Back to SCCA 1972 rules?

[RHough]

Hi Randy,

As I understand this, you want to build a street-legal but part time historic racer, or maybe just racer.

And not a street legal "hot street" car that looks like a road racer?

It's possible.

One of my soft spots is the bygone era where you could drive your sports car to the track, tape the headlights, take the spare out of the trunk, and race.

Do you have a race organization and class in mind?

FJC

Exactly, I want a street legal part time track car that may evolve into a full time racer (although if I get hooked, I'll probably get a $10,000 turn key Spec Miata for a full time car).

I'll probably race with CACC in Canada. They have three regional classes that the car will "fit".
IPE is an "Improved Production" catch all for cars not listed or over prepared for a production class that runs on D.O.T. rubber. As long as the car is *not* listed as a GT or Production Car by SCCA you can run in IPE, going from a single carb to duals would put the Ghia here.
GT-U is a division of the GT-S class for cars over prepped for other production based classes. Could run slicks. GT-U is Under 2000cc.
Vintage - A B-Sedan Ghia would fit perfectly in Vintage as well as in IPE & GT-U

I'm going to bite the bullet and spend $150 on the FIA 581 Homologation paperwork ... just to see what a Group 3 Ghia would look like.

We run two Closed Wheel groups. The IP cars can also run a GT-S class as a secondary entry to get double the track time. The GT-S cars can run IPE with DOT tires. It is all politics and getting time on the track.

My buddy runs Spec Miata and first priority is crew chief for him (he is the BC Club Champ in Spec Miata). The Spec Miatas run with the IP cars, so I'll probably play in GT-U and get my clock cleaned. Norm can crew for me on Vintage Weekends.

I'd also like to do some rallies, just navigational TDS stuff, not WRC Junior.

I'll probably be 62 when I go through driver training in the Ghia. I may decide not to go any farther than that. Tinkering around with the car is it's own reward.

R

[FJCamper]

Hi Randy,

Given that you can have either a "1600 Super" or a 1915cc (under 2 litres), which class do you want to be in?

The car will be the same, the engine will be the difference.

FJC

[RHough]

Hi Randy,

Given that you can have either a "1600 Super" or a 1915cc (under 2 litres), which class do you want to be in?

The car will be the same, the engine will be the difference.

FJC

Hi Frank,

I get that. The reason I want to stay at 1584 is because that is what the car was homologated as. 1584 makes it legal in both Vintage/Historic and GT-U.

I think engine #2 will be something bigger that has "Fun to drive" as the top priority. Swapping the silly things is darn easy ...

After having a 1600 Super engine I should have a good idea of what I like and don't like about it as a guide for the next build.

R

[gearheadgreg]

Sounds like a good conclusion - and the number of combos to get to under 2 liters is staggering.

A combo that appeals to the bench builder in me is a 74 x thick wall 92s (for 1968cc). Just academic, now, really.

Want to start a thread for the rest of the car prep work? I'd love to see it. I am thinking more and more of getting back into some track time, and my 'nice' car is too nice any more to have fun with, so leaning heavily toward an ACVW...

[FJCamper]

Hi Randy,

OK -- let's just focus on the engine(s) for now. And this will be "do-as-I-do" advice, not "do-as-I-say."

In 2002, I fielded a 1970 Ghia with a genuine 85.5 piston, 69mm stroke 1600cc engine, to run SCCA autocross and NASA track days.

I could have built any engine size, but I wanted my son, and our SCCA competition, to see exactly what a 1600 could do. What it could do was win, and we took two autocross championship's on 1600cc.

I chose an aluminum "race case" for its strength, AJ Sims for custom heads (38.2cc combustion chambers for 10:1 compression), dual valve springs, Aircooled.Net's heavy-duty aluminum pushrods cut to length, 1.1 stock rockers on solid shafts with 911 swivel feet adjusters, Engle 110 cam, 40mm Kadrons, and since I considered this just a mule (trainer) engine, a cast but counterweighted crank and race-prepped stock rods. A power pulley, 009 distributor, and stinger exhaust finished it off.

All this set on a deep sump, in this case shallow but wide. My oil was Valvoline 20w-50 racing oil. We've since changed that to 10w30 Valvoline racing oil.

I was deliberately undercamming with the 110, as autocross cars need low and midrange torque, not top end.

In that I was using a 4.86 final drive, which is very low, the Ghia was an autocross rocket. It routinely hit 7000, and sometimes got pushed up to 8000. We were not, and didn't let, anything with six cylinders or less give us any trouble on the track. We ran to win or break, and we didn't break.

And amazingly the cast crank didn't break. Not even on track days where the 4.86 forced us to turn 7000 for half an hour at a time because we had no top end.

I did a teardown after one season, expecting to see the usual #3 bearing saddle pounding and thrust bearing fit wear and it wasn't there. We ran that crank until 2004, when a rod bearing finally started to wear, and in the rebuild, cut the case open for 94's, stroked it out to 78.8mm, upped the cam to an Engle 120, and got a 4.12 rear end and close ratio 3rd and 4th gears.

The point here is the aluminum cases are strong. Heavy, but strong. I believe its resistance to flex kept that crank going.

By the time we'd upgraded to the 2.2 stroker, I'd taken the 40mm Kads up from our initial 30mm venturis to 34mm. Currently, we have 44mm throttle bodies on the 2.2, and 36mm venturis.

Now, what about a dry sump? Can you do this in your class?

FJC

[RHough]

Sounds like a good conclusion - and the number of combos to get to under 2 liters is staggering.

A combo that appeals to the bench builder in me is a 74 x thick wall 92s (for 1968cc). Just academic, now, really.

Want to start a thread for the rest of the car prep work? I'd love to see it. I am thinking more and more of getting back into some track time, and my 'nice' car is too nice any more to have fun with, so leaning heavily toward an ACVW...

Since this will be a little of everything, finding a good place for a "60 yr old fat guy buys a Karmann Ghia and builds a road racer" thread might be a challenge ...

Maybe "old guy goes old school ..."

or

"Who loves you? Lock your Ghia and your wife in the garage for a week and see who's happy to see you when you get back ... "

Seriously ... I do want to document what I do as part of the fun ... just not sure is I should just do it in the Ghia forum or blog it ...

R

[RHough]

Hi Randy,

OK -- let's just focus on the engine(s) for now. And this will be "do-as-I-do" advice, not "do-as-I-say."

Now, what about a dry sump? Can you do this in your class?

FJC

Just drove from BC to Colorado ... where the car is ... Very tired, two 11-12 hour days ... I forgot this is schools out and road construction season.

Dry Sump (he asks innocently)? I thought the sump was supposed to have oil in it.

Seriously, yes I can dry sump the engine. I'm also looking at the positive crankcase vacuum set up that was in one of the threads I read.

R

[FJCamper]

Hi Randy,

A deep sump will work 90% of the time. A dry sump works 99% of the time. It will save your engine and make it last.

The most cheap and simple dry sump pump and plumbing is the CB pump.

Now, this is race only. For short-trip street use, you'll almost never reach operating temp.

My dry sump thread is:

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic ... 5&t=142178

FJC

[RHough]

Hi Randy,

A deep sump will work 90% of the time. A dry sump works 99% of the time. It will save your engine and make it last.

The most cheap and simple dry sump pump and plumbing is the CB pump.

Now, this is race only. For short-trip street use, you'll almost never reach operating temp.

My dry sump install thread is:

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=141653

FJC

Hi Frank,

The only way I'd consider a dry sump for the street would be to copy a 911 system with thermostat. Getting all the bits to a happy temperature quickly is a high priority.

I'm curious about single stage recovery pumps ... I would think you would want to scavenge the sump and both valve covers. Has anyone done that?

R

[Marc]

Even in circletrack racing on 10-11" wide slicks (cornering forces way over a g) I found a single-stage pump like CB's could do the job. No need for valvecover scavenging if you have a decent breather system installed. You probably won't be cornering hard enough on a road circuit to need a drysump, but it's great peace of mind. Harsh flinging on a gymkhana course is another matter, expect to see the oil pressure warning light on frequently, and often for long enough that you get justifiably worried. When I switched over from wetsump I got at least triple the rod bearing life, and a few free HP in the deal from reduced windage and crankcase pressure.
Multi-stage pumps require modifications to the exhaust system which are impractical in a full-bodied car, and there's only one choice (tiny) in crank pulley diameter. With the single-stage pump it's possible to get a 5-3/4" pulley fitted with a little finagling.
Thermostatically-operated cooler bypass valves are readily available, inexpensive, and simple to plumb in.

[RHough]

Oil Circulation diagram:

[RHough]

Sometime in May I was thinking about a VW project as a driver for Mexico ... I came across some VW forums and found that most of the Baja Bugs etc had most of the focus on getting more suspension travel and adding shocks ... Class 11 even runs single port heads ...

I'm an engine guy so I started looking elsewhere and reading more. Thinking that I'd probably never to much off-road, but track days and rallies have great appeal. Friend Andy used to have a 59 Ghia and suggested I buy one.

I found this on Samba:

Orange 72.jpg

Then 'friend' Andy sent me this link: http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic ... 1&t=127619

I kept going back to look at the little Orange Ghia and reading.

I decided to buy the little car it was reported to run and have new tires ... what's not to like?

Why blame Hooters? Orange is a primary Hooters color.

[RHough]

I was in Colorado when I was reading and losing my last tenuous grip on reality ...

Getting the car into Canada was going to be more hassle than I wanted at the moment, and I didn't really have anywhere to put it, so I booked a transporter to take to Colorado, I was going to go racing with Norm and the Spec Miata

OutLaplorez.jpg

I stopped in California 'on my way' to Canada to see the car in person and do paperwork ... The car was orange and ran ... turning stopping and shifting were bonus items ... turns out the seller had never figured out how the Scat shifter trigger for reverse worked (hmmm) ... second red flag was the push button starter and toggle switch ignition ...

Of well it was what expected for the price, if there is major rust the bondo over hides it well.

4317 (1).jpg

The transporter was not due until Friday so I asked the seller to find a jack for the car and please see it safely on the truck.

Called a neighbor in Colorado and asked him to see it safely off the truck and into the drive ...

[RHough]

I got done what I needed to in Canada and headed back to Colorado. My mom passed in May (after 91 years raising hell) so I have a house and an estate to settle ... the Ghia is to keep me sane while the courts and banks do their thing.

I expected to see a flash of Orange in the drive ...

emptydrive.jpg

Rut roh ...

Turns out friend Steve made room in the garage!

Ingarage.jpg

So ... first order of business ... lubrication ... (I had driven 2 11 hour days)

Preplorez.jpg

Notice this is the good stuff ... in the finest crystal that we have ...

Then the fun began ... no start (what a surprise)

Hitched the jumpers up and after fiddling with the wiring at the "anti-theft system" and waiting for the smoke to clear it started and ran ... after a fashion ... good enough for day 1

[RHough]

Saturday morning follies ... or getting dirty and bloody learning to love your Ghia.

Seems like nothing works ... no lights, no 4-ways, turn signals only when engine running, no wipers, nothing works off the ignition switch ... (sigh)

Started by checking fuses ... where the heck is the fuse box?

Silly man, it is right under the Air Conditioner ... AC came out ... terminals on fuse block melted ... great. After pulling the trunk carpet out I could admire the rattle can black custom paint. After I pulled the fuse box/relay holder out I started taking pictures. While I was contorted under the dash I removed the 'anti-theft' system ... a Home Depot special using a framing reinforcing angle and switches wired in with wire nuts.

AC Out (for sale cheap), while I was disconnecting the AC I noticed the antenna was unplugged from the radio (probably why the radio doesn't work he thinks).

Trunk

Sat22 (1) (640x480).jpg

Just use the rattle can black to paint the wires too ...

Sat22 (2) (640x480).jpg

Why the radio didn't work (there is supposed to be a wire inside the coax)

Sat22 (11) (640x480).jpg

Radio's fate

Sat22 (12) (640x480).jpg

Now I can see what I'm doing ... any idea how many wires plug into a Ghia fuse box? Want to guess how many were right? (sigh)

I found the reason the car was hot wired ... the brass female spade connectors get old, brittle and don't hold tension. These just came apart as soon as I touched them. One was hot with Ign on to power fuses 11 & 12 the other is the Ign 12+ to the coil.

Sat22 (6) (640x480).jpg

At least I have an idea what I'm up against!