Ok, I'll bite.
I fell in love with LBCs and racing while in high school in the late 50's.
Went to Laguna Seca and watched whole grids of MGAs, Porsches and Alfas.
Conned my grandmother into buying me a TD with TF1500 running gear, which I
used through college and started autocrossing with whatever club would let
under 21's compete.
Bought a used 59 bugeye in graduate school and started racing in 1963 on the
cheap. After joining Boeing in Seattle and making more money than I knew
what to do with after graduate school, I started to race more seriously up
and down the West Coast. Discovered the benefits of Joe Huffaker's engine
magic about 1968 and finished second at the runoffs in Riverside in 1968 and
Daytona in 69. The 69 season cost over 50% of my gross income, and the
runoffs moved permanently to the East Coast so I raced locally and cheaply
until 1972 when we built a rhd bugeye specifically to win at Road Atlanta.
We thought we did everything right with the new chassis, but it never was as
fast and the old floppy one, and then I finally had the BIG ONE at Pacific
Raceways in 1972 -- a triple flip with a half twist. The judges gave me
10's for style points but the quack said hang it up for 6 months until your
head heals.
In the course of the layoff, I met my wife to be, got married and did the
family thing for the next 22 years, never going near a race track. In July
1994, I made the mistake of going to something called the Pacific Northwest
Historics. The addiction hit again like I'd never been away -- sights,
sounds, smells, all were just like they'd been before. Within 8 weeks I had
the original bugeye with new rubber parts and fluids and was back on the
track -- the driver was quite a bit slower than 22 years before, but having
just as much fun.
Being a BMC pervert, I've also acquired an early Lotus Seven America with
BMC power. I raced it three times, broke the frame, and have been restoring
it for the last couple of years. I hope to finish it off and run it again
this summer, but the bugeye is still such a kick to drive. I also maintain
a Beach Formula Vee for my wife to race -- I sent her to driver's school in
the Sprite in 1995 with the hope that she would then understand the
expenditure of $, but wouldn't get really interested.. That was a big error
in judgement, I had to buy her a Vee to get my bugeye seat back.
Anyhow, I do love these old, cantankerous things. They're a kick.
Myles Winbigler
Mad Mollusk Racing
Bellevue, Washington
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