Day 1:
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Hey! There's a Gulf-Liveried, lowered and flared-fendered Speedster in The Great Race! It's GOT to be a Replica.....
There's also a (real) MG out there for @edsnova with the special Summer "Balloon Top":
Day 2:
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I'll check them out tomorrow, they're stopping in Montgomery for lunch.
Forecast is probable rain from 5 p.m. on, so I should be good.
It's about 5-10 minutes away from where we met up for the Carlisle Caravan a GOOD while back.
My biker friend, Scott, is going with me to the overnight location of the racers in Providence, RI on Thursday. I hope to post some good photos AND find that team with the Speedstah Replicah. Maybe do an Interview for the SOC.
Stay tuned!
I meant Thursday I'll check them out. Ooops, I lost a day. It happens.
The forecast for the correct day is NICE and sunny!
Yeah, later in the afternoon we can expect scattered showers between Montgomery and Providence, but nothing to worry about.
@DannyP What would you estimate to be the drive time (secondary roads) between Montgomery and Provdence, RI? I'm guessing about four hours, at or below the speed limit.
And You?
Don't know. I've always taken I-84 so I can get through CT as fast as possible. The only time I slow down is to stop off and see LennyC.
Well, my buddy, Scott, and I headed on down to Providence to see The Great Race cars arrive at yesterday’s stage end. That was at a Marriot hotel that sits just North of “Downtown” and about a half mile from I-95. Given the photos I’ve seen at other stops this week I suspected there would be a huge crowd and we would have to park quite a ways away and hike over to the hotel. My backup plan was to park in my wife’s doctor’s office lot just up the street.
None of that happened. We got to the hotel with zero traffic, drove right in and past the traffic security guy who had obviously had WAY too many coffees before the car arrivals and found a parking space in less then a minute, right next to a big, “Dually” pickup with this on the door - Looks like we were at the right hotel.
So we wander around and Scott bumps into the lady who runs some of the bicycle Spin classes he takes and she turns out to be the daughter of the guy who was President of Hemmings Motor News for over 20 years. It turned out that some of her Dad’s friends were racing (her Dad has done the Great Race many times, too but is now retired) and one car’s Navigator became ill so her Dad was recruited as Navigator on an Auburn Boat-tail Speedster. Way cool. I also saw that Gulf-Liveried 356 Speedster and it looked like a CMC body/trim, BUT it sounded like a Suby engine running EFI - The idle was around 1,000 RPM and very smooth. BIG racing-style exhaust coming out of the passenger side body just behind the rear wheel. Here are my photos, and we were standing right where the cars checked in. Their last leg was into Providence on secondary RT 6, then about a mile north on I-95 AT RUSH HOUR to get off at the Statehouse exit and a short hop over to the hotel.
This Camaro was just one of a bunch of cars with women teams. Some were sports cars, some Hot Rods, some muscle cars.
This Beige ‘46 Business Coupe could be almost a twin to my old street rod:
Another team of women.
A Fabulous Hudson Commodore.
There are a half dozen motorcycles racing, one ridden by a woman!
There are a few “Land Yachts”, too!
These guys must be really brave…… That round thing above the hood is a gauge cluster, mostly clock, for the driver. All the cars had a version of this in the cockpit.
A jack stand seeing double duty…
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On the Gulf livery 356, do you know if that is a vent to cool the engine compartment thereon the top behind the passenger and ahead of the deck lid?
Hope you enjoyed the "parade".
Bob on closer look, it appears to be her side curtain that is back there. Looks like she took it off in the last picture and that's where she put it....
Love that Hudson.
@Butcher Boy posted:Bob on closer look, it appears to be her side curtain that is back there. Looks like she took it off in the last picture and that's where she put it....
Look at the first photo of the car. The vent is partially under the fabric of the back of the tonneau. A couple of the other photos confirm that the side curtain is further ahead of the vent.
@Panhandle Bob I see that vent.
It is a NACA vent, designed for airplanes just before NASA and used on a lot of race cars. It allows air to flow into the vent but doesn't disrupt the overall car's airflow. Usually they are mounted turned 90º counter-clockwise to what's on that car, but I guess it would work the way they have it. I don't know if there is one or two vents - I stood on the right of all cars coming in.
Here's a video about NACA ducts:
You know, I said that it was running a Subaru engine, but I'll tell yah, it sounded a LOT like Bob Carley's 911 engine, and with that big exhaust pipe? Hmmmm....
As soon as it pulled in off the street I heard it and my head snapped over towards the sound.
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Hey - I also found a photo from yesterday of Sue's Dad as Navigator in an Auburn Speedster. That driver really sits up there. Must have been tough on late Wednesday afternoon when they drove through a bunch of downpours near Binghamton, NY.
Day 6 Race Highlights
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"You know, I said that it was running a Subaru engine, but I'll tell yah, it sounded a LOT like Bob Carley's 911 engine, and with that big exhaust pipe? Hmmmm....
As soon as it pulled in off the street I heard it and my head snapped over towards the sound."
Looking at the rear of the car and where the wheels are located, I doubt there would be a flat six back there. Henry had to really modify his standard frame and wheel well configuration to fit those six cylinders back there.
But, all is possible.
@Gordon Nichols, thanks for posting the photos.
What an eclectic mix of cars!
Thanks, Gordon. I just couldn't think of the name NACA Duct. You see them all the time but that is an unusual place and positioning. So often they show up on the hoods of performance cars, big end towards the front to catch the air.
It was certainly a wide mix of cars, and there are around 130 of them still in the race! I cannot imagine what it's like to get caught in an absolute downpour like they went through in NY, in an open, 100+ year old race car with wheels taller than my dishwasher. I've done it in a Speedster with somewhat more protection and it wasn't fun.
It was a funny moment, for my friend, Scott, whose idea of "working on his car" is taking it to the Lexus dealer and getting a loaner for a day, when I spotted that Speedster. First thing I saw was the give-away CMC front directional lenses, then the arched wheel wells with flared fenders and I said, "Holy $#!+ - That's a CMC!" And, of course, Scott doesn't know a CMC from a loaf of bread and simply asked, "How can you tell??" and by that time the next car was stopping to register so I escaped the lengthy (you know me) explanation.
So in the end, and mostly from Scott schmoozing the people in the sponsor tents, I got a couple of cool tee-shirts, we gave several racers and sponsors tips on good restaurants in Providence (there are many there, of all sorts of foods) and we both had a really good time with far less hassle than In expected. Someday I'll figure out their route near me to see the cars passing by on their way. Now, THAT would be cool!
The Fiat 600 Jolly must be fun but a long day !
The stock 600cc motor can be upgraded to a 903cc motor so the hills will not be as bad 
Cool report, Gordon! Thanks for posting.
Found a few photos of the Gulf CMC on the interweb from the Great Race in 2023. There is a vent located on the left side. No visible exhaust tip on the left side. Mini shade canopy.
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"Mini" shade canopy is right. About the size of a big Band-Aid!!
The stance of that car is perfect.
I've long been on record as not being a big fan of widebody cars, but the ones well done are really growing on me of late. This one is well done -- the wheels fill the wheelwells, they're perfectly centered, and the body sits very low on them.
It looks like a fighter, not a clown car.
@Panhandle Bob posted:Thanks, Gordon. I just couldn't think of the name NACA Duct. You see them all the time but that is an unusual place and positioning. So often they show up on the hoods of performance cars, big end towards the front to catch the air.
I meant the other way around.
Found someone who posted a YouTube video walk around of the Gulf CMC at the 2021 Great Race.
Even after listening to that car taking off, I still don't know what the engine might be...
Sounds pretty sweet, though.
That is one very sanitary car, inside and out, and if they've been Great Racing it since 2021 it must be really reliable, too.
We talked with a support crew woman for one of the teams running a late 1920's racer and she said that their support trailer was more like a full-blown machine shop because you simply cannot get parts that break on an Antique car at a NAPA store. All of the teams help each other out as much as possible (sounded like Danny P's FV family) and everyone just wants to keep all of the cars out there racing. Everyone we talked with (admittedly, a small percentage of racers) has been seeing breakdowns along the route. You fix what you can if you can and continue or limp along or call for a car hauler. We saw an Olive-colored Jaguar E-Type coupe on the back of a car hauler out in front of the hotel but it didn't pull in off the street. Anybody/Everybody probably breaks down somewhere.
@Gordon Nichols posted:Even after listening to that car taking off, I still don't know what the engine might be...
Sounds pretty sweet, though.
VW T1 is my (uneducated) guess. It sounds too “mechanical” to be a Subaru with water-jackets to me.
It’s a flat-4 almost 100% for sure.
I notice he has Bruce’s wind wings mounted both sides, bit without the plexiglass.
I bet that the plexiglass flies off at speeds over 100mph......... 🙄
Audi 4 banger w turbo? Guy in Sacto had one,,,Moosy Grey w Tomato soup red interior..Dale was his name..his car sounded like that..
Possible answer to the car’s origin:
If you find this same link to Pinterest, this is the image that it takes you to:
OK, I’m tapping out.
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@barncobob posted:Audi 4 banger w turbo? Guy in Sacto had one,,,Moosy Grey w Tomato soup red interior..Dale was his name..his car sounded like that..
Dale Bates's Intermeccanica. A really sweet car.
I now have the IM that was Dale’s. It is a sweet ride, enjoying it.
Looking at the stage photos from yesterday, it looks like Wayne Carini is the Navigator in Jaguar #115
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@Gordon Nichols posted:I bet that the plexiglass flies off at speeds over 100mph......... 🙄
HA !! Not yet Gordon, they're still on my speedster at over 100mph. But I will add that it was a nice short sprint to that speed.
There was a time when I wanted on of those Jags with a Chevy V8 conversion. Someone in Wisconsin was doing them.
@Gordon Nichols posted:I bet that the plexiglass flies off at speeds over 100mph......... 🙄
@Butcher Boy posted:HA !! Not yet Gordon, they're still on my speedster at over 100mph. But I will add that it was a nice short sprint to that speed.
I was gonna' roll my eyes about the eye-roll, but let it pass.
The car does say "Speedster" right there on the side. I don't believe in false advertising.
@Stan Galat posted:I was gonna' roll my eyes about the eye-roll, but let it pass.
The car does say "Speedster" right there on the side. I don't believe in false advertising.
Well, that little sprint must have stunned by speedo. On the way home from my drive, it stopped working. Did a full sweep and then nothing. It's one of Greg's GPS speedo's so maybe he has a fix. It has been acting up but always starts working again. Not this time.
Jon t. That was weird ....wingless wind wings ?? Perhaps they need a set of Lexan Windwings. They're a little thicker too (3/16"), but no green edge........Bruce