American race cars (formerly - OT: new car advice)

[Robert N. Eaton]

Mike Garfias wrote:
> Also, the nascar engine shops are anything but drunken good ol boy rednecks.
> They don't operate the way the stereotype says they do.  They are scientific
> in their approach to finding power, and all extremely intelligent.  
>   
My use of the the term "good-ol-boy" was not meant to be pejorative; it 
was merely a nod of the head recognizing that many, if not a majority of 
stock car racers are of Southern extraction. Nor was it meant to 
denigrate their accomplishments.  I am astounded at the amount of power 
and reliability they wring out of an engine that was designed primarily 
as a passenger car engine rather than a strictly racing car engine.  
They play their game exceedingly well under the rather restrictive rules 
that they elect to follow.

I am reminded a little of AMA motorcycle racing in the late forties and 
the fifties. Before WWII Harley and Indian dominated the track racing 
scene, Indian beating Harley more often than not, but both bringing the 
side valve engine to a fairly high state of tune. But in 1949 Indian, 
after a disastrous series of  management decisions, went belly up. To 
take Indian's place a wide selection of British machines became 
available. Those that were not two-stroke tiddlers, almost invariable 
had hemispherical combustion chambers, with radially disposed valves. 
This was an improvement in efficiency, and the high octane gasoline 
available allowed them to use much higher compression ratios than one 
could achieve with a side valve design. Hence more available horsepower 
for a given displacement.

The AMA in its wisdom (and to keep Harley competitive) limited the ohv 
engines to 500 cc, and the side-valve engines to 750 cc. The Factory 
racing Harleys, with their pie-plate flywheels, their swiss-cheese 
con-rods and their skeleton pistons, were extremely sudden and rowdy 
bikes, and competed well against the smaller English machines. The twin 
cam Norton Manx was not allowed to compete in class C racing at all.

I guess it all comes down to what rules you want to run under.

Cheers,

Bob Eaton