I figure it’s about time to start a build log for my second build. Not because I have all kinds of progress to document, just the opposite. I have a pile of parts and need to get focused on moving forward. It seems to be traditional to introduce yourself in build log post #1, so here goes.
I am a mechanical engineer. Make that a soon to retire mechanical engineer. I’ve always been an engineer. Any of you that have seen Dilbert in The Knack know what I mean. My build will have none of that engineering stuff. No FEA, no suspension design programs and no CAD unless you mean Cardboard Aided Design. Goat topics will be tolerated but if it gets out of hand I will say the “B” word to you.
I don’t like reading build logs that don’t have pictures so I will post pictures after I type awhile. Think of it like commercials. This is me taking my granddaughter for a ride.
Attachment: Iphone 183.JPG
My first memory of racing was 1965, listening to something called the Indy 500 on the radio. There was this guy named Jim Clark who was a Scot in the race. My grandmother’s family was from there so I decided that he was my guy. I was happy when he won and concluded that Lotuses must be the best cars around. My heroes became Clark, Bruce McLaren (he built his own cars so he must be cool) and Gus from the Model Garage. As I grew up I read racing books and racing magazines. My family moved to a town just south of Watkins Glen so it wasn’t long before I pestered my way into a trip to the Can Am- 6 Hours weekend in 1970. I had all of the cars and all of the drivers memorized. There were Ferrari 512s, Porsche 917s, McLarens and Jim Hall had the vacuum cleaner car. This is a picture I took of the old pits. They built the new pits the following winter.
Attachment: 1970 Can Am.jpg
Soon there was a driver’s license. The day after I got it I drove in an SCCA TDS rally. Since I wasn’t 18 I couldn’t autocross, race or work most jobs at the track but I could do Timing & Scoring. From ’72 until the final GP in ’80 I could usually be found in the Timing Tower or roaming the track. I bought a used Formula Vee in ’78 which helped me find out that even though I was a way better driver than everyone on the road there were people on the track that had real talent. I also learned that even the cheap classes are expensive.
After that life happened. Wife, kids, job, house, all of the usual things that take time and money. I still managed to have interesting cars, MGB, MGA, 2 RX7s, a Miata, Beetles and a Mini, but except for the ’79 RX7 none got autocrossed because there was too much to do. When my son turned 16 I decided that Kart racing would be a good father-son thing to do. We did one season together then part way through the second season he decided that working part time to make money was better than racing so I was on my own.
Attachment: Cars n Karts.jpg
After nine seasons of Karting with four track championships it was time to make a decision. My engine builder was pestering me to go national saying I’d done everything at the two local tracks and it was time to move up. I was too much of a casual racer to go national since I’d raced a number of national drivers at my track and knew I didn’t have the killer instinct. Plus I didn’t want to spent the big dollars those guys did. I was also getting too old to do long distance running and Karting both. The beating I took in the kart would force me to miss a few days of training after each race. The kart stuff was sold and I concentrated on beating the old guys at running instead.
I still had a couple of items that needed to be checked off the list. I always wanted to build a car. Sure, I taken cars completely apart and put them back together but never started with an empty spot on the floor and started building. Also I watched The Prisoner as a teen and saw Lotus 7s at the Glen. I had to have one of those. I bought The Book and Keith Tanner’s book and joined LocostNA. Now I’ve checked that off the list, what to do next? You saw the title so you already know I have an idea.
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).. I'm approaching 50 and am finding fewer and fewer 'old guys' in my age category- I think many of them switch to bicycling.. Are you still running? I'm finding it's getting harder each year, and my body gets downright pissed at me if I go over 30 miles a week- and as you stated, the recovery takes longer...
