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Post by Oldtimer on Nov 28, 2017 7:28:05 GMT -8
For Christmas 1967, a skinny seventeen year old got a Kodak Super 8 movie camera. This budding race car enthusiast performed his initial practice with the device at the 1968 Sports Car Club of America Polar Prix, held at Green Valley Raceway, in Smithfield, Texas.
If you ignore the first half to two-thirds of video 1 (we had an ice storm that year, and the kid and some of his friends had a Snow Day from school), you should see some interesting video; including pictures of at least one real Corvette Grand Sport (and maybe another faux version); some vintage road racing coverage, and pictures of a TV star getting his SCCA National License.
Go through the Videos in order, 1 through 4, as that takes you in sequence from practice and qualifying on Saturday into the racing on Sunday.
Remembering that it was been almost 50 years since this film was taken, some of my recollections might be a little cloudy, but feel free to ask questions once you have had a chance to enjoy them.
And please forgive the quality (and that it was the cheapest Super 8 camera Kodak made), thankfully I did not pursue a career in cinematography.
Enjoy!
flic.kr/s/aHsm8Dxkqz |
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Post by robhart on Nov 30, 2017 6:03:34 GMT -8
Interesting videos. Certainly an eclectic mix of equipment. I wonder what the dune buggy looking thingie and the green open wheel racer was.
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Post by Oldtimer on Nov 30, 2017 6:53:14 GMT -8
Interesting videos. Certainly an eclectic mix of equipment. I wonder what the dune buggy looking thingie and the green open wheel racer was. If memory serves me right, it had a Porsche 911 engine (maybe even chassis). Ran decently, but couldn't compete with the McLaren in ASR. |
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Post by Chris K. Hale on Nov 30, 2017 11:29:55 GMT -8
Excellent Video, really brings back some memories.....Thanks Chris
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Post by dustymojave on Dec 4, 2017 16:52:07 GMT -8
Cool videos!!!
This tells that you're even older than I am.
It's interesting that the TX region of SCCA was still using both A/SR and the older C/SR in the same race. But a modified Corvette or a GS Vette were definitely NOT to be classed with the 1200cc cars rather than the McLaren M6 they belonged with. So I'm sure the Corvette were in A/SR and still marked with the then outdated C/SR. But it also shows that the Texas region Tech Inspectors allowed things that we in California didn't. Like the swingaxle Corvair running in A/Sedan with louvers in the hood and a big add-on rear spoiler (should have run in D/Production at the time) and the Camaro with vent openings in the front fenders behind the front wheel wells. For those who don't know the SCCA race rules of the era...I really don't expect many of you to know them, but that's why I'm sharing...in the Production Sports Car class and in the Sedan class, additional non-factory openings, scoops, spoilers, radiused wheel openings, etc. were not allowed at the time. So the white '63 Vette coupe with the radiused wheel wells and 67 fender louvers should have been racing in A/SR because of mods, but it's not clear if it was in A/Production. Only marked "A". 1 rule book for the whole country, but interpreted differently in different localities. Part of why a sprint car racer I knew who had switched to road racing complained about Tech Inspectors on the weekend who were butchers during the week. Of course, that issue was then and still is true throughout the world of motorsports. Although F1 and NASCAR Cup racing have full time professional Tech Inspectors the last few decades. In 1967, even in F1 the inspectors were weekend amateurs. Most forms of motorsports still use amateur Inspectors. So rules interpretation even now can still be rather hit & miss.
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Post by dustymojave on Dec 4, 2017 16:55:58 GMT -8
The F/A is interesting. Looks like an early McLaren-Elva M2 "Can Am" car with the fuel tanks narrowed and the body replaced with formula car bodywork. It still has the 2-seater roll bar.
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Post by Oldtimer on Dec 4, 2017 17:57:53 GMT -8
My partner and I met when we were both racing A-Sedan Camaros, mine was my '69 and his was a converted IROC.
He sold his first, and when we hooked up, I (regrettably) sold mine (as well as a Ford Smith-bodied IMSA Corvette I had bought) and we combined fortunes and bought a Pickett-style bodied '82 IMSA-spec Corvette.
By then, GT-1 had been created, so we rebuilt the 'Vette to SCCA rules. Neither one of us had ever even owned a Corvette, so we didn't have much institutional knowledge.
At the front, we did two things for cooling: First, we tilted the water radiator forward at the top (which you can imagine was at quite an angle to fit under the sloping nose of the Corvette bodywork; Second, since the car came with aftermarket bodywork (and being used to the A-Sedan rules regarding stock body openings for ducts), we figured where the license plate mounted was fair game, so we cut it out, and that was the duct for the oil cooler.
I tried to duplicate it in this custom model I made.
At our first GT-1 race, some guys who had been racing B-Production protested our car with a list of "infractions", among which were both our cooling modifications.
Anticipating this, we had actually had the Divisional Chief Steward come by our shop and pre-inspect our car to make sure we were legal.
As you know, in the Sports Car Club of America, the tweed hat mentality dies hard.
I left racing in '96 when we wrecked our '86 Camaro, and haven't kept up with rules or classes, but assume that it is still as you describe, accountant by day, tech inspector by weekend.
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Post by dustymojave on Dec 5, 2017 18:40:14 GMT -8
I haven't done Official work at an SCCA event for decades, so I can't speak with direct knowledge of how things are done now. But I've had customers with race cars and attended plenty of events myself. Last time with a race team at an SCCA event was in 1986 when I was on the crew of the Nash Racing /Elliot Forbes-Robinson Buick TA champ for some western races. I've observed much the same official situation. I've been paid for my Tech services since the early 1970s. Not necessarily true of those around me though. Neat model of the Vette. I presume your Vette was based on a Vette frame like your model and the Greenwood Vettes. I worked on a Vette built for TA and IMSA and other series on a full tube frame and no Chevy parts other than the metal frame for the windshield.   (anybody wants more detail of that Vette can pm me) |
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Post by Oldtimer on Dec 6, 2017 6:23:09 GMT -8
Beautiful car, craftsmanship and detailing look excellent.Yes, our Corvette was on a C3 chassis, VIN # indicated a '70 model.
Rear clip had been modified with some tube frame technology and rear suspension was coil-over in lieu of transverse leaf.
Front clip was standard Corvette, strengthened by the cage tubes extending to the front axle centerline, with tubular upper A-arms, and coil-overs adapted to a stock lower A-arm.
The custom model I built used a Carousel 1 Corvette chassis, which is a '68-70 C3 replica.
 ARPCorvette-2_zpsc68a2ef7 by Jim Forte, on Flickr
Here's a "stock" Carousel 1 rear suspension.
 C1-FuelSystem-1_zpsfacfed92 by Jim Forte, on Flickr
 C-FuelSystem-2_zpsf2fc9826 by Jim Forte, on Flickr
Here's what I fabricated for my custom.
 ARPCorvette-RearSuspension-1_zpscb015035 by Jim Forte, on Flickr
 ARPCorvette-RearSuspension-2_zps39dadbcf by Jim Forte, on Flickr
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