Welcome to the Connecticut Z Car Club Forums
Username:  
Password:  
Log me on automatically each visit
Register 
It is currently Sat Apr 27, 2024 4:13 am
Welcome to the Connecticut Z Car Club Discussion Forums   
If you have trouble logging in or encounter any issues, please send an email to webmaster@ctzcc.com.

Board index » Announcements » Upcoming Events

All times are UTC - 5 hours





Post new topic Reply to topic  Page 4 of 4
  [ 56 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4
  Print view Previous topic | Next topic 
Author Message
alllan71
 Post subject: The Rock
PostPosted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 7:15 pm 
Offline

Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:27 pm
Posts: 959
Location: Pachaug, Ct
Just back from LRP-again...
Said hi to Bob Sharp and may have seen Colin's Z in the lot but that was it; no sign of anyone else,no Frank,no Ginetta...hmmmm
Watched Doc Robbins start 12th and finish 10th in the Sam Posey car.
No sign of racer85 either.
Still a fabulous day tho....
Zee ya wed
Top
 Profile  
 
alllan71
 Post subject: racer85 @ The Rock
PostPosted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 7:38 pm 
Offline

Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:27 pm
Posts: 959
Location: Pachaug, Ct
How did I miss you?!
Sorry about that...
Top
 Profile  
 
Frank T
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 9:34 pm 
Offline

Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
Posts: 14781
Location: CT
Sorry Al ~ I missed you at the restaurant and never saw you anywhere. Colin and Colin told me your car was parked beside theirs but I never got up that way again to leave a note. I sent Ginetta up that way to look for you and she never came back ~ I figured she found you and got that ride you promised her. I got a chance to film that awesome W154 Mercedes and forgot all about her. Hope she got home OK.
I saw Bob and his new racer, saw Shawn at Doc Robbins' pits, met John Fitch and met Racer 85, and saw some guys from CART who ran at New Jersey earlier this year. I have a ton of pictures which I will post in here tonight or tomorrow.
Z ya ~
Frank
Top
 Profile  
 
Frank T
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 11:22 pm 
Offline

Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
Posts: 14781
Location: CT
I grabbed a few thousand pictures today, but I'm too tired to write much about them now. I'll add more tmrw ~

Frank


Attachments:
File comment: Somehow I missed this perfect little Roadster out on the track, but it sounded SWEET coming back to the pits!
IMGA1471.JPG
IMGA1471.JPG [ 56.35 KiB | Viewed 4499 times ]
File comment: This little sedan originally belonged to our member Vinny Bedini. The quick-change rear end made it easy to gear for the fast LRP circuit.
IMGA1519.JPG
IMGA1519.JPG [ 56.31 KiB | Viewed 4500 times ]
File comment: The force of the camshaft breaking tore the timing gear off the front of Racer 85's cam. He will pull the head and inspect each valve. Some days, you just aren't intended to race!
IMGA1530.JPG
IMGA1530.JPG [ 56.33 KiB | Viewed 4512 times ]
File comment: After all the effort he went to finding and replacing the gearbox, Racer 85 broke his camshaft into three pieces. The E88 head appears OK from the outside tho.
IMGA1529.JPG
IMGA1529.JPG [ 55.97 KiB | Viewed 4513 times ]
File comment: Racer 85's car is ALL BUSINESS from any angle. Eyewitnesses testified this Robello 3.1 Stoker eats American V8s for fun on the track.
IMGA1514.JPG
IMGA1514.JPG [ 56.4 KiB | Viewed 4513 times ]
File comment: Racer 85 decided on his own magic paint scheme, which looks really good on his Z. LRP made him put a "1" before his favorite number. I think that's what caused his bad luck.
IMGA1512.JPG
IMGA1512.JPG [ 55.99 KiB | Viewed 4513 times ]


Last edited by Frank T on Tue Sep 08, 2009 7:52 am, edited 2 times in total.
Top
 Profile  
 
Frank T
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 6:50 am 
Offline

Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
Posts: 14781
Location: CT
Now let's see which pictures I can put up here from the Vintage Race on Labor Day.......


Attachments:
File comment: As I mentioned, Datsun was well represented.
IMGA1468.JPG
IMGA1468.JPG [ 56.5 KiB | Viewed 4501 times ]
File comment: When Doc Robbins isn't racing his #33 carz, he spends his idle time in this GT-R
IMGA1517.JPG
IMGA1517.JPG [ 56.79 KiB | Viewed 4501 times ]
File comment: Datsuns were pretty well represented, with several 240s, some sedans and a Roadster.
IMGA1504.JPG
IMGA1504.JPG [ 56.83 KiB | Viewed 4507 times ]
File comment: Our member Al Robbins ran his #33 Sam Posey car at 50% effort. A bad front vibration kept him from going any faster. They will find it in time for 100% at Watkins Glen next week.
IMGA1527.JPG
IMGA1527.JPG [ 56.12 KiB | Viewed 4507 times ]
File comment: I got to meet WWII Ace, inventor and 'father' of the LRP raceway, John Fitch. He also invented a sportscar based on the Corvair and those yellow-crash barrels you see on the highway, "Fitch Barriers".
IMGA1502.JPG
IMGA1502.JPG [ 56.41 KiB | Viewed 4507 times ]
Top
 Profile  
 
mikeatrpi
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 8:12 am 
Offline

Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 8:03 am
Posts: 174
I guess I missed everybody then! I saw a couple of red Z's in the preferred parking area, so I knew y'all were around. Oh well. I did meet "Racer85" - Steve, and I saw Bob but didn't get a chance to say hello - he was very busy!

All in all it was a great day at the races! There were a LOT more cars participating than I remember from last year. We spent the whole morning in the paddock, and sat on the hill in the afternoon.

Now, I just need to remember the sun block next time... ow...

Mike

_________________
280zx NA to T... http://z.modeltrainguide.com
Top
 Profile  
 
Frank T
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 8:50 am 
Offline

Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
Posts: 14781
Location: CT
I was kinda surpriZed not to find any ZX carz running competition at LRP this weekend. Some of them are now old enough to meet Vintage or Classic criteria.

Y'all know I'm a diehard fan of the first Zs, and will remain so. But racing is a business and if winning is important, then it's necessary to use every advantage you can legally get, and that certainly includes aerodynamics.

The 240Z body shell is not "UN-aerodynamic", but it requires a lot of work to make the air go where you want it. The Zx carz are FAR more slippery (Dave Russell can tell you the drag coefficient of both cars) and on a racetrack, that's very important. The ZX 3.0 liter V6 OHC engine can also be made to crank out a lot more power than the L-series block can, with turbos and fuel injection.

Overall I guess the biggest disadvantage facing the ZX is the greater weight than the earlier cars had ~ but for racing, you're going to strip the car down to the shell anyway, so that shouldn't be a worry.

Since the days when Paul Newman ran for Bob Sharp and broke many of Bob's standing records in the 'new' ZX car, I should think the Z community would be hot to build the newer ZX cars into racers. Yet all I zee are the lightweight earlier 240 shells being used.

Maybe something's going on I'm missing? WHY aren't there more (ANY?) ZX cars running Vintage class?
Top
 Profile  
 
Frank T
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 10:49 am 
Offline

Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
Posts: 14781
Location: CT
This was the beast I went to see. As a kid I had pictures of this 1939 Mercedes Benz Grand Prix racer all over my bedroom walls, but this is the first real one I've ever seen.

The supercharged V12 made 589hp, and the gearing let the 2-ton car reach 197mph. Recent metalurgical tests on the aluminum suspension parts revealed the aluminum grade they used in 1939 wouldn't be good enough for lawn furniture today! This car has been upgraded with stainless steel suspension.

I got close-up video of the car starting (WOW what a sound!) and doing a few hotlaps around the track. The exhaust was ear-splitting when the hammer was down ~ as soon as the driver lifted for a turn, all noise stopped! It was like turning a waterfall of sound on or off. One second you were holding your ears, the next second you couldn't hear the car.


Attachments:
File comment: Two-stage axial supercharger fed by single injector, which points forward thru the grille
IMGA1372.JPG
IMGA1372.JPG [ 56.52 KiB | Viewed 4458 times ]
IMGA1362.JPG
IMGA1362.JPG [ 56.47 KiB | Viewed 4458 times ]
File comment: Cutaway display nose on 1939 MB W-154 GP racer
IMGA1373.JPG
IMGA1373.JPG [ 56.05 KiB | Viewed 4458 times ]
Top
 Profile  
 
Frank T
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 10:57 am 
Offline

Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
Posts: 14781
Location: CT
The aluminum suspension has been replaced by stainless. The car was found in a barn in Europe and completely restored piece by piece. Germany pulled the engine down and found there was NO WEAR on any of the internal parts, even after having run a full Grand Prix race in 1939.


Attachments:
File comment: 20" chrome spokes had to handle 1,000lbs at each corner AND be balanced with separate weights on the spokes.
IMGA1366.JPG
IMGA1366.JPG [ 56.56 KiB | Viewed 4456 times ]
File comment: Stark interior ~ no visible fuel gauge. Car carried 100 gallons, drank it at incredible rate (1.5mpg)
IMGA1367.JPG
IMGA1367.JPG [ 56.67 KiB | Viewed 4456 times ]
File comment: 1939 aluminum replaced by aircraft quality parts today.
IMGA1371.JPG
IMGA1371.JPG [ 56.04 KiB | Viewed 4456 times ]
Top
 Profile  
 
Frank T
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 11:21 am 
Offline

Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
Posts: 14781
Location: CT
And this was an oddity I found interesting. This post-war Caddy has a four single-barrel down draught carb intake. Never saw one before on any car.


Attachments:
File comment: Linkage looks pretty complicated, but the car ran smoothly. Caddy had OHV before many other cars did. And YES, that's an A/C unit!
IMGA1486.JPG
IMGA1486.JPG [ 56.22 KiB | Viewed 4454 times ]
File comment: Has anyone ever seen Quad Singles before? I guess this is the way to go if they haven't invented a 4bbl yet.
IMGA1485.JPG
IMGA1485.JPG [ 56.44 KiB | Viewed 4454 times ]
File comment: Perfectly restored postwar Caddy, year unknown.
IMGA1483.JPG
IMGA1483.JPG [ 56.16 KiB | Viewed 4454 times ]


Last edited by Frank T on Sat Sep 12, 2009 5:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Top
 Profile  
 
vagabond
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 5:09 pm 
Offline

Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 4:27 pm
Posts: 350
Location: local, Ct
Frank T wrote:
I should think the Z community would be hot to build the newer ZX cars into racers. Yet all I zee are the lightweight earlier 240 shells being used.

Maybe something's going on I'm missing? WHY aren't there more (ANY?) ZX cars running Vintage class?



I'm working on it...
Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  Page 4 of 4
  [ 56 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4

Board index » Announcements » Upcoming Events

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 102 guests

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  







Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
mile200 v1.0.1 designed by Team -Programming forum- .