Racing a 1970 S2 at the PVGP

[Lukeb9433]

Hi everyone - my name's Luke, and we're from Pennsylvania, USA.  This Europa project started out almost 5 yrs ago - we found the car as a basket case locally.  My dream from the beginning was to build it into a race car that would be eligible for vintage racing and would be able to run at one of the premier vintage motorsports events in the country - the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, held on the city streets of Schenley park.   

That dream finally came true last weekend, at the 32nd PVGP!  Here are some photos of the car and an onboard video of the exciting race as I chase down an Elan: http://youtu.be/rxs9x3D7k_w

(Note for the future - if you want to run a Europa in the heat of July, make some kind of ventilation duct for yourself.  The heat in the cockpit from the air temp and the radiant temp from the coolant pipes almost gave me heat stroke halfway through the race..)

Let me know if you have any technical questions or want more photos of the project - I've got tons!
Here's a link to some taken of the process:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bianchina/sets/72157634465539356/

[Mecky]

Hi Luke,

I would like to see/know everything. All the data (power, weight...) and pictures of the boot, engine compartment and interior.
From the outside your car looks magnificant

We had a hot race weekend as well. On the picture you can see our solution.

Best regards

Stefan

[BDA]

Luke, I love the bubbles on the roof! I did a little bubble on the driver's side for my head, but I wish I had made larger ones similar to yours. You must be really tall for your knees to be so high and in front of the dash!

Nice race video! I couldn't read your gauges but it looked like you might have been running a little warm. A tip you might consider is rotating the gauges so that the needles point up (or in the same direction) when they are in the "normal" range. Of course, like I said, I couldn't read them and maybe you've already done that (or prefer not to).

Good luck in future races!

[Lukeb9433]

Thanks!  I'm about 6’2, so the bubbles were definitely a necessity.  With the cage in place, the seat has to be about 6“ further forward than optimal, so that combined with the rake left nowhere for my knees.
Agree that oil temp was a bit high - very hot day, and even though I installed an oil cooler, it needs some ducting.  It's located in the passenger side of the rear grill.  I've gotten used to the gauges all pointing to roughly two o'clock when normal.. Probably should point them up.

Stefan - I've been following your posts for a while. You guys have a very neat Europa! I like your hose - in America we're not allowed to race with side windows, so I feel lucky!  Let's see what kind of info I can come up with:
The engine is an amalgamation- it's an 821 "block" with bored sleeves. 807 pistons from Venolia machined to be about 13:1 compression, 807 rods and oil pump and an 843 Crossflow head with big valves.  Estimate about 150 Bhp.  (The Elan I beat had about 190 - Haha!)
Weight is about 1340 pounds.  The car has the stock chassis, and the Banks cage isn't light.. Suspension setup is stock, but with AVO adjustable racing shocks, thick front swaybar and an adjustable custom rear bar, as well as adjustable lower links for camber change.
Fuel cell is mounted in the front luggage tray. 

Here are some more photos (from a couple of months ago) not included in the link I shared: 

[3929R]

She sounds and looks beautiful!

[Valerio Leone]

Hi Luke, nice car!!!
It looks that also the water temp was a bit high, right?
My question, are you using the thermostat into the cooling system?

Best regards
Valerio

[BDA]

She looks really well put together!

Placing and ducting an oil cooler is difficult (at least I thought so). You probably don't want to run oil lines all the way to the front of the car where the best air for the cooler is. You might consider a duct behind a door since your fuel is in the front luggage tray. It could exit out into engine compartment and out the rear grill. Another idea might be to set up a duct in the boot (engine cover) that points to the cooler. Somebody on the lotuseuropa yahoo group did an aerodynamic analysis of the Europa. That might be useful for you.

Good luck on your next race!

[jbcollier]

I don't seem to be able to access the link to your photos.  Yahoo says its private (thus the https designation?).

Yes, there isn't much air flow out at the back grill.  Here's what one chap did for an oil cooler:

http://s250.photobucket.com/user/jbcollier/media/oilcooler1.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

http://s250.photobucket.com/user/jbcollier/media/oilsystem2012.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

Made a huge difference over when he just had it at the back.

I'm probably going to go a similar set-up for mine but it's a bit more complicated as mine is an S1.

[BDA]

I don't have any empirical data but I would expect the low pressure area behind the car would help draw air through the rear grill. Certainly not as much as if you had direct airflow from outside the car, but I would think it is a lot better than nothing.

My only point of reference is that I put my oil cooler below the luggage tray and ducted it out next to the license plate. I have an oil thermostat and between that and the cooler, it runs a constant 180 deg (IIRC), regardless of the water temp which can get hot if I'm in traffic. I was ready to consider a fan for it but that wasn't necessary. Obviously, my experience is a lot different from racing so it may not translate that well.

I also had other constraints. With two gas tanks, I didn't see a good place to put it behind the cabin and I didn't want to run oil lines to the front of the car and back. A racing car wouldn't be as constrained.

That's my $0.02 and probably not worth that much!

[twncmracer]

driver cooling; this works for me: the air hits me in chest area AND I have a helmet fan pumping air inside the helmet. I race in the semiarid desert tracks in Calif. There's a 1/2" lip on the edge of the windshield pillor that I had to add as the air flow from the windshield doesn't go into the door window(!).

topper

[BDA]

Helmet fan?! You're kidding, right? Things sure have changed since I was racing!

[Bainford]

I'm late to the party here Luke, but I want to say that your Europa is fantastic. A very serious looking machine indeed. Love the rood bubbles, are they open at the back? Congrats on making the race. It looks like a lot of fun. Cheers.