Lime Rocks Fall Finale

[sunbeam74]

The other weekend I ran the Visalia Dodge Boys Alpine at Lime Rock. First time in 40 years, almost to the day, that the car had raced (last event was end of the year at Sears Point 1968).

Overall, the car ran well other than timing adjustments and tweaking the carbs. Handling was a bit odd at first but with some adjustments of the tire pressures things improved. It really leans but the handling isn't bad but it takes a bit of getting used to compared to the Sports Car Forum Alpine (which also leans but not as much)... currently, I have the stock sway-bar. I was curious how the car would handle since one of the comments from Brabham at Riverside was he prefered the stock sway bar.

Some photos of the event are posted here:



http://www.gullwingsearch.com/display.cfm?CategoryID=259

http://www.gullwingsearch.com/display.cfm?CategoryID=260

http://www.gullwingsearch.com/display.cfm?CategoryID=261

http://www.gullwingsearch.com/display.cfm?CategoryID=262

 

[V6 JOSE]

Hi Steve,

I want to ask a few questions.

1) Why aren't there more pictures of your Alpine?
2) What is the white, or grey roadster that is running the flat head engine?
3) Why aren't there any Mustangs or Camaros?
4) Are the cars limited to European cars only?

Just wondering.

Jose

 

[sunbeam74]

Jose,

I'll try and answer your questions...

1) Why aren't there more pictures of your Alpine?
I am not sure why Ed didn't take more. It could be this car doesn't comply with the club rules and he opted not to focus on it. (I had to ask special permission to run this car) The rules require a car to be manufactured prior to 1960. Up to the Series II the Alpine is accepted without question.


2) What is the white, or grey roadster that is running the flat head engine?
That is the "old gray mare". It is a fairly famous pre-war race car that ran in ARCA which was the pre-cursor to the SCCA.

3) Why aren't there any Mustangs or Camaros?
Club's rule... technically the car had to be in manufacture before 1960.

4) Are the cars limited to European cars only?
Well, sort of by default it is primarily European. There are some American cars that would be accepted... a Cunningham, Kurtis 500, and a couple of other odd ones would be accepted (how many are out there? not many) or a documented special which ran before 1960. In fact, I ran this Healey-Corvette special at Mt. Washington (Silver/red #74) which was co-sponsored by the BMW club. http://www.gullwingsearch.com/display.cfm?CategoryID=251

Oddly, Corvettes aren't accepted.

The old gray Mare is unbelievable. It beats many of the European GP cars. Peter Gettings (sp) who races an Alfa is one of the few that can.


Steve

 

[64beam]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the links. Great field of race cars. Is that normal for the race meets or was it a special event? The Visalia Dodge Boys Alpine looks good; it does get a bit of a lean looking at a few of the pictures. Are you going to make any adjustments to the car?

Regards, Robin.

 

[V6 JOSE]

Thanks for the answers. Very interesting. I forgot to mention that I always liked the Alfa GTVs, Is that the designation for the white coupe with the two thin racing stripes? Those and the Porsches were the cars of the cognicenti, back in the day. Those cars bring back a lot of good memories. Even though I drag raced, I tried to keep up with all kinds of racing, including sports car racing.

Jose

 

[sunbeam74]

Jose,

The Alfa is a GTV of sorts. It is an Aluminum bodied GTA. VERY nice. It really is a special car.

Robin,

It is a normal event... usually there are more cars but it seems like the economy really is impacting participation to an extent.

There are probably three things I will do.... in this order.

1) Pertronix

2) Koni shock over the Eldebrock shocks (I choked on the 800+ price tag and went with the Eldebrock shocks... they're ok but the Konis would be better for the track. The SCF Alpine feels more stable with the Konis so I will make the change)

3) Larger Swaybar


Steve

 

[Eleven]

Steve

Love your car, have it saved as my background!

Is your roll bar tall enough? The photo angle is such I cannot tell but it looks low. SCCA wants at least 2 inches, vintage clubs are all over the board. Your belts will stretch in a rollover situation and you'll become the bar!! As a corner worker, I'd rather talk to you at lunch than on a gurney.