Formula Vee test Session!

SO! This is my run-down on the test day with the Formula Vee! It works!
Here we are at the Dunnville Motordrome this past Saturday the 28th of April. It's cold (a high of 7° C), piddling rain and I get to have my first try-out in an open wheel, single seat Formula car with lotsa other quick machines on the track at the same time. Now, just to make sure I'm truly thrown in at the deep end, I get to do it all in the wet!! Add to all this fun - the car's alignment isn't any more accurate than what we can set up with the jack-stands and string in the paddocks, so, this is indeed a telling run for me and the car! Well... It's entertaining to say the least.

Round 1 : We got to the track, unloaded, and started to sort the car, it starts to piddle rain, then it's comin' down in mini-buckets. We take shelter, me & one buddy wait in the rental trailer while my son and another pal wait in the truck (them's the woosies with the heat on!) Then, in a precip-lull, I change into my flashy new driver's suit and go out for the TSR's first run in over 35 years!!!! ABSOLUTE BLOODY MADNESS!! After the first 2 corners, this wicked little thing is the noisiest, scariest, shakiest, most flimsy, evil-handling, vile little excuse for a conveyance that I have ever had the misfortune to be (sort of) in control of! I'm quite terrified! Whenever I accelerate, the front wheels, axles and it seems the whole beam suspension unit is twisting and tramping from side to side and up and down, first one side bounces up, then the other! This, along with a twisting-thing happening through the whole chassis and under my butt that's so violent it's making me lose my vision with the vibration! Who was the evil, plotting, demented maniac that put this shaking, quaking abomination together? (Oh, wait, that'd be me!). O.K.! Work the problem. Assess the situation... we're testing, right? In addition to the lack of handling, the engine is now popping, banging, wheezing and backfiring like crazy. Has it lost timing? - fuel? - swallowed some water? Lost it's mind!?! What the F***!!! The mirrors have shaken out of their previous alignment, so now I can't see who's coming up behind me, the misty, rainy weather is making my face shield wet and it's fogging on the inside, I'm breathing heavier, so the inside fog gets worse, I dare not slow down too much, lest I get a hind-full of a faster car that I can't see coming up on me in the now ill-aimed mirrors! I try to stay off-line and keep waving by whoever may be coming up on me, then, I realize as I try to crack open the face shield, it's also my glasses that are fogging. After 3 laps of near vision-less pseudo-terror, I throw my hand up and finally pull into the paddocks. But now, I can't see as far as the front of the car, and I'm afraid. I may hit someone! Bloody 'ell! I stop, remove my dufus-gloves and find the release for the helmet's visor - AHH! instant vision! Go park this wee, wicked strega!
JEEEZ! We gotta do sumpin' here!
The front-end tramping's gotta be 'cause the shocks are rubbish on the front and the rears are set at zero-soft. There's also away too much negative camber on the rear 'cause the camber/spring/ride-height is at zero as well - that's the base-point, right? But now we have an older large-ish guy on board! Soooo... I start cranking in ride height on the rears to raise and stiffen things up, along with stiffening the roll bar (Z-bar) to also counter the side to side vibrations. There's not a lot to be done with the junk shocks on the front as I didn't bring replacements, so, figuring this is supposed to be a test session, I bite the bullet and go out in the "Baka" one more time.
Round 2 : The front end is still berserk and tramps about like a two-bit hooker at a convention, but the car itself is actually controllable now. Those wee changes to the rear transformed the thing. I'm now intrigued! Bill Vallis is absolutely right! FV's are all rear set-up! The banging and popping in the engine has also cleared itself and it seems to be getting better and better, running much more smoothly now. I go faster.. then faster still... then drift her through a couple of turns and actually hold off a "saloon car" both out of a corner and down a straight - out-dragging him and all would be no problem, but I back off and wave him by... Hmmmm ... NEAT-O!! This thing is starting to be more thrilling than scary... wow, this could really be nifty!
This more spirited driving proves, though, that the front end is still twisting and tramping about and vibrating to the point I don't trust my steering assembly preparations so I decide to stop the test and call it a day. At least 'till I can put proper dampers on the front along with the proper retaining nuts for the steering arms and re-bleed the brakes.
At any rate, I'd call the whole day a success, as we didn't hurt ourselves or trash the car in any way! Everyone commented on how good the car looks (even Mr. Tech-man! Thank-you very much!!) and what a fine job was done by the owner (humbly but proudly!, that'd be ME!)! As far as the crummy weather was concerned, the day was simply like a good weather test day in England! Seriously, I'm really thrilled and have to say many thanx & appreciations to all for the help and support, (my wife!) and especially Mike P., Hugh S. and my son Evan, all who helped out! The TSR is an odd duck machine however, and though it does perhaps, show some potential, I doubt I'll be challenging anyone for a podium spot any time soon as there is a considerable amount of sorting to be done! As far as "Vintage VEE" in VARAC is concerned, however... we've just doubled our field! It will be an interesting development procedure and I'm gonna try to get out again just as soon as possible! Many thanx to Stefan and all those at VARAC for a great day and allowing me in! This was a thrilling "first out" for me to say the least! So, here's some pics! I'll post more later!
Very best regards,
DS