Is there a place that I can research vintage racing? I assume that there is
a lot of rules as to what you can and can't do as far as mods go.
Thanks,
Kurt
-----Original Message-----
From: Carl McLelland [mailto:carlmcle@saturnnet.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2000 1:07 PM
To: Kurt Eckert
Subject: Re: Racing Alpine
Hi Kurt,
Good luck with your project!! Take a look at my website and see what I
started with just about one year ago now. With a lot of time you can be
ready for the first race next year.
I would recommend vintage racing. If your going to go to the trouble of
preparing the car and spending all the money, you might as well get as much
track time as possible. I race with CSRG on the west coast. A typical race
weekend yields the following track time:
Saturday:
30 minute practice in the morning.
20 minute "mechanics picnic" (where you take friends, family, etc.
for laps around the track during the lunch
break)
30 minute race in the afternoon
20 minutes in the evening taking course workers for a ride around
the track
Sunday:
30 minute practice
20 minute mechanics picnic
30 minute race in the afternoon
As you can see, I'm stretching the 'normal' 120 minutes of track time out to
180 minutes. I don't mind the passenger if I can spend more time wearing out
my tires!!
My series 1 had sat in a barn about 5 years before I bought it, so besides
race preparation I also had to restore it. Fortunately, the car was almost
rust free! (At least no structural rust).
I'm doing it in 3 phases. The first phase was restoration and preparation
for the track (fuel cell, rollbar, etc, etc. I finished it one week before
the first event (CSRG drivers school and race weekend at Sears Point) in
March. The car "looked" like a race car, but mechanically it was "box stock"
1960 series 1. I raced it in April at Thunder Hill in this same
configuration.
I completed phase 2 afterward, which consisted of lowering the car,
new/rebuilt shocks, 7/8" front sway bar, etc, etc. I'll race it in this
configuration until I finish phase 3.
Phase 3 is building a series 5 (1725cc) race engine. This engine is apart in
my shop now for the build. It won't be a "barn stormer", cause I don't want
to have to tear it down every other race. I'm looking at .050" overbore,
cam, headwork, and the other things inside to keep it together. I'm using
the original S1 Zenith carbs.
Phase 4, if I go there, will be an OD transmission with close ratio gears.
You don't win anything in vintage racing and at 52 years of age I'm not
worried about Roger Penske "scouting" at a vintage race to hire me, so I'm
just out there to have fun! Or, as another fellow vintage racer puts it, the
prize money is the same if your first or last! Obviously, with the
(original) S1 1500cc engine I'm not smoking the tires exiting the corners,
but I can assure you that the "FUN METER" is constantly pegged in the
red!!!!!
Most of the guys vintage racing are on this network already, and most have
much more experience than I do with Alpines, but feel free to write with any
particular questions you might have. (37 years experience with Porsches, but
aside from driving the car on/off the trailer had never even RIDDEN in an
Alpine prior to that first weekend at Sears Point! It's really a great
little car).
Good luck to you!
Carl McLelland (CSRG #247 '60 Series 1 Alpine)
web: http://carlynneracing.homestead.com/home.html
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kurt Eckert" <kurt.eckert@worldnet.att.net>
To: "alpine folks" <alpines@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2000 9:31 AM
Subject: Racing Alpine
> Howdy All,
>
> Well it's official. Thanks to the magic of stock options, I now have more
> money than sense
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