One getting into vintage racing should determine at least a few things
before entering. First figure out what events you will be going to and
contact that sanctioning body for their rules and regs on the car you plan
to run. Lots of dollars get wasted if you load up a car with "90's" goodies
and have to back date it. A clear understanding of what will be accepted at
Tech Inspection will avoid disapointment in the future.
Next one must get a handle on how you feel comfortable driving. If your
motivation is to have alot of fun with friends first, and finish well
second, vintage is a great place to be. If you live to win and look upon a
second place only as "first" loser, you may be looking at the wrong venue.
I'm assuming you're a "vintage" type of guy however, and this is the place!
I would highly recommend getting some of the published books on race prep
of the cars. Many give a good basis of knowlege and are readily available.
>From my experience, TRF is probably one of the most complete sources on TR
mods. The next move would be to contact some of the more successful racers
with a similar car. In vintage, often successful means not only finishing
well but also consistantly. A hand grenade engine will only endear you to
your banker and cause much frustration, while a well prepared and
dependable lump of iron can last for a considerable time. There's nothing
worse than paying entry fees and quickly becoming a spectator, regardless
of what lap time you turned. Over the course of the last nine years I have
seen some who entered into events with cars that would dependably cut loose
sometime before qualifying. At $300+ @ weekend, that gets old in a hurry.
I would be glad to direct you to some folks I know that have very fast and
dependable cars depending on what you're looking to enter. There is no
point trying to reinvent the wheel, these folks can tell you the weak
points, the fixes and the best way to go about things in a cost effective
manner. I suppose from a straight business stand, the return on investment
in vintage racing is measured by how long the grin lasts after a weekend.
The trophys are down on the list.
Glad to help in any way I can.
Russ Moore
At 11:56 PM 7/5/98 EDT, Malaboge@aol.com wrote:
>
>Weekend Warriors-
>
>I know there are more than a few "Vintage" racers out here, so what's the
>consensus on the levels of prep for a decent Vintage TR these days ? I gather
>that the level is definetly beyond the "take off the muffler and windshield"
>stage, but how far has it gone. Will a '70's kinda setup get the job done
(big
>bars, stiff springs, solid bushings and stiff lever shocks), or are most of
>the cars running Penske style coil-overs one-off suspension uprights and
>adjustable a-arms ?
>I could scrounge around my shop and come up with enough pieces to make the
>former, but hate to start down that road toward the latter.
>My experience with the "Vintage" group has consisted of seeing maybe two
races
>in the last ten years from the spectator area, so I have very little insight
>as to "how things are" in the pits.
>
>Never thought I'd think about racin again...
> Nick in Nor Cal
>
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