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BBC content - Bentley Race meeting

To: spridgets@autox.team.net
Subject: BBC content - Bentley Race meeting
Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2003 16:19:17 EDT
Cc: jonpenbur@amserve.com, ddoiron@cox.net
Hi list,

Big British Car content mostly.  I fitted the new fuel pump to my Sprite 
Thursday night and then spend ages sorting out some very old wiring I didn't 
like 
the look of (some of my early years of ownership & pre soldering iron stuff).

Car drove Ok to Silverstone as just as I was pulling onto the circuit I saw a 
1952 Jaguar C type behind me which the owner raced later iin the day.  Just 
shows real commitment to not only drive your racing car to a meeting but that 
its a rare classic to boot.

I had to sort a scrutineering traffic jam of cars to organisational errors 
with driving signing on so didn't get to do that many cars.  One car I got to 
do 
was a 1925 Bently with an 8000cc engine and a supercharger bigger than a 
Sprite engine to go with it.  

Two cars lost left hand front wheels both  AC Aces (one was an Acea, looked 
the same to me) from 1958 & 1959.  Both on WIRE WHEELS and was seemingly caused 
by a failure at the root of the thread when the spinner knocks on - both 
Spinners recovered with the threaded section still in them but neither car was 
hardly damaged.

The Le Mans winning Bentley did two lots of demonstration runs with a lap 
times at 110mph (that's the average).  Derek Bell did demonstration runs in the 
new road car Bentley the Continental GT which in showroom condition, road tyres 
etc lapped at 78mph.  The 24,000 cc Napier Bentley with each cylinder 
capacity at 2 Litres would make a Big block chevvy look small lapped in one 
race that 
timed at 79mph.

There was a handicap race which started from the pit lane (drivers in the 
cars) where the time keeper waves each car away with a Union Jack flag with the 
first car having completed a whole lap and then some before the last car 
starts.  The Napier Bentley did just about the most impressive and smoking 
wheelspin 
I have seen.

There was one Midget and one Big Healey........

I advised a couple of cars during scrutineering that their oil catch tanks 
did not meet the mandatory size - 3 Litres for most cars.  This bunch were ok 
about this but usually a driver complains that the engine doesn't breath any 
oil 
etc.etc.  The reply is the same, yes but if a piston fails you'll fit the 
catch tank pretty smartish.  I don't think they are ever convinced.  Today a 
vee 
8 Morgan pulled out of the race and into the pits with a LOT of oil all down 
the side.  I took an interest in it and lo and behold a 3 Litre oil catch full 
to overflowing, oil everywhere including all over the exhaust and I GUESS a 
blown piston.  Driver:  Something must have caused all that pressure.  Me: 
perhaps a piston has failed.  Driver, It can't I have just had the engine 
rebuilt.  
Me.......................  I check with more experienced colleagues some who 
work on race cars and build race engines for a living and none could think of 
any other reason to dump that much oil - car was a dry sumper but that didn't 
seem to make any difference.

My spare ticket I still have so if anyone has a time machine......

Daniel1312

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