blood.
Grattan is hard to beat.
So every year in August I get the bug bad and prepare my car well.
The summer-long hope is to reap the reward of mental championship found by doing well on the asphalt through this swamp.
The track's fine blind plunges and sightless climbs make a month of sweat- drenched race prep a small price to pay.
So sweat I Did...
To bring my Yellow car out of a two-year slumber was a rather ambitious undertaking even by Friendly Ghost Racing standards of insanity.
Forever done with the factory transmission's set-up for disappointment: we pushed the program for drive train upgrade; up to...immediately.
The decision to make the inevitable conversion to our solid solution for gear drive success (that we have perfected in our British Racing Green "Zippy" GT6+) would have to be used for the first time in our slightly more period correct yellow car....if we were to show up with any faith in our machine.
>From a roller with no motor, trans, drive shaft, or rear end...
To a finished prime example of GT6 manhood in 30 days?
The yellow car, a 6 million dollar automotive man?
Could it be?... and how did they do it??
Logic and common sense would say it should be Nothing short of impossible; especially on my budget.
But, fueled by bushel baskets of now empty imported beer cans.
The nights went by; one by one.
For starters, I rebuilt a totally unknown spare motor. This motor has sat on a shelf for some 20+ years (It came with my yellow car when I bought it) and since essentially "free" was the keyword; I figured it as the best choice to be used with the new aspects of our development.
The downside:
everything about the power and drive for the car would be open to potential gremlins and be much unknown.
With attention to every detail I put my head down and worked. 
Mostly just examining and reassembling the spare motor, and then measuring, fitting, cutting, sparking and tweaking all the parts of our custom FGR GT6+ driveline that Brian and I have recently redeveloped. 
The Ideas and primitive templates that were originally engineered over the past several decades by John Reed and Chris Beebe in the famous Zippy Racing GT6+ and were nothing short of masterful design...
and Now in the yellow car.... we have made it better.
We have done it. 
The Kit has been reproduced with improvemnts. 
The parts have been small-man engineered and manufactured.
Our first new and improved kit and the install of such has been completed. 
The "Kit" consists of a fully functional upgraded racing drivetrain that runs completely custom from the engine plate back to the rear-end. 
FGR financial supporters get all the secrets... but it utilizes a Custom made engine plate, flywheel, Tilton clutch, relocated slave cylinder with trick throw-out unit, upgrade transmission, custom starter and spacer, trick slip-yoke drive shaft, all partnered with our "better than ever" newly developed welded differential.
Over the past several weeks we got the Yellow car ready to go with all the goodies and the old spare motor.
Not without some hitches and panic phone calls to many of our FoT Heros.
I completed the car and started it up in the late hours of the Grattan deadline.
The car Fired up and was mostly ready; but only as a short and untested "Thank the racing Gods" six cylinder explosion
I left the next day with my hope and dreams in tow.
With all that hard work in the rearview, I am happy as ever to report that with all those upgrades, changes, developments and unknowns the car took every green flag and saw every checkered offered through-out the entire weekend.
That's right folks...EVERY GODDAMN SESSION!
Well, OK; Forget about the fact that the first session I ran out of gas trying to burn all the old gas out of the tank.
But Hell, If the hardest fix was pouring some fresh 110 into the tank; this was Weekend was truly an amazing accomplishment.
A mechanical Victory for Friendly Ghost Racing!
Albeit the fact that the spare motor doesn't have the same grunt as some of my other motors... the car was great, the trans works awesomely and it was a real treat to finally be able to shift that car the way a racecar should be driven. No more pussying around with the pedals and the stick... the #27 car is now ready to race.
I came home, cleaned the car up and registered for my next weekend of racing (a rare and welcomed task).


Our whole group of FoT Folks had pretty good showings with Murphy's, Alexander's and Moore holding up their flags highest in group 2 even bringing on a Tornado (literally) as their session on Saturday ended with the warning siren.
John S. in his TR3 that keeps getting more and more awesome and Tony Drews had the speed early in the weekend; but each had their woes and were unable to finish the weekend due to mechanical unraveling. 
Most spectacular fail had to be Tony's neat and pretty NASCAR axle which apparently due to "Incorrect Preload" took a vacation...
The entire Splined axle Shot itself out of the hub end of the wheel like a 2 foot long Billet harpoon aimed at Moby Dick!
Amazingly, The pieces were all found mostly intact. 
Aside from a lone bolt that needed proper time and facility for replacement; stuck deep inside the center of the car towards the differential inards, he almost got it all put back together for more racing. But after Friday, it was back to the Stock Car shop early for Mr. Drews. 
And Thanks to Tony for sticking around to host us all for wine and cheese up in the old Beady-Eyed Garage Area 
(We missed you Bill And Shirley)!
Anyway, This selfish bastard was happy to be the fastest in the end; and best of all was to be still standing up proud at the finish. A real happy ending to a long month of hard work.
Everything is about Getting ready for the next Kastner Cup! 
See you all Then!
Jason Ostrowski
Friendly Ghost Racing
1969 Triumph GT6+ Racecars



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