Well it was a beautiful day and a nice trip there with my two 911 buds. Great to see everyone and have a few beers. Just a sad afternoon with the crash and passing of Lee Duran.
Glad all of us made it there and back home safe!
It was a fun day!and nice to meet you guys 
Yup, weather was great (unlike that humid furnace we were in last year), cars were great and the garage/paddock areas were teaming with people, all having a good time. That "Ralph Lauren" car exhibit was done in absolute first class fashion.
And it was wonderful to be able to apply faces to folks I only see on here as "usernames".
Troy Sloan: Here's how Porsche did the leading edge of the side windows on a 550 RSK:
A heat gun and a piece of Acrylic and I'm sure this could be done for a Speedster in a classy way, too.
And here's the write-up for the Ralph Lauren car:
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More Lime Rock Photos:
Late morning, we were walking down to the pits as a group when a race started but once you get down to ground level the fences and guardrails obstruct your view.
Coming off of the first lap there were three Porsche 911's with a sizable lead (not surprising) with....What? Is that a VW Beetle keeping up with the 911's?? Holy Carp! The roof line looks like a Beetle sedan and it's hauling ass, right behind the Porsches and......HOLY CARP! It's trying to PASS the third one on turn one!!
Well, I was wrong. As it turned out, it was NOT a VW Beetle, but it was a very highly modified Fiat 800 (yeah.....no kidding, right?) with another, silver one just a few car lengths back, both giving the Porsches a real run. The Green one crept up from fourth to second in this race, while the Silver one hung in there at fourth, but the Porsches were giving no quarter anywhere on the track, so these guys had to fight for everything they got. Here's the Green one:
And it's "Little Screamer" engine. I wish I had a picture of it on the track - they locked the engine cover up to horizontal and it acted like a big wing:
Its pair of BIG side-drafts:
And the "Sister Ship":
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Driving one of these makes SO MUCH more sense than riding one of those three-wheeled motorcycles:
Just imagine trying to sync these buggers:
And if I were to take a cross-country road trip and couldn't get Johnny Depp's Mercruiser, maybe one of these would suffice:
And for cruising around town and to the coffee shop, one of these (yes, I've got a thing for Fiats):
These recent Morgan reproductions are just so totally cool on so many levels. this one has a boat-tail, too:
I thought of tom Blankenship when I saw how they mounted the battery in this car:
And lastly for this group, a car owned and driven by a guy who grew up with my brother. I can't remember the name of this car, but Phil, the owner, told me that only two were ever built. Looks like a skateboard with a helmet sitting on it while out on the track:
And lastly-lastly, one of Al Gallo's friends from that "Great Eastern Sand Bar" (Cape Cod to YOU!) with his Morgan and unique "Bumpah Stickah":
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Nice car and nice cafe shot.
Nice shots ,Gordon and Dave! Heidi took quite a few also, and we'll have them up in a day or so. Weather was stellar and it was good to hang out with some old friends. What were those carbs on that red sled above?
The crash in the afternoon put a damper on things. Heidi got to start the race with the green flag from the tower track side and they never completed the first lap.
Lee Duran was 73 from Lyme , Conn. driving a 1934 MG PA Special.
Did that MG PA Special have a roll bar...and retaining shoulder harness?
Most of the cars in that class have no roll bars. The starter told me that the owners leave them off to be as original as possible. I wouldn't be surprised if that changes in the future.
BTW, Carl, you were conspicuous in your absence. Hope you're feeling better.
Thanks Al...missing Lime Rock was very, very, disappointing.
The 912 is still laid up waiting for a fuel injection air sensor do-dad, and I badly kinked neck and shoulder fiddling with the VS hoping to smooth out a crappy running engine for the drive up. That (literally pain in the neck) prevented me from even showing up in the reliable S-10...duh
I'm sure you're right about next year's requirements (mandatory roll bars and harnesses) because that MG damage appears survivable with them in place.
Well, SHOOT, Carl!
Wore my best Patriots hat and a clean shirt, too!
Sorry you could't make it. WX was pretty nice for a change - WAY, WAY, WAY better than Carlisle most of the time and a whole lot cooler than last year!!!
I was amazed that I ran into a whole bunch of Car people I hadn't seen in 30+ years (and then, of course, Danny and Lenny, too!) Finally got to meet EdsNova, Dan O'Connell and Joel Abrahamson and we all wandered around the special Ralph Lauren collection. Kinda lost those guys after a while, so never got to the "Beers" part with them, but spent time with the Reevs Collection folks and bumped into a few guys from the Rolex side of the fence.
All in all, one really good day and I was home in time to help clean up after Chris' "Grand Move" to his new digs.
Take it easy, get healthy and get something running for some fall cruising.
gn
Gordon,
Thanks for posting the pictures of the Fiat-Abarths , used to race one back in the late 60's. Loved them. The green was for sale at Amelia Island a couple of years ago.
Chuck
You can tell a REAL race car (in this case, a Porsche RSK), when you notice that it doesn't have one of those silly speedometers. this is Ralph Lauren's RSK, mentioned earlier in the thread:
Sorry that I don't have a picture of the front, but this is the "Business" end - the end that most other racers saw:
And just as a contrast, here is the "Business" end of a Bentley Blower:
And the "Office Wall" where all of that horsepower gets harnessed. Again, there doesn't seem to be a speedometer:
Not only was the steering wheel completely wrapped in hemp cording, but all of the leaf springs were done so as well. On the springs, I was told that it keeps the grease in and prevents squeaking. Don't think that the steering wheel would squeak, either.......
Notice the substantial padding on the center hub of the steering wheel, too. 
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One more car, a '69 Gropa (don't worry - I had never heard of it, either) owned by my late brother's friend and fellow kid from Grafton, MA, Phil Meany.
and a shot of Chris Padulla, Phil Meany and Charlie Padulla of "Charlie's Rod Shop" here in town. Charlie builds some of the most beautiful Hot Rods in New England.
The yellow car in the background is a Chevron B19, also supported by Lee Chapman:
OK, and a 1959 Elva open wheeler - Like a wicked-fast Formula VEE:
And lastly, some Porsche Porn for Stan and Angela:
And the Hoopty-inspired "Master Console" for the same car:
So that's about it, except for one more Fiat shot. If you see this approaching really fast in your rearview mirror, get the hell out of the way!
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Thanks for the pics, Gordon; love the Fiat Abarths, the RSK and the Porsche porn!
My 3rd year at Lime Rock with the speedster was again a wonderful experience. It was 58 degrees when i left NJ with the top down of course.The heater tube modification really kept my legs warm. 100 miles and 1 &1/2 hrs later I arrived to great weather.
The best part of the day was hanging with SOC people. Gordon N. convinced me to tour The Ralph Lauren collection-Thanks for the great pictures Gordon. The Bently blower and the 250 Ferrari were my favorites there. I talked with Danny, Lenny,Dan O'connell,Edsnova,Al and Heidi Gallo from the Cape and others.
Hedi was my right seater on the track with her new Go Pro-we had a good time-she said that she wanted to emulate Musbejim! Edsnova told me that we were all a little mental-no denying it but in a good way.
Two of my favorite cars were The 1935 Fiat Toppolino (little mouse) and the 1934 boat tail MG with a blower-it was in the pits but I didn't see it run.
I was in the beer tent with the guys when the tragic accident happened-sad.
My return home was uneventful-half Taconic State Pky and the rest back roads-Tub ran great occasional back fire when I let up on the gas at speed-will recheck for leaks in the headers. AccordIng to the fuel gauge good mileage-I'll know when I fill up.
There were three replica spyders and three speedsters in the Corral-not as many Porsches as last year though.
A good day, Joel
In the late 80's I acquired a 240Z (that was specifically 'set up' for Lime Rock) as repayment of a loan to a friend who was on the edge of a divorce. It otherwise would have gone into the 'community property pot'...totally uncivilized automobile!
It had no right seat at all. That space was required for the internal roll cage.
A fuel cell, with no gas gage, instead of fuel tank. No speedometer. The tach, oil pressure, and water temperature gages were rotated in the dash so that optimum needle readings were all straight up at 12 o'clock. It had a suspension that was just a wee bit stiffer than my dining room table. The engine was supposedly 'stock' but the gearing wasn't...first gear was a dog...but second gear above 3k rpm was scary!
I couldn't wait to find a buyer for it and recoup my money.
I just wish I'd kept the photo of my friend and Paul Newman posed in front of it in the Lime Rock pits.
Originally Posted by Carl Berry CT.:
In the late 80's I acquired a 240Z (that was specifically 'set up' for Lime Rock) as repayment of a loan to a friend who was on the edge of a divorce. It otherwise would have gone into the 'community property pot'...totally uncivilized automobile!
It had no right seat at all. That space was required for the internal roll cage.
A fuel cell, with no gas gage, instead of fuel tank. No speedometer. The tach, oil pressure, and water temperature gages were rotated in the dash so that optimum needle readings were all straight up at 12 o'clock. It had a suspension that was just a wee bit stiffer than my dining room table. The engine was supposedly 'stock' but the gearing wasn't...first gear was a dog...but second gear above 3k rpm was scary!
I couldn't wait to find a buyer for it and recoup my money.
I just wish I'd kept the photo of my friend and Paul Newman posed in front of it in the Lime Rock pits.
I missed Lime Rock, but we are off to Watkins Glen for the Vintage festival and races this weekend. We have gone for the last ten years or so, and it's a great get together.
I don't know what year the championship started, as I guess they just used to have individual races all over. But Porsche's first international outright victory was in the Targa Florio in 1956 with a 550a. So I don't really understand the sign for the Lauren RSK. http://endurancenostalgia.word...ternational-victory/
The car was painted white in the pits with a brush as Mercedes was silver and the organizers wanted the car a different color to differentiate it. Hand painted numbers as well. Here is a black and white, but easy to tell it is white. Caption says 1965, but Porsche was running the 904 then, it's supposed to be '56.
http://www.seriouswheels.com/p...Spyder-1600x1200.htm
Pretty much the inspiration for mine being white, along with the 550a of Lemans that was American-owned(and white with blue darts).
I'm glad everybody made it home and thanks all for posting pics!
I noticed the leaf spring being wrapped in cord too Gordon. Maybe the wheel was for grip....