I had a rather lengthy dissertation almost complete with some basic sketches and basic thoughts on the layout of the new car...... Unfortunately my wife deleted it when she rebooted my computer.
As I pondered recomposing it, I decided that I was probably wasting my time on this deal because I'm sure that Mr.Ashmore, who I do not, personally, know but consider a very clever fellow, and Mr. Wittine, who I do know from my time in the Greenwood "Stars and Stripes" Corvette shop, are severely strapped with the mandates of salvaging the original chassis and enclosed wheels.
I will, however, submit a few features of my sketches and the sketches which I was able to save.
* I would start with my basic Kurtis 500 style roadster body and space frame for the "real racers". I would also add a NOVI fin because they are so damn cool.
* I would add a front single element, tuning plane above the nose and a rear single element, tuning plane at the top rear edge of my Novi fin for the "wing fans" and the current drivers who are unable to drive without aero "stick-tion"
* I would add 4 to 6 inch thick foamed aluminum or honeycomb "crash panels" on either side of the cockpit area and a dragster style roll cage for the "safety paranoids". It is quite possible to build the nose with "crash" absorbing capability and there is plenty of room inside the tail for a rear impact absorbing element
* I would, drastically, cut the weight and volume of the fuel load to 25 to 30 gallons. This would be done by going from the current 355 engine down to 305 and switching from methanol to gasoline fuel. The cars would have to run 100 miles nonstop.
* I am undecided on wheel sizes. The current 14"rear/10" front are probably okay but I would also think about something like 10" rears and 8" fronts. What ever the wheels, the tires need to be upgraded from the sprint car quality Hoosiers to a Speedway quality radial. If these guys ever want to move to any pro level series, they need to learn how to drive on radial tires.
* Enclosed wheels are a "no sale". These cars are either open wheels or they are not..... nothing in between. If they are open wheels nothing should extend beyond the inside edges of the tires.
*Each individual race should be 100 miles(not 100 laps). An event should be 300 miles. This could be done with three 100 mile races or a single 300 mile race with pitstops. 100 miles is not a pro level race and most people will not travel very far for a 45 minute feature.
Below are the sketches for your critique.. so BLAST AWAY!:eek:
:wink
