Vintage wheel-to-wheel racing

Nation · May 20, 2009

Just wondering if anyone out there participates in these forms of motorsport.

Long-time lurker w/o any tech to bring to the table. I just thought I'd open the question.

It seems there are sooo many vintage Camaros, Corvettes, and Mustangs at SVRA/HSR and look-a-like races that I didn't know if there was a contigent out there who is building or has built something along the lines of the '65 Barracuda GT FIA car or the Group 44 Darts.

Just a stream of thought.

Thanks.

Matt

Chris Robson · May 20, 2009

Hi Matt,

I have been a Road Racer my whole life, though mostly "open wheel". I currently campaign a couple of vintage cars, but like you are looking to create a Barracuda/Dart AS/Trans-Am car. I would suggest downloading the HSR/SVRA rules and regulations and go from there.

I have a car, in mind, collecting dust as I complete other projects, but I hope to get in into the rotation soon. Please feel free to email me at [email protected] to chat.

Chris Robson

autoxcuda · May 20, 2009

Nation said:
Just wondering if anyone out there participates in these forms of motorsport.

Long-time lurker w/o any tech to bring to the table. I just thought I'd open the question.

It seems there are sooo many vintage Camaros, Corvettes, and Mustangs at SVRA/HSR and look-a-like races that I didn't know if there was a contigent out there who is building or has built something along the lines of the '65 Barracuda GT FIA car or the Group 44 Darts.

Just a stream of thought.

Thanks.

Matt

clifftt · May 20, 2009

Always fun to watch the roundy-rounds. Saw the Historics at Infineon - Sears Point three years ago. Such a laid back event, free entry into the pits for all. Trans-Am cars, Can-Am, sports cars, big sports prototypes, pre-war cars, formula cars,...... Most participants enjoy talking about their cars, such a class act! I highly recommend!

Nation · May 21, 2009

Thanks for the info so far fellas.

I am not exactly new to this type of racing. I have abeen a member of the SCCA and the lcoal club for 10 or so years.

Maybe I should have asked for some hard-core tech about the cars, who's building them ,racing them, and what works, what doesn't.

Chris Robson · May 21, 2009

Hi Matt,

Adams Racing in Detroit, MI is building my car. John Adams was lead engineer for Kar-Kraft in it's heyday (I know he's a FORD guy, but he was in charge of the development of Mustangs driven by Parnelli Jones and George Follmer during the 1969-70 and 70-71 series)

We are currently evaluating the chassis (a '66 Barracuda) and working on suspension pickup points and also developing some cross members and bracing that, once we iron out the bugs, will be produced for the public. We are also beginning to build headers and exhaust systems for the 273, but I am getting ahead of myself.

I am not exactly sure what questions you have, but I would be happy to discuss what we are doing. We really just went by the FIA Group 6 rules and then crossed referenced them against the SCCA's "version"...

Nation · May 22, 2009

Are you using the Appendix J rules and the FIA #535 Homologation forms to build the car? Or, are you crossing it with the "scca" version for SVRA or VARA?

Chris Robson · May 22, 2009

Since we are doing this for "fun" and are not going to submit it for FIA "thoroughbred" heritage papers, we are combining the "best" from each book. We are not even sure what year specs we are going to build the car too...

We plan to run mostly at HSR/SVRA endurance events on the East Coast. (Sebring, Road Atlanta, Watkins Glen, VIR, etc..) A lot of what we are trying to do is based upon development parts and pieces we are looking to put into production.

Chris

autoxcuda · May 22, 2009

Chris Robson said:
Since we are doing this for "fun" and are not going to submit it for FIA "thoroughbred" heritage papers, we are combining the "best" from each book. We are not even sure what year specs we are going to build the car too...

We plan to run mostly at HSR/SVRA endurance events on the East Coast. (Sebring, Road Atlanta, Watkins Glen, VIR, etc..) A lot of what we are trying to do is based upon development parts and pieces we are looking to put into production.

Chris

Are you using the FIA papers that Mike Ritz got that runs the VARA 66 Barracuda??

There's some interesting stuff there. I don't think they got that stuff into Trans Am. There's 67 or 68 papers too.

I wonder if Scott Harvey used it for his Rallye cars. Like the blue 67/68 they ran in Europe.

Chris Robson · May 23, 2009

I currently have two cars with "FIA papers". Obtaining them with cars that have a verifiable race history, was painful enough, I do not want to go through that process with a "reproduction" vehicle. We are really just trying to put together a car that will run in the endurance events, not cost a lot to maintain, can be "driven in anger" without worry of replacement value...

There is a fine balance between "authentic" vs. "historically correct" vs. "safe" vs. "over the line".Our car is a shell. We have had a couple of false starts and some other projects cutting in line, but hopefully the car will see the track in 2010.

I would love to hear from someone out there who has knowledge of the original "Team Starfish" cars.

Chris

Nation · May 26, 2009

The FIA papers are for a 1966 model.

Chris, what cars do you own that have FIA passports?

Chris Robson · May 26, 2009

I have a 78 March 782 Formula 2 (x- Hans Stuck factory car) and a '70 Chevron B16 (x-everybody) I love both cars, but it costs close to $4000 a weekend just "kick them off the trailer"#-o.

I figured it out one day that it takes approximately 50 hours of prep for every 1 hour of track time... Plus, Hewland rebuilds are getting to be almost as expensive as Cosworth rebuilds!

Chris

Nation · May 27, 2009

Do you deal with Lee Chapman? That fella is a god among Chevron enthusiasts.

The same goes for Teddy Wenz and crew for Hewlands.

I spent a couple of summers working for them. 40 hours per 1 hour was what we had figured for car prep. Not to mention the countless consumables that each weekend seems to take (really, 10 qts. of Redline?).

Chris Robson · May 28, 2009

Lee definitely knows his stuff and Ted has built his share of engines for me. My cars are maintained and prepped by Adams Racing in Michigan. Most of my engine work is done by Illmor and the Gearboxes by Pratt and Miller' Dan Binks. I have two other cars I am trying to get finished, but with this economy and the first of my two daughters about to start college, race weekends are becoming "few and far between"...

Vintage wheel-to-wheel racing

Nation

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Chris Robson

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autoxcuda

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clifftt

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Nation

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Chris Robson

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Nation

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Chris Robson

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autoxcuda

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Chris Robson

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Nation

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Nation

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