I very much doubt that there are any folks here that care, but I gotta believe this is the best-looking F1 ever - the 1968 Lotus 3 litre:
Green
That is the proper green for a sports car or motocycle.
The yellow accents start working past 100mph.
Some great drivers spent their work days in those.
:good:
Mercedes Benz W196
A beautiful machine for sure.
If I remember didn't that also run a Cosworth DOHC (the photo doesn't look like a Cos)? A powerful engine that always broke "big" when it went.
Also, those Firestones "meats" look like bias-ply. The late sixties was a time of change for tires. I believe Dunlop already had a first generation radial, but I don't remember if anybody was racing on them at that time.
Racing as it should be...:-)
Thing's have changed a little. 😉
From '64 to the mid 70's every October meant a trip to "The Glen". I much prefer the sound of the non supercharged engines. At that time you could mingle prerace in the garage and outside warm-up area.
One year we were camped within site of the garage. We saw some activity so we decided to drive over there. Six of us crowded into a Mini Cooper and when we got there Jimmy Clark and Graham hill were standing outside by their cars. When Jimmy Clark saw us pull up and bail out he went nuts. Clark had done some racing in a Mini, the smile on his face was the best part of the weekend.
Another year I got to squat dead center about 2' behind the early Honda Gran Prix car. The driver's seat was empty so I got to look directly at the tach as the mechanic warmed it up. It idled rough on about 6 cylinders at 6,000 RPM and I saw the tach hit 12,000 on all 12 a few times. What a screaming roar.
Some of the sillier things were the "H" engines in the Lotus and the flexible high wing Lotus 49 that Mario Andretti put on the pole in '68. That was a special year, one of the few races my wife to be ever attended.
Paul in PA
You are certainly not alone in a love of F1. When I was younger we had to watch it on Canadian TV as it just was not covered much in the USA. Thankfully that has changed. Not crazy about some of the rules they currently have to operate under, mainly the fixed fuel amount.
This may stir up some memories...
Beautiful.
I happen to like the look of the modern buggies, too, though.
I would love to hit the lottery and buy a club racer. Something like an XBOW, or Atom, and actually club race it.
The Best Sound Was Them Coming And Going
High pitch whine changing to thunder. Even better is the whole pack as they go by. V-8s mixed in with Ferrari and Honda V-12s and then there was the H-16. After the 3 liters went to turbos the sound was not as endearing.
Same with the Indy cars, pre turbo Fords especially.
When we could we camped in the infield. Camp rules, no beer before lunch, that is what bourbon is for. We would start out the race carrying a six pack and walk a lap as close to the rail as possible. Sometimes the six pack ran out, but with planning and experience it would suffice.
Thankfully we were on the outside area the year they burned the bus.
The first few years I met up with a high school buddy there. Also attended a few Can-Ams and my high school buddies driver's school and some of his early races. We drove out to Bridgehampton once. In '68 I took my wife to be in her new Camaro convertible. Her big brother and his friends were there. After that I took my little brother along.
Paul in PA
I have an Atom. Fun little car and very fast
I have been accused of having it on my mind a lot
In 1963 I had a new Triumph Spitfire with Dunlop Radial "Tyres." They lasted a whole 7,000 miles. I then went with Michelin-X radial tires and they lasted 45,000.
In 1965, I tended bar for a buddy that owned the place in a college town. A fellow wandered in who was the Chief Mechanic of the Chaparral Racing Team. His tow vehicle blew its engine just outside of town and he was stuck while waiting for a replacement engine for the truck. I got to sit in a Chaparral (while it was still on its trailer). I don't remember who the driver was but I couldn't reach the pedals or the steering wheel. He taught me how to "power shift" by watching the tach and just slamming into the next gear. That was the ONLY time my little Spitfire actually laid rubber in all four gears!
One of the drivers was Jim Hall.
Yes! He was a slender very tall man (at least from my short perspective).
suhweet
I have been thinking a lot about the 24hrs of LeMons. I don't have enough track time yet to be a worthwhile addition to a team, but, that is the fun part. I have a couple of friends that do it and it just sounds awesome! https://www.24hoursoflemons.com/
Not that the Atom isn't a great track car, but, I am not going wheel to wheel with it, LOL
I read about that a long time ago in C&D. Get an old Civic, they run forever. Problem is even the old ones can't be had for $500.
One of the teams that I know runs a 240Z, so, I am thinking that the $500 number is somewhat, .. er, ignored ... Picking a beater has to be a lot of the fun, I was thinking BMW 2002 or 320i, but, they are probably too expensive (they are all over the website, LOL)
You should do it as well, great place to learn.
Would love to, definitely will give it some thought. I would also like to build a Superformance Caterham for club racing, or a Factory Five GTM (the GTM would probably be double the cost to do it correctly, though).
You ever had the Atom on a track?
