Solo Street Prepared Experience Anyone?

[cadreamn67]

I am currently pondering, and only just that, the possibility of joining the SCCA and participating in some local Solo events with my Tiger. I have no illusions about either my own skill level or how really competitive the car could be these days. Still, it might be a lot of fun, just for grins.

Anyone out there with Street Prepared Class experience with their Tiger? I have read through the rules for 2010. I think my car would be in compliance "as is" if I just go back to my original rack and pinion steering and factory cam, valve springs and lifters. Before I get too official with SCCA inquires, etc. does anyone know if the old LAT option solid lifter cam, springs, etc. would be in compliance with this class's rules? If so, can you even still find those parts? If I do decide to Solo, I might as well get the most out of any compliance changes I have to make. Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated!

Regards, Gene

 

[darrell]

Gene,

If you want to run Solo II do so. Realize your Tiger will not be competitive in any way in B-SP, so your motivation for running Solo II has to be for the fun factor. If you want to be competitive you'll just frustrate yourself. There are (were?) too many cars in B-SP that handle so much better than Tigers.

I ran B-SP for a number of years, long ago, and had a blast. I learned so much about car control, the line, etc. I began about 13 seconds away from the top in-class people and got to about 3 seconds out. For me that was a huge personal success.

If you live in SoCal yo'll be a part of SCCSCC or Cal Club, region 19 if SCCA. Lotus West used to have Solo II driving schools offered twice a year and they were very beneficial. Talk with the currect Solo II people; see what's out there.

For your car the first thing to remember is safety. That means you FIRST need to make sure your brakes are in top condition. The next thing to work on is the suspension. There's a lot of fine tuning that can be done to Tigers to make them handle better (relatively). The LAST thing you need to be concerned with is the motor. That's where many novices get into trouble. They build a killer motor and then don't have the suspension or brakes to handle it. That's a very dangerous situation.

Most Solo II courses are set up tight enough that that the Tiger's motor isn't a great advantage. A car's handling is what shaves the seconds off.

Now prep your car, get out there and have FUN.

Darrell

 

[cadreamn67]

Darrell, thanks so much for your thoughts. We are definitely on the same page about all of this! I am in the Chicago area, which means I would be in Central Division, Region 7. I have been casting about for more info on Solo II, but with limited success. I found some info on the internet about getting a Novice (N) designation in your first year, but have not found anything on the SCCA site. Probably another indication of my Novice status! If you could point me to anything that would help build my storehouse of knowledge on this, I would greatly appreciate it!

To everyone, I am still interested in any experience or knowledge about the ability to find, and use the old LAT solid lifter cam in Class B-SP. I am not expecting to build a killer motor, but if I must make a change from what I currently have in order to comply with the rules, I want to make the most advantageous change.

Best regards to all,

Gene

 

[cadreamn67]

Just an update to my inquiry. I took the plunge today and contacted the SCCA directly today. I learned that SOLO is the same thing as SOLO II, just the name has been changed. For some reason I was thinking SOLO II was a subset of SOLO. I am in the process of reviewing my modifications with the SCCA now to see where my car would be classified. Very cordial and helpful people there.

Cheers,

Gene

 

[zero2toy]

Hey Dad,

So i was thinking about the 289 vs 347. Like Darrel said we could over do it with the 347, but man we already put so much work and money into that motor it feals like such a waste to not use it. SO, i say what can we get suspension wise with the $ for the 289. Call me.

Son

 

[cadreamn67]

Son, let's wait and see what the SCCA says about our existing 260 motor and other car mods. Have a look at the current competition in SP-B (Appendix A on SCCA web site). We will need to do some fine driving to not embarrass ourselves with that group.

Eventually putting in the 347 will make for a fun street car but we would be hopeless outclassed in SOLO. The motor puts us into Super Street Modified class with the likes of the Porsche Carrera GT and more purpose built cars. We would really get spanked there! We just do not have the suspension to compete. You are looking at things like Dales new crossmember (list $4,100), upgraded 4 wheel disk brakes, 4 piston calipers, etc. just to try!

Let's work on getting our feet wet in SOLO for the sake of the fun of it. Remember that bumpersticker we saw in Kentucky: "DRAG RACING IS FOR FAST CARS, AUTOCROSS IS FOR FAST DRIVERS"? Like Darrell, let's see how much we can work our way toward the times of the hot shoes in a class we can be at least somewhat competitive.

Dad