Quote:
Originally Posted by modarace
So apparently this thing raced across the United states.
People are nuts!
Anyone here ever done the great race?
https://youtu.be/7ATJ19FbN64 |
That car was built by Tom McRae who used it as his Pace Car in the late 1980s and in 1990. Tom was the founder of the Great Race, along with Interstate Batteries owner Norm Miller. The car really didn't race until later when an X-Cup (a class for Kids named for Gen X) Team out of Texas used it. My family actually did the race beginning in 1996 thru 2001. I was fortunate to win the Ace Wrench award one year for wrenching on a 1916 Hudson and a 1917 Crane-Simplex all the way thru the race. Also, my father & I were fortunate to win a regional race in our '31 Phaeton.
As Ray stated, this was not really a 'contest of speed' race but more about following instructions. To be able to win, you need a vehicle that is methodically restored/prepared that can complete without experiencing mechanical issues along the way. Our '31 Phaeton went cross country without a breakdown, and outside of regular maintenance (changing oil, checking fluids, adjusting brakes, bolt check, etc.) the only thing I think we ever did was clean and re-adjust the ignition points. What makes this event difficult is being able to read, comprehend, and follow directions with exacting detail. For example, your car is given a start time. The instruction may read 'Turn RIGHT out of the parking lot and proceed at 33 MPH. At the yellow Curve in Road sign, drive 25 MPH for 20 seconds and then proceed at 35MPH.' Now this instruction is "code" for when you leave the parking lot you must immediately be traveling 33 mile per hour on the road. Well, we all know a Model-A cannot accelerate immediately to 33 mph, -so maneuver factors are compiled by the Driver (before the race) to know how to deal with this instruction. Thru running trials, let's say the performance of the race car is it take 3.5 seconds to accelerate from ) mph to 30 mph, and 4.0 seconds from 0 mph to 35 mph. So if your instruction tells you to start at 9:08AM, then theoretically the Driver needs to start at 9:04.25AM which theoretically means that in 3¾ seconds later, the car will be traveling 33 mph and the time will be exactly 9:08 as per the instructions. Next, the Navigator is looking for the yellow curve arrow sign while the Driver is focusing on keeping the speedometer exactly on 33 mph. The next thing that must be factored is we know at that sign we must immediately be traveling 25 mph, and we also know that even if we lock the brakes when we are even with the sign, for a second or so we will still be traveling faster than 25 mph. Therefore we have a maneuver factor that we have compiled on how long it takes to calmly brake and decelerate from 35 mph down to 25 mph. Let's assume that time is 4 seconds. Theoretically the Driver begins braking 2 second before the sign, and the speed as (s)he passes that sign should be ½ of the old speed and the new speed (33 to 25 = 29 mph). Now the Navigator tells the drive to accelerate to 35 mph at his signal. So now the Navigator is looking at his maneuver sheet and knows his vehicle takes 6 seconds to accelerate from 25 mph up to 35 mph when in high gear. The Navigator must also be considering the terrain they are on to determine if the acceleration number needs to be adjusted. If not, the Nav knows that it will take 6 seconds to accelerate, -and because the instruction said to hold at 25 for 20 seconds, the Nav waits until they have driven 25 mph for 14 second (20 secs - 6 secs = 14 secs) and then the Nav tells the Driver to go to 35 mph and wait for the next instruction. This is the way the entire race is driven and navigated. The speedometer does not have an odometer and there is one analog clock allowed. Nothing digital nor no GPS.
I could go on and on but the memories are worth all the hard work and $$ you spend on doing the race. I will tell you that from my recollection of the event, probably 50%-60% of the cars were actually well prepared, -and the same applies for the Teams themselves. There are teams that participate out of a rental car using a small set of tools in the trunk, -and there are teams that participated with a semi-trailer full of spares. As for the vehicles, many tried to re-engineer adding redundant systems (such as ignition systems, fuel pumps, etc.) and in many instances, there were failures of that. Our car was a '31 Phaeton with a B engine, Brumfield head and a NOS B camshaft. The rear end ratio was 3.54. Stock Model-A distributor and points, a B carburetor and a stock B intake. Exhaust manifold was stock and an Aries muffler. The brakes were mechanical with late-31 cast iron drums all around. Our focus was for making sure everything was correctly restored back to factory specs including the wheels, and the car performed well every time it was raced. My point in saying this is to show that it does not take a high-dollar vehicle to compete and do well. It just take diligent preparation. The car was sorted out way before it went inside the trailer, and my Dad had driven it enough where he could do ten 0-30 accelerations and be within a tenth of a second of the same time. We found a straight road near the house where we measured off 5,280 feet to test on. We practiced our maneuver rates over & over until we knew the performance of the car. It was mentioned above that the same people kept winning over and over. It is my belief the ones that continually win are the ones that did their prep work before they went to the race. Their diligence before the race is why they were a top finisher. My position is don't let repeat winners deter your mindset into thinking a Rookie cannot win it all.
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