SBR SCCA Blog

Sunday, July 27, 2008 • 10 am to 3 pm at Tire Rack

The inaugural Spirit of South Bend Auto Show celebrates the passion and enthusiasm for everything motorized and is open to all vehicles. From contemporary, customized and finely detailed cars, trucks and SUVs to vintage fire trucks and Studebakers that evoke the spirit of South Bend’s automotive past.

Show entrants will be eligible for great prize drawings all day. Commemorative dash plaques will be given to the first 100 vehicles and goody bags to the first 200 entrants. Come enjoy a fun day and feel the Spirit of South Bend.

Entry Fee: $20 per vehicle
Spectator Admission: $5

More Information

In addition, Tire Rack will be distributing Street Survival information at the event, hopefully generating interest for our August 16th school.

You can join the SCCA for the first year at absolutely no cost to you. Really! And the SCCA will even pay your first year regional dues for you! It‘s so simple even I understand it. If you are a non-member, at every SCCA event you attend, you are enrolled as an “SCCA weekend member.” You are given a form to fill out and you keep a copy. This form is the secret to a totally free membership for a full year. Here’s how you use it.

Enter 2 local events and get two forms. These can be rallies or solos with any region at all. The number on each form is worth $15 off on your first year membership. Assuming you are under 25 years of age that pays for ⅔ of your first year membership. Now, using the latest SBR membership form, put down the name and membership number of any SCCA member. You can use mine if you wish. That is worth another $15 off. You now have $45 in credits for your $45 membership fee. So your first year membership is absolutely free! 

Who says there is no such thing as a free lunch! Of course if you are older than 24 your annual dues are higher. Even so, you can take a $45 discount, meaning you saved 60%. Pretty impressive. And once you are a member you can get $5 off for every new member who puts your name and membership number on their application. No limit.

Ask for a membership application today. Not only is your SCCA membership free, but your entry fees at future events will be reduced and you are eligible for regional championships as well. Cool!

Lloyd Loring

For many years two of our best-known SBR members were Joyce and Davie Looman. They were both autocrossers and while Davie had one National Championship, Joyce had 15 driving a Formula Vee and then a C Mod Dulon expertly prepared by Davie. She and Davie also won the SCCA Solo Cup for their many contributions to the sport. 

During this time they lived in Holland, MI and both helped to create the Lake Michigan Autocross Series that was the forerunner and pattern for the Cendiv Solo Series which is now the Great American Autocross Series.

Davie has now written a book about many of those years. While autocrossing is prominent in his memoirs, the book is focused on a truly remarkable dog, Shempi. I have read the book, and despite being a close friend I learned some things I didn’t even suspect about this “one of a kind” person and his dog.

The book is titled “Shempi - Earning the Right to be Called Her Master” ISBN 0-7414-4801-7. Published by Infinity Publishing it is available on the web (Amazon and others) or directly from Davie who will send you a signed copy for just $17.95. That’s only $3 for shipping over the $14.95 cover price. You can contact the Loomans at <djlooman@charter.net> or go here where you can get a sneak peek at a sample and read comments from readers. It will warm your heart.

Lloyd Loring

We didn’t see the prison made famous by Jake and Elwood Blues, but we did drive like we were on a mission.

On June 22nd, SBR was originally scheduled to have a “Challenge Event” with Fort Wayne Region. Unfortunately, that event fell through. So co-driver Mark Manninen and I were looking for a place to compete. We had several options: Rantoul, IL, Detroit, MI and Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, IL. Route 66 was the closest venue (less than 2 hours drive, it turned out), and also had a good reputation within the SCCA. We knew that Chicago region put on good events, and Route 66 had a very large asphalt lot next to the drag strip.

When we arrived, we found that George Schmitt had also made the drive to Joliet. It also turned out that this event was a homecoming of sorts for my Celica. I bought the car from Chicago Region member Paul Chrt, who was at the event in his immaculate STS2 CRX. Sorry, I didn’t get a photo. Anyway, Paul came over and gave the car an affectionate pat on the fender, and numerous other members stopped by after recognizing the car. That was kinda fun. 

The Route 66 drag strip is across the road from Chicagoland Speedway. It’s a full NHRA track, and so it has a large parking area for the motorhomes and support vehicles of the competitors. This parking area is huge. According to Google Maps it’s over 1,500 feet long, and at least 500 feet wide. Much larger than Grissom, and with a shape that is better for course layout. Good quality asphalt. No light poles. Indoor toilets. Nearly perfect. They had set up a very long course, which utilized the surface well. After a couple of walks, I was thinking that this would give me good practice for running in third gear. I was right.

One of the things that Mark and I immediately were enjoying, was that we were attending an event that we had NO HAND in organizing. That was a nice change from the usual scenario for us at SBR events. We got multiple course walks, we had time to prep the car, all in all, it was a relaxed morning. The weather was warm, but with a gentle breeze. A perfect day for autocross.

Chicago does a few things differently than SBR. They have season “reserved” car numbers. This means that you can reserve a number in their system at the beginning of the season, and be guaranteed to have that number for the whole year. Sound good, but because this was June, most of the numbers below 1000 were already taken. We picked 391 and 931 for our car numbers. Crazy.

They were experimenting with a new grid system at this event. It worked okay, but was different than we’re accustomed to. No set grid assignments, so you just park wherever you want. Except that two-driver cars were at the front. They also split each heat into two halves. There were four heats for the 165(!) cars that were entered. You run in two heats, and work in one. The fourth heat you are off. You run three runs in each heat, and you run in either the first or second “half” of the heat. Unless you’re a two-driver car, then your runs are spread out through the entire heat. Confusing? Yes, a bit. But it seemed to work. The downside was that the heats were large, so they were very long. We had LOTS of time for driver changes. Like 20 minutes.

Halfway through the day, the event officials did an informal poll of the drivers… five runs or six? The vote came back for six. This made for an extremely long day. We ran in the first and third heats, and worked in the second. If we had worked the fourth, it would have been incredibly late when we left. As it was, I think it was 7:30 local time when we were getting dinner outside of Joliet. But we didn’t mind, we were having fun. And we weren’t going to have to help clean up the event site.

The course ended up being about 54 seconds long for me, with two third gear sections (over 55mph in the Celica), and two other places where I was on the rev limiter, but not in third. This was a long, fast, fun course. Heavy on transitions, and car placement was critical, due to the speeds. I ended up winning GS, with Mark a few seconds back in 2nd. Mark was struggling with the higher speeds, I think, and with the shifts to third gear and back to 2nd. He posted his best times when he didn’t shift, but could concentrate on driving. George struggled with cones, his best runs were dirty. CS was a VERY competitive class as well, with some very well-driven cars. I ended up getting 25th on the index, out of 165 cars. I was pleased with that result.

Mark and I had a great time at this event, and plan to go back before Nationals. We found it was a good tuneup for the Peru National Tour event, which I hope to write about soon. Route 66 is a great site, with great people. If you have a chance to travel this year, consider making the trip. I know you’ll have fun.

Event Results
Pax Results
Event Photos

Chicago Region event schedule

William Loring
SBR SCCA

There are two upcoming car shows relating to the Studebaker National Museum. The first is Saturday, July 12th, at the College Football Hall of Fame. More info can be found in the flyer below.

studebaker-cruise-in-car-show-flyer

The second is Sunday, July 27th, at Tire Rack. Read the flyer below for more details.

spirit_carshow2

You can register and bring your show car to either show. Or just come out and admire all the shiny cars.

ATTENDEES: Kim Bollinger, William Loring (acting R.E.), Paul McBride, H.C. Colwell, Mark Manninen, Leon Krauss.

Approved minutes from  6/3/08.

TREASURER’S REPORT- H.C. Colwell: INCOME:  Income slightly exceeded expenses for the past month.  Year-to-date we remain in the red, but it is anticipated that should be overcome by event income over the next two months from SOLO, STREET SURVIVAL and RACE.

MEMBERSHIP:   184

SOLO-Mark Manninen: Grissom Event #3 had 50 contestants; #4 had 77 with 10 weekend members.  Fun event on a large surfaced course and made money, too!  Bill Loring, Mark Manninen, and George Schmitt ran the Chicago Region at Route 66 June 22.  They also ran, along with Dave Gushwa Scott Nardin Chris Harvey, John Rogers, Richard Hammond and Crissy Weaver at the Peru National Tour.  Next Tire Rack event is July 20.

RACE-Paul McBride: Chiefs have all been assigned. Workers, Workers, Workers are the key factors to make our National at Gingerman successful.  Paul and H.C. Colwell were at Nelson Ledges recently where racing was delayed until Chief of F&C could round up enough “Workers” out of the paddock area to begin the weekend events! This is becoming more and more common.  To date we have 20 cars all ready to pre-register.  Trophies will be ordered in the next two weeks.

STREET SURVIVAL SCHOOL-Adam Lewis: 29 new students took part in the most recent Tire Rack School.  It was suggested that 25 students should be the upper registration limit due to class room/on course time and instructor availability.  The next event will be July 19 and conducted by our club from that point going forward.  Workers/Instructors are needed!

OLD BUSINESS:  Post on blog and in Pitboard, bring your automotive scrap metal products to SBR Tire Rack SOLO events to benefit Center for the Homeless. See the blog posting.

NEW BUSINESS: Paul reported that Nelson Ledges has been sold and may even close down this fall in order to widen the track and replace all the buildings before reopening next Spring.  They even repaved the bridge!  There is a very nice article with colored pictures about the Bollinger racing family in the Community Profile section, July issue of Inside Granger magazine. 

GENERAL MEETING: 21 in attendance

Respectfully submitted, 

Leon Krauss,                      Secretary.

Tire Rack employee Larry Shead heads up a program called Donation Station. They accept a huge variety of recyclable metal items, and donate the proceeds of that recycling to a variety of social and religious charities. At SBR events held at Tire Rack, there will be a dumpster on site, where you can bring your old car parts for recycling. Suggestions included any metal items such as wheels, brake rotors, old suspension parts… anything that could reasonably be considered scrap metal… Larry even tells me that he can accept complete vehicles, if arrangements are made first.

So, if you have old car parts lying around, and you’d like to donate that scrap to a good cause, please consider bringing those items to the next SBR solo at Tire Rack. If you have questions about what you can or can’t bring, please contact Larry at the link above. You’ll be clearing out your garage, helping the environment, and helping a good cause, all at the same time.

Larry tells me that scrap from SBR events will benefit The Center for the Homeless here in South Bend.

The rumor mill is spinning once again in the club racing world.

Reports from a fellow FST racer have suggested that Nelson Ledges has been sold to new owners. Money has been put down and contracts are being drawn up (or have been signed) as you read this. The purchaser(s) reportedly have track ownership experience and their plans are to level the facilities and build new buildings. They also have plans to dig up the track and lay down all new pavement. Sources tell me that the new track will be 10 feet wider than the old one with better runoff areas. Some research on my part has revealed that the new ownership plans a countryclub atmosphere and the events in October will be cancelled so work can start soonest.

Personally the improvements will be welcome as long as the track layout remains true to the original. For those who have never raced at Nelson it is very bumpy and fast which makes it a real challenge for drivers. In some spots you can drive around the rough spots,in others you have to hang on and blast your way through.

Of course all this may fall through so stay tuned and I’ll report back when I hear more.

Dave Dawson

Our third and fourth of eight scheduled solo events completed Sunday June 8^th with a total of 77 competitors on a hot and sunny day at the Grissom Aeroplex. Ten of the drivers were guests or “Weekend Members”.

The weather, which is usually a factor at Grissom, was “variable” as always. The set up team battled 40 mph steady gusts Friday and watched the cones dance without the assistance of solo cars. We took our best shot at setting up an interesting “National Style” Steve Bollinger designed course with very few cones, utilizing very open space, resulting in a very fast, adrenalin inducing, course. Again weather was hot, cold, dry, wet, windy, and calm at various periods through the weekend.

After the storms blew through Friday night, we put the cones back in their marked spot and started the Saturday SBR Series #3 Event runs with about 53 competitors enjoying the super grippy concrete.

The highlights of Saturday Event #3 competition were in ESP with the battle between husband and wife, Kent and Crissy Weaver running in open class in their 2003 Ford Mach 1 Mustang separated by only .057 seconds. Kent taking the class with the boys barely beating the girls in the open class battle. Another family feud was brewing between Steve Bollinger and son, Ross. Proving old age a treachery wins out over youth and skill (at least this time), Steve took the class by .717 seconds. It won’t be long before we see the years Ross spent in a FJ kart start to pay off. Ross is getting quick in the car. The Tire Rack Index first place Saturday went to Dan Stone in his C Stock Pontiac Solstice. FTD was taken yet again (3 in a row) by Randy Easton in his F125 kart with a time of 59.413 seconds. Rain entered the scene before the first heat finished and affected the second heat significantly. Usual Grissom stuff.

Sunday was different in many ways. The weather that impacted the day Saturday was the northern edge of a significant storm system that ravaged central and southern Indiana. We started getting calls from the Indy Region leadership at 6:00 PM asking if they can join us in Peru Sunday. Their region also had a two-day regional scheduled in Terre Haute at a new site for them, but the area was in a “state of emergency” due to floods and they we left without a place to play. Being the friendly region we are known for, we welcomed them. As the saying goes “Every cloud has a silver lining”. The windfall of participants was not only fun, but also profitable. The additional entries put the event in the black financially for our region.

The weather was hot and sunny all day Sunday with 77 drivers showing up with a wide array of cars from modifieds to stock classes. Sunday’s event had the vibe of a divisional solo with some heavy hitter drivers and equipment showing up.

Highlights for Sunday event #4 was again between Kent and Crissy Weaver in ESP with similar results. Very consistent driving from these very experienced Great Lakes Division competitors. Other notable close battles were in STS with only 0.245 seconds giving the win to Brian Davis from Indy in his 1989 Honda Civic Si over Will Lahee from Fishers, Indiana in another Honda Civic Se. Street Touring Ultra (STU) was close with Chuck McMillion’s Subaru STi edging out Kevin Kent’s Subaru Sti by 0.315 seconds. FTD was captured by Clemens Burger in his B Mod 1976 LeGrand Mk18 sports racer with a blistering 49.005 seconds. He just missed the index by 0.102 when Dan Stone in a C Stock Solstice hit it good again on Sunday.

In summary, it is clear that Grissom is a LOT of fun and gives our region members a chance to run a “National Level” course design. Although we have a wonderful host in the Tire Rack facility for most of our events, our regular regional-only solo drivers are at a disadvantage somewhat when it comes to the challenges of a larger, more open course. This was evident by significant DNF’s and “coneage” over the weekend by those not used to this type of layout. Course walking and looking WAY ahead is crucial. Solo is about learning and improving. It is part of the appeal of the sport. I strongly urge our regional-only soloists to try to attend any events which will offer the challenges like Grissom. You must run at a Grissom size course to truly understand and appreciate the skills required to be a divisional or national level competitor.

We want to thank everyone who was in attendance and helped with the work assignments but did not run their car (Lloyd Loring, Steve Tamandli, George Westfall, and spouses among others). The drivers, solo team leaders, and I thank you.

See you next event at Tire Rack July 20^th,

Regards,

Mark Manninen, Solo Chair South Bend Region

ATTENDEES: Kim Bollinger, Paul McBride, H.C. Colwell, Mark Manninen, William Loring, Jeff Luckritz, Leon Krauss.

Approved minutes from 5-6-08.

TREASURER’S REPORT- H.C. Colwell:  

INCOME:  Positive cash flow with paid up memberships and interest from a CD.

MEMBERSHIP: 165 (-7 from last month, Jeff!)

SOLO-Mark Manninen:

Reviewed 2nd event and May budget. 18 drivers took advantage of the Test and Tune day and 57 entrants participated in the SOLO event.  Next event is June 7&8.   There will be a National Tour event at Grissom June 28&29^th.

RACE-Paul McBride:

Nearly all Chiefs have been confirmed for the August National.  Cars and worker numbers are less than hoped for at recent Regionals and Nationals.  A Race meeting will be held Tuesday evening, June 10, 7:00 p.m. at Martins Side Door Deli, Cleveland and Ironwood roads.

Street Survival Schools:

20 students have pre-registered so far for the next Tire Rack event June 21^st.

NEW BUSINESS:

An external request was made to donate recyclable auto parts at our SOLO events the proceeds from which will benefit The Center for the Homeless.  Street Survival participants will receive 20 club points per event attended.  NOTE:  starting next month the General Meeting times will be moved up one hour to begin at 7:00p.m. preceded by the Board Meeting at 6:00p.m.

GENERAL MEETING: 25 in attendance

Respectfully submitted, 

Leon Krauss,                     
Secretary.

Attention all SBR members! We need you to volunteer for the Tire Rack Street Survival program! South Bend Region is taking over the operations from Tire Rack for the final two events on July 19th and August 16th, 2008. We need volunteers to work registration, to act as student coaches, help serve lunch, and to do other general tasks. 

Tire Rack Street Survival is NOT about performance driving, so you don’t have to be an ace solo or race driver to be a coach. You need to be friendly, have a level head, and have the ability to talk about basic concepts like proper hand positioning, looking ahead, and staying calm when the unexpected happens. Coaching is fun, and very rewarding. 

In addition we’ll need folks to help with registration. This is pretty simple, it’s just a matter of making sure that all the proper forms and waivers are filled out. It’s a very similar process to our Solo registration. No big deal.

Throughout the day, we’ll need folks to help with miscellaneous jobs during the event… helping to serve lunch (usually pizza delivered by Pizza Hut), shagging cones out on course, directing traffic, answering questions from parents, etc. This is a job that anyone can do. And it’s fun to be able to watch the students learn, and watch the parents watching their kids!

While we have personnel to handle the classroom instruction, if you’re interested, we’d be happy to let you sit in on the sessions with the intention of perhaps becoming an instructor in the future. The more people we have trained on this critical job, the better.

In looking at our SBR volunteer list, it’s a much shorter list of names than I had hoped for this spring. I also see that all of the current volunteers are current or past solo drivers. It’s very important to get volunteers from other parts of our club. We have enough members that we could easily have no individual feel obliged to work more than two schools in a season. As it currently stands, many of our workers could end up working all four schools this year. In addition to attending our eight solo events. And we’ll still be relying on outside instructors from BMW CCA, and other SCCA regions. The club is asking you to step up for us now.

If you have kids, if you know kids, if you were a kid once a long time ago… you owe it to yourself and to those kids to come and help out with these schools. We have an opportunity to change the way our kids think about driving… to really have an impact on their (and our) safety, and to perhaps save someone’s life. It’s really that important.

Please contact Adam Lewis at streetsurvival@sbrscca.org, or by phone at (574) 226-5227. He’s had computer problems lately, so phone is probably best. If you have trouble reaching Adam, please contact me instead.

Fastrack has been posted.  To get your copy follow the links below.

Full document: HTTP://www.scca.com/documents/Fastrack/08/08-fastrack-july.pdf

Solo: HTTP://www.scca.com/documents/Fastrack/08/08-fastrack-july-solo.pdf

Rally: None for July

Club: HTTP://www.scca.com/documents/Fastrack/08/08-fastrack-july-club.pdf

COA: HTTP://www.scca.com/documents/Fastrack/08/08-fastrack-july-coa.pdf

BoD: HTTP://www.scca.com/documents/Fastrack/08/08-fastrack-july-bod.pdf

Links: HTTP://www.scca.com/documents/Fastrack/08/08-fastrack-july-links.pdf

Looking for a previous copy?  Click the link below to be taken there.

http://www.scca.com/contentpage.aspx?content=78

Prospective SCCA members: we have a deal you can’t resist. How would you like to slash your national SCCA dues to 40% and your SBR regional dues to just one third for the next three years running? Here’s how. 

Come work our race both days. We’ll let you in for free (if you work) offer full insurance coverage during the event and then, if you wish, you can join the SCCA for the next year for just $30! Your SCCA membership dues cost just $25 instead of $60 and your regional dues are just $5 instead of $15. And after you join, if you work just two races a year (ours and perhaps the WMR National race at Grattan) you can continue to be a full member for just $30 total annual dues for the following two years as well! 

Let’s see, as an old-timer my annual dues are $75 a year. You only pay 40% as much to get all the same rights, privileges and solo event discounts because you are a Race Worker (any specialty) just two weekends a year. And after the first three years, you can still continue to save from 20% to 40% over non-race workers with an on-going race worker dues discount. Questions? Just ask. I’ll look for you at our race.

Lloyd Loring   <LWLoring@sbcglobal.net>

Street Survival - Adam Lewis has been working as an “intern” with the good folks at The Tire Rack getting ready to run the show by himself. Well, by himself with the help of SBR members.  SBR will be taking on the lead role for the Street Survival Program, held at the Tire Rack on July 19^th and August 16^th.  There’s a job for everybody and it’s a great way to help out young drivers.

Road Racing - Mark August 23rd & August 24th on your calendars. South Bend Region is hosting its second National race at GingerMan Raceway in South Haven, MI. We need help in all aspects of the race. NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED. We’ll train you to do any job. FREE FOOD AND DRINKS all weekend. Contact Paul McBride if you would like to help.  We also work pretty closely with the good folks in Western Michigan Region and they could use our help with their National on August 9th and 10th at Grattan Raceway outside of Grand Rapids.

Club Meetings - Meeting times have been moved up by one hour. The board will meet at 6:00 pm and the general meeting will start at 7:00 pm. Meetings are held at Mancino’s in Mishawaka. You can find directions at www.sbrscca.org. Order a sub and come hang out with us on the first Tuesday of each month.

Solo Competition - Mark Manninen  continues to organize SBR’s Solo program. We’re holding Solo’s at The Tire Rack and Lakeshore High School throughout the summer. Check the website for the most up to date schedule. Solo’s are a great venue to learn car control and hang out with super people.  Questions about Solo? Contact Mark at solo@sbrscca.org. 

Jeff Luckritz, RE

Other than running a fire protection contracting group, helping raise 2 kids, fixing and maintaining a home, running our regional solo program, auto crossing, reading, and golf, I have NOTHING TO DO….So I decided to build a car. Some would think I am taking on too much. The fact is I turn 50 next year and figure I have only about 50 more years to check off a few more things on my list. One of the biggies on the list was to build a race a car before it was physically too difficult for me to get in and out of it. It is a race against time in more ways than one. I have one kid in college and another in about one year. Personal finances will only get tighter. I figure it is now or never.

After five years of solo events in the Street Touring classes and Stock classes, I had great reservations about modifying a street car and still trying to drive it to work after my Sunday fun. In fact, watching a few fellow competitors fixing their cars just so they could get home from Grissom got me thinking that a dedicated “track car” would be the best route for me. If I break it on Sunday, I drag it home on a trailer and lick my wounds in the privacy of my own garage. Another reason is acceleration and speed. Just take a ride in a modified or prepared solo or race car and you will understand…..quickly.

The dilemma is I want to go fast but the budget says otherwise. Enter Ron Champion and his book “Build a car for 250 Pounds (Euros?) and race it!”. This single book has started a car building craze around the world, including the USA. Since the book was published around 1996 it has “championed” the cause of the grass roots sports car enthusiast. With simple (and some complex) hand tools you can build an actual running, fast, and rather dangerous true sports car based loosely on the Lotus Super Seven from the late 1960’s. An entire support community and culture has blossomed around the concept thanks to the internet.

The main idea is:

1. Get metal tubing.

2. Weld metal tubing together.

3. Stick drive train from some junker car into it.

4. Make sure your life insurance is up to date.

5. Add gas and drive away!!!

OK, that is a little simplistic, but you get the idea.

I am a firm believer in the concept of less is more. Colin Chapman was a very inspired dude. His concept of “adding lightness” instead of huge gobs of horsepower proved it’s worth on F1 GP and sports car racing circuits around the globe from the 50’s through the 70’s and beyond. Look at the highest performing sports cars of today and you will see that less weight (sprung or unsprung) means less HP needed, smaller brakes, and lighter everything else on the car, with the result in phenomenal performance. It is just that simple.  His Super Seven design survives to this day with Caterhams still rolling out the doors to those lucky few who have an extra $35K to $50K to spend on what is essentially a four wheel motorcycle. When you get a close look at these cars, it is obvious that the original concept developed by Chapman was sound from a suspension and lightweight chassis design point of view, yet still somewhat scary to ride in. It became clear to me that less and lighter can be considerably more dangerous unless all the cars and SUV’s were all travelling the same direction, or at least, away from me. Not realistic for a guy with two kids to put through college. This is where SCCA comes in handy. With a place to safely compete, I can build a marginally safe sports car and drive it like a wild man without fear of confronting a Yukon Denali if I just keep it between the cones.  

My “Locost” is based on the “book frame” design with significant structural improvements. A “book frame” design may be fine for a lower power Sunday cruiser, but if you want the suspension to work properly in a modified class solo car, a significantly stiffer chassis is required.  The drive train donor is a 1982 Mazda RX-7 GSL. This car was chosen because it was front engine, rear drive platform, very light weight engine, solid axle with rear disc brakes, and LSD differential. It also happens to fit the diminutive Seven chassis perfectly. Lots of aftermarket support and info is available for these unusual motors (thanks again to the internet). Another factor is these cars can be had very cheap! A perfect donor for my project.  Cheap is a good thing because about the only thing I am using from the RX-7 will be the drive train itself. Most other components are standard race car stuff, like an Appleton billet aluminum rack and pinion unit, adjustable race car control arms with rod ends, Mustang II front spindles with disc brakes, Wilwood brake components, Painless wiring harness, coil over suspension, a small 3 gallon fuel cell, aluminum, and rivets. The essence of a purpose built minimalist sports car.

The intention is to design and build the car to run in SCCA solo D Modified. My hope is to develop the chassis and sort the car before adding heaps of horsepower. The engine will remain stock except for a revised intake and exhaust system. Adjusting these two things should net me about 150 HP. Plenty of power to move a car weighing in at less than 1,300 pounds soaking wet. Nationally competitive D mod cars have at least 100 HP more. If it can’t turn and stop, more power will just get me into trouble quicker at this point.

The progress to date is measure, cut, weld, and repeat. The photo above shows the frame at about 40% built with about 24 hours invested. It weighs about 65 pounds at this point and should weigh about 200 pounds when complete. I wish I purchased the steel 4 months ago. The lightweight 16 gauge tubing set me back about $300 more than it would have a few months ago. I just ordered about 48 feet of 1.5 inch DOM seamless tube to construct the roll bar system. That material alone cost about $200 and I still have to bend it and weld. I will be looking for help with the tube bending. I don’t want to buy a $1,500 bender and die set to just for the few bends I need. I suspect this is where a friendly case of beer and a fellow SCCA buddy with tools may come in handy.

That is about all for now. I will keep you updated in future articles covering the main components of the build. If everything goes to plan, blood, sweat, and tears will produce something resembling a rudimentary D mod “Marko Seven Mk1” late next solo season. For further info on the Locost Seven community go to: http://www.locostusa.com/forums. And in case you are wondering, yes, I have a fire extinguisher in my shop. My wife is nervous about me burning down the house. She said something about bad press for a guy in the fire protection business.

Mark Manninen, SBR Solo Chair

The Grissom event results are now online. Check out Saturday here, and Sunday here. 

Many thanks to all the people who worked so hard to make these events a success, and many thanks as well to the Indy region members who made the drive up on Sunday. It sure was great to see you all!

If you have photos of the event, please let me know. I didn’t take hardly any at all.

If you are a race worker or are thinking of becoming a race worker we have a deal for you! If you work our race we’ll be grateful, racers you’ve never met will be appreciative, and you’ll feel good about yourself. You may even have fun.

But if you also work a second race (4 days total) for any region you can deduct $15 from your next year’s SCCA National dues! If you work two other races (6 days) you can deduct $22 and if you work a total of 8 days you can save $30 in dues. Get up to 12 days this year and your name will also appear in SportsCar (you’ll be famous!) and you can carry a special ID card that might impress the registrar at the next race.

This program began on January 1, 2008 and you have been able to record the info online since mid-April (although I have no clue where or how.) You can also download a form to send in with your dues if you wish. Here is how you find it:

This download path is for members only (prospective members are not allowed, sorry): 

1. Go to <http://www.scca.com/home.aspx>

2. Log in using your membership number and password.

3. Click on the tab “Forms.”

4. Click on “Club Racing Volunteer Incentive Program” on the list to download the file.

5. Start Adobe Reader.

6. Search your hard drive for the downloaded form and open it.

7. Print the form and send it with your dues statement.

If your dues renewal date falls after the first of your two or more races, you are probably screwed for this year but can benefit next year assuming they extend the program.

If you are a prospective member consider this program another reason to join. If you need the form, I can send you a PDF copy on request, since you can’t get if from the SCCA. I can also send you a membership application that (as of today) gives you another way to save dues that is strangely missing from the application available to you on the National SCCA website.

Lloyd Loring <LWLoring@sbcglobal.net>

Read the article here.

This program seeks to reward those who have attended Runoffs for many years with early registration, early selection of paddock space, and early number selection, along with a special test day. What’s your opinion? Does it reward those who have supported the Runoffs for years, or does it penalize the new driver by making him or her wait longer, and accept less desirable options of paddock and numbers? Leave a comment here, and don’t forget to send your thoughts on to Larry Dent, our Area Director, and the national office as well.

Working on a suspension set-up and I need some old 20.0×9.0-13 race slicks.  As long as they hold air I will take them. If you know of any to be discarded call Mark at 574.271.0810 and leave a message or email me at m_manninen@sbcglobal.net , thanks!

To all - Tuesday’s worker meeting at Martin’s on the corner of North Ironwood and U.S. 23 has been CHANGED.  I spent most of the weekend in bed and do NOT have all the necessary “stuff” done that I want to present.  

The NEW DATE will be Thursday, June 12th.  If you can make it, fine, if not we may have to eek out some new form of punishment.  There will be more opportunities to come.
 
Thanks,
 
Paul McBride