While posting on underdog's thread on handling improvements, I felt
one of my stories comming on. So, if your not interested in an old
bloke's waffle, read no further.
In the late 50s, or early 60s, [Its a long time back] a bloke by the
name of Brabham brought a new Cooper Climax, [next years F1
prototype] to Oz, to race here during the northen winter. It
actually was only a 2.2L, as Climax were still stretching the thing
to get 2.5L for F1.
Things were not going too well. The thing was very tail happy, &
Jack was having trouble getting power down, out of corners. A bunch
of them were standing, looking at the thing, [as if that would
help], when an old racing mate of Jacks, [Ron Tonareau, spelling?] came up.
The conversation went like this.
Ron. How's it going?
Jack. Not great.
Ron. Bit tail happy, is it?
Jack. What? Have you seen it?
Ron. No. I'm just looking at your rear end.
Jack. What do you mean?
Ron. Well, your rear roll centre must be 3 or 4 inches under ground.
Jack. Hay?
Ron. Your rear roll centre is at least 6 inches lower than your
front roll centre. Its got to be tail happy.
That night 2 very brave blokes cut the upper rear suspension
mountings off the brand new Cooper, & brazed on new ones in
different places.
The next day Jack knocked 4 seconds off his lap times, & a Cooper
Climax was on the way to be F1 world champion.
I loved racing, back then, when one smart bloke, with a hack saw, &
a few brazing rods could change racing car design for a decade or
more. All Brabhams were numbered BT something. That T was Ron, he
designed all of them.
Fast forward to 1967. A mate, & I were both racing BT 3 Brabhams.
Mine was FJ 3 62, with an 1100cc Cosworth engine, his FJ 12 62, with
a 1500cc Cosworth.
He had a bit of bad luck, & somehow rolled the thing, along the top
of a safty fence. He was knocked about quite a bit, the car quite a
lot, & his wife said she would divorce him, if he raced again.
When the car was almost repaired, he had a prospective buyer, who
wanted to see the car was just as quick, as it had been, before the
prang. Mike asked me to drive it in the last of our Gold Star races
[Oz drivers championship] in 67. As it was not sure it would be
ready, we had both his, & my car entered, with me as driver. I could
practice both, & drive my choice of either car.
Practice started very very wet. I took the 1500 out, but it was
un-driveable. I spun, or slid off 4 times in one 2.5 mile, very slow
lap. I took my 1100 out, & set 4th fastest time. There were 8 F1
behind me. it was that wet.
It dried out a bit, & I went out, & set 7Th fastest time, with the
1500. It was still bl@@dy awful at moderate speeds, but if you
remembered it was a Brabham, & drove it like a Brabham, It was OK.
You had to go into the corners fast enough to get the basics working
for you.
Between practice sessions we found,
The wheel base was 1.5" longer on the off side, than the near side.
The ride height was 2" too high, at the front, & 2.5" at the back.
The castors, & cambers were all over the place. We gave it the best
wheel alignment we could, in a grassy paddock, & set 5Th fastest
time in the second practice. I drove it in the race, & won its class
by half a lap.
With the lousy set up, the thing was handling like a pig, & wanted
to bite me, any chance I gave it, but it was still a Brabham. The
wheel base, roll centers, the front & rear track, & the spring rates
were all Brabham. So the handling was lousy, because it was not set
up as it should have been, but it had still the same cornering power
as my car, because all the basics were still right.
The same effect occurs with our 7, & 8. The 8, with a "competition"
suspension is at least 15% quicker than the 7, around corners, it
has much more cornering power. The 7 is much nicer to drive, all
day, on a long trip. Its handling is more fun, albeit at its lower
speed, & so forgiving that you can throw it around, with out it
wanting to bit you.
Unfortunately, many people can only afford, [or are only allowed]
one TR, so make sure you have it set up best for want you want.
Hasbeen
