This is basically the "historic" vs. "point in time" discussion. I say
if the modification was available before the vintage racing cut-off date
for your class, then you should be allowed to do it. If the cut-off date
for your class was '78 and the mod kit came out in '79, I would say no.
The fact that the SCCA mandated this change (by allowing the conversions)
operates in your favor.
This would still mean the car will no longer be correct to the year of
manufacture (YOM), but correct to a point in time that was allowed by the
SCCA rules and presumably, within the year range for your class. Getting
an original Carl Haas conversion kit to do it sounds great. Please preserve
the original parts so the car can be taken back to YOM condition if you
sell it to somebody who cares more about that. Also make sure the mods are
allowed in the clubs you race with. If there are already cars with the same
mods running, it should be OK.
As examples, the Formula Junior rules deleted the requirement for original
type brakes in favor of disk brakes, and a number of cars were converted.
After F. Jr. folded, some of the cars converted to a 1 bbl carb and ran
as F3. OTOH, sports cars that had their fenders flared in the 70's trying
to run in a class with a '67 cut-off date have been told to de-flare them
to run with clubs that stress originality. The mods were over 20 years old,
but they were not correct for the YOM, or the class it ran in.
Robert McCurdy wrote:
>
> Hey folks,
>
> Well, this roller-rocker thing has me thinking about an issue that may
> be unique to the class I run in but, hey, I'm new at this so what do I
> know? I'm one of the few guys out there running an air-cooled
> supervee. First a little (potentially inaccurate) history. My car,
> built in 74, was fitted with a 1600 cc engine. The SCCA later updated
> that to 1700. A few years later in the series, the water-cooled rabbit
> engine replaced the weezer bringing a ton more horsepower. A lot of
> the air-cooled cars were updated to water-cooled but still proved
> uncompetitive against the newer purpose built chassis. So now, back to
> the present day. My conversations with the engine builders tells me
> that in order to achieve the HP reported in the original air-cooled
> engine, I basically have to build a grenade. Since my car is always
> lumped in with the Atlantics, Indy cars and F1's, every pony counts. My
> question is: since a lot of these cars (not my car) were converted to
> water-cooled engine late in their pro careers, would it be vintage
> anathema for me to convert it now. I know where I can find an original,
> supplied by Carl Haas conversion kit so originality, non period issues
> are, well, not the issue.
>
> Just wanted to see what everybody's opinion is on this.
>
> Robert McCurdy
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