October 22, 2012

Monza at Thunderhill

Andy's Monza dives into "The Cyclone" turn at Thunderhill Raceway Park, CA.
This past weekend was the Nor Cal SAAC Fall Classic 2012 Open Track at Thunderhill Raceway Park, The event was hosted by the Shelby American Automobile Club on Saturday and Sunday, October 20-12, 2012.

Andy had his Monza at the the event and a great time. "The Monza ran like a monster," as he put it. He and his friend, a professional driver, both took turns piloting Andy's '70s era tube-frame road racer. They had it "blasting around the track" and wore out the tires. According to Andy, "The Sting Rays and Jags and (Cobras) were so far behing we took the Monza out of gear and coasted to the line. We both had big smiles on our faces."

A couple of issues with the car were ironed out. They discovered the cause of a mysterious shaking in the steering. Lap after lap, the lug nuts came loose and had to be re-torqued. Andy explained, "I had the centers of my BBS wheels powder coated a while back. The guy didn't take off the old coating and he coated the back of the rim where it butts up to the hub. The coating would get hot and start melting causing the lugs to loosen up." And added, "This would happen after about a lap." Also, the track bar on the rear axle needed to be refitted so the back end of the car could be lowered 2 inches, which helped improve handling.

There are still a few other items on the car's to-do list as Andy continues his restorative efforts with his Chevrolet Monza silhouette racecar, which has come a long way in the last year.

October 21, 2012

Chevrolet Monza Road Racer

Thomas' Monza at Laguna-Seca track day Nov 25, 2011
This 1975 Chevrolet Monza silhouette bodied tube-frame road racer belongs to Andy Thomas. He lives in California and has owned the car since 2009. He has invested time, money, and plenty of joy into returning the car to its former state as a high-powered V8 Monza road racing machine.

It is more likely the car was built for SCCA Trans-Am racing, given that it has a Trans-Am bulkhead. A protective firewall with a window port behind the front seats separates driver from fuel cell. It didn't come with a log book or sales records, but is believed to been built by a well known road racer from Oregon in 1980.

The history of this chassis and its past ownership is a little fuzzy.  Andy purchased the car from Richard Stice through Gary Eichman. Stice was owner of Ricks Hot Rods in Oregon, but only drove it on the street to local car shows. Puttering around town in a '70s muscle car with wide slicks and no power steering was probably a bit challenging.

Purportedly, the car was built by a well known racer in northern Oregon who built his own cars. The last name is thought to be St. John, but has not yet been confirmed. According to Thomas, "He made the chassis, roll cage etc. For some reason he never raced it." The car was placed in storage for a few decades before Stice got it.

Thomas continues to make restorative improvements to his Monza like a new Borg Warner Super T-10 4-speed transmission. More recently a stack type fuel injection system was added.

So far, Andy's Monza has seen on open track days with the possibly for other future events. He'd love to see a racing legend drive his beastly Monza, perhaps Greg Pickett, Willy T. Ribbs or maybe Tony Adamowicz.

February 28, 2012

New Race Track! The Ridge Motorsports Park

New track is almost complete and ready for 2012 season.
Who says you can't go racing in this economy? Well, developers of The Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Mason County, WA seem to think so.

The new 2.5 mile (counter-clockwise) road racing circuit is located just about 25 miles Northwest of Olympia, WA. It would only be about 10 miles if not for Puget Sound being in the way.  It is an easy drive or tow from Seattle –Tacoma, Portland and Vancouver, B.C. The 170-acre property is in a beautiful remote rural “park like” setting with spectacular views of Mt. Rainer and the Olympic Mountains. Rental garages, control buildings, fuel sales, quality food services, camping and other amenities will be added later this year.

The Ridge Motorsports Park track includes a 16-turn, 2.47 mile road course that is 40 feet wide with an elevation change of over 300 feet. The Ridge Complex drops 60 feet in less than 300 feet. It will has a minimum of 50 feet of runoff in most areas, averaging 100 with some exceeding 300. It is a five-year ongoing project that will see continuing progress with amenities.

Steve Crawford, who designed Thunderhill Raceway Park, in Willows California, designed it. The signature Ridge Complex along with the Leemer Complex will keep drivers wanting more. Add to that the Carousel (turn 6) and the down hill turns that lead to the blind turn in to turn 10 and you are going to be grinning from ear to ear.

Pending certification, NW Region SCCA will host their inaugural race on this track on April 14-15, 2012.

BMW M3 in-car: video
Read more at: www.ridgemotorsportspark.com

February 27, 2012

Group 44 Dodge Dart - Rags to Riches

The very first SCCA Trans-Am race was won by Bob Tullius in Group 44's Dodge Dart.
More about Group 44's Dart at: Tony Adamowicz's website

Out-cornering the Ford Mustang despite less horsepower (and body roll) the Dodge
Dart won the first SCCA Trans-Am race at Virginia Int'l Raceway in 1966.