1. Off SeasonReflectionofa vintage racer car driver
Truly,anyone whoknowsme understandsthatIhave a lotof hobbies. Scubadiving,bicycle roadracing,
mountainbiking,photography,camping,hiking,fishing,model rocketry,Britishcars,(Ihave three..Ihave
three?),andevenlandscaping,toomanyhobbiesreally. Whatmay come as a surprise tomost isjust
howattachedI have become to one particularhobby,racingandcampaigningmyvintage race car. After
five yearsof vintage racingandwritingaboutthe trialsand tribulationsof whathappensatthe race
track, I think that reflectingbackonthose five yearsisappropriate. Well maybe notentirely
appropriate,butmyshrinkthinksif Ishare it withyou,it will lifta greatburdenfromwithinforme.
Off season
WhenI firstventureddownthe pathof finding,purchasing,andracingavintage car I wonderedhowon
earthI was goingto getthroughthe six wintermonthswhere mycarsat idle inthe garage and I would
spendmyfree time watchingvideosfromthe previous season;Thatmyfriendwas fallacynumberone.
Who on earthhas free time whenwe are notracing?Not me! First,there isthe time where youpark
the race car inthe garage and refuse togo anywhere nearit,sortof a “youare on strike”attitude. Then,
aftersome poutingandgruff commentstofriends abouthow youcouldnot evencare if someone came
and stole your@#%& car fromunderyournose,youmake your wayto the garage to begincleaninga
seasonof grime away. Next,asyour selectionof garage beerimproves, alongwiththe musicyouplay
on yourgarage playlist,yourattitude improvesaswell andsoonyoufindyourself actuallyenjoyingonce
again,the work onthe car; heck,the seasonisjustaround the corner yousay! Wrong. Afterthe
processof cleaning,youbegintorememberthe leakingaxles, leakingoil pan,leakingmastercylinder,
leakingexhaust,leakingcoolant(fromsomewhere?),leakingfuelcell,andfinally the leakinggearbox,
whichbythe way,alsomakesnoisesthat oddlyenough,soundedlike the noise youlastheardwhena
forkendedupinyour garbage disposal! Next-(coincidentlythisoccurswhenyourmailboxisfull of
catalogsfrom Pegasus,SpeedwayMotors,andMoss!),youbegintocompile alistof the partsyou need
for winterrepairs,yourpenrunsdry! The listmaylooklike this:
Oil,Gearbox oil,Waterwetter,Oil filter, Fuel filter,Gearbox oil, Brake shoes,Brake pads,New coolant
hoses,Improvedhose clamps,Throttlecable, Valve covergaskets,Sparkplugs,Beer,Clutchdisk, Clutch
pressure plate,Clutchthrowout bearing, Engine mounts,Brake lightbulbs,Radiatorcap,Beer,Tires, I
don’thave thissort of money,Tools, Spare parts,Thisis gettingexpensive,Oil cooler,IthinkIhadbetter
stop,Axels,Didn’tGarycarry these-Idon’tneedtobuythem,Rearpiniongaskets, Holycow Icouldbuild
a secondrace car, Differential fluid.
Four months until the seasonbegins. Andso it goes,yougetthe point;it’susuallyalonglist. A small
hinthere,don’tthinkfora minute thatjustbecause youthoughtyouwere smart andhad the listof
parts sentto youroffice soyouwife would notsee themmeansshe won’tfindout,she will. Especially
whenyourneighborsbothworkforUPS, Yeah,ask me how I know. Finallyeverythingarrivesandthe
workof replacing,improvingandskinningyourknucklesbegins. Well itcould. You beginand openyour
expensive socketset/openendwrenchesandrememberthe guysacrossthe paddock at the lastrace
that had notools and came lookingforthe exacttoolsthatnow onlyleave emptyspacesinyourtool kit,

2. yeah,those guys. (Probablydrivingandracinga Porsche!) Off toSears fora few new Craftsmantools
and yetanotherbox fromUPS comesto your door. I believe afterseasonthree,Iwasgettingbirthday
cards frommy UPS deliveryman.
Nothingcomesaparteasyin yourowngarage. At the race track, I have foundthatthere is always
someone aroundwhoknowsthisthingtoturn firstandwhat notto loosenthenbefore youpull that,
stop!-skipthattoo,thenwow,itworkedhowdidyoudothat?Sortof time savingthing. Nosuchperson
existsinyourgarage;it isjustyou and a part that simplywill notbe removedfromhow itresides and
whatit holdstogether: Liquidwrencheven refusestocome fromout of itscan to loosensome of these
parts!
Two months before the openingrace. Noworries. Everythingisnow apart,anotherroundof parts
have beenordered,usuallythisroundof partsismuch smaller,nonotthe SIZE of the order,butthe
parts themselvesare smallerandcoincidently,more expensive! Anotherthermoof mine,the smaller
the part MUST costmore andbe the one itemOUT OF STOCK! As youwork on the car, you make friends
withthe neighborkids.(The same onesyouchasedoutof your flowergardenat nightandscared them
half to death!) Usuallythe conversationgoessomethinglike this,“HeySam, yeah,sure it’sme,No,Iam
not madabout the garden….Really-we were notgoingtoactuallyeatthose vegetables. Imeanthat is
whata produce departmentisfor,right? So, anywaySam, I needsome helphere. Everbleedbrakes
before? Hey-don’tgo-hey…”
Back to square one-the neighborhoodkidswouldonlytearitupanyway! Little bylittle youassemble
the car, fill the fluids,airthe tires,andcharge the batteryand bribe yourfriendstostopby fora beer
thengetthemto helpforfive minuteshere andthere! Thenwhileyouwaitforthe single,final,“small
countrieshave mine lessGNPthanthisthingcost”out of stock part, youlookoverand repackevery
spare racing part tub youown;if you were pregnant,theywouldsayyouwere “nesting”
One monthto go, where isthatpart so I can start the car? Frantic phone callsbetweenyouandparts
suppliersnowtake place. Yourfamilynow hasnotseenyoufor solongthat theycall the police when
youwalkthroughthe doorintothe kitchen. Dusthascoveredthe grease handprintsyouleftonthe car
whenyoustartedtakingitall apart! Now isa greattime to begintolookoveryoursafetygear. Helmet,
SA 2010? Yes. Glovesandshoeshave anyholes?Yes,buttheyare so comfortable! Ordernew ones
asap. Race suit,whew,itcertainlydidn’tsmell likethatwhenIlastput iton, probablyshouldhave taken
it outof the race bag longbefore now,how couldanythingeversmell sobad? It didrainat the lastrace;
it mightnothave beensucha goodideato stuff itdirectlyintothe race bag….DidI smell thatbadtoo?
A weekto go. Car inthe trailer-Where are those tie downstraps? Trailerneedswheelsrepacked,like
lastyear,I promise todo it thissummersometime. Mustverify thatmyrace entrywas correct. AmI
number71? 171? Or 711 thistime? 116 wouldbe a great number,reads911 if my car gets upside
down. Printdirectionstothe track. Verifyyouhave hotel reservations,whoamIkidding,Ialwaystent
camp at the track as my charge card gets declinedbythe time the seasonstarts! Buybeersforyour
friendsuntil one of thembreaksdownandagreestoattendyourrace as a crew memberunderthe
promise thattheyactuallywon’thave todo anything.

3. Finally,the seasonbegins, andyouheadoff tothe track. You pull up to signthe track waiverandare
greetedbythe VSCDA office staff. Youparkand unloadyourrig,and get the car over to techfor your
car’s annual inspection. Have youeverseenagrown mancry? If not, witnessatechnical inspectionof a
race car at the start of a season! We sit ina long line,safetygearin inthe seatandhope everything
worksand doesn’tleak,well foratleastthe next15 minutes!
Five minute call to the grid. Before youevensetwheelsonthe false gridyoucome to realize afewkey
points. Your realize thatevenif youcouldnotgetyour car readyfor the firstrace of the season,it
wouldbe nobig deal as whatyoureallymissedwasn’tthe racingasmuch as it wasthe other drivers,
crewmembers,staff,volunteers,cornerworkers,andfamilyfriendswhoshow upandmake vintage
racing a special fellowship. Youalsorealize thatyoutrulyenjoyhavingyourfamilywithyouatthe track
whetheritishangingoutin an RV,campingina tent,or stayingdownthe streetina hotel,justbecause
vintage racingand the workin the off season,if done correctly,letsyouenjoy campfires,trackwalksat
duskand moviesonthe side of a haulerwithyourfamilyanddosomethingyoualwaysdreamedof;
takinga checkeredflagatrace end!
See youat the track!
Doug Bruce-Architect/Owner/Mechanic/Driver1959 Bugeye Sprite Number71