Where are all the Super Coupe's

[Mark Bailey]

Apparently when you cut the ends of it leaves a little sharp bit that once cut somebody's face.... although I have a full face helmet. Have just rotated them out of harms way to avoid any more comments.

Sounds like you have had a similar experience at Cadwell?

[Al Weyman]

Problems from being chucked to the back of 5 reserves because I only completed 2.5 laps of practice then being allowed to line up on the grid for the warm up lap then flagged off before lining up on the grid and given no refund. Trying to get up that wretched hill from the track or pits in a car that will do 80mph in 1st gear and has a full race clutch but must not do more than 10mph or rev the engine then being given official warning for this that and the other, really not my favourite place to be honest.

[Jamie G]

Originally Posted by Mark Bailey

I also saw Steve Alderton's CRX the other day in Suffolk so he may have been sold.

You're quite right, well spotted. I bought the car off Steve back in February and when you saw it we were going to a Sprint at Bentwaters Park. I also now run in the Dunlop T&R series.

What a spot! Glad someone finally recognised the car - at Lydden this weekend three people identified it as Steve's old car.

[Tim Wilkinson]

Jamie, I saw you heading south on the A12 a couple of weeks ago with it, might have been the same trip?

Was a nice surprise to see it turn up in DTRC. I always thought that the must have been lots of CRXs raced, and it was strange there weren't more still competing.

[MG Racer]

Jamie,

Easy spot for me as it was a car that usually went past me in Steves hands and that wasnt because I was in front of him, usually because he was about to lap me!!!!

So are you going to bring it out at Rockingham on the 25th June. You know you want to.

[Mark Bailey]

Al, I fully understand why you aren't a big fan then! my dad was always having similar slow speed problems with his V8 which was also linked to quite useless steering lock for all those tight paddock turns!

Hi Jamie, You've got yourself a very nice car there and Steve made very good use of it. I assume it may still have some special front hubs on it. Do you know if Steve has hung up his boots?

I've considered the DTRC, how did you fair at Lydden?

And as MG Racer mentioned come out for a play at Rockingham.

[Al Weyman]

Oh I don't mind the track, the tight bits are OK because I hold em all up around there! My later car has a very good lock actually and is the next generation of cars which almost took GM into the 20th century :-). I just always seem to fall foul of officialdom for some unknown reason. I promise I will be on my best behaviour next time I visit and tighten all my wheels up!

What really peed me off I would have been happy to have 30 seconds hold on the grid or start from the pitlane or whatever but oh no, thats yer lot son off you go much to the disappointment of the crowd if the amount of people that came over to me afterwards was anything to go by and who for some reason always seem to like my old tanks.

[Jamie G]

Well, I didn't realise my little car was so well known!

I don't know if Steve has given up completely, he was certainly up for selling off all his stuff (trailer etc) when we bought the car. He did mention he was concentrating on bikes but that may just have been from the business side of it.

The car has indeed got strange hubs on it, we had to do some work to the fronts a few weeks back but failed to identify exactly what they might be.

The DTRC races were brilliant fun, I was very concerned that I would just have my mirrors full all day and keep balking people, but that wasn't a concern as much as I thought. The car is underpowered for the series (the regs permit plenty of mods) but handles very nicely as you might expect. I am doing some basic mods to up the bhp, mainly ones that weren't allowed when it was a class racing car. I would urge anyone looking to get into clubman racing to try DTRC, I got into it chatting to someone at a Borough 19 sprint.

I wasn't as far off the pace as I expected to be and I found I could match some of the better cars in the twisty bits but was slow accelerating away. I did come last in the longer race but not by much...

I would love to try the car against similar machines to see how close we are, DTRC is a little decieving for a car in standard trim.

So what is on at Rockingham on 25th???

[Al Weyman]

Here is the details for Rockingham http://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84123

[Mark Bailey]

Al, Not wishing to have a go at officials (they do a good job) there are times that you just wish they would take a more pragmatic approach to things. The racer and spectators want to see cars on circuit, not on the trailer. Its just so frustrating at times. In regard to people liking 'old/muscle' racers like yours I think its all to do with the V8. The sound is evocative (depsite further noise limits) and the power/handling make them exciting to watch. I was helping at a Sports GT race at Donington in the late 90's and to hear 34 V8/V12's powering away was an awesome sound.

Jamie, I had a chat to Steve a little while back and I think he wanted a break, also know he was putting his business first. He was always a very quick and also fair racer like MG Racer mentioned.

All I know is that Simon Baker who owned the car prior to Steve had Ali hubs made to save weight, I suspect they are one offs. If you don't know the discs on crx challenge cars are actually Citroen with a redrilled stud pattern. Callipers are the m16 Ford part with a central spacer. Apparently at the time they were easier to maintain but are now a bit of a pain.

I'm tempted by that series but was a little put of by the more powerful cars. I'll watch to see how you get on! I'm not expecting to win but just have a race against similar cars.

I see Al has placed a link, hope to see you there, its a bargain after all

[Al Weyman]

Have you had a look at the rules for the CTRCC Pre 93's (or have we mentioned that, if so sorry?). I am sure they would allow the CRX in and their rules are far more strict than the DTRC which to be honest is fun but there is some quick stuff out there.

[Jamie G]

I have seen the pre-93 Touring Car regs, they were at Lydden on Sunday. I am tempted to enter but one thing at a time!

Rockingham looks tempting but it's a hell of a slog from me, I'm trying to persuade my mechanic (dad) to do it but I figure it's probably early sign-on and that means a really early start. I'll see what my pit crew says.

Thanks for the info on the hubs, we're both a little bit baffled as to what they are but that seems to elucidate perfectly...

What's running at Rockingham? Anything comparable to my 'Rex?

[Mark Bailey]

Al, I've had a chat about the Pre 93 regs and apart from putting the glass back in the rear screen and finding some rear interior I'm pretty much ready. I'm only picking the odd race here and there at the moment so considering it for next season.

Jamie, There will be my CRX, Colins 216 GTI, MG Racers MGF, a civic and Al Charging past us in the straight bits. I'm sure there are others.

Provisionaly Sign on at 08.30, Scrutineering 09.30, Qualifying 10.15 and races at 11.15 and 14.25. I'm sure your dad won't mind being dragged up early ;-)

[Matt Speakman]

Originally Posted by Mark Bailey

finding some rear interior

Mark,

To what extent is rear interior required?

& getting back to list 1a/1b tyres....are slicks allowed?

Matt

[Tim Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by Matt Speakman

Mark,

To what extent is rear interior required?

& getting back to list 1a/1b tyres....are slicks allowed?

Matt

No, slicks won't be allowed.

List 1a and 1b are different grades of road tyres - one has the trackday-oriented tyres such as the Yoko AO48s, Toyo R88s etc, the other has more durable everyday tyres such as Toyo Proxes. The full lists are in the blue book.

I'd be keen to know what rear interior is required also - I threw away everything to the rear of the doors - the regs say you had to keep dashboard and door trim (and has a list of what can be removed such as underfelt, headling, boot trim etc), no mention of rear trim on 3-door cars, but I suppose if the regs don't say you can remove it then it's a no-no......
Something to check with Stacy. It would be a pain to have to hunt for more rear cards, as they're not that common and the rest of the car is to pre-93 regs.

[COLIN STUBBS]

if you read the pre 93 regs closely and compare them to the ctcrc championships for older cars you dont need rear interior trims fitted if its not actually a door. i originally rebuilt my 216gti for the pre 90 series,before it was changed to 93,and spent a whole day removing the cage to fit the rear cards.then i was informed that,although the 5 door was pre 90 the 3 door wasnt marketed in the uk till march 90 and that was that!! now the regs have changed it looks so much better and should be the ideal place for 216gtis/tomcats and crxs.im sure stacey will clarify this--where are you mate??

[Tim Wilkinson]

That's what I thought too, Colin - and was the reason i threw the rear interior panel trim away. All I have left is the front door cards and the dash (currently minus a lot of air fans, switches, and the drop-down glove-box).

Then I realised that the rear interior panel trim isn't mentioned in the regs in the bits you can remove, and as the club says that if it doesn't say you can do it then work on the principle that you can't....

I will query it before I enter, but as that's a couple of months off I haven't got round to it. I bugged Stacy enough about wheel diameters, then the car broke again, so I feel guilty enough already!

[Al Weyman]

I just re read the interior trim rules and yes Colin it appears you are quite right and there seems no requirement for the rear trim in a coupe which is different to the rules for the pre 74 which state it must be fitted. Strange this as I kind of assumed they would follow through although I do agree with the ruling that they are not required because I had a lot of problems fabricating because of the roll cage mounting points on the rear arch, not really practical.

Stacy is cool Teej I'm sure he will not mind.

[COLIN STUBBS]

lots of ctcrc regs are brought forward from the original pre57 cars when the club started in the mid 70s,and get tagged on to each new championship.shows what a good job pete deffee and the original cast did at the time,as they have prooved to be worthy of maintaining good,cost effective and close racing over the years..what i cant understand about pre93 is;where are all the pre 93 cars? looking at the results,if it wasnt for the production bms and a few pre83 cars there wouldnt be many pukka pre93 cars.what about the astras/golfs/fiestas/peugeots/etc,and why barr the cozzies? it should be a bloody good series and the ctcrc are without doubt the best club in uk motor sport or are lots of us planning to have a go next year???????

[Al Weyman]

I would maybe have entered my IROC in pre 93 but unfortunately I would have to strap on 120 to 150kgs (despite being all steel body and glass) and after all the time and money getting it light I don't want to do that which is a shame as I think it would be a very strong class A runner. Also the cars have a serious fault that I have rectified by fitting an aftermarket torque arm that is SCCA santioned but would have to seek permission to run the piece (which may be granted who knows) oh and I have converted to coil overs now without any extra links though as the original 'Semi McPhearson Strut' arrangement is a bit of a joke.

Thats the trouble with some of these championships which is why I was banging on about allowing selective mods on different model, without this you end up with one or two models (current the Pug) that because of the way they left the factory have it all going for them. I think my car is probably more suited to pre 93 and from my lap times I could be up there with David Howard but I am currently having to run with the hot rods and Group A Cossies in Classic Thunder.

[COLIN STUBBS]

suppose its easy to cheat with a cozzie but there must be a way of keeping the power and costs down, and it would look more like a proper early 90s grid with em in! suppose if the cozzies did all the winning then the jag,sdi and capri boys wouldnt enter? or is it the fact that some of the older cars are so bloody quick thats keeping the newer cars away!

[Mark Bailey]

I've got a download of the very early regs that stated you needed the rear interior to be fitted. However I think this rule has been relaxed having read the latest version on the site. Which is good as as people have said so much of the rear interior has been skipped.

[Al Weyman]

or is it the fact that some of the older cars are so bloody quick thats keeping the newer cars away!

That is a good point Colin and one of the reasons I built the IROC (ModProds) which ceased production in 92 but was a current model when I first started it as I just wanted to get some fresh looking cars out here. Also why I was gutted that the then committee and membership out voted me on allowing John Warren to enter a Scorpio Cosworth V6 because he wanted to put a manual gearbox in, that really peed me off and I think caused model stagnation as that may have socked it to the SDI's especially with John behind the project.

Its been hard work getting there with my late model and I am still on the case and as I say certain problems must be addressed (the standard torque arm mounts on the gearbox and snaps the tail housing off for example, and under heavy braking lifts the back axle in the air!) but if that then means they are outside the regs what happens then, back to the Mk 1 Escorts and SDi's, silly is'nt it?

[COLIN STUBBS]

be nice to get our cars out in one series. i want to stick to one championship next season but only if theres a few more cars like ours running. best if we all keep talking...........................

[Matt Speakman]

Originally Posted by COLIN STUBBS

be nice to get our cars out in one series. i want to stick to one championship next season but only if theres a few more cars like ours running. best if we all keep talking...........................

...& so the talking stopped!!!

Colin, from what I can see there are 2 (?) choices for the 216 Gti - Tin tops or Pre-93. Personally I'd prefer Pre-93 as it visits Thruxton - a circuit I lived a couple of miles away from & my Gti's only a couple of miles away - & other than my ards test I've never been round it! All's we need is a few more Gti's, some CRX, etc. Any other takers?