Guest MistressMotorsports Posted March 13, 2003 Share Posted March 13, 2003 Well, thanks to Scott T from this site for Weber tuning help and Erik at EMI for completely re-doing my suspension, my vintage racer continues to get quicker. Last weekend I ran with HSR-West at Willow Springs. In my group were two other vintage 240Zs, a trio of brand new Lotus Elises (not vintage, but Lotus is a sponsor so they get to run), a really fast 914-6 that was prepped as a modern car (17 inch wheels, wing, flares, etc), and a whole mess of medium and small bore vintage racers. I managed to get 1st in class and 3rd overall behind the 914 and one of the Elises. Best lap time was a 1:34.5, which isn't too bad for the car's first time at Willow. The ITS record is also a 1:34, so I should be able to go faster, which will happen with time and tuning. Interestingly, one of the other 240s was street legal and had been driven to/from the track. Gotta love a guy who does that in this day of 53 foot transporters and full support crews. John Morton was there, and he spent a lot of time with me once he saw that the car was a fairly serious piece with some speed potential. Even got an autograph on my dash. There were about 5 B Sedan 510's running in the vintage B Sedan Challenge. These guys have some huge bucks into their cars. Some of them are upwards of $40k, compared to about $16k I have in my car, most of which is engine, wheels, and tires. The fastest 510 ran a 1:35. They tend to out-handle me in the tight stuff, but down the straights those two extra cylinders are tough to beat. Anyway, it was a great weekend, perfect weather, no carnage to speak of, except for one Shelby Cobra spec racer that took the front end off the car, mostly cosmetic. Next up is California Speedway in a week and a half. Everyone is invited to come out and watch. The gate fee is something like $10, so if you're in SoCal on the 22nd or 23rd, come on out and say hi. They usually have events like street car drags and autocrossing outside the track in the parking lot, so if you come out, be sure to go inside the main track where the real racing happens. (No offense to autocrossers intended.) Mike Eckhaus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 Sweet times--especially if you get that 1/2 second down or so, you'll be the recod holder for sure. Wish I could meet John Morton... Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MistressMotorsports Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 Well, I won't really be the record holder since my car isn't an ITS car anymore. I just use the ITS record as a guide to see if I'm doing well. Since my car has an ITS legal suspension and wheels/tires, but is lighter and has a LOT more hp, I should be able to run under the record if I don't screw up my driving too badly. Certainly with Erik Messley helping me in the handling department, I have no excuses to make about setup. If I can consistently run at least a second better than the ITS record, I'll feel pretty good. I think John C's car is going to be tough to beat, especially if he gets Brian Lampe (sp?) to drive it. I would expect that car, which has the same power as mine, but with even less weight and way more tire, to be the benchmark for a non-tube frame Z. Because I race with the vintage groups, I can't run the flares and big tires needed to go really fast. No excuses, just reality. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 Sweet! Some of the bigger cars just ran the speedway, a few accidents and some engine failures, they are forced to run a stock pan to keep costs down, and due to that last event the rule might be changed. These are Camaros and Mustangs running stock engines, and they were easily seeing top speed, and in a hard banked corner, you know that is not good on a stock pan, doh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZR8ED Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 Glad to hear the car is working out well for you!! Please keep us posted, and drop me a line if you need any more help. 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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