To Mike Manghelli, Dan Warner, Glen Barrett and Autotox List
I very much appreciate your responses to my inquiry, a lot of good ideas and
information, thank you. I probably need to qualify and explain a little
more. If a special construction car (Streamliner or Lakester) with a
fiberglass body showed up at inspection with the battery disconnect switch
located a couple of inches under a labeled access door about 4"x4" would
this satisfy Sec.III-11 and pass inspection? Some of the reasons for
employing this method. Fiberglass bodies seldom survive a rollover intact.
If the switch were mounted to the body the switch very likely will be
loose and banging around half way through the incident, and rendered
inoperative. Many special construction cars taper the rear of the body,
leaving only room for parachute egress and a push bar, also the framew work
while strong enough to support the body in the rearmost area may not
survive an incident intact and any cables or linkage would be inoperative.
The method I outlined would allow the switch fo be mounted physically close
to the barrery with a minimum of cable between the battery and switch also
the switch would be protected by the "roll cage" effect of more substantial
frame members and bulkheads. As Glen points out if the car is already on
fire safty crews probably can't get to the switch regardless of how it is
mounted. Drafting a battery disconnect rule to cover such a wide variety of
vehicles with batteries mounted in front, in the middle, in the rear, and in
the passenger compartment and doing it two sentences speaks well of the
S.C.T.A.. If some other governing bodies attempted this feat it would take
a forklift to carry the rule book.
Thanks Again
Gary
Gary & Ellen Wilkinson
Utah Salt Flats Racing Association
|