Hi all,
I have a stock-bodied 1979 Camaro that I have have been racing at the Dry
Lakes in California for several years. The car holds 3 current El Mirage Dry
Lake records (C/BGALT, C/BFALT, C/BGC) and 2 current Muroc Dry Lake
(C/BGALT, C/BGC) records, all over 205 mph. The car formerly held records in
two classes (215 and 224 mph) at the Bonneville Salt Flats, set in 1996
(since blown away by the 300 mph Kugel firebird).
I have my own take on the electronics/technonlogy issue, since I have set my
records without the help of any. I run an old Hilborn setup (you know, the
coffee can with 8 holes in it) because it was more in line with what my
goals were. I wanted to see how fast I could go with minimal expenditure
(although racing is never cheap) and, with a little help, the car has been
very succesful. I never thought of upgrading to electronics because if I
did, I might as well put it in a much more aerodynamic package than the '79
(like a newer Firebird or ?). It can really snowball, and like I said, my
goal was not to see how much money I could spend (or at least that's what I
told my wife).
Also, my view of Land Speed Racing might be a little different because I
feel that I have been exposed to the "roots" of it more than many. Hot
Rodding has always been about inovation and seeing what you can get out of
what you've got. With that said, I can't help but feel that cubic bucks is
not necessarily the best emphasis. Land speed racing is the last bastion of
truly amateur racing, and the total lack of prize money goes a long way
toward keeping the sport afordable. If you want to see it continue, you have
got to have a place where you can have fun in an "entry level" car.
Just look at the way Drag Racing has gone; if somebody figures out a way to
squeeze out a few more hundredths of a second you can be sure everyone else
will do it in short order. The only difference in the cars is the paint
jobs. That's why I like the Dry Lakes and Bonneville. Instead of "any car as
long as it has a small block chevy", you get great stuff like a Camaro with
a Jaguar engine or any number of other "why not?" combinations.
But what can you do? As they say, time marches on, and we can't ignore
technology. I was ecstatic to get in the Bonneville 200 mph club with my
car, but records are meant to be broken. I just didn't realize that when
mine were broken they were going to put 75 mph on them! Oh well, it couldn't
have been done by a nicer guy (and car!).
I don't know what the answer is, but somehow we've got to preserve the
spirit of Hot Rodding and not let our sport turn into a rich man's game. If
that means establishing "old-tech" classes then maybe it's something to look
into. I sure would like to see our sport hang around for another 50 years...
By the way, I have decided not to continue racing after 1999 and I am
interested in selling my "old-tech" car as a complete package. If someone
out there is looking for a car to buy, this might make an interesting
"starter kit".
If anyone is interested, they can e-mail me off-group and I will send a
sheet with a picture and some information about my car.
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