> Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 22:42:56 -0500
> From: rjohnson@friendlynet.com
> Subject: Braided/Stainless lines in Stock Category
>
> I think that the original poster questioned the origin of this rule.
> It is rather embarrassing to be old enough to recall. . . . .
Roger, it's even more embarrassing to remember it incorrectly :-)
> It was '86 I think - and the Lotus (a source of so many of the issues
> in this sport, n'est pas?) Elan was fairly prominent and dominant in
Watch it, your Kar Klux Klan side is showing :-)
> A/S. These vehicles have a plastic fuel/oil/hydraulic (not sure which)
Actually it's the clutch line running from the master cylinder to the
slave; in stock form on the LHD cars it is (a) plastic and (b) cleverly
positioned quite close to the exhaust. Hydraulic fluid tends to burn
when it hits a hot exhaust (never mind how I know :-).
> Said SEB chair had replaced the line in question on his vehicle with a
> braided/ss piece (rather than doing the proper maintenance/replacement
Actually he had replaced half of it, the half which was burnt through
in a prior failure, with a piece of steel brake line. A decent
field repair, of virtually zero value since the plastic tube tended
to be quite rigid also. I would certainly not have chosen to leave
it that way (we replaced these things often and carried a spare),
but he did.
> of the OE part) and it was questioned at the Nationals - perhaps by
> protest. He was not penalized; and after the event the allowance was
> made a part of the rulebook.
Actually he was placed last in class but not DQ'd. This was part of
the Elan fratricide of 1988, as I recall.
> A number of us fought the inclusion of this allowance, to no avail.
I was frankly surprised that the allowance was extended to brake
lines, since the clutch line was really the only one which was
likely to be of concern. Brake lines don't generally find themselves
in hot spots in the engine compartment.
> All of the above is from memory, I do not have results from the '86
> event. It could be very wrong, but is how I have chosen to remember the
> events. . . . .
I guess so. And '86 results wouldn't help, it was '88. But you
did pretty well for a Karvette guy :-)
Oh, and I have some rather nice (sheathed) braided steel lines
on my '91 MR2. They don't do squat, at least in this application,
but they haven't caused any problems either.
Karen Babb
almost as old as Roger, but not quite...
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