<VV> Autocross at the 2014 Corvair Expo

[Danny Davis]

Great story, Eric!  Now you are really hooked!!!
Next year - big bore, more HP, and genuine autocross excitement!!
You looked great out there, my friend, and your Blue Beauty is a true
credit to the Corvairs everywhere!
Thanks for participating in Corvair EXPO 2014

Dan


On Sat, Jul 26, 2014 at 10:28 AM, Eric Taylor via VirtualVairs <
virtualvairs at corvair.org> wrote:

> I have to do it again!
>
> Thursday at the 2014 CORSA convention in Tacoma I tried autocross for the
> first time. It was a simple thing really, I wanted to enter the Edward Cole
> competition so that required me to do it.  I had never raced before, I had
> never even driven my truck hard so this was a new experience.
> My truck is a '61 rampside with a '65 110HP engine cammed up and a four
> speed .  I have some serious sway bars and stiff suspension to go along
> with my 17" low profile tires.  Body and accessory modifications have added
> a couple of hundred pounds to the weight of it.
>
> We arrived bright and early at the Bremerton Motorsports Park where the
> crew had set up a challenging course for the autocross.  First we had a
> drivers meeting describing all the rules and safety precautions, then we
> had a walk of the course pointing out the directions we would need to go
> and some tips on how to get better speed.  Then came the time that I was
> particularly nervous about, I had to drive my truck out on the track and
> drive this course.
> Predictably, my first time around was slow and clunky, although it only
> took me a couple of corners before I started to get the feel that I could
> really push harder than I had ever done before.  My time was in the 140s.
> My second test run was a little more ambitious and came in at 132 I had
> some confidence and experience from the first run.   My two practice runs
> were finished and after a lunch break came the real test. I drove well but
> unfortunately I had grabbed third gear when it looked right and the extra
> speed made me miss three gates, I learned quickly that second gear is all
> that is needed.  The next couple were better.  I learned slowly but surely
> and I eventually managed a personal best clean run at 118 seconds.  Not
> very good when my competition (Dale Dewalt) was at 113 but as he has been
> doing it for many years I did not feel bad.  I resigned myself to being the
> worst driver of the day with the biggest smile.
>
> Later we were offered a chance to do some fun runs. I had a chance to ride
> with each of Shaun McGarvey, Daniel Morse, and Greg King in their cars.
>  Wow!  These guys can drive!   My face hurt from grinning.  With Shaun I
> rode on a 109 time in his '64 Spyder.  That was above his personal best of
> just over 106 but fast nonetheless.
> Both Greg and Dan with their big bore LM cars were in the low 90s. Holy
> smokes that is a different world from where I had been.
> Then Shaun offered to take me for a ride in my own Rampside.  I thought
> that would be great!   I was thinking he could easily beat me and maybe
> even reach Dale's time.  Imagine my surprise when he pulled out a 105x
> time!  He was faster in my Rampside than he was in his own Spyder, and that
> was the first time he had driven it.
> I'm hooked, and now I know I have to come back !
>
> > Eric Taylor,
> > Corveric at me.com
> > 604-309-2268
> 1961 Corveric Rampside, Langley, BC Canada
>
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