Rollbar Specification Change for Wakefield and Nationals

[NASSTY]

Originally Posted by Wazza

Only owned the race car a short time,and on only the third lap into a two day race meeting at Queensland Raceway.... and BANG...I managed to split the block.....yes....AGAIN.


Regards,
Warren.

Bugger! Is anything salvagable?

[Wazza]

Originally Posted by NASSTY

Bugger! Is anything salvagable?

Some of the spark plugs seemed o.k. !!!!

The heads...Carby, Inlet manifold...not much else was kept.

Not all of it was stuffed, but,
The old block was machined to 40 thou, so consequently the pistons were too big for another block, unless I machined them to the limit...and they were pretty standard pistons, standard small I beams etc. etc.
Once it was decided to Use new forged Arias, H Beams, the rest just "sort of" followed.

Old engine had hydraulic Lifters....decided to go Solid Lifters.
I know the new cam, because it's the same specs and brand now as my Black and yellow Cobra...it works well.

And on it went.......

[OZVENOM]

ITS an old saying and rings true today I am not one to take safety lighly in fact i am almost obsesive about it .
The roll bar is probably the easiest thing to fit to a cobra so all you have to do is take it out get taller one bent up in the correct material and bolt it in . if you have a non structual rear brace you dont have to put a hole thru the body you just build up a mount from underneath to support it.
I know i make it sound easy but i knoe it will take a bit of work but dont you think you safety is worth it.
Think back 2 years to queensland raceway with the 2 rollovers coming off turn 3 they both were just unlucky for it to happen but it could happen to anyone of us.
I havent herd anyone boasting about winning lotto. but we all sure have had some bad luck.
The other issues like belts and seats are just as important.

spooky doesnt have to worry he has all the gear .

unlike most of you i have had some big crashes in speedway racing many years ago so i know how important good equipment is. if i had a video capture card i could put one up for you to see. it silenced the whole crowd when it happend. lucky i only had a few bruses and redeye.

I am definatly with Craig on the implementation time they could have told us at xmas at least. and yes i am fully booked up thank you.
And thats my 5 cents worth.
oz

[Philm]

Just a thought, for those who need a 3rd leg, could you run one from the top of the hoop into the passenger foot well and pick up the chassis there.

I am not sure if that is acceptable but as most cobras floor carpet is removable so there would be no visible change to the car.

I like Scotts idea, bend a new taller hoop and then with a new removable 3rd leg into the passenger foot well. You could pack it up and put in in your boot and fit it at the track.

I know that you would not be able to carry a passenger but I don't think the need would arise.

Phil

[Wazza]

Just scrolled through about 150 photos of cars taken at the last couple of Nationals, and found maybe 4 cars that would pass the rules for the roll bar required height.

Again, I say, It's not something that should be implemented as a safety requirement for just a "couple" of the competitors.

If you think the safety "cut off" should have anything to do with being able to get around that track under 1.12 then I believe you've missed the point.

Although I know the intentions of the organisers are to make the attendees safer,It's not a Cams event, and not a requirement of Wakefield park, and picking out a thing like changing the height of the roll bar isn't going to make a scrap of difference to the safety of almost all of the ompetitors/participants at this years Nationals.

It's not Bathurst, nor a hard fought door to door full on racing event, but more like a social sprint around a race track, the same as a hundred other car clubs enjoy all year without too much stress.

I firmly believe that safety is very important, and if anything , we should be making a list of things to do to our cars that WILL make it safer, rather than flogging a dead horse with this fixation on the roll bars.

Things like:
Suggested tyre pressures for Street Tyres.
Brakes that operate correctly.
Diffs that work properly...how many times have I seen cars lose it when just one wheel is getting all the juice.??!
Steering checked.
and so on.

By all means, let's pass on some constructive ideas on how to help the less experienced, or "normal" drivers get around the race track in their Street cars, and stop worrying about a half a dozen, experienced drivers, that are on racetracks every month, but are affected by the new rules !

Almost None of the Cars will comply with the roll bar requirements,( Almost ALL of them fail on the height issue alone ) but most will also be allowed to scoot around that track with a lap sash seat belt, and not much in the way of any other restrictions.

The cars are all roadworthy, and provided the owners drive within their capabilities, we'll enjoy the thrill of getting on a race track in relative safety.
There will always be an element of danger...that's why we love these very special cars...but that doesn't mean we have to start treating this like we're all driving in a Grand Prix event.

My 2 cents worth.

Regards,
Warren.

[400TT]

You guys do realise that's basically the end of the GT40's competing. They go faster that the required time and roll bar is not 50mm above the drivers helmet, that's if they have a roll bar fitted.

Due to the placement of the roll cage in a GT40(in the front of the engine bay), the roll bar ends up slightly lower than the main roof height and I don't know of a GT40 in existence where the helmet does not press against or come very close to the roof. One of the GT40's that comes down to the Nationals from here even has a Gurney bubble(raised bubble in the roof) for the driver to fit in with a helmet on.

I was actually enthusiastic about fitting a roll bar to my GT40, got the rear clip cut out to fit it. But it's a huge job and due to the mounting available I'm not sure how structurally sound it will be. It's easy to get them fitted when the chassis is made and is now an option, but retro fitting them is a pain.

For a lot of Cobras, that big a change in roll bar height will mean the soft top no longer fits. And most Cobras do not have the structural mounts there to start with.

I agree you can't be too safe, but our usual Cobra manufacturers & fitters will not be able to fit these roll cage changes in before the Nationals. So that means running around using any tom, dick or harry.

I'm certainly going to push for pre-scrutineering to occur locally up here this year for the major items. Just too big a risk now to travel all the way down to the Nationals to get knocked back and not compete. We've taken the risk in the past and some members have had hassles, just not the ideal way to do it. We have skilled people like OzVenom, Warwick Harrison etc that are certainly capable of doing the scrutineering, but can we find someone skilled that has the time.

What should have happened was at the last Nationals, the scrutineers/committee should have inspected the vehicles in question, looked at what safety features they had and looked at how they could be improved and the problems/difficulties in doing so. Then supplying the new requirements 12 months in advance.

I know what the easiest option is, race on plain street tyres so that the times do not break 1.12 barrier. Is that safer than racing on track rubber, defintely not in my books. Or will they not bother attending, now that would be a disaster for the QLD club.

Lets just hope that if any changes are made, they are swift as this doubt is not helping enthusiasm for the event.

[750hp]

For anyone not willing to race-prepare their street car, take a leaf out of Wazza's book and buy or build a track car. Wouldn't it be nice if someone had a painted body/chassis unit for sale that already had a taller rollbar welded in place by Ozvenom, and a lift-off front for easy maintenance....
Any takers?