Well stated, Dan. I remember several years ago when a very well known and
successful streamliner team got caught changing fuel on the return road after
running faster than the existing El Mirage record. They were stripped of all
their Gas records and haven't run as a team since.
There are any number of Patrol stations at every El Mirage event that are
manned by competitors, guys that are aware of racers doing mechanical work on
the return road. If someone gets secretive between the shutoff area and
Impound it only whets the curiosity of the rest of us.
Maybe I'm naive, but I'd like to think that the vast majority of
comprtitors have more personal pride than to cheat and live with the fact
that their "personal best" didn't really mean anything.
Regards Dave Dahlgrens observation about the hassle of pulling the head
off of an OHV or OHC cam engine, that's the worst nightmare of an Ardun
owner. Just getting that contraption sealed so that the oil, water, and
compression stay separated is a challenge in the shop at home. Doing it at
the races is a hassle at best.
Years ago Elmo Gillette came up with a homemade device that has a folding
leg on the end of a 1/4" rod that fits down through the plug hole and then
opens up 90 deg. The folding leg is the exact bore size. The inspector runs
it down the cylinder to the top of the piston, at which point the leg opens
to 90 deg. If the inspector can't wiggle it the leg is no bigger than the
bore. The stroke is measured with any 1/4" diameter rod. Unfortunately this
only works where the plug hole is somewhat centered over the top of the
piston, like a Hemi.
At Speed Week 2001 Wasted Willie Glass (XXF Roadster) happened to be in
Impound at the same times we were, plus, his bore was the same as mine. Ever
had some guy kissing you on both cheeks in the middle of the Inspection
area?.....................Ardun Doug King
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