Welcome to the Connecticut Z Car Club Forums




Username:  
Password:  
Log me on automatically each visit
Register 
It is currently Mon Mar 18, 2024 9:59 pm
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.

All times are UTC - 5 hours





Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 12 posts ] 
  Print view Previous topic | Next topic 
Author Message
PostPosted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 10:19 pm 
Offline

Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:34 pm
Posts: 106
Location: Torrington
Attachment:
giamts2.jpg
giamts2.jpg [ 68.85 KiB | Viewed 12365 times ]


Nice photo from a (talented!) privateer photographer Mike Vanino at Giants Despair this past weekend. One of the oldest racing events around - Giants started way back in 1906!

Check out the other way cool cars from this event; my favorite was the 67 GTO. Defines bada$$.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mjv52photo/14647542905/


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 10:29 pm 
Offline

Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:34 pm
Posts: 106
Location: Torrington
Another nice one. Check out more from another talented shutterbug via the link. Fun weekend!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/57175076@ ... 4623106446

Attachment:
giants4.jpg
giants4.jpg [ 72.24 KiB | Viewed 12363 times ]


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 11:21 pm 
Offline

Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
Posts: 14776
Location: CT
Hot stuff. Especially loved to see the various cars lifting inside wheels like that. I saw a great number of wonderful cars I'd love to have.

How did you do? Was your time better than that TR6?

_________________
1970 240Z


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 4:21 pm 
Offline

Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:34 pm
Posts: 106
Location: Torrington
Am still babying the car, at least a little, and am concentrating more on getting the feel for what the car is doing before I start chasing the stopwatch. The handling balance feels good, but I am on vintage class mandated rubber (basically rain tires for road racers.) Had some good pulling power up the hill but there are some minor lumps in the power delivery climbing through the rpms. Checked the Mikuni jetting, it seems rather conservative and will be opened up a bit before the next event. Float level needs to be adjusted too - I am going to make a gauge to eliminate the guesswork and make it easier to set 'in the field.'

Bottom line, good weather both days and the car ran acceptably well every run (and drew lots of attention.) I ended up dropping my time 3 seconds on the very last run without pushing it that much harder, so the potential is clearly there!


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 4:35 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2014 9:21 am
Posts: 973
Location: Somers CT
Where was this ? ? It looks like a fun event to watch.

_________________
W.Karl Walton
Somers CT



75' - 280Z - HLS30203249 - #304 Gold Metallic (stockish)
96' - 300zx TT - JN1CZ24d3TX960293 - Black on Black (enhanced)


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 6:09 pm 
Offline

Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
Posts: 14776
Location: CT
It's a hillclimb in PA, run annually since before you and I could ride bikes.

In central NY there's a country road called Hogsback Hill, where I used to do uphill with my AH-100 back in the day. My buddies ran an XK-120, an Alfa spyder, and a Bugeye Sprite up that same hill. We did it officially when they had a sanctioned SCHCA meet, but weekend nights might find us up there, too.

One night I rode with my buddy in his Bugeye. He hit black ice at the top of the run and spun the little Kermit Car several times. I saw the same scenery two or three times. Eventually it backed into a farmer's stone fence with enough force to push the rear fenders right up against the tires. It took a bunch of us with tire irons a long time to pry enough metal away from the rubber to let the car roll back down the hill and home.

Racing uphill might look safer than other forms of racing, but there are still dangers!

_________________
1970 240Z


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 7:32 pm 
Offline

Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2009 10:22 am
Posts: 289
Location: Bethel, CT
That is very cool stuff, great photos. Are there any Hill Climbs in New England any more?
Frank, my old Bugeye came from the Pennsylvania Hill climb Series. It was driven by Bill McDaniels who won his class several times at Giants, Bill passed away this past year, he was #3 on the all time H Production class winner.
When I bought it, it had been repainted, auto-crossed it in D prepared, ton of fun, recognize the Kid behind the wheel?
Colin
The elder one


Attachments:
bugeye.jpg
bugeye.jpg [ 1.01 MiB | Viewed 12338 times ]
Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 7:50 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2014 9:21 am
Posts: 973
Location: Somers CT
Frank T wrote:
It's a hillclimb in PA, run annually since before you and I could ride bikes.




Speak for yourself ! ! :P :P



although your prob right. :lol:

There are just so many things that go on locally that I think would be fun to see. 8)

_________________
W.Karl Walton
Somers CT



75' - 280Z - HLS30203249 - #304 Gold Metallic (stockish)
96' - 300zx TT - JN1CZ24d3TX960293 - Black on Black (enhanced)


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 5:56 am 
Offline

Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
Posts: 14776
Location: CT
["...recognize the Kid behind the wheel?"] No wonder Junior's so good with GoKarts. He grew up in one. Any friend of Kermit's is a friend of mine.

In the early '60s, before I was old enough to drive, eight of us 'tough guys' got together the night before Halloween and quietly carried a Kermie Car up the 5 steps and onto the broad front porch of the local house it was parked in front of. It was a slow struggle. We hid in the bushes across the street while the fastest among us rang the bell and then ran & hid with us.
Big guy answered the door, looked around, didn't seem upset. Came out and WALKED THE CAR back down the steps, one at a time, front-then-rear, ALONE. :shock:

We left him alone after that. :oops:

["Speak for yourself ! !"] Well, they've been running since 1906, which was certainly before I learned to ride a bike! Maybe you've got a few years on me? :lol:

_________________
1970 240Z


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat Jul 19, 2014 9:01 am 
Offline

Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:34 pm
Posts: 106
Location: Torrington
Attachment:
giantsolddays.jpg
giantsolddays.jpg [ 53.97 KiB | Viewed 12315 times ]


Giant's Despair started in 1906 and is one of the world's oldest motorsports events. It is run up E. Northampton St. over the hill west of downtown Wilkes Barre. It is one of the faster hills (if you have the power) and probably has the least amount of incidents of the hills on PHAs schedule. Not too technical and there are some runoff areas - a rare feature for a hillclimb.

Other hills like Duryea and Weatherly have some spots where things can go wrong in a hurry and the trees / rocks are a mere few feet away, just waiting to get 'intimate' with your ride.

But the level of safety is completely up to the driver, i.e. best to keep your cool and not drive beyond your abilities.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat Jul 19, 2014 10:26 am 
Offline

Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
Posts: 14776
Location: CT
["...Other hills like Duryea..."]

Wow Murph, named for the Duryea brothers, who invented the first successful automobile in the USA (no folks, Henry Ford did NOT invent the automobile). J(ames) Frank Duryea lived his final years right here in Old Saybrook and Deep River, CT, dying in 1967.

While living in Springfield Mass before the turn of the century, bicycle makers Frank and Charlie Duryea experimented with the then-new gasoline engines (which didn't have a purpose yet) and created a twin-cylinder runabout in their home garage which they drove thru the streets of Sprngfld at night (because it scared horses during the day). In those years the only cars were in Europe but were much read-about here.

On Thanksgiving Day, 1895, the Chicago Times-Tribune sponsored the very first automobile race in the USA. Run over 54 miles from south side Chicago up to Evanston and back, it involved about 100 registered entries, altho only 6 of them started. The field was heavily peppered with the favored-to-win German Benz cars. But those were heavy, open top 4-place (and some 5-place) carriages, and the Duryeas had built a lightweight open 2-seater "sports car" with a more reliable 2-cylinder engine.

If you've ever been near the Great Lakes in winter, you'll wonder what they were thinking when they scheduled America's first car race on Thanksgiving.

The details of the race are fantastic and thrilling but long, since the race took more than 10hrs to run! Snow, mud, ruts, collisions, freezing wind and exposure put some cars and racers out. The Duryea car hit a rut and broke its steering, got repaired at a blacksmith shop in an hour and continued the race. Several men were overcome by exposure and got tended-to by the other dignitaries riding with them, while at least one "Riding Photographer" ( :shock: ) took the helm and finished the race. (See Phil? Your profession is even older than you are!) (Probably).

The highlight of the race happened on Chicago Avenue up in Evanston, where the "speeding" cars had to turn around and head back to the finish line in South Chicago; the lone Duryea caught and overtook the leading Benz cars, directly in front of the gathered Thanksgiving crowd. It could have happened anywhere along the 54 mile route, at some lonesome place unwatched, but instead it was witnessed by hundreds. That marked the only passing in the race, and of course the very first time any race car had ever passed another race car at "speed" in the USA. It happened in front of a large crowd of news reporters and locals, who duly went wild. With that thrilling moment, America's enthusiasm for car racing was actually born. Frank Duryea became the very first American to win a car race ~ the very first car race America had ever seen. After Frank Duryea had taken the lead, he got lost in the snow and took wrong turns thru the Chicago streets, adding distance to his race. But he was an HOUR ahead of the next car, so it didn't matter.

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/duryea.htm

The Duryeas continued to make their successful horseless carriage well into the 1920s. Think of America's first car if you ever run Duryea.


Attachments:
1895 Duryea motor wagon.jpg
1895 Duryea motor wagon.jpg [ 71.52 KiB | Viewed 12312 times ]

_________________
1970 240Z
Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 9:08 am 
Offline

Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:34 pm
Posts: 106
Location: Torrington
I knew Duryea was a car company from the formative years but I forgot how far back they went. Lots of cool automotive, motorcycle, and aeronautical history up in Springfield (Indian, Granville Brothers, etc.) although you would scarcely know it today.

Have run Duryea a bunch of times but gonna miss it this year as I am away for most of August.


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 12 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 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:  
cron









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