> To help visualize this if you've never seen it, there is one leaf at each
> end of the car, mounted transversely; each end of the spring forms the upper
> [rest of excellent description deleted]
Yes, I think I can see it.
Well, I expected *you* could. I meant for those not fortunate enough
to have slithered around under a Snake, even if only at a car show.
Of course, I have another advantage. The very first car model I ever
built was a 289 Cobra. Can't remember how old I was, but it was the
first fairly complicated model (meaning steerable wheels, body that
comes off the frame, etc.) It was a detailed model. Maybe I'll help
my daughter finish the 427 S/C model she picked out a while back...
Yup, there were four Mk II based Daytona Coupes: CSX2286, 2287, 2289,
and 2300. Two others (CSX2601 & 2602) may also have been Mk II based
but I'm not absolutely sure. They were the last leaf-spring chassis
built and, unlike the others, were designated as coupes from conception.
I got to see a really unlikely event a week or so ago. ESPN runs a show
called "The Glory Days;" I don't think it's at a regular time, I think they
use it more as filler at odd hours during the week. Basically, it's hosted
by Dave Despain, who introduces period photography taken at great races in
the past.
If any of the Little Healey crowd ever notices that the '65 Sebring is
going to be on, get out your videotape recorders because you'll get to
see something that was really once-in-a-lifetime.
By '65, even the Daytona Coupes were falling behind to the mid-engined
prototype cars such as the Chaparral and the Ford GT-40, which ran away
with the race in '65. But shortly before dusk, a tropical storm hit
Sebring and dumped an unbelievable amount of water on the track (even
more than at driver's school in 1991). The water caused innumerable
spins and made driving incredibly hazardous and made it impossible to
keep the speed up -- for most cars, anyway.
We've always heard that rain is the low-budget racer's friend, but the
'65 Sebring tape offers graphic evidence.
It must be the only time in history that a Sprite passed a Cobra.
One of the Sebring Sprite coupes (which were highly developed little
cars themselves; the '67 version sent to Le Mans would hit 147 mph on
the Mulsanne) can be clearly seen motoring by the Daytona as they
negotiate what had earlier been a very fast sweeping right-hander.
I remember reading in the Sprite books about this race; one of the
drivers said that the cockpit leaked so badly he was up to his waist
in water. "When I accelerate it rushes up around my ears," he said,
"and when I brake it goes down to my feet. To empty the driver's
compartment I open the door going around a left-hand bend."
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