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Getting ready to race #45 for the first time


nick@nite

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That sucks man... Especially on the way down and not even in competition. Live and learn though.

If it were me I'd reshell - not really worth it to fix I don't think. Hopefully the cage can be easily transferred as it'd likely be easier (and cheaper!) to cut off the roof of the next car and drop the cage in then to cut the cage apart... I'd be interested in seeing what works best for you guys.

Hopefully most of the other good parts like the new windshield and such are all salvageable as well.

Rabin

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First off, sorry to hear of the crash, glad its just a nose and ugly scar. They add character, trust me. :blink:

Frame Machine. Pull Pull Pull. Pound the floor flat as you can, weld some plate over any wrinkles left from the pull and bolt it back together. As long as it aligns its good to race. You can make the fenders, hood, doors, etc etc fit good enough to make it look good. Its a race car, not some Pebble Beach wonder bra.

I'm actually being serious Nic. I think you might be better off pulling it straight and doing some wleding where needed vs. building another racecar again. The trick is finding a frame guy that knows what he is doing and understands racecar straight vs. Grandma's Buick straight.

Good luck!

bryan

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Worst comes to worst I think the newly acquired $300 V6 is a good candidate for the dani swap....

Windshield was not hurt, thank god.. Momo steering wheel got bent up pretty good... I would probably cut the roof to get the cage out and then cut as needed to get it in and re-weld

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Chris Putzier (Junction Motorsports) and my Uncle that built the car also Chris and my uncle shops are in the same building... Stopped by this morning. Chris does the frame straightening for John Buffum, and VT Sports Car...

He thinks he can straighten it without a problem... What he says and what he can do are always two different stories but he is optimistic at least... But he's booked until three weeks away

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Chris does the frame straightening for John Buffum, and VT Sports Car...

okay, i am officially impressed. i first got my driver's license in 1980...as you can imagine, in the late 70s i was pretty car crazy and i read all of the car magazines religiously. in those days buffum was driving his very successful TR8 (now there's a sweet car...), winning championships, etc. so he's a hero of mine. i knew he was from new england somewhere but i didn't realize he lived so close to you. pretty cool...didn't he also drive a 504 at some point?

so there's hope of a successful repair...hoping this turns out well, please keep us updated!

andré

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okay, i am officially impressed. i first got my driver's license in 1980...as you can imagine, in the late 70s i was pretty car crazy and i read all of the car magazines religiously. in those days buffum was driving his very successful TR8 (now there's a sweet car...), winning championships, etc. so he's a hero of mine. i knew he was from new england somewhere but i didn't realize he lived so close to you. pretty cool...didn't he also drive a 504 at some point?

so there's hope of a successful repair...hoping this turns out well, please keep us updated!

andré

Him and Tim O'neil use to work and race a 504

a map of my area... Libra racing and VT Sports Car a like a half mile from each other.

Pastrana's new year red bull jump into the bay after the jump was totaled, Putzier straighten that after... Putzier use to work for my father back in the day. Along with my father and Buffum have some history too. Also Lance Smith, the owner of VT Sports car and my father have some history as well, you can say a love hate relationship... You wlak into VT Sports Car to by some used subie race go fast parts. It's like a kid in a kandy store!!!

Also Rabin I just found out this weekend that Jason Russell and Marc Swanson (a tuner) just bought a portable 4 wheel dyno....

http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=m&lat=44.48815&lon=-73.159865&zoom=12&q1=imported%20car%20center%20williston%20vermont&q2=libra%20racing%20colchester%20vermont

http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=m&lat=44.54339&lon=-73.21881&zoom=15&q1=libra%20racing%20colchester%20vermont&q2=vermont%20sports%20car%20colchester%20veromnt

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Andre,

I saw the Buffum, Woodner, Block and more back in the late 70's when I worked various stages on the 100 Acre Wood Rally outside St. Louis. Buffum ran a TR7 the first year I was there and a TR8 the next, maybe 79 and 80? God its so long ago....

Nick, if you have to build new it seems that the hot lick is to cut the roof off cars or cut big holes in roofs to do the welding. For some reason few cage builders seem to understand how to build a ship in a bottle anymore. In your case it may be the only way, if that is the chosen route.

Hopefully the car can be stretched back into the general shape of a 505, hang some fenders, lay a little bondo and go racing!

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Holy shit man. That might be a fun excerice for students going to school to become body-technicians.

Another 505 shell would be smart: but PLEASE do not cage up and race that minty 89' v6 you just bought...

I'd look for an old Xn6 or diesel sedan and just go from there...you have everything to turn it out.

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89' V6 seems like it'd be a much better car for fix / resale then to race.

Hopefully you can make a deal for the existing local 505 race cars as that would be the easiest of all. You could then work on a reshell to make use of the cage as time permits.

Rabin

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When Putzier says something is fix-able he usually can fix it... I'm pushing toward fixing it.... It's on the trailer on all 4 rollers now waiting to be taken over to get straighten

My fellow friends race car... His wife wrecked it when doing her first hillclimb.... Same thing what I just did... She wrecked it on the come down.... He also just finished his 6 speed swap too! The car smacked a tree and landed on a bunch of rocks... She blamed it on 034 EFI harness with VEMS & had a glitch and shut the car down around a corner and lost control... He had a metal skid plate on but that went off on the first rock... Broke the trans bent the 400WHP axles Cracked the block, oil pan, control arms snapped, and of course frame damaged... Putzier fixed it and it drives again.... But he been blowing it up each hilllclimb, He has VEMS and I think he hasn't tuned it for various throttles inputs... He only tuned it on full throttles... Also has forged internals & rods. He's burnt pistons and bad smoke each time, And it's not the turbo.... He's had horrible luck... I'm hoping our Dani engine won't have the same fate...

293-1.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...

My father is biting the bullet and will be picking it up next month after the sale of the old shop property goes to CVS pharmacy he'll have the money then...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180862192494&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1426.l2649

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That's freakin' AWESOME!

Can't imagine a better home. Congrats to you guys.

Oh yeah - we also need to totally document that sale price as well. Still a bargain considering the historic racing providence, but nice to see it into 5 digit territory at least.

Rabin

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  • 5 months later...

I'm curious to see just how good Putzier is - I realize it's just got to be "racecar" good - but still curious to see what the finished product looks like. Hopefully you're able to make some progress on the VEMS install too. :)

Rabin

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