SCCA Production background

[Richard Welty <rwelty@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

it seems that perhaps a little background on SCCA production might be of
interest to members of the digest wondering why i'm looking at building
one of these cars.

first, a history lesson:

Production is one of the oldest categories in the SCCA. originally it was
for open cars that were not much different from stock (this was back in the
50s.) people who wanted to change their cars or run "specials" ran their
cars in the Modified classes. the early SCCA didn't have categories for
formula cars or for tin tops.

over time, things changed. the SCCA introduced formula car classes and
sedan classes. Modified gradually morphed into what is now called "sports
racer". Production gradually morphed into what Modified had been, w/o a
name change to go with the morph.

a well intentioned but ill conceived effort to merge sedan and production
in the 70s and 80s wiped out the higher tiers of production, but E Prod
through H Prod stuck around after the merger efforts halted.

when the merger was halted, the SCCA also halted classifying new cars. the
result was a slow death, as old race cars retired and new ones didn't rise
to take their place. the high cost of prepping a car to full production
rules didn't help much.

full prep rules:

must be based on a production tub (tube frames are for GT, the place
   where sedans and the higher tiers of production went)

slick tires

no restrictions on compression or cams, valve sizes specified in the book.
overbores up to 1.2mm permitted, extensive head work permitted.

lightend (ferrous) flywheels, extensively modified cranks

dry sumps

carbs per the book

any ratios in the stock transmission case

many body panels may be lightened or replaced with fiberglass or other
material: fenders, hoods, trunk lids. flares permitted to cover wide
slicks.

any generator or alternator, or remove and run total loss

many ignition systems are legal

any ride hight

spindles, hubs, bearings, bearing carriers, stub axles may be modified or
substituted.

any springs or torsion bars, or coilover conversions

suspension control arms may be modified or replaced by others of
unrestricted origin.

suspension pickup points may be relocated.

that's the rough idea. it's an expensive place to build and compete.

more history:

a few years back now, the SCCA finally responded to dwindling numbers. they
started by classifying a bunch of new cars, including quite a few tin tops,
the first sedans and coupes ever listed in Production.

they followed up a year or two later with limited prep rules.

limited prep basically cuts way back on what is permitted with the
suspension, and permits a milder engine (but still more agressive than
stock.) a limited prep car generally runs one class down from the full prep
car, so a full prep Alfetta would likely be an EP car, but a limited prep
Alfetta is a fairly good match for FP.

of course, you guys with 2L GTVs, Spiders and Berlinas could always try
to get limited prep listings in FP for your cars, too. i'm focusing on
the Alfetta, because that's the race car i've got.

i'm looking at moving there from IT, because in IT  you need to run nearly
stock engine and i have an interest in doing some of the traditional alfa
things and building one that's a little hotter.

cheers,
  richard
--
Richard Welty                                         rwelty@domain.elided
Averill Park Networking                                         518-573-7592
              Unix, Linux, IP Network Engineering, Security
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