Palomar Solar Racing

[BasilHayden]

Over the winter I get a call from my brother. It goes something like this. "You know how you are always looking at the vintage race cars on bring a trailer? Well....what if we could get one with some serious history..."

After 2 trips back to North Carolina in a 20' trailer, Palomar is now having fun helping him campaign in the vintage racing ranks a championship winning car from SCCA back in the 90's.

Mind you this car has sat in mothballs for almost 25 years until this December. The rules commitee struggled where to put it as it is a mid 60's car that should run with similar convertables such as Datsun Fairlady's, TR4's, Alfa Giulia Spider, Porsche 914's and Triumph Spitfire's. But it was heavily modified over the years to compete in the 90's at the top of the field. They decided to run it with the small bore coupes instead Datsun 510's, BMW 2002's and Alfa GTV's.

After a few sessions of practice he lined up 5th for the qualifying race. His first rolling start against some fairly accomplished opponents.

Mike decided to play smart and didn't press the issue in the first corner of competitive driving.

He dropped a few positions but began working his way through the field.

after 5 of 6 laps he managed to find himself in 3rd and closing on 2nd. He made the pass but not the corner and found himself off in the dirt.

He would start the Sunday race in 13th of about 20. The 7 lap race was similar to the qualifing race, he dropped a couple spots at the first turn but went on to finish 4th overall and first in his class. What was very fun for him was that in both sessions he was the second fastest car on the track, and that red BMW leading into turn 1 was flat hauling the mail.

BTW if you ever get the chance to go to Spring Mountain for an event, GO. What a facility. Its a country club for racers, not golfers.

You might even see some serious hardware making a few laps. There was a guy hanging out with us in the paddock, after the long weekend he suggested I might like to see what was in his garage, since he drove a Porsche GT3 essentially as his golf cart, I figured what the hell.

Not bad.

Great weekend all in all.

 

[RiverDave]

That car you bought is bad ass Andy!! Congrats!

 

[rcmike]

I had such an amazing weekend racing this car. Having Andy and Roxie out to enjoy the facility and experience the racing was just awesome!

This car has DOCUMENTED race history back to 1972, although we understand it was raced from new.

As some may know, SCCA bases it's documentation on the roll bar number, not the race number. Anyway, from the very early logbooks, this car was a very stock appearing steel-fendered little car, with a removed windshield.




As the years went on, the car was purchased by Rock Vest and Randy Carter. Rock ran the top tier regional and the national events. Randy ran regional events, and supported Rock in the top tier events. As the class became faster, the car was modified. Wider, fiberglass fenders and hood. Huge Goodyear slicks. A complete coilover suspension system with Z car brakes.

In 1990, Rock had a huge wreck in the SCCA National runoffs at Road Atlanta. In 1994, Rock had a daughter.

He built a garage for the car, and it was put away. He put the engines on stands. Put the transmissions upstairs on racks. Everything was religiously cared for. Engines turned monthly with oil. Exposed metal coated with preservative.

The car as we found it.

Engines were built at huge expense in the 1980s. Randy Carter chimed in today that the heads were ported and flowed at Richard Childress Racing, and the header was built at Petty Enterprises.. He also mentioned that the tach came from Childress..

Both the tach, and the engines, still work pretty well today.. The telltale read a little higher than I wanted, but I really wanted to pass that 510..

Anyway, after bringing the car home, we have replaced fuel cell, belts, tires, and valve springs. Really very little else. The car just flat runs.

I cannot thank Andy enough for his help and support in getting this car back on the track!

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Awesome car and story!

 

[BasilHayden]

from Palomar Solar's facebook. Any and all shares appreciated https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=palomar solar


Palomar Solar was excited to support Mike Anderson and Kevin’s Roadster Designs as they began their 2018 Vintage Racing Campaign with VARA’s “Duel in the Desert” at the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump NV. Over the weekend their Datsun Roadster, formerly successfully campaigned by Rock Vest of Lewisville NC, ran fast and strong ultimately winning first in class. We look forward to following Mike and Kevin as they continue the campaign. Next up, VARA’s “High Desert Challenge” at Willow Springs Raceway in Lancaster CA, March 24th-25th.

 

[rcmike]

So when we got to the track, we were pretty happy with the carbs.. Of course, it is impossible to really test the carbs until you actually get to the track. As soon as we went out, we found massive splashover in EVERY right hand turn. It was funny, the car ran great in a straight line, but would not turn..

So Kevin went to work on the carbs, cleaned some things up, and we took a video. Beautiful response on throttle everywhere, only one turn still has splash. Part throttle sounds bad, but it felt good..

 

[rcmike]

And for fun, the onboard from the flag race for the weekend. Started 13th, finished 4th, first in class..

So much fun!

 

[rcmike]

Over the weekend, Andy came out to be crew chief, and we braved the winds in Rosamond.

Ran in the VARA 'High Desert Challenge' at Willow Springs, went from 30th to 3rd in the qualifying race, battling with a tiny Elva/BMW the entire run. At the start I made a huge move to go from 3rd to first in the main. At the end of the race, the Elva was coming, but we took the checkers first.

It was a really great event! The icing on the cake was the 1997 Benetton F1 car, who came within 1 second of the all time track record on Willow Springs.. After the weekend, winding down, Andy was asking when I expected to hear about a couple of the premier events, and I was laughing, they move at their own speed..

So I got a call today. Later I got email confirmation.

We are going to be racing in the Monterey Historics.

From the selection letter:

"Your participation is what makes this event so special to so many people. Whether it’s fellow competitors or attending fans, your involvement is what makes celebrating motorsports history all worthwhile and an event that is the highlight of the internationally-acclaimed Monterey Classic Car Week. And this year we will be honoring the incredible motorsport heritage of Nissan.

The Selection Committee and HMSA Tech ensure that each car accepted has proper livery (no modern-day advertisements nor current driver name on car), is mechanically correct to the day it originally competed and has a verified race provenance. We want to continue being the standard bearer in the car authenticity."

So amazing to be included in this event. It was a great weekend for us.

 

[LHC30]

Outstanding! Running a historical car while making history! Might just need to head up to Monterey...let us know when.

 

[Deja_Vu]

Good Stuff. Thanks for sharing.
Love seeing the old Datsuns and Beemers duking it out on the track.

 

[BasilHayden]

What a blast. While the facilities aren't quite the same as they were in Spring Mountain, they certainly felt more "Vintage". The weekend was great fun. As this was Mike's second race weekend we found a few shortcomings in our program. Nothing a trip to Harbor Freight Saturday evening couldn't fix. Apparently its easier to change tires with a jack .

We are building the lists as we go to make sure we don't forget things like lithium jumper batteries in the car during the warm up session.

But seriously, the weekend started with a great first session Saturday morning, the car was running well and was definately one of the faster in the group, unfortunately we didnt have a transponder on it yet as there was a miscommunication, err lack there of. But Mike's phone GPS dealio put him P3 with a lap in the upper 1:42s as I recall, unfortunately the sanctioning body doesnt use Mike's GPS for starting order, lol we will line up P30 for the Qualifying race right next to a little Elva BMW #7, kind of reminded you of a speed racer cartoon.

Mike spent the qualifier chasing the little Elva through the field from the back. Mind you, we this little car is highly prepped with an "experienced" driver. While its BMW engine is a bit smaller than Mikes datsun I think we were giving him almost 1000 lbs. The 2 cars put on a great show as they went from last to 2nd and 3rd in the 20 minute session. When I told Mike he got to 3rd you should have seen his look of disbelief turn into a smile from ear to ear. Best lap time was up to 1:39.2, we now have a transponder!, despite being in traffic pretty much the entire event. At the finsish they are both closing in on the #37 Formula Renault.

Over tacos Saturday night, we decided to swap tires for the main race on Sunday. We will run the warm up session with the used set that will have 7 sessions on them and put on the set that only has 1 session on them, we think the fresh rubber will make the difference.

The warm up session went well, the battery that I forgot to pull found a safe place in the passenger footwell, I was just trying to add ballast! Mike finished the session fastest at a 1:40.1. Time to change tires. I had to add air to the right front as it was a bit low at "0" lbs but it took air fine seemingly and so we are ready for the race. There may have been a little challenge making the grid as we somehow had the start at 1:15 not 12:15, but we made it with minutes to spare. Mike is starting 3rd and i remind him to drive smart but this is the best starting position he has had yet so follow that Renault into turn 1 and see what happens.

Its time to race. They come to the green and it's clear Mike is ready to make a run at it. He goes into Turn 1 side by side with the Elva hot on the Renaults tail. They disappear into Turn 2 and what do I see but a Black and Gold Datsun leading the way to Turn 3. The gap grew for a number of laps until they began lapping the field, then mid pack was a gaggle of cars who were fighting for position and could care less about the leaders coming through. Well the 20 car lead evaporated and it took a seriously strong Turn 1 move to Keep the Elva behind him as they passed the traffic on the main straight. Once again Mike was able to pull away without any further serious challenges from the Elva and Renault. They finished 1, 2, 3 with Mike having his fastest lap of 1:37.29. We won his group for the first time, sure last event we won our class but finished 3rd on track, this time it was the #38 taking the checkered flag on course.

Well Mike is obviously elated and we are telling each other what fun we had while i am taking tire pressures for the "list", as we do after each round. Um Mike? how did the tires feel? "Oh they felt like crap, I could hardly turn left" Now the struggle in turn 1 makes sense. We were down to 8 lbs in the front right tire. LOL but he won.

What fun and very cool that I can help by putting marketing dollars behind this great time with my brother.

Mike lets get some pics up, I think I got a few, I tried to get you in the pic with the checkered flag, next time get closer to the tower!

 

[Taboma]

What a blast. While the facilities aren't quite the same as they were in Spring Mountain, they certainly felt more "Vintage". The weekend was great fun. As this was Mike's second race weekend we found a few shortcomings in our program. Nothing a trip to Harbor Freight Saturday evening couldn't fix. Apparently its easier to change tires with a jack .

View attachment 630538

We are building the lists as we go to make sure we don't forget things like lithium jumper batteries in the car during the warm up session.

But seriously, the weekend started with a great first session Saturday morning, the car was running well and was definately one of the faster in the group, unfortunately we didnt have a transponder on it yet as there was a miscommunication, err lack there of. But Mike's phone GPS dealio put him P3 with a lap in the upper 1:42s as I recall, unfortunately the sanctioning body doesnt use Mike's GPS for starting order, lol we will line up P30 for the Qualifying race right next to a little Elva BMW #7, kind of reminded you of a speed racer cartoon.

View attachment 630537

Mike spent the qualifier chasing the little Elva through the field from the back. Mind you, we this little car is highly prepped with an "experienced" driver. While its BMW engine is a bit smaller than Mikes datsun I think we were giving him almost 1000 lbs. The 2 cars put on a great show as they went from last to 2nd and 3rd in the 20 minute session. When I told Mike he got to 3rd you should have seen his look of disbelief turn into a smile from ear to ear. Best lap time was up to 1:39.2, we now have a transponder!, despite being in traffic pretty much the entire event. At the finsish they are both closing in on the #37 Formula Renault.

View attachment 630540

Over tacos Saturday night, we decided to swap tires for the main race on Sunday. We will run the warm up session with the used set that will have 7 sessions on them and put on the set that only has 1 session on them, we think the fresh rubber will make the difference.

The warm up session went well, the battery that I forgot to pull found a safe place in the passenger footwell, I was just trying to add ballast! Mike finished the session fastest at a 1:40.1. Time to change tires. I had to add air to the right front as it was a bit low at "0" lbs but it took air fine seemingly and so we are ready for the race. There may have been a little challenge making the grid as we somehow had the start at 1:15 not 12:15, but we made it with minutes to spare. Mike is starting 3rd and i remind him to drive smart but this is the best starting position he has had yet so follow that Renault into turn 1 and see what happens.

View attachment 630542

Its time to race. They come to the green and it's clear Mike is ready to make a run at it. He goes into Turn 1 side by side with the Elva hot on the Renaults tail. They disappear into Turn 2 and what do I see but a Black and Gold Datsun leading the way to Turn 3. The gap grew for a number of laps until they began lapping the field, then mid pack was a gaggle of cars who were fighting for position and could care less about the leaders coming through. Well the 20 car lead evaporated and it took a seriously strong Turn 1 move to Keep the Elva behind him as they passed the traffic on the main straight. Once again Mike was able to pull away without any further serious challenges from the Elva and Renault. They finished 1, 2, 3 with Mike having his fastest lap of 1:37.29. We won his group for the first time, sure last event we won our class but finished 3rd on track, this time it was the #38 taking the checkered flag on course.

Well Mike is obviously elated and we are telling each other what fun we had while i am taking tire pressures for the "list", as we do after each round. Um Mike? how did the tires feel? "Oh they felt like crap, I could hardly turn left" Now the struggle in turn 1 makes sense. We were down to 8 lbs in the front right tire. LOL but he won.

What fun and very cool that I can help by putting marketing dollars behind this great time with my brother.

Mike lets get some pics up, I think I got a few, I tried to get you in the pic with the checkered flag, next time get closer to the tower!

Thanks for the great write up, a very enjoyable and entertaining read (Insert thumbs up here --- damn you Dave )
If you don't mind a question, what's the issue with the battery, does this car not have one or no alternator ?
I'd think this would be a perfect application for a small Odyssey.
Sure a cool looking car (yet another thumbs up --- arghhhh )
Congratulations !!!!

 

[BasilHayden]

Apparently while racing in the SCCA early nineties, in order to shave all weight possible this car was run without an alternator. We are running it exactly as run when it was put away in '94. As such, we start the car with a spare battery attached, unfortunately that was left on the charger in SoCal so... I rigged up my lithium jump battery in its place, it worked great, but I forgot to pull it in the 3rd session. Other than being annoying, it wasnt an issue. Btw, I keep harping on Mike that it seems most Racers have lists, I have a spare battery on the list, lets hope it makes the race in Atlanta. Its easier for the sponsor to pick it up if he knows what size to get for the battery can.

Hopefully at some point we will get to show it off to RDP folks, who knows maybe we will bring it out at a function somewhere. In the meantime this has been a blast and can't wait to take it to Road Atlanta next month for The Mitty, and then to a bucket list event at the Historics at Laguna Seca this August. So cool we were accepted to that event, I used to go in the 80's and thought how cool these guys get to bring their toys out here and play. I will be the one with the shit eating grin watching our car on the track there this year.

I think our next event in So Cal will be back at Willow Springs in September 15-16. Between now and then should be Road Atlanta in April, Laguna Seca in May, and then again Laguna Seca in August. We will finish the season with a trip to Buttonwillow in October and the final race at Willow Springs in November.

Thanks for the support.

 

[RiverDave]

Are you going to leave all the old sponsors on the car? Or at some point are you going to change them to Palomar etc?

 

[BasilHayden]

They pretty much will stay, in fact in the serious vintage events new sponsors are forbidden, but you can run the livery as it ran in its heritage. So we have an Painters Ice Cream parlor, red line oil (still running it and may be getting some love from them) Winston Cup and La Bleu water, bolle sunglasses, texas petes hot sauce and goodyear even though they no longer make the tires etc. What it does show is one of the few cars in its class that had legit sponsorship in its time.

Haha I initially was going to push for some decals, but you know what it looks better every time I see it under the Palomar Solar tent. I think the Race Trailer may bet some Palomar Logos soon though.

 

[RiverDave]

They pretty much will stay, in fact in the serious vintage events new sponsors are forbidden, but you can run the livery as it ran in its heritage. So we have an Painters Ice Cream parlor, red line oil (still running it and may be getting some love from them) Winston Cup and La Bleu water, bolle sunglasses, texas petes hot sauce and goodyear even though they no longer make the tires etc. What it does show is one of the few cars in its class that had legit sponsorship in its time.

Haha I initially was going to push for some decals, but you know what it looks better every time I see it under the Palomar Solar tent. I think the Race Trailer may bet some Palomar Logos soon though.

I can have one of my graphics guys whip up some "vintage" looking Palomar / RDP stickers.. They'll never know.

RD

 

[rcmike]

I can have one of my graphics guys whip up some "vintage" looking Palomar / RDP stickers.. They'll never know.

RD

I was going to work on that exact idea, until I was informed that they actually want to look at the photos in the old log books for the premier events.. The race trailer is free to be stickered, and the tent. It's funny, because this car was literally running different colors almost every race, since Rock was able to get checks written almost every run..

There is a good chance that there will be some Palomar stickers on it , but they will have to be carefully placed so they can safely come off the 40 year old fiberglass when we go to the big shows..

Trying to upload photos, but I am going to have to shrink them, the site says they are too big, again..

 

[rcmike]

Outstanding! Running a historical car while making history! Might just need to head up to Monterey...let us know when.

The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion runs from August 23 to 26th at Laguna Seca. I honestly cannot wait to run this track in the roadster, it's going to be pretty epic.

 

[AZBrummett21]

The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion runs from August 23 to 26th at Laguna Seca. I honestly cannot wait to run this track in the roadster, it's going to be pretty epic.

I’m in Monterey every year for the historics. My dad has raced multiple cars off and on for the last 30 years at Laguna Seca. I’ll stop by and say hi.

 

[Rattle Can Lou]

Very cool read..especially for old dudes..A friend of mine did all the asphalt work at the Spring Mountain...lol His name is Jim Wulfenstien...he's been begging me to make it there...sounds beautiful and so do the pictures look fantastic..

 

[rcmike]

Ok, shrunk some photos..

So early morning set-up at the track..

Pre grid preparations..

Heading out to the track..

Track action pictures...

Coming to the line.. Checkered flag..

Each class winner gets a checkered flag.. Plus the overall winner..

The competition.. only 800 pounds..

Every once in a while. Some fenders need to get fixed. This was done trackside with two big hammers and spray paint.

And an awe inspiring run.. This car came within 1 second of the all time lap record in 4 sessions on the track. Jean Alesi's 1997 Benetton/Renault F1 car..

Pretty cool weekend!

 

[rcmike]

I am slow sometimes.. But I finally managed to get some of the video posted from the VARA High Desert Challenge.

From the flag race, this is the first lap , starting from third place..

And when I came up on the crazy traffic.. This was pretty crazy. If you look carefully, you can see the Elva attacking in the mirrors..

Such a fun race!

 

[BasilHayden]

We definately need to see about putting a little air in the right front next time, you were getting a bit squirrely the deeper into the race you got. LOL the crew chief should be reprimanded for letting you out on 8lbs on that corner.

"Lets check the temps and pressures after the race." "Hmm seem to be a bit low on this one only 8lbs and the letters are worn off the side, but the rest climbed from 21 to 28 or so, Mike how'd the car feel?"

 

[rcmike]

"Lets check the temps and pressures after the race." "Hmm seem to be a bit low on this one only 8lbs and the letters are worn off the side, but the rest climbed from 21 to 28 or so, Mike how'd the car feel?"

"Well, its pushing like a dump truck turning left.. Feels really good going right.."

Now I understand why the NASCAR guys are running flat left fronts at Martinsville..

 

[rcmike]

Part of the fun of this car is that so many people remember the stories about this car.

Next week, I will be headed to Road Atlanta for the Mitty, one of the premier vintage events on the east coast. As discussion turned to the Mitty and Road Atlanta, Rock's crew chief, Randy Carter, sent us a note.

"You might find this interesting. This is from the official program at the 1992 SCCA National Runoffs..."


I took screen shots so the type is readable.

 

[rcmike]

This will take a couple posts, but now that I have been home for a couple days, it's time to get it going..

When we bought the car, one of the things I told Andy was that it would be HUGE to take this car back to Road Atlanta where it made so much history. Shortly after the purchase, Nissan was announced as the featured marque at "The Mitty"... I told Andy we don't have a choice, we have to go.

So, we prepped the car.. New fluids and the right differential, at least a good guess..

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Everything ready, it was time to think about packing up..

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We loaded up the trailer, and on the Thursday before Desert Storm, I headed east. The timing was perfect.. I was able to meet Andy and load up his car as well.

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Friday morning, awesome morning, we were able to run in the poker run..

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After the poker run, Andy brought me back to the house, and I got in the truck. 2500 miles to go.. The tracker on the trailer had gone live that morning, so it was easy to follow along.. Friday evening, made it to Gallup..

 

[rcmike]

Day 2 and 3 were spent crossing the heartland, lots of rain, lots of truck stops..

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I had built in some extra time in case of weather, so I was able to spend a couple days in Franklin, TN with our other brother.. Great town.

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Then it was off to Road Atlanta. I rolled down and got to the track, and when I arrived, they were waiting for me. This car was going to be right in front in the pro paddock, one spot over from the Grand Marshal. We had to wait for the track to go cold from the open test day they were having, then we started unloading.

While I was waiting, I had opened the trailer, and a couple people took photos. Soon, quite a few people were asking if this was really Rock Vest's car, and was he going to be there? I told them that yes it was, and we did not know if he would make it, but he had definitely been invited..

Andy and Roxie flew in, and when they arrived, we finished setting up our spot for the weekend.. Literally straight across the track from the starter.

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First time this car had been at Road Atlanta in 25 years..

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Thursday dawned beautiful, but we knew it would not last, so we got started with testing, so I could figure out where the track goes. Road Atlanta has several BLIND corners, and to be fast, you have to go on faith and send it. Not easy to do based on some YouTube videos and a couple comments from friends. So every lap of testing was going to be crucial. Ready to roll early..

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We got 2 sessions in, then the storm hit.. No way we were going to run in this rain.. We called it a day and got ready for the weekend.. Racing would start on Friday..

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[BasilHayden]

I hope Mike gets to finish this story, what a fun weekend. Well not a huge fan of the ATL airport, nor of the traffic out of there, but once we made it to Braeselton it was amazing. What a beautiful track. But back to the story, remember when I started months ago Mike lays on the story thick about how much history this little car had...well we had no idea.

Here we are in Georgia with a bunch of old cars, well a bunch of very serious old cars, this is the easts coasts version of the Monterey Historics, and this little Datsun is a rockstar. Of course this got a little attention

As did this historic 240Z driven by Grand Marshal John Morton

and Mike was nervous as he lined up behind the multi Championship winning legend for a qualifying session

But what was so fun was hearing the stories from the fans and competitors who were blown away that we had brought the 38 Roadster home to Road Atlanta

not sure this you tube will show right, but here is the link, its pretty good. More to come on these two cars.

 

[Mandelon]

Great thread! Love the story.

 

[RiverDave]

Loving the stories.. I'd sponsor this damn thing if I could wrap it RDP! LOL

RD

 

[BasilHayden]

More updates coming, in the meantime I also was able to bring my "old" Porsche back for fun. It got quite a bit of attention as well, pretty funny as to us its just been in the family since new and while I love the car, its just our old Porsche. It was great to take it on the track, she scoots pretty good for an old car. Mines the '86 Cabriolet, though there was a lot of old iron out for the show.

Roxie enjoying the races from the deck, we lucked out on this old trailer!

 

[rcmike]

So Friday bright and early we got to the track, time for qualifying.. We warm up the car, and pull out onto pit lane..

Just unreal..

Anyway, ran some laps, Thursday's test I started at 1:52 laps. By the end of qualifier 1 we were down to 1:45..

Andy and Roxie found a spot on the bridge for photos.

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Was a fun run..

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During the run, saw John Morton's car in the dirt.. We saw them towed in after the session. After the qualifier Roxie drove me up the hill so we could watch some lines of the quick cars under the bridge thru turn 11.. Ended up watching an unreal battle between a modern Aston Martin GT car and an older stock car.. That Nova was nasty.. And the twin Shelby Mustangs were pretty fun to watch as well..

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We came back into the paddock and saw my friend Rob, who was operating the Z car for John. The engine had put a hole in the side of the block. Rob, and Randy, the car owner, got on the phone, and about 45 minutes later a decision was made. Pull it.

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With some better ideas of the line, went out for the afternoon Saarc street tire race.

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Car looks so funny on the skinny tires. That said, was a fun race. We did not know we were racing until about 15 minutes before the race and started like 81st, picked up 12 spots, and then there were no more cars to pass since the pace lap was a mess. Finally got some clean laps, ran about a 1:43 on the street tires.

We came back in after the race and found Rob and the Z Car Garage guys were busy. They had sourced a 40 year old engine in Atlanta, and it was on it's way to the track. In the mean time, pulling the parts needed to make the new engine run.. You can't leave the Grand Marshal without a car..lol

Afternoon qualifier, back on slicks, ran 1:43 in traffic

Next up Saturday, and the first race in our class..

 

[rcmike]

Friday night, we accomplished one of my missions for the weekend..

During the research for the car, we had understood there was a relationship between Rock Vest and Jim Fitzgerald. When we realized just how far back they went, and why, I wanted to put Rock's car in the Fitzy park at Road Atlanta for photos.. The door had carried a 4 leaf clover and the name Fitz forever. As the party started Friday night, someone moved the tractor blocking the entrance to the park, so I drove the car in and set up the shot. Andy took the photo..

As we brought the car back to the pits, The Z Car Garage guys were finishing up for the night.. Engine had not seen fuel since the late 70s.. a nice afternoon of work and..

Looks like John Morton would be driving the rest of the weekend after all..

 

[rcmike]

Saturday was busy, lots of track time, car just ran great.

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Ran the car in the "Nissan Feature" race, starting about 15th..

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Right up front, about 2nd to 5th hit each other nose to tail, and sent some fiberglass flying in the esses. We were in 4th gear coming through there, and there is just no where to go to avoid the flying bodywork.. Took a little nose damage.

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A little Gorilla tape, and we were good to go for the rest of the weekend. We are going to have to get molds made of these fenders. They are literally irreplaceable at this time, and unfortunately even though car to car contact is forbidden, it happens.. Our biggest concern is losing the artwork. A lot of this is hand painted, and that's not coming back soon.

Anyway, an hour after Nissan Feature, we went out for our first Sprint race.. Made some moves, decent start, but the traffic into turn 2 was crazy. Made two passes in the last lap..

Time to put it away, and get ready for Sunday..

Sunday mornings in Rural Georgia, the track is required to be "quiet" from 10am until noon for the surrounding areas to hold their church services.

So the track held track tours during that time. Andy and Roxie were able to run a couple laps, and he was lucky with some pretty quick cars around him. One of the laps was fast enough that from the roof of the trailer I was watching Roxie trying to push the brake pedal on her side as they entered turn 12..lol

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We started around 10th for the Sunday afternoon Sprint race, and I knew I was finally around fast enough cars that I could really run..

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Making moves and running hard..

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The last couple laps, John Morton broke the trans, only had 4th gear. Then the red and blue Daimler finally broke his 2.5 liter hemi v8, and then all hell broke loose. Unfortunately the Z lost his mind and..

Yeah, that wall was coming up fast..

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Because of the total loss system, there just was not enough juice in the battery to refire the car, so I came in on the hook.

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The good news is there was no significant damage to the car, and we were able to drive it on the trailer..

Not the finish we wanted, but we were running in 5th at the time of the spin, and ran the 4th fast lap time, with a 1:41.. John Morton ran a 1:40.. I should have listened to Andy and just followed him in the qualifier..

Anyway, we packed it up and headed for Nashville.. Really a great weekend!

Next, in 8 days, we go to Monterey for the Spring Classic.. Preps are underway!

 

[Taboma]

Really enjoying following your team, great pics and videos, really entertaining, so than you !!

I'll admit to not being all that familiar with this style of "Gentleman's" road racing.
Am I correct that it seems that caution is paramount and winning is lower on the priority list ? Rule # 1 = save the equipment !!
Essentially more of a fun run under racing conditions ? The very nature of Vintage Racing, versus back in its SCCA days when Rock was wringing it out. Of course that video you posted of Rock Pitting the Porsche, didn't end well, lol
I've never been up to Monterey, but I'm guessing when the $$$ boys roll out their GT40s and Collector Ferraris, the rule of the day is to place nice above all else.
Thanks to a wildfire I lost all my 8mms my dad had shot in the mid to late 50's of Road Racing at the Palm Springs Airport. His best friend owned the Mercedes and Maserati dealership in Cathedral City. Was always tuning up some "Birdcages" for the weekend racing.

 

[BasilHayden]

Taboma you are spot on.

The gentlemans agreement repeated over and over in the drivers meeting is there will be NO car to car contact. Yes they are racing, but they are supposed to be more like 8/10's so there is always an out, but there is always that guy who gets the red mist you need to watch out for. Plus you really do have such a variety of cars in your group that sometimes you might be the ringer at the front of every race and sometimes you might be the chicane. Frankly at Atlanta we were put in the group as the probable chicane. Hell at best we have 220hp, while a number of the Z's have close to 400. The Daimler 250 who blew his motor at the end of the last race was running a hemi V8, a small one but still he had some power. Mike used the handling of the little Datsun to stay competitive and at the end surprised the hell out of the field with his top 5 lap time.

For me its the fun Mike and I are having and seeing some of the amazing hardware out there that is making this journey so much fun. Now who needs a solar system on their home or business, the Datsun needs a couple more sets of tires, this shit is expensive!

 

[Taboma]

Taboma you are spot on.

The gentlemans agreement repeated over and over in the drivers meeting is there will be NO car to car contact. Yes they are racing, but they are supposed to be more like 8/10's so there is always an out, but there is always that guy who gets the red mist you need to watch out for. Plus you really do have such a variety of cars in your group that sometimes you might be the ringer at the front of every race and sometimes you might be the chicane. Frankly at Atlanta we were put in the group as the probable chicane. Hell at best we have 220hp, while a number of the Z's have close to 400. The Daimler 250 who blew his motor at the end of the last race was running a hemi V8, a small one but still he had some power. Mike used the handling of the little Datsun to stay competitive and at the end surprised the hell out of the field with his top 5 lap time.

For me its the fun Mike and I are having and seeing some of the amazing hardware out there that is making this journey so much fun. Now who needs a solar system on their home or business, the Datsun needs a couple more sets of tires, this shit is expensive!

Thanks, that explains a lot, hadn't considered the disparity of the group, so I'll stop screaming "Hammer down Mike, Hammer down", lol One thing, Mike is certainly a smooth operator, seems to be getting really in tune with what the car is willing to give without forcing it.

 

[BasilHayden]

Haha, he is having a blast, great to be able to put that big of a smile on your little brothers face. I too find myself checking my pep talks, though I have told him I am good with a soft 8k rpm limit with the rare 8500 to pass on the last lap. He has actually been driving closer to 7k nominal and occasionally will let it sing. Propbably wise as I know I wont like the bill to rebuild. But Rock said she was built for a 9k limit

 

[Taboma]

Haha, he is having a blast, great to be able to put that big of a smile on your little brothers face. I too find myself checking my pep talks, though I have told him I am good with a soft 8k rpm limit with the rare 8500 to pass on the last lap. He has actually been driving closer to 7k nominal and occasionally will let it sing. Propbably wise as I know I wont like the bill to rebuild. But Rock said she was built for a 9k limit

HA HA HA --- the mental image of you reviewing the videos, watching the tach I hadn't realized Mike was your brother, way cool sir

 

[BasilHayden]

Just an aside, at the Mitty this is the car that in my opinion was just plain hauling the mail. He was lapping the field of some amazing hardware.

This Aston was doing everything he could to keep up, in the end he left early after a mistake where he came in to the pits on a flatbed, minus that Aston's nose.

Roxie had a blast, it was her first time on a race track at any type of speed. We were able to get a few laps with pretty much a free run from Turn 10 down the hill, through the front straight and then up the S's until the pack forced us to slow to a crawl. I was behind a modern 911s4 who definately had a few more ponies than me, but I seemed to handle the S's a bit better, I definately had a bit more rubber than him, I only hoped I wasn't holding up the Aston who was following me to much, but frankly he was never that close so i think he had plenty of fun. We definately had speed, coming through the last turn around 80 and saw north of 115 on the straight and were running close to 90 through the S's. Great times and fun to let the old Porsche run. This pic was coming through the last turn onto the front straight.

 

[Taboma]

That Nova is completely Badass !! But like it clearly states on the ass-end --- "This Ain't Your Daddy's Nova"
Gene Felton's IMSA Nova restoration. What a cool piece to own. Looks like Gene sold it in 16'.

http://www.genefeltonrestorations.com/examples_felton_ppo_96.html

 

[rcmike]

Haha, he is having a blast, great to be able to put that big of a smile on your little brothers face. I too find myself checking my pep talks, though I have told him I am good with a soft 8k rpm limit with the rare 8500 to pass on the last lap. He has actually been driving closer to 7k nominal and occasionally will let it sing. Propbably wise as I know I wont like the bill to rebuild. But Rock said she was built for a 9k limit

It is SO MUCH fun driving this car.

I have been reasonably nice to the engine and transmissions because they are 50 year old designs and 25 year old builds. Even me being nice is not always enough.

We started preps for Monterey yesterday, I was going to do the fluid changes myself, after all it was just going to be oil, filter, and a different rear gear. Oh, and try to get the red Georgia dirt off the car..

But luckily my good friend and mechanic was home from work. Because when we cut the filter open, the element was shimmering. Kevin said I know we don't want it to, but the car is telling us something. We gotta go in.. Pan was shimmering too..

Turns out the rod bearings were wearing..

So we hit the parts stash, grabbed a couple bearing sets, and went to work. Replaced all the rod bearings. Disassembled and cleaned the pan.

Checked the mains.. looks like we can put those back in the parts stash, these are perfect.

Crankshaft is perfect.. Kevin thinks it was just high RPM wear. Contacted Rock's crew chief, he said that was something they checked pretty regular. He also said that Rock believed there was no such thing as changing the oil too much. I will be writing a proposal for Red Line this week..

In the mean time, I was changing the rear end.. Fluids were still perfect, but Laguna Seca has no straights to speak of, so we need a shorter gear..

Late last night, after checking the top end, cleaning cam, new oil and filter, she fired up..

Looks like we are good to go. Thank you to Kevin and Rock Vest, who made sure we had tons of spare bearings..

 

[rcmike]

Really enjoying following your team, great pics and videos, really entertaining, so than you !! View attachment 642711

I'll admit to not being all that familiar with this style of "Gentleman's" road racing.
Am I correct that it seems that caution is paramount and winning is lower on the priority list ? Rule # 1 = save the equipment !!
Essentially more of a fun run under racing conditions ?

This is essentially correct. There are many variables. Car capability, car prep level, driver ability, driver willingness to risk the car, these are all added to the normal racing variables..

In my case, with the knowledge that there is no prize money, and that parts of the car are irreplaceable, driver willingness to risk the car is very low. Car capability and car prep are very high. Driver ability is what it is. I like to think I am good..

The spin at Road Atlanta was my decision to avoid car to car contact. I knew the yellow and blue Z was 100% out of tires, and was not going to make the corner and leave me the room to stay on the road. Two turns earlier he had slid into the Daimler and I knew it was just complete lack of tires. Watching him coming in I had to make a decision fast. I chose the grass, then I saw the wall coming up, and then knowing there was no one behind us, I chose to spin..

At the end of the day, every time I strap in, I am responsible for my car, and the other cars and drivers around me. I try really hard to remember that.. This is really fun! But there is always a level of responsibility.

 

[Taboma]

I must give you credit, you're an extremely smooth and patient driver. You're not forcing it, but ready to capitalize on opportunities.
Thanks again for sharing, enjoying riding along

 

[C Ya]

Andy and Mike it was great meeting you guys this weekend. As a driver it is enjoyable to watch someone master the art of turning faster laps than the competition despite giving up 5-10 MPH in straightaway speed. How did Mike do in the last race with the different set of tires?

I look forward to seeing you guys in August at the Historics.

Chuck

 

[rcmike]

We had an awesome weekend, right up to the last session.

Loaded up the trailer and drove up to Laguna Seca Wednesday evening for an early arrival on Thursday.

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Got into the track and unloaded.. Andy, Roxie and Roxie's sister were on the way to the track, ready for the weekend!

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At noon they started letting the smaller trailers in, the entire paddock would be full.

Friday morning we got out on the track.. Practice and qualifying..

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Nothing like jumping off the Corkscrew..

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We finished Friday qualifying and the Saturday qualifying race in 2nd place.

It was time for the first trophy race Saturday afternoon..

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Hard fought race, the second place finish was an amazing result with the competition..

We would start Sunday's qualifier in second place.. It was my chance to go to school with the fastest guys on the track. Where was I losing time, and could I find a way to make it up?

After the session we talked to a couple drivers and one of them, Troy Ermish, told me that the Goodyear tires we were running at Laguna were good for about 35 laps. That was almost exactly when I lost grip. I was able to hang on for a 3rd place finish, and vital info.. We would switch back to the used Avons for the afternoon race.

Rolled out on the grid, and the car was feeling good with some heat in the tires. We fell to around 7th on the start, but started making moves. As we came to what became the last lap, I was closing on 3rd place, and diving into turn 2, the first hairpin.. As I turned in, the outside axle snapped at the brake backing plate, and the wheel went under the car and launched it.

The good news is the driver is ok. That bad news is the car took a pretty ugly hit. We have started making repairs, and still plan to attend the Historics in August. We have a LOT of work to do.

 

[rcmike]

Andy and Mike it was great meeting you guys this weekend. As a driver it is enjoyable to watch someone master the art of turning faster laps than the competition despite giving up 5-10 MPH in straightaway speed. How did Mike do in the last race with the different set of tires?

I look forward to seeing you guys in August at the Historics.

Chuck

Was great meeting you too! BEAUTIFUL car.

This was my last lap..

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The wheel, brake drum, and axle flange..

 

[poncho]

It's hard to put into words how much I enjoyed reading this thread with my morning coffee. I think the historic racing that's going on around the country is my favorite form of racing today. I've been casually searching for a Ford Cobra project as we have 3 or 4 good tracks within a days drive here in New England.
Good luck with the racing and having a blast doing it.

 

[Taboma]

Damn, things sure got ugly quick, went from smooth and in-control to airborne in an instant !!!
just glad you're OK Mike.

This thread is the best, I've paid almost no attention to any form of auto racing in years, despite being addicted to it in my youth.
Hoping you'll share the repair phase and continue to grace these pages with your most entertaining race reports --- thanks again !!

 

[BasilHayden]

Chuck great meeting you as well.


RDP is indeed a strange/special group of people. I am at Laguna Seca in Northern California hoping to escape without the leftists tossing me in the pokey for my political views and low and behold "Hey are you Basil Hayden from RiverDaves?" How fun was it to meet one of us in this odd location. I actually met 2 lurkers at the races and right now I am debating myself if Chuck is Lurker 1 or 2.


I was just about ready to post pics of Lurker 2 with a shout out but wasnt sure of screen name, but real name is Christian (see now I ask myself, does he go by Chuck?) You have to understand 1) I suck at names, 2) all intros are made to the beautiful noise of Can Am motors or Nascar motors and you can't hear shit. But never the less we connected through RDP and here I am 100's of miles from the river with a fellow RDP'r who enjoys life the same way I do. I just want to say what a beautiful car, I mean way too nice to race and yet he wheels it hard. His last last race I got to the track to watch it run, this Porsche 356 is beautiful, and he finished 5th in his race.

This group of cars was unreal, they are small bore cars ie. less than 2 litre for the most part, but there was some impressive hardware out there. Amongst all the 356's there were also a couple of Maserati Birdcages as well as an assortment of British cars.

As to Mike, what a weekend and so much fun despite the last lap, anyone who has been to this track knows how much of a bucket list it is. For us to bring our car and be able to drive it spiritedly, was just amazing. Even better for the big brother was to see the respect Little Mike gets in the paddock from his competitors, not just from one of the most respected cars at the track, but due to his agressive yet safe driving style. There was a pass for 2nd on a very serious car, the red 2002 in the pics, I saw him put it inside on 4 and wasnt sure how it would work (the track between 4 and 5 was blocked from my view), damn if he wasnt ahead going into 5 and held him off for the rest of the race. Podium finish in 2nd and a trophy!

Entering the last race we knew we were in trouble, we were out of tires and the tire vendor had packed it in earlier. Well old rubber it would be, in fact it was the set we used in the races in Atlanta as well as practice first session here in Laguna Seca. It had to do. Well in the last race on the last complete lap he set his lap record on the very old tires with a 1:44.1, third fastest time of his group. Sad to see it end like this.

But so glad to see it end with Mike walking around the car and not in the ambulance.

We will get it fixed and get Mike back in the car soon, new fiberglass has been found, car is at the frame shop today, wheels are on a ship headed this way...Who needs solar I've got some bills to pay, haha so much fun can't wait to get the car back for the August races.

A few more eye candy shots from the weekend