From what I understand, Datsun 510's & 240Z's first got by [SCCA]
under the premise that their chin spoilers were actually brake
cooling enhancers and dealer sales brochures marketed them that way.
Brock Yates or Peter Brock? One for Myth Busters?
Greg "Lunker" Hilyer - Still contemplating thrust washers
TR4 #314
Albuquerque NM
On Mar 9, 2008, at 8:06 PM, Bill Babcock wrote:
> I never saw an air dam on a car until about 1972. As I recall it was a
> Brock Yates deal, and everyone thought he was nuts. There were some
> rudimentary wings and spoilers early on, but air dams are a late
> development of the aero age that started in the late sixties. Long
> after people thought about wings they figured out that the air under
> the car was important too.
>
> On Mar 9, 2008, at 6:55 PM, jwoesvra@aol.com wrote:
>
>> 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
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>
> Bill Babcock
> Babcock & Jenkins
> Billb@bnj.com
> 503.936.7660
> www.bnj.com
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