Tim: The A6 Hoosiers up front are 275 in width and I was running 21psi so with no power steering, the car is an absolute handfull! That and I think I'm holding my breath the whole time.. But it really hooks up, though. That run was probably my smoothest all day despite the reaction my wife gave. Her trouble was while being buckled in, she wasn't holding on to anthing but the camera, so the g-forces had their way with her.... Better check her over for bruises now that I think about it.....
- Allen.
Allen,
275 in front ... that's got to be near the limit if I recall correctly for an ERA, I believe 245 is the customary width. The setup you are running looks like it works well.
Any issues getting in and out of your car with the top on? ... seems like it would be a very tight fit!
275 in front ... that's got to be near the limit if I recall correctly for an ERA, I believe 245 is the customary width. The setup you are running looks like it works well.
Any issues getting in and out of your car with the top on? ... seems like it would be a very tight fit!
Tim;
Yes, 275 is the limit on front width as per ERA. Bob at Vintage Wheel made sure he had the backspace right when supplying my 17" wheel set so that I could run the maximum widths for auto-x. The set-up does work quite well. I noted no rubbing whatsoever from this past weekend and the lot we ran on is not the smoothest.
I'm about 6'1" and 200lbs when on an Oreo binge. The top does require a little folding over on entry/exit. The high bolsters on the racing seat also encroach on the available space...that's one of the reasons I modified the triumph steering column to fit a steering wheel disconnect. It does make the process a little easier. Now that the side screens are made, I can trim the opening around the Lemans top to match. When making the top, Bruce added a little more flange than is really needed, so I should be able to gain 3/4 - 1" around the opening now that I know where to trim it.
...Missing the elise? Well, funny you should ask that. I was thinking about it at this weekend's auto cross as I saw one being driven very well and getting some very respectible times, but then I beat him....so, not so much.
Nice to see the Cobra is faster
Looking at times from a recent AROCA Supersprint:
1 Puma Clubman 3.6 litre 1:18.47
2-4 various other clubmans
5 *Elise 1:23.02*
6 Monaro (Pontiac GTO) LS1 1:23.25
7 Datsun 1200 ute 3.6 litre 1:23.86
10 Alfa 105 2 litre 1:25.36
11+ Lots more Alfas
Yes, the entire wheel is powdercoated except where the spinner interfaces on the outside and on the inside surface where the wheel contacts the brake hub.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1985 CCX
Great video...... Are you supposed to pick up cones?
Jeff:
The car hadn't eaten all day....'twas a bit peckish...
Ditched the incredibly uncomfortable Sparco Chrono Sport seat for an amazingly comfortable Kirkey Pro Street Drag seat. This seat comes in widths ranging from 15-20”. I already had a set of Kirkey brackets holding the Sparco in, so once I got the holes positioned and drilled through the body of the seat, all it took was about ľ” worth of spacers between the seat and brackets and I was good to go. (Got the 15”, dad, so stay out of the M&M’s) With the brackets on adjusting tracks for fore-aft adjustment, there’s about 1” of air space under the seat and plenty of space to the inside of the Lemans top, so I should have no issues with wearing a helmet. I had less than a finger’s width between my helmet and the top before with the Sparco, and that thing was on the carpets. The seat offers fantastic thigh and rib support. It’s like getting a hug every time I get in the car. It’s a good thing I added the steering wheel disconnect, though, because the side bolstering makes the entry/exit a little more challenging with the top on. The only thing I may play with is the inclination, but it felt pretty darn good on my ride into work this morning… For anyone wondering, this seat (41 series) is the same as the “Vintage Bucket” (41v series) offered by Kirkey, with the addition of a pass-though for the shoulder harnesses and a headrest. (not sure why the 41 series is cheaper…) Here’s some pics:
This past weekend was the first autocross put on by the Susquehanna region SCCA in Hershey, PA. The event was held on the lot just east of the Giant Center stadium. On Friday at the close of pre-registration, there were 97 entries, but there was somewhere close to an additional 20 walk-ups on Saturday, per my estimation. This autocross was just a stopping point for my planned weekend long journey taking me from my home in Warfordsburg, PA, out to my in-laws in New Tripoli, PA where I would meet up with my lovely family for an over-night stay, then down to Pottstown, PA to attend a ballet produced by the non-profit dance company my young niece belongs to, then back home. The weekend’s mileage totaled 407mi between Saturday and Sunday according to this google map of the route:
It was great to get that amount of seat time, but back to the autocross… I left the house at 6:00am Saturday morning and arrived at the damp lot in Hershey around 8:15am. The skys were overcast all day and temps didn’t get out of the 50’s, but by the end of the first heat, the leggy course was dry. The three heats ran that day were apportioned according to SCCA classed groupings and my grouping, XP with 8 entrants, ran in the third. The expansive lot from front to back has a crest in the middle of it which the course designers took advantage of to include some interesting off-camber turns. With temps in the 50’s and nearly 50 cars in the third heat, the A6’s didn’t have much of a chance to build and retain much, if any, heat. (At least that’s my excuse…lol) My result from the day’s effort produced a 5th place finish in XP behind a very well sorted FFR co-driven by 1st and 2nd place finishers Larry Casey and Mike Moran. These guys were running a good 3 seconds faster than me on old R888s, so some driver mods are in order for ERA#2124. Here is a nice pic somebody snapped during the event and two in-car vids taking during my first and second runs. Sadly, the camera ran out of memory and the second vid is cut short right before the blast to the finish..
(Oh yeah. My little niece….she’s going to be a great dancer some day. It’s great to see her progression and improvement with each performance. Seeing little kids performing such a beautiful art form puts a lump in my throat…)
My result from the day’s effort produced a 5th place finish in XP behind a very well sorted FFR co-driven by 1st and 2nd place finishers Larry Casey and Mike Moran. These guys were running a good 3 seconds faster than me on old R888s, so some driver mods are in order for ERA#2124.Allen.
Allen, in the immortal words of Reese & Ricky Bobby, "If you ain't first, you're last."
Shelby Retrospective event in Hershey, PA (pics)..
The residual rains from mid-west hurricanes and such subsided in Central Pennsylvainia this past Sunday, and wonderful partly cloudy skys prevailed for the Shelby and All Ford event held at the Hershey AACA Museum. This event put the finishing touches on what was an approximate 2.5month feature display for Shelby history, cars, and related affairs. For those that didn't go, here are some shots taken from the event. Notable items included the 2012 Shelby GT350, a muddy ERA FIA with a Lemans Top and recently installed Cibie driving lights...and some guy named Chuck Cantwell.
Last week, I took receipt of some Cibie Driving Lamps and added them to the front of the car a la CSX cars running in night races in the European Masters Series. I wrote a “how-to” in the Tech Tips section of this forum. Here’s the link:
Last week, I took receipt of some Cibie Driving Lamps and added them to the front of the car a la CSX cars running in night races in the European Masters Series. I wrote a “how-to” in the Tech Tips section of this forum. Here’s the link:
Nice pics Allen. Good to see an FIA repl. being used. The Cibies....are they Oscars? They wouldn't actually be too far off being period-correct. I ran some Super Oscars, bought early seventies, replaced with a pair of Oscars a few years later. Still have them and still use them.
Cheers,
Glen
Yes, the driving lamps are 55w Oscars. They are all-metal construction, nicely powdercoated and weigh about 2-3/4lbs each. They are NOS units and the guy I purchased them from said they bought out the stock of a Cibie dealer some time ago and he's been selling them dribs and drabs on ebay. The literature that came with them showed pictures of cars from the mid to late 70's by my estimation, so as you say....nearly period correct. My goal was to acquire the same hardware the Masters guys are running for the night races, and I achieved that...I'm quite happy in that respect. Nice to hear you are happy with your set.
Yes, the driving lamps are 55w Oscars. They are all-metal construction, nicely powdercoated and weigh about 2-3/4lbs each. They are NOS units and the guy I purchased them from said they bought out the stock of a Cibie dealer some time ago and he's been selling them dribs and drabs on ebay. The literature that came with them showed pictures of cars from the mid to late 70's by my estimation, so as you say....nearly period correct. My goal was to acquire the same hardware the Masters guys are running for the night races, and I achieved that...I'm quite happy in that respect. Nice to hear you are happy with your set.
- Allen.
Sounds like a good pick up Allen. Interesting that with all the development that's gone into the design of reflectors in the last quarter century, Cibie Oscars are still right up there in performance.
Cheers,
Glen
Haven’t posted in my log for a bit, but that’s not to say I’ve been getting some quality time with the car. Since my last post, I’ve done a few autocrosses and have decided beyond a doubt that the car needs power steering to gain in competitiveness with my peers running in SCCA XP class. I run around 18psi in the front 275 section Hoosiers and manual steering effort combined with a rack that feels like it’s about 6ft long on tight transitions and slaloms has lead me to this conclusion. I am now in the process of finding a quick-ratio power rack supplier that can make a unit to suit the FIA’s suspension geometry. To power the rack, my current direction is to use the solution many EV builders choose which is the GenII MR2 Electric PS pump, with relays, 100amp circuit breaker, steel braided hoses, and a fluid reservoir – pretty simple, really. I’ll be detailing this install at some point in the future.
So June events I’ll attend will include a Drag Racing night at Mason Dixon Dragway (this evening, actually) and an autocross with a local driving club in Winchester on the 25th. In July, I plan to have the hardtop painted (finally), attend another autocross on the second weekend, then attend the International Car Show at Schenley Park during the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix on the 24th. This PVGP show is featuring a Cars of Carroll Shelby Spotlight this year and Shelby “tribute” cars are invited to attend and can opt for a parade lap on the Grand Prix course on Sunday. It should be a great time and for a great cause – helping those with autism and intellectual/developmental disabilities. $2.75M has been raised since 1983!
So, lots of good times and I hope to be detailing some of these events and enhancements to ERA2124 over the next few months.
Just for fun, here’s a recent photo taken showing some Summertime fun. These are my two girls and the neighbor boy helping me spruce the car up before putting the Lemans Hardtop back in in prep for tonight’s Drag event at Mason Dixon:
Allen - you've tried higher pressures in the fronts to lighten up the effort, of course? I believe ERA are working on a power steering setup, but judging by previous improvements to ERA 2124, I think you know what you're doing.
Cheers,
Glen
You've made some personal changes to the car that have made it better than it was to begin with! Nice work & great thread! Did you take Dad out in the car & get him good & puckered to the seat?
You've made some personal changes to the car that have made it better than it was to begin with! Nice work & great thread! Did you take Dad out in the car & get him good & puckered to the seat?
Hyde:
My dad's a pretty quiet guy...not sure how puckered he gets over there, but there have been instances, I'm sure.....lol
This past Sat., my local driving club hosted an autocross at the James Wood High School in Winchester, VA. It was a great day for it with temps in the low 80’s and overcast skies. The lot is long and narrow and FTD was logged by an FFR somewhere in the 44.6s range. My best time for the day was a 47.45 and good for a top 12 raw out of 75 entries. Main learnings for the day included some observations from others that I was lifting a front tire in turns (captured in a photo below) and that my Power Steering project can’t get started quick enough…I know I have the potential to close the gap on the quick FFR guys. So the ERA rear in my car has the standard height adjustable Spax with the Eibach 400in/lb springs. I’m thinking of moving up about 50% on the rate and going a bit shorter than the 9” free length on the Eibachs as adjusting the springs to the setting I want to achieve my desired ride height takes the adjustment collars to the very bottom of the shock body on the Spax.
Here are a couple shots taken by others during my heat. I’ve also included a video taken with my friend’s new GoPro…The quality isn’t as good as other GoPro vids I’ve seen, but he’s attributing that to the overcast skies and his own post-processing.. Enjoy!
15Likes
But it really hooks up, though. That run was probably my smoothest all day despite the reaction my wife gave. Her trouble was while being buckled in, she wasn't holding on to anthing but the camera, so the g-forces had their way with her....
Better check her over for bruises now that I think about it.....
1:23.86
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