356 Race Car

[steve wright]

damn that's nice. looks like it's doing a 100mph standing still.

[PhilipB]

If you stick with the trailer then of course you'll need a suitable tow / support vehicle.

[steve wright]

ah, already have one of those. just needs logos and sign-writing....

[sisu]

Bro, I would increase the wine allocation to the Mrs. You could always use the nice summer weather for family holidays/weekends away, they could always camp at the circuit. Character building stuff.

[Gary71]

Of course the bus would need a nice big 911 engine to tow properly or your 'race weekend' may turn into a week if you are more than 10 miles from home!

[steve wright]

indeed! am planning on putting a set of 42DCNF's (Berg specials) which should give more lowdown torque and a bit more mid-range power. Not expecting to be doing more than 60mph towing the race car, but hopefully I can maximise where I do this speed!

[vwretrosteve]

The westy will require a bit of tow bar modification as well as a possible rear torsion bar upgrade to hi payload panel van or ambulance spec if towing regularly . I guess rear coil- overs and some bump stop trickery would do the job - I guess it will boil down to trial and error, but the combo of bus and race car will be a great sight .

[steve wright]

thanks Steve, I hadn't thought about the implications for shocks, etc. I'll speak with Ian about how we might solve it without too many changes to the bus as it's bone stock and deliciously original. I had thought about just towing it with an A-frame - does anyone have experience of this?

[KS]

thanks Steve, I hadn't thought about the implications for shocks, etc. I'll speak with Ian about how we might solve it without too many changes to the bus as it's bone stock and deliciously original. I had thought about just towing it with an A-frame - does anyone have experience of this?

Yes, but it's illegal, despite what anyone says.. Can only be used for emergency movement of a vehicle. Police/VOSA getting tougher on this now. Also, cars being A-framed get peppered with debris from the towing vehicle. Don't forget that, unlike a trailer, you cannot reverse a car while being A-framed. It goes to full lock immediately and stays there – all to do with Ackermann geometry etc.

I'd go for a lightweight trailer...

[steve wright]

ah! that puts paid to that idea then! looks like I'm back to the original plan then

[steve wright]

Okay, the long road to racing for 2012 has started. The bus is scheduled for sign-writing next week and I received the VSCCA logbooks (all three of them!) from the previous owner the day before Christmas which was a nice way to start the festivities. The car was raced by Howard Silverman from 1991 through to 1997 and participated in a host of races at venues such as Turkey Bowl, Mt Equinox and Watkins Glen. It then did little racing in the ownership of Sandy Saltler before ending up with the previous owner David Baker, who only did an occasional racing until it was retired last year.

We've not done much to the car over the Christmas period other than give it a good wash - what a colour, it's eye-popping and a lovely shade of red.

Research on trailers (yawn) continues, with me trying to balance the virtues of a dual axle or something lighter and easier to handle if I'm on my own.

Cheers, Steve

[sladey]

Car looks awesome - only just picked up on this thread

[Bruce M]

I've only pulled a car-on-trailer a couple of times but found the versions where the car sits between the trailer wheels are very wide.
I prefer the trailers where the car sits over the trailer wheels to keep the width manageable.

[steve wright]

thanks for the tip Bruce. anyone used a single axle trailer and found it ok?

[KS]

Hi Steve, I use a single-axle Brian James trailer, which is perfect size for a Beetle and a 911, so a 356 should fit OK. Tows brilliantly behind my Scooby-motored T3/T25 – cruise at 65-70 (I mean, 55-60...) and not a hint of instability, even in in those winds this week. Easy to move single-handedly, too. Mine was £750 off eBay about four years ago, but new they're around £1200-ish. Cannot fault it. Even my Beetle on fat slicks fitted OK.

Mine's a slightly older version of this, the Clubman...