It's the Process, Not Result

"mikecyc72usa" (mikecyc72usa)
03/18/2014 at 04:06 • Filed to: autocross, Triumph, TR4, Spitfire, bonding, project, father and son, awesome, process

I've loved cars most of my life. I think it's a tie between trains and sports cars, really. I blame my father. The stories of him working the pits for Briggs Cunningham, or doing Gymkhanas, or racing were always a highlight of the day for me. Oddly enough, finally at 41 for me and 74 for him are we working on a car together. It's a 1962 Triumph TR4 which was pretty solid and ran great when we picked it up from our friend Dave. Actually, it's the fastest TR4 I've ever driven, and still is.

Of course, that was before I decided to tear the car apart so we could replace all the rusty bits. So now it's quite a bit different. However, as fun as it is to work on it and make progress, there's something more. In some ways I'm dreading the conclusion, though it's months away. The planning with my dad, figuring out what direction to go with the car, has been an absolute joy. His flying out from Hilton Head to Austin to work with me each month for a week at a time is priceless.

We work hard, but while working we relate experiences and have learned lots about each other. I have heard things he did when he was in his 20's that I wonder if even my mom knows. He's learned of some of my most haunting experiences when I was in Special Forces. We've come to know and accept each other. Most importantly, we have built up a level of mutual respect most peers don't have, let alone children with their parents.

It's fun to work and problem solve together. Even better is to see the knowledge come back to my dad after close to 50 years of not having a big TR. So soon it's plasma cutting out floors and sills, and welding the new ones in. Then on to paint and interior work. Another few months and this awesome process will be over.

I like to add lightness. It does still drive well. But I realize the process of most things is what I enjoy the most.

I autocross a 1978 Triumph Spitfire (we're a Triumph family, with at least 3 at any one time) in FSP in my local club, the Texas Spokes Club. I relish the idea of taking an obsolete, inferior (pick a way: weather protection, comfort, speed, crashworthiness) car and making it fight above it's weight. The choices of what carbs to use, what needles in the carbs once selected, and tracking down other tweaks is what drives me.

Right now I'm driven by messing with exhausts to get some more power while not breaking the DB limit at events. The suspension is getting some much needed research as well. Then the lightening of the car will continue. I've been on championship teams in a few sports in my life, and all were the same. Chasing, analyzing, improving proved to be more fun than winning the titles.

So right now I'm living the moments of the process, as the end will be here all too soon. I'm damn lucky part of this experience is shared with my dad. Not all of us can be so lucky for various reasons.

Special thanks to Jon Etkins for the pic of me at my first event this season. All other pics by me.

Typically I end up chasing my other love enroute to where I work on the cars. another process I love, finding places and planning shots, and experimenting with my camera settings.

DISCUSSION (6)

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > mikecyc72usa
03/18/2014 at 07:10

As a fellow Triumph fan, good man :) love TR4s, really gorgeous cars.

What are the specs on your autocross Spitfire, and which class is it in? I take it it's a 1500 being from '78. Have you thought of putting an early 1300 engine in? They can rev silly-high and make a surprising amount of power, although come to think of it the torque of the 1500 might work better on an autocross course.

I'd be interested to know what you've done weight-saving wise. I'm in the middle of restoring my '74 Spitfire and converting it to a Spit6. I've put a decent amount of work into offsetting the weight from the big 2.5l 6 up front but it's good to hear other people's ideas to see if I've missed anything :)

The end-goal is 170bhp, 750kg and the same weight distribution as a stock Spitfire. Unfortunately, it's creeping up towards 800kg with lots of little unforeseen things

You can have a look if you want. All my updates are on the tag Spit6: http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/tag/spit6

Mathias Rios > mikecyc72usa
03/18/2014 at 08:21

This is a wonderful story. :)

mikecyc72usa > Mathias Rios
03/18/2014 at 12:14

Thanks! My dad and I love cars and trains. We are quite similar in lots of ways but different enough to not cause conflict. I'm lucky to have this time, and am making the most of it.

mikecyc72usa > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
03/18/2014 at 12:58

My Spitfire specs are pretty simple. Twin SU carbs, needles from a 1973 MGB with HIF carbs (runs rich), lowered front springs, stock front shocks, poly steering rack bushings, stock brakes, poly rear radius arm bushings, stock spring, uprated shocks from TSI in Ohio, Pertronix electronic ignition, electric radiator fan with thermostatic control, and a Monza header that fed into a Monza freeflow exhaust. But I just hacked out the "Y" of the monza system and went to a single outlet. Performance has yet to be determined. The engine is from a 1976 spitfire.

The future holds: quick ratio steering rack. Uprated rear spring. Poly front suspension bushings including roll bar, better brake pads and shoes, 4-2-1 header with a stainless steel exhaust. Probably going back to an aluminum radiator, but a 3 core one.

As to lightening, I run in F Street Prepared. Anything I can do within the scope of the rules I do. Lighter hardware. Removal of all old sound insulation, replace with lighter in a few key areas. Interior trim. Remove as much as you can and make your own thinner, lighter pieces. Lighter wheels for less rotational mass to overcome.

Look at everything. Be willing to strip all bits to bare metal and then do the minimum to them to make them light. Lighter coats of paint, or trim, etc.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > mikecyc72usa
03/18/2014 at 14:19

Sweet :) sounds like a nice little hot Spitfire. I hadn't thought of lightweight trim pieces. You could probably halve the thickness of the wooden fascia panels for instance.

Have you looked at replacing the steel front and rear engine plates with alloy ones? Between the two you save over 5kg on the 6-cylinder. Other options I've gone for are a lightweight alternator, a lightweight starter, an alloy rad, alloy water pump and housing, fibreglass valences and bonnet (bonnet saves 16kg!), a lightweight flywheel and solid alloy rack mounts.

I've gone with a rotoflex rear rather than the swing axles as well, and you can get a lot of alloy bits for those. Not sure how the handling actually compares, but on the limit it's probably better.

My latest ideas are removing the rear bumper and making a fibreglass version of the front. Also, I've noticed how heavy the headlight surrounds are, even though they're cast alloy. Pretty certain you could make them lighter.

Have you done any weighing of various bits yourself? I've love to know how the stainless headers compare to the stock cast iron ones, or any other little bits you know. I've got a little thread on a Triumph forum with all the little bits I've weighed: http://club.triumph.org.uk/cgi-bin/forum1…

mikecyc72usa > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
03/18/2014 at 14:46

No true scientific weighing, just going by feel. I'm not allowed per SCCA rules to swap out certain body parts, but many other items can be. Plastic headlight buckets are a decent weight saver. Coupled with modern style lights vs sealed beams helps. I am going to get a lighter starter and alternator when I have the funds. TR8 alloy wheels are better, too.