In November of 2008 I decided to change the Stinger clone to a race car only. After trying to have a car for street, autocross and track I realized it would be too much of a compromise so, I began modifying the car to meet SCCA E Production legal race specs.

Pictures from events can be viewed at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/norrisrichard054

Build to SCCA legal EP (and DP vintage) race car.

ROLL CAGE

A very important area of bringing the car up to race specs was the roll cage.

I had installed an approved roll bar for time trials and hill climbs but that would not pass tech for real racing so, I had David Clemens install one of his custom eight point roll cages.

After removing the bolt in roll bar we hauled the car down to David’s shop. David had studied the GCR (SCCA rulebook) and after agreeing on what he was going to do we left the car there.

One of the things I wanted was a design that would be easy to get in and out of so we went with the X design for the door bars. On the drivers side the bars protrude into the door cavity to within a fraction of the outer skin which required the inside panel be cut out . This required an alternate method of opening the door from inside . A simple pull wire did the trick .

The passenger side bars are straight and do not require any door modification .

All the tubing is 1 1/2" DOM .095" wall chrome moly which meets the criteria set fourth in the GCR for a car weighing 1500-2500 pounds.

Gussets were added at critical points as well as reinforced mounting points . We were able to use the mounting points from the old roll bar for the main hoop and diagonal bar.

The down tube and forward tube mounting points can be seen here . The knee bar provides a solid point to mount the steering shaft Heim support.

The rules also require a window net . I had installed one for time trials but, it did not meet the rules which say it has to be attached to the roll cage . I reused some of the attachment hardware and fabricated some attachment points for the lower straps . I used a spring loaded rod for the top of the net. It requires a simple push forward on the release tab and it falls down.

Next the roll cage has to have padding at strategic points to protect the driver. Also it has to be the SFI 45.1 approved dense foam . I used the kind that has an adhesive strip inside but, it will not hold itself in position so I used some good quality tie wraps to hold it on. I squeezed it down tight with some wood clamps then attached the wire ties.

The installation of the roll cage required a new rear view mirror . I chose one from the stock car catalog that attaches to the cage tubing. After the first event I realized the stock side mirror was useless so again I raided the stock car catalog for a spot mirror that also attaches to the cage tubing. In my case I had to reshape the bracket to fit the angle of my down tube . It works very well.

FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM

To be legal in SCCA racing I had to do away with the hand held fire extinguisher and install an on board fire system.   I chose to go with the ESS water foam setup which is user rechargeable. The bottle has no pressure on it until you pull the T handle which pierces a CO2 cartridge and provides pressure.

I chose the 5 liter kit with four nozzles. It weighs just over 10 pounds full. It comes from the factory full and sealed and meets the SFI 38.1 spec.

I went with the recommendation of one nozzle at the fuel cell , one aimed at the driver and two in the engine bay. All tubing and fittings in the kit are aluminum but, in my case I ran out of aluminum tubing and had to fabricate a short piece out of steel brake line for the nozzle aimed at me. Of course I had to add some other fittings to make it fit my design. I used bulkhead fittings to keep the cockpit sealed from any fire . Also I added several pieces of   slit rubber tubing over the soft aluminum tubing in critical areas to protect it from damage.

The kit is very good quality and is an easy install.

I put the emergency pull handle in the middle of the dash with the required stickers for emergency personnel .

FUEL SYSTEM

The car already had a fuel cell but, I wanted to add dual pickups and pumps . This was partly an attempt to make sure the fuel delivery system was not responsible for the intermittent turn cut out problem that had plagued me for a long time. This part, the cell was one of the last previous owner items that I had not really checked. Although I had removed the face plate to add a fuel gauge pickup and check the condition of the foam I had never removed any of it. It was in good shape but, I decided since I was doing all this other work I would replace the foam and check inside the cell. When I pulled the original pick up hose out of the foam I saw a frayed area on the side. After closer inspection I found my cut out problem . About 2" below the foam was a hole in the pick up hose! That was it!

I have replaced all that with new face plate, new foam, hoses,  pick up feet and two new Holley Red pumps with the required plumbing. Problem solved.

Also, to be within spec, I had to add a fuel sampling valve inline after the fuel pumps.

At the rear in the engine compartment all the stock steel fuel lines have been replaced with rubber hose and AN fittings .

I was told at one time that steel lines will not withstand the rigors of racing. Well, during the double drivers’ school that was proven again by me. Luckily the fuel leaks were spotted both times in the pits and not on the track. The short steel lines to the secondary's broke at the flare and no amount of tightening will stop it from leaking. We used some rubber hose to make a bypass of sorts and completed the driver's school.

I used a modified fuel distribution block for the carbs and the fuel pressure gauge. I had a regulator on it before when I was trying to eliminate the cutout problem but did not reinstall it. The Holley pumps are internally regulated at 7 PSI.

I replaced the fuel inlet fittings at the carbs with an AN adapter and the required fittings to route the hoses from the fuel distribution block .

TRANSAXLE

I changed out my 3:89 posi for a 3:55 posi . I did this because of the long straights at Road Atlanta and Roebling Road. It’s hard to beat a 3:55 gear for all around performance, at least in my car . Also, I installed a lightened flywheel with a four puck clutch disc. I  originally had a six puck disc for street/track use. The four puck is lighter.

ENGINE

After the double drivers’ school and the severe flogging the engine underwent for four days I decided to do an engine inspection.

Engine tear down and inspection revealed some things. Several of the valve spring keepers which were stock had cracks in them . None failed but were on the verge . I replaced them with some high performance steel pieces (11/32 small block Chevy) along with the valve springs. I was using stock small block springs but several did not measure up to the required pressure at full lift when checked. I replaced them with a set of Lunati 110# springs .

I pulled the rod bearings out and upon inspection I decided they needed replacing just in case. The crank really needs to be cleaned up next teardown.

Another item to inspect is the oil baffle under the top cover . It turns out I had one of the thinner ones and it had stress cracks at the corners where the louvers are punched out. These sharp corners are where the cracks begin and will cause the sheet metal to come in contact with the crank and all kinds of bad things happen then.

I replaced it with another one from my stock which was thicker and for extra insurance I added a radius at the corners using a Dremel tool and a burr .

All else inside looked good.

The heads however showed signs of gasket pound in and the pistons kissing the head in the step area. I increased the head gasket thickness and the thickness of the jug gasket to get more squish clearance.

While I had the heads off I had Stinger Motorsports mill them , install big tube exhaust stacks with mating flanges and do some mild porting. Compression is now around 10.5 to 1.

I had been using a set of Clarks Ultimate headers to which I could attach mufflers when required, but now that I had the bigger exhaust stacks  I had to modify the inlet flanges to work with the larger stacks. I welded on some VW individual 1 1/2" flanges and used the VW gaskets. Later, I changed to a set of long stepped tube headers built by Dennis LeForge in Arizona. The design of these headers made it impossible to run the mufflers I had been using as they exit back near the rear grille. Since a lot of tracks require mufflers I went to a set of 5" multi disc Supertrapps .  They have proven adequate so far and don’t sound too wimpy . A stinger pipe is in the works though for later.

Since I upped the compression I decided to increase the crankcase venting . I did this by adding another stock type vent on the left side of the top cover. It vents to a puke bottle like the one on the right side.

The carbs are bored 1 1/8" and have side jet modifications with tall vent tubes. Also I learned the hard way to wire the top ends together to further prevent one backing out.

That very thing happened to me at the Walter Mitty Challenge and jammed one of the primary carbs part ways open. I finished the last two laps that way using the brakes and not shifting. Fun!

As most know, when you run the engine hard it will leak oil out the filler cap. There have been many fixes for this but, somewhere I read about using an expanding stopper plug found in the plumbing section of the local hardware store . Well, here it is! That is what I am using but, I discovered you have to seal up the center bolt or it too will leak. To keep the wing nut from coming off I deformed the threads at the top. It works.

TOW RINGS

Another rule demand is that each car has a 2" minimum diameter tow eye or ring on both ends of the car clearly marked  . After pilfering my "junque stash" I found some 2" rings from my old tie down straps that filled the bill. A piece of tape keeps them from beating the paint up .

WHEELS & TIRES

My usual setup for wheels and tires are the 15" Bassett stock car rims with Hoosier DOT radial racing tires. In some vintage classes you have to run what was used back in the day as it were. You can go up one size but, I didn’t want 14" wheels.

For this purpose I procured a set of Diamond light weight steel stock car wheels in the 13" x 7" size with a 3 ¾" offset. They are really light too. Tires are limited also so, a set of Hoosier bias ply Street TD’s in a P205-60D x 13 are the recommended size and type. I may try some Toyo Proxes 888 radials which are legal with some vintage organizations. I am rapidly acquiring a lot of tires!

After racing with the Hoosier R6’S the, changing to the old style bias ply’s is a hoot. After several hot laps they get greasy! You learn to be smooth!

SEAT BELTS & HEAD GEAR

This is another area I needed to change. One set of my racing belts was out of date. I could have sent them in for re-certification but, I wanted to go to a six point harness.

I decided on a set of FIA certified 3" six point belts made by Willans which are made in England. They are the Club Vee6 model. They have a vee type crotch belt which requires two mount points making the six point harness. Also, they have the more modern type latch which is easier to latch and faster to unlatch in an emergency.

They are good through 2013 and can be re-certified after that. They also have the central cam lock feature which I have grown to like. They are a very well made quality product.

Another added expense is the HANS or head and neck safety device. Most racing organizations including vintage are now mandating the use of them. There are a lot more choices in the market now and my choice is the product called the Defender G70 . It looks a lot like the usual HANS we are used to seeing but, has some features I like such as quick release helmet tethers among others at no extra cost. Also it is less money overall but, is still certified by the FIA 38.1 same as the other ones. It comes with a very nice padded case too.

This also required me to purchase a new helmet as mine is an open face vintage style and cannot be used with a HANS device. I opted for a Bell Sport full face with large eye port . It has the anchor points for a HANS built in as do most new helmets. It is a very light weight unit too.

TRANSPONDER

The electronic time keeper is used by most tracks and they usually have them to rent. I have done this but, I decided if I’m going to do this racing thing I need one of my own permanently mounted. I purchased an AMB direct powered transponder . Following the instructions I mounted it inside the outlet duct for my front mounted oil cooler. It has a clear view of the track and is out of harms way. It works as advertised and I never have to worry about it as it's on when the main battery switch is on.

HEADLIGHTS

Originally I had full lights because the car was street legal. Now that it has become a race car the head lights were removed but, to keep it looking as much like a real Corvair as I could I used the decals that look like head lights . Actually, some vintage organizations require headlights or something that looks like them. If you have real head lights you have to tape them up to prevent glass from flying around if you have an incident.

My answer to all that is some aluminum head light covers which a friend of mine made for me. I tried these when I had real head lights and held them in place with some Velcro tabs. Now that I have flat sheet metal in place of lights I use three small cotter pins to hold each cover on. Makes them easy to remove and clean the bugs off.

LID STAND

When you have a car with two lids, trunk and engine made out of fiberglass or carbon fiber it is always a hassle as to where to hang them when at the track and both lids must be removed. My solution to this problem is a wooden rack that that will hold both lids, comes apart /goes together with no tools, stores flat and was easily built from the scrap wood pile .

This one is version 2.0 as the original only held one lid and it got run over by a golf cart and broken by a high official at the Mitty .

DISC BRAKE CONVERSION

I decided to convert to disc brakes up front after the NECC track event at BeaveRun.

Originally, I had drums all around with a set of the hard to find aluminum drums on the front. I used a set of Carbotec shoes and I ventilated the backing plates . This arrangement worked well up until the last track event at BeaveRun. Since David Clemens car was not ready he asked to co-drive mine. This ended up making us have back to back runs with no long enough cool down time for the brakes. It didn’t take long for problems to show up. We pulled the drums to inspect them and found one side was hot spotted and cracked on the cast iron liner. As luck (for us not Chuck!) would have it, Chuck Sadek had a set of aluminum drums in his trailer one of which he graciously loaned us. This allowed us to get our timed runs in but, in the process we did the same thing to his drum. I offered to give the good drum to him for the one we destroyed.

After we got back home and I tore into the brakes to find the problem I discovered the other "good" drum was trash also .

I did find that the forward shoe on the right side was cocked and worn crooked and down to the metal backing on the side but not contacting the drum.

I called Carbotec to get a more heat resistant better shoe compound only to find out what I had was the best they offer in a shoe. The better stuff was for disc pads only.

My dilemma now was the upcoming NECC track event at Roebling roads and I needed brakes!

I decided, after reading that most vintage organizations will allow the Corvair to run front disc brakes using what was available up to 1972 that, I would convert. I installed a kit from Stinger Motorsports  which uses a large oddball GM caliper with a 2 ½" single piston and a 10.5" disc.  As I found out there are no racing replacement parts for this setup but, I can say the combination works very well .

Another mod you have to make with any of the disc brake kits I have used is to have the stock hub O.D. machined down to fit inside the brake rotor hat section. I had the local garage do it on their brake lathe.

Also, I was worried that the large caliper would not clear my vintage 13" wheels but, to my delight, the Diamond wheel is made differently than a stock wheel and it cleared the caliper.

One caveat here which, is noted in the instructions is that if your car is lowered there can be interference between the caliper and the upper A arm when the wheel is turned to full lock.

Being as how my car is set up to race it is lowered and the caliper hit the A arm. The cure was to notch the lower edge of the A arm which is what I did. This is the same problem with the Clarks disc brake kit, one of which I tried on my V8 Vair. This problem could have been eliminated by clocking the caliper a little more toward the three o’clock position. The bracket can be reversed to the rear but I didn’t see that as an option for me.

I do however have another setup I will use and the current disc system will go on my 67 convertible.

When you convert to a disc/drum system there are several components that need to be changed or added. The master cylinder needs to be replaced with one designed for the disc/drum system. It will have a larger front reservoir for the discs. I found one that looks like a stock cast iron unit but is aluminum which is considerably lighter. Another important item here is to adjust the pedal push rod. I adjusted mine to have no play between the rod and piston.

Another suggested item for my system which has an adjustable balance valve in the rear line is a ten pound residual valve in the rear line. I mounted mine under the master cylinder. The idea here is to maintain system pressure from the shoes to the master cylinder, eliminating a spongy pedal.

The last item is a metering valve which goes in the front line . This valve will prevent excessive front braking and allow the drums to engage first. A combination valve usually does this on a stock disc/drum system but, I went with the recommendations from the Master Power Brake tech page. It all works very well. I mounted the metering valve under the dash so I could keep the front stock lines intact.

There are still some vintage organizations that do not allow discs on a Corvair so, for that I am still working on a racing drum brake setup. I’ll have more on that later.

VIDEO IN CAR SYSTEM

I have been trying various video systems. My first was my digital tape drive video camera mounted to the roll bar. It did not like the amount of vibration and produced a blurry picture.

Now that I have a cage installed I purchased a Chase Cam video system. It uses the small "lipstick" camera and a solid state recording medium. I didn’t have it set up in time for the Mitty so I picked up one of the Go Pro Hero cameras with a 180 degree lens. It runs on batteries and also uses an SD card to record on. It works well but, the audio quality is not good for a race car. I used it to record both my Mitty races.

DRIVERS SCHOOL:

Due to the decision by several of us Corvair drivers to participate in the Walter Mitty Challenge HSR vintage event, I needed to acquire a minimum of a novice competition permit from a recognized school. Three of us Corvair racers attended the Double Drivers School put on by the Buccaneer Region of SCCA in Feb. 12 thru 15, 2009 at the Roebling Road Raceway located in Bloomingdale, west of Savannah, GA.

I had always wanted to attend a school so now was my chance. The school consisted of four very busy days of class room instruction and twenty minute track sessions with a five lap sprint race at the end of the day on Saturday and Sunday. I tallied up 6.5 hours of track time. It was intense and I learned a lot more than I realized. The organization and the instructors were top notch. Also it would have been really difficult without the help of a bunch of other Corvair guys and gals that showed up to help. It was tiring but very enjoyable.

During this time I had to get my car re-inspected and certified for competition and a new log book issued because I now had to meet new specs. It passed with no problems.

As I have said before, it helps if you have a clean and neat appearing car!

THE WALTER MITTY CHALLENGE:

This is an annual event put on by the HSR or Historic Sportscar Racing Ltd. This is a vintage racing organization and they have been doing this for 32 years. It took place April 30-May 3, 2009 at the fabled 2.5 mile Road Atlanta track.

Sometime back during the cold winter months several Corvair racers got to tossing this idea around of running the Mitty. I was certainly interested but had no clue as to what I needed to do to make it happen.

After many emails, phone calls and research it came down to two things.

The car had to meet SCCA specs as set fourth in the GCR and you had to have a license from a recognized school or organization.

Getting the car up to spec was accomplished in time (and money!) then, attending the driver’s school (more money!) and getting my ticket to race was also accomplished.

Below is my daily report of our racing adventure.

As one of the sponsors, Grassroots Motorsports Magazine had a nice blurb about the Corvairs in attendance in their article on the Mitty. The Sunoco Corvair was pictured.

The sister publication to Grassroots is Classic Motorsports Magazine which had a feature article on the Doug Roe early model Corvair now owned by Warren LeVeque. It is arguably the most historic Corvair out there. Warren raced it at the Mitty, a very appropriate venue.

ROEBLING ROAD NECC TIME TRIAL:

This was the track event put on in conjunction with the annual Corvair Convention taking place in Jacksonville FL.

I decided not to go to the convention this year but, I was not going to miss an opportunity to run once more at the track I did my school at and have the most time on.