[Fot] VARA "Big Bore Bash" Willow Springs Nov 7 Triumph Race Report

Mon Nov 16 06:26:13 MST 2015

nice pictures and race recap...good stuff

On Sun, Nov 15, 2015 at 8:32 AM, Michael Moore <mmoore at mtmcpafirm.com>
wrote:

> Great recap and pictures, thanks
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> *Thanks, Mike*
>
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>
> 62 TR4, Race car
>
> 63 TR4, Street car
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>
> Mike & Becky Moore
>
> 6050 Ruhl Road, Fairview, PA 16415
>
>
>
> mmoore at mtmcpafirm.com
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> *From:* Fot [mailto:fot-bounces at autox.team.net] *On Behalf Of *Steven
> Belfer
> *Sent:* Saturday, November 14, 2015 10:54 PM
> *To:* FOT Triumph <fot at autox.team.net>
> *Subject:* [Fot] VARA "Big Bore Bash" Willow Springs Nov 7 Triumph Race
> Report
>
>
>
> Dear F.O.T.,
>
>
>
> Last weekend (Nov 7-8), was the final VARA race of our 2015 season. Here’s
> the race report:
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>
>
>
> I went up there Friday to register my TR3 and get a good spot in the
> paddock. The event was well attended, (around 150 cars) and I pitted behind
> the grandstands near turn 1.
>
> Since it was the final event of the season, I entered in both group 1 (EP
> and FP,) as well as group 5 with DP and the large group of tin-top sedans.
> I wanted to get maximum track time!
>
> Steve Belfer’s ’62 TR3B (with ’57 front apron)
>
>
>
> On Saturday, I went out with group 1 and went as fast as I could right
> away.  After 6 laps, right as I crested the hill at turn 6/7, I shifted
> from 3rd to 4th and immediately, my clutch started slipping badly. I could
> rev the motor in 4th gear and watch the tach go up and down but I wasn’t
> accelerating.  I think I turned a 1:46.5. I nursed the car back to the pits
> and was fairly convinced that the clutch was oiled-up. The Triumph guys all
> pitched in and helped me pull out the gearbox. We found a bunch of oil in
> the bell-housing, but not a ton of oil. We then cleaned everything off and
> came to the conclusion that the gearbox wasn’t ventilated enough. (I
> recently plugged the vent hole because I thought it wasn’t necessary. We
> all figured that It got pressurized and blew oil past the seal, oiling up
> the clutch plate.
>
>
>
> Frank Daly troubleshoots a starter issue.
>
>
>
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>
> It took a couple hours of work to get it all back together and I was just
> in time for the qualifying race, where I started in 6th position.
>
> I made a good start and was going strong until lap 8, where the same exact
> problem happened at the same place on track, going over the hill and
> shifting. Bummer!  I brought the car back again to the pits and basically
> thought I was done for the weekend.  By this time, 4 of the 5 Triumphs were
> all having problems of their own.  Mark Vaden overheated and had to swap
> the cylinder head, When Mark drained the oil, it all looked like
> greenish-brown slime!  Frank Daly’s starter quit working, and Dale
> Wallace’s gearshift lever could rotate 360 degrees and he couldn’t shift
> the car! At one point, all of the Triumphs were on jack stands.
>
>
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> Mark Vaden’s restored TR4 from San Diego gets a different Cyl Head.
>
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> Chuck Gee and Mike Bruner eager to lend a helping hand.
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> The guys offered to help me pull the gearbox AGAIN but I was frustrated
> with the car and made the decision to pack up and go home the next day. I
> went back to the hotel and then had a nice dinner.
>
>
>
> Sunday morning, I sadly loaded up the truck and drove the car onto my
> trailer.  Then a funny thing happened. The car felt FINE!  It was a cold
> morning but there was no slippage at all when driving the car onto the
> trailer.  Then I thought, hey, maybe the pressure plate is starting to go
> bad when it gets really hot. I brainstormed with the guys who helped me
> repair the car earlier and we started to think that a little clevis-pin
> that actuates the clutch was binding up. I started to think about it and it
> really did feel mechanical in nature, not oil-related.
>
>
>
> Mordy demonstrates a slight mechanical issue.
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> Mark Vaden was happy to complete his repair and get back to racing!
>
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> The guys were getting suited-up and ready to go out and here I am, looking
> at my car on the trailer thinking, “Shit, I drove it onto the trailer and
> the clutch didn’t slip, I’m going to run it!”
>
> So in a big hurry, I unstrapped the car, took out the ramps, unloaded my
> car, suited up, and went out with group 5. By now, every single Triumph was
> fixed! I went out there starting last and methodically passed each and
> every Triumph one-by-one!  I changed my driving to keep the pressure plate
> as cool as possible. I only used 3rd and 4th and, over the hill, I waited
> until the back-side of the hill and did a very slow shift from 3-4.
> Altering my driving style seemed to work and I made it through the whole
> session and blew right by my competition!
>
>
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> Craig and Frank make some adjustments.
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> We had a little time so we modified the clutch slave cyl. pushrod length
> underneath the car that may have been binding up and I made the group 1
> race and the group 5 race.
>
> Paul Smock with his TR4 after smoking the competition during the
> qualifying race on Saturday.
>
>
>
> During the qualifying race, a helicopter rescued a motorcyclist who had an
> accident in the hills above the track.
>
>
>
>
>
> Group 1 Flag Race:
>
> I started 25th position because I did not run the qualifying race. Instead
> of starting in a nice tight bunch, the last 10 cars or so were all strung
> out and I was way in the back, almost dead last. I was really antsy but the
> cars in front of me wouldn’t pack up! I made a good start and passed about
> 5 cars before turn 1, I passed some other guys going into 2 and we were
> three wide going through turn 2. I was on the inside, that HUGE XK 150 Jag
> coupe was in the middle, and a MG Midget was on the outside. All of a
> sudden we were all sliding in oil. I avoided a 4 car accident at the very
> end of turn 2 where two sports-racers, a FV, and a Spitfire got together.
> My buddy Allen Mizutani was unfortunate to be involved. He came out with a
> freshly painted Sports Renault in Gulf livery. He was in the wrong place
> and couldn’t avoid the accident. His car was heavily damaged but mostly
> fiberglass bodywork.  After the incident, there were not caution flags YET,
> before I knew it, Josh Roddenbush was Spinning wildly in front of me in
> turn 6. I think another car went off in 9. ALL ON LAP ONE! They brought out
> the pace-car and went full-course yellow followed by a black flag-all. We
> came into the hot pits and gridded up again. After about 5 minutes they
> sent us out for more green-flag racing. It went Green, White, Checkered. In
> those three laps, I moved through the field up to 4th overall, 3rd in
> class.  On the very last lap, The green 911 and Val, in his orange 911 were
> side by side in turn 2. I got between them, causing the green car to lose
> pace and fall behind. Then I was on Val, finally passing him in turn 9. I
> gave him plenty of room and took the whole turn on the inside.  He used his
> Porsche power and got me by a nose at the finish line! He was ecstatic!
>
>
>
> From the view of David Isaac’s camouflage Spit: Alan Mizutani, in his
> beautifully repainted Renault couldn’t avoid a spinning sports racer.
>
> This incident involved a bunch of cars and the race was red-flagged until
> the area was cleared.
>
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> Group 5 Flag Race:
>
> Started dead last, and worked my way to mid-field by passing cars one by
> one. The passes got increasingly difficult to pull-off as the cars were
> more closely matched. I pulled-off some pretty good moves, If I do say so
> myself. I used the classic over-under a couple of times in turn 3 and it
> was awesome! I made several passes in turn 8 where I’m pretty quick and I
> basically have to force them to slow down a bit as I get right in front of
> them before turn 9.
>
> It’s nice to trust your friends on the track! Our cars came close together
> but never made contact.
>
>
>
>
>
> Great times with great friends!
>
>
>
> ~STEVE
>
> _______________________________________________
> fot at autox.team.net
>
> http://www.fot-racing.com
>
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>
>
>

-- 
rob deanes
TR Racer
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