Lets construct an AUSTRALIAN class.
Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 2:58 pm
I have on and off mentioned this idea to a few old friends who like racing cars that you can build yourself but without the need to morgage your house to fund it. While Aussie retro comes close to a style of racing that existed in the late 60s, it misses the mark in that it represents American racing under close enough to American rules in the late 60s, not the style of racing that existed in Australia under both the VSCA and NSWMRRA.
Both the Victorian rules and the NSW rules were much more open in what could be run and as of about early 1969 sidewinders were dominant with inlines being relegated to open wheel cars and early anglewinders were being made here in Australia using both 26D and Mura A cans.
David Rittie ran a double reduction gear inline in the 1969 Brabham Trophy race at G and D at Paramatta and came second to Ian Bannister racing a hypoid inline using a 26D. There are few left in Australia that are old enough to have raced inlines back in 1969 but the vast majority of older slot racers have built and driven anglewinders for a very long time along with a few who are old enough to have built and driven true sidewinders.
What I propose as a bare outline as a class is the freedom built into the original VSCA and NSWMRRA rules for non-scale cars but with the moderation of excluding exotic bits and enforcing fully sealed motors that cannot be modified or opened. The suggestion is based on the idea that you accurately define rules in areas that need to be restricted and you completely derestrict the rest to maintain the open-ness and design freedom from the VSCA and NSWMRRA era.
Here are my initial thoughts on a basic set of rules.
1. Fully sealed motors that cannot be modified or opened. Probably a Falcon 7.
2. Rear axle must be solid and made of steel.
3. Wheels both front and back must be .750 inches or greater.
4. Bodies with much the same specifications as current retro.
5. .750 inch rear spoiler maximum limit.
6. No ball or roller bearing of any type in any part of the car.
7. Car must be constructed from wire and sheet metal, allowed metals are piano wire, brass wire of any type, brass sheet and similar copper based alloys and mild steel sheet. Specific to construction material exclusions are chassis components made of high carbon, spring or high tensile steel, aluminium based alloys, any titanium parts whatsoever or non metalic components (carbon fibre, plastics and similar composites.) Rubber and similar soft material are allowed for damping and movement control purposes.
8. Car must have functional front wheels and tyres that support the weight of the front of the car.
The areas excluded from definition are tyre widths, chassis/motor configurations, front axle diameter and location, you can run inlines, sidewinders, anglewinders, reduction geared cars, rubber band drives, tooth belt drives or anything else you can get to work with the allowed motor and rear axle. (Fluid couples 4 wheel drives are OK using a single motor.)
There are no maximum or minimum weight limits, perhaps a maximum set by the track owner (half kilo etc ...)
The suggestion addresses the situation on the ground for both racers and track owners, being able to use commonly available bits like anglewinder gears and pinions and making the cars much easier to build and get going in a reasonable manner.
Suggestions are welcome, particularly from racers who have raced for a long time and track owners who carry much of the stock that can be used to build cars of this type.
The suggested name for this class is OZclassic.
Regards,
hutch at movsd dot com
Both the Victorian rules and the NSW rules were much more open in what could be run and as of about early 1969 sidewinders were dominant with inlines being relegated to open wheel cars and early anglewinders were being made here in Australia using both 26D and Mura A cans.
David Rittie ran a double reduction gear inline in the 1969 Brabham Trophy race at G and D at Paramatta and came second to Ian Bannister racing a hypoid inline using a 26D. There are few left in Australia that are old enough to have raced inlines back in 1969 but the vast majority of older slot racers have built and driven anglewinders for a very long time along with a few who are old enough to have built and driven true sidewinders.
What I propose as a bare outline as a class is the freedom built into the original VSCA and NSWMRRA rules for non-scale cars but with the moderation of excluding exotic bits and enforcing fully sealed motors that cannot be modified or opened. The suggestion is based on the idea that you accurately define rules in areas that need to be restricted and you completely derestrict the rest to maintain the open-ness and design freedom from the VSCA and NSWMRRA era.
Here are my initial thoughts on a basic set of rules.
1. Fully sealed motors that cannot be modified or opened. Probably a Falcon 7.
2. Rear axle must be solid and made of steel.
3. Wheels both front and back must be .750 inches or greater.
4. Bodies with much the same specifications as current retro.
5. .750 inch rear spoiler maximum limit.
6. No ball or roller bearing of any type in any part of the car.
7. Car must be constructed from wire and sheet metal, allowed metals are piano wire, brass wire of any type, brass sheet and similar copper based alloys and mild steel sheet. Specific to construction material exclusions are chassis components made of high carbon, spring or high tensile steel, aluminium based alloys, any titanium parts whatsoever or non metalic components (carbon fibre, plastics and similar composites.) Rubber and similar soft material are allowed for damping and movement control purposes.
8. Car must have functional front wheels and tyres that support the weight of the front of the car.
The areas excluded from definition are tyre widths, chassis/motor configurations, front axle diameter and location, you can run inlines, sidewinders, anglewinders, reduction geared cars, rubber band drives, tooth belt drives or anything else you can get to work with the allowed motor and rear axle. (Fluid couples 4 wheel drives are OK using a single motor.)
There are no maximum or minimum weight limits, perhaps a maximum set by the track owner (half kilo etc ...)
The suggestion addresses the situation on the ground for both racers and track owners, being able to use commonly available bits like anglewinder gears and pinions and making the cars much easier to build and get going in a reasonable manner.
Suggestions are welcome, particularly from racers who have raced for a long time and track owners who carry much of the stock that can be used to build cars of this type.
The suggested name for this class is OZclassic.
Regards,
hutch at movsd dot com
- re fronts I think .625" (5/8 inch) would be good as they would look ok coupled with .750" (3/4 inch) rears and would have no problem fitting under bodies.
