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wendell
05-31-2005, 07:25 AM
I went to Limerock yesterday (memorial day) and crewed for a 68 camaro T/A car. It was AWESOME! There were about 10 A and B sedans that were flying. Highlights included seeing one of the Owens Corning ZL1 corvettes destroy the track, a pair of Shelby 350GTs that sounded and ran like Nextel cars, and seeing my buddy click off a couple 1:04.0 laps in the coolest car ever. It is imposible to describe the thrill of seeing all these cars side by side at 130mph with the small blocks screaming at 8200+rpm through straight pipes. And at the end of the day there was an open bar.

On top of the all the fun, I learned and applied a ton of chassis tuning in the pits. HA! What a day. Don't worry, pics are coming.

sunkistcamaro
05-31-2005, 07:39 AM
That sounds like a great time.
I cant believe I missed it...
Cant wait for the pics

Steve Chryssos
05-31-2005, 08:13 AM
Highlights included seeing one of the Owens Corning ZL1 corvettes destroy the track

Whoa! You had me going there for a minute: You typed "Destroy the track" and I read "Destroyed ON the track"

wendell
05-31-2005, 08:52 AM
That would have been terrible on a few levels. Not only do these guys race super hard, but they do it in amazing pieces of american history. On top of all the racing I got to meet quite a few of the guys that were racing and developing A/B sedans and trans/am cars on the east coast during the late 60s/early 70s. These guys know a TON about making 1st gens go obscenely fast! It was awesome.

Rick Dorion
06-01-2005, 05:01 AM
Missed it this year but last year was great. I misread too and thought a car had been destroyed. Looking forward to pics.

vintageracer
06-01-2005, 04:37 PM
The above comments are why "vintage racing" is the absolute best way to participate in motorsports. Why dream it when you can live it!!!

Buy or build yourself a vintage race car and join the fun.

Remember:

RACING! BECAUSE GOLF, BASEBALL, BASKETBALL, FOOTBALL, BOWLING AND SOCCER TAKES ONLY ONE BALL!!!!

JLM
06-02-2005, 04:43 AM
haha I use about 8 balls when I golf!

doh!

Sounds like a fun event. Can't wait for pictures.

wendell
06-02-2005, 05:53 AM
There's a pretty huge barrier to entry for the vintage racing. An unrestored T/A or A/B production car from back in the day is going t start around 50k. On top of that, you need a LOT of motor to have a competitive car. The final straw is that with vintage race cars come vintage race car drivers. 30+ years of seat time, these guys FLY. Not an easy thing to get into.

I'm still working on getting the pics somewhere that they can be hosted.

David Pozzi
06-02-2005, 07:43 AM
A good way to learn, help someone!

JLM, I don't golf, but I DO have a "golf shirt", - it has 18 holes in it!!! :lmao:

vintageracer
06-02-2005, 08:02 AM
You do not have to have a period race car with history. MANY organizations will let you run a car with no history or one that is purpose built. The largest organization out there HSR (Historic Sportscar Racing) is a great example. There are MANY Mustangs, Corvettes, Camaro, Porsche's etc that were never originally race cars that now participate with the "real" cars. Many times those cars win!

Most of the Mustangs you see running to day were not race cars back in the 60's/70's. They were purpose built to go vintage racing. Lot's of real Shelby's racing today are that way.

Find a car you like, build it into a race car that meets the rules and period requirements and come join us in the fun.

wendell
06-02-2005, 09:11 AM
vintage,
You're right, the "new" vintage racers are super cool. They are also very well developed cars (cubic money). In addition, from what I've seen, there are quite a few funny cars in those groups. Either way, it's a killer way to race cars. If you have the means, I highly recomend it. Any pics/specs on your car?

Dave,
I learned more between practice sessions in one day than I could have ever imagined. Priceless. I helped tune almost 2 seconds off a lap time and it was facinating.

vintageracer
06-02-2005, 12:23 PM
I am on the road for the Power Tour. The car was in the March issue of Vintage Motorsports and Hemmings Motor News. I'll see what I can find when I return.

CFster
06-02-2005, 01:43 PM
I went to Limerock yesterday (memorial day) and crewed for a 68 camaro T/A car. It was AWESOME! There were about 10 A and B sedans that were flying. Highlights included seeing one of the Owens Corning ZL1 corvettes destroy the track, a pair of Shelby 350GTs that sounded and ran like Nextel cars, and seeing my buddy click off a couple 1:04.0 laps in the coolest car ever. It is imposible to describe the thrill of seeing all these cars side by side at 130mph with the small blocks screaming at 8200+rpm through straight pipes. And at the end of the day there was an open bar.

On top of the all the fun, I learned and applied a ton of chassis tuning in the pits. HA! What a day. Don't worry, pics are coming.

Our company races two "Spec Miatas" in SCCA. Last weekend they were turning mid 1:03s. It's all about handling at Limerock, not horsepower.

wendell
06-03-2005, 04:49 AM
1:03 is hot. I was super impressed with the Miata spec racers. I completely agree about handling. A 550hp 3300lbs camaro is not the fastest way around the track at all. What company? We were in the sunocco padox with most of the Miatas. Maroon/yellow 68 camaro. Best lap was 1:04 flat.

CFster
06-03-2005, 01:07 PM
Southern Auto Auction Motorsports. We have a red 90 with white stripes and a white 95 with red stripes. Numbers 52 and 53.

Did you see BSI's trailer? They had 5 identically prepared Pro Miatas - all bright orange. They spend about as much as anyone has on a Miata. The guy who runs it - Stu, once borrowed one of our PPFs (power plant frame - a brace that holds the trans and rear together) down at VIR. He said, "can we borrow your PPF for this race?". Well, we were done with that one particular car at the time so we said ok. Then a crew of guys descended on our car and had the thing out in seconds - it was something to watch. We got a new one in the mail a week later. The Miata guys are pretty good about doing each other favors like that.

Anyway, we aren't in the Pro series. We raced in SM and SSM on Saturday. Interestingly, the Pro series Miatas were turning slower lap times - because they were running the Hankook tires - they're crap compared to the Toyos we run. Almost a full second slower. But the guys who race the Pro series are hardcore racers - a few of those guys are from the Speed Touring, or Grand Am Cup series. They're pretty aggressive on track.

But we have fun in our Regional classes - lots of competition on our level - we actually finished 4th on the first Saturday race. And the fields can get huge - I've seen over 40 cars before.

It's a great series (Spec Miata), because it really hones your driving talent. Because they have no freekin horsepower, you learn to carry a lot of speed through corners where you ordinarily wouldn't. Our lead driver only brakes in 2 spots on the whole track now. Going into turn one and turn two. The rest of the track is either flat or a slight lift - even the uphill at the end of No Name Straight. You point the car right at the flag stand and pray!

Lots of fun!

wendell
06-06-2005, 04:47 AM
I only saw the PRO racing sunday. The BSI trailer was out of control. There was a swarm of orange Miatas. King Rat had a pretty serious set up as well. I'm interested in the Miata club racing, got a link?

Still haven't had a chance to up load pics but they're coming. Here's a taste.

Steve Chryssos
06-06-2005, 04:58 AM
More! :poke:

wendell
06-06-2005, 05:39 AM
tease:
the GT350 sounded and ran like a jet powered slot car. The red and white vette is packing a ZL1. The blue one is really fast. The black 'stang is show car beautiful.

CFster
06-06-2005, 05:11 PM
I only saw the PRO racing sunday. The BSI trailer was out of control. There was a swarm of orange Miatas. King Rat had a pretty serious set up as well. I'm interested in the Miata club racing, got a link?

Still haven't had a chance to up load pics but they're coming. Here's a taste.

Spec Miata (http://www.specmiata.com/)

wendell
06-07-2005, 11:15 AM
CFster,
The spec miata class look fairly accessible. Any idea what the Mazda Speed kit costs? Whats a used spec racer go for? Thanks for the link. I'm real intrested in gaining experience in a low cost class ASAP.
Jensen

Salt Racer
06-08-2005, 05:40 AM
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I might sell my Riviera sometime. Track days are fun and everything, but I think I'd rather go real racing.

Buick will never be a competitive race car (and I don't want to make it look like a race car), and Spec Miata or NASA's CMC seems to be fairly reasonable and accessible.

But then again, it's fun to try out my own suspension designs which you really can't do within the rules of those budget racing series. Wish I had money to keep the Buick and still go racing. Tough dilemma...

CFster
06-08-2005, 01:34 PM
CFster,
The spec miata class look fairly accessible. Any idea what the Mazda Speed kit costs? Whats a used spec racer go for? Thanks for the link. I'm real intrested in gaining experience in a low cost class ASAP.
Jensen

I believe when we purchased ours a few years ago they were around $1200. That's a suspension package that includes coil over shocks and front and rear swaybars. If you have a later 1.8L car (vs. the 1.6s) you need to run a restrictor plate behind the throttle body that they supply.

We actually got a good deal on our cars. One we paid $2500 for - then bought another, then another two that had hard tops. Took the hard tops off the other two and sold them. It was easy for us - we're a wholesale auto auction!

Then we put new engines in them, and just about everything else you can think of. We spent way more than the average Miata racer. It really isn't necessary to go racing.

What does a finished car cost? I've seen them go for 10K to over 30K. It's becoming really popular.

But in any event, sometimes the hard part is finding the hard tops. They're becoming nonexistant.

The Spec class runs shaved Toyo RA1s - which you can get from Vilven Tire. The wheels that almost everybody is running are the Team Dynamics II's. They're lightweight - but I believe they have to be over 13lbs by the rules though. You need to run stock brakes - though everybody runs Hawk Blue pads front and rear. The drivetrain has to be stock, stock, stock. They've caught guys running illegal cams and cam gears. You can have a rebuilt engine, and though the rules say you can't have it blueprinted, I don't know how in the hell anybody would know.

Then you have to have the proper safety equipment of course - and make sure you get the lowdown on the roll cages. There is currently a debate going on about what's legal and what isn't with certain roll cages. Don't get caught in the same trap we did - we had to change ours after the fact. Get a SCCA rule book and study it. Then talk to a tech inspector with the book in your hand.

To get into racing you'll need to get a racing license from an SCCA school. You can use your Miata for track time. They send you out in sessions and watch you. Then they verbally abuse you in front of everybody in the classroom - picking apart everything you did wrong.

You can also rent cars from places like BSI. You rent the car - usually by placing a call, and faxing back an agreement with a deposit. Then all you have to do is show up at the track - they'll be there with the car, mechanics and spares.

Speaking of spares - the Toyos last an unusually long time. We can get several race weekends out of them. And we throw away tires that other teams would use for the rest of the season. The same goes for brakes - the're very easy on brakes.

We've run several endurance races - 6,8 or 10 hour races with no problems. These cars give new meaning to the term reliable. Think about it - you have to thash the engines to get any kind of speed out of them. You're constantly on redline. And they seem to take it no problem for an entire day. We used to have a big enclosed trailer with all kinds of spare parts - we were like BSI, people were coming over asking us to borrow stuff. Then we realized we didn't need to be lugging all that stuff around, so we use a suburban, a pickup and two lightweight aluminum trailers. All we need.

wendell
06-09-2005, 04:52 AM
Sold. Where do I sign up?! It's good to here that the class is in fact affordable. After seening some of the big outfits like BSI I was wondering just how deep the money pit was. From what I've heard, rule number one in racing is buy a car, DON'T build a car. Does this hold true for the Miatas? I'd be doing all the work my self.

Thanks alot for the information, I imagine there are a few other people on this site that are lurking and starting to keep an eye out fora Miata.
J

CFster
06-12-2005, 02:53 PM
Well, I guess I would say that we would change a few things if we were to build a car again. It was a learning experience.

That said, the only thing to really screw up is the cage - and I've seen some screwed up cages.

The rest of it is all bolt on stuff.

Have a guy who builds cages do your car - unless you already do that. And make sure he knows the rules for that class.

Have a blast though - it's a lot of fun. Just make sure you take things seriously. We've run into a lot of guys fresh out of SCCA school who are all over the track, and generally a menace. Feel free to go to some events, and talk to some Spec Miata guys - most I've come across are more than willing to share tips, etc...

So, you're in Boston? Ever been over to Louden? There's a lot of concrete there. Or Watkins Glen? Nice track! We also try to make it down to VIR at least once a year. That place makes the aforementioned and Limerock looks like freekin dumps. What a beautiful facility. And they must have a half dozen track configurations.

vanzuuk1
06-12-2005, 04:54 PM
CF I raced bikes a few times at the OLD loudon that was a dump, dirt pit area and porta pottys. VIR is awesome and the people are so nice it makes it even better. Brought my wife to her first race there and she actually thanked me !