Is RF85 roll bar SCCA legal?

[Brian]

My RF85 has the original roll bar, which is a two hoop bar with the hoops jointed by sheet metal It is quite close-coupled, and doesn't really seem to have forward braces Would it be SCCA legal? This car has never raced with SCCA, would it need a new log book and homologation?

Thanks, Brian

[Lotus7]

Brian, this is a REALLY vague 21 year old memory, but we took our direct-from-england RF86 to the Glen once in 1987. Lots of agg in tech, but in the end I think all we did was drill an inspection hole for them to check tube wall thickness. They had no gauge to measure it with, my impression was they just wanted to see if we'd hesitate... Current tech guys may not be so flexible.

:-)

[EYERACE]

drill an inspection hole an go get it teched......the idea of the braces fore or aft is nothing to bring up as it gets teched. there have been other builds like that.

legal is not the question.........does it pass tech is the question

[Brian]

so it's that vague - I was more thinking of what to tell people if I should try to sell it into the US. Canada/CASC, where it's been since 1990, doesn't have a forward brace rule so the question never came up, and similar year Van Diemens that I looked at on Racecars.com, with the exception of one in Paris FR, all had single tube roll bars that looked quite different. I didn't know if VD made a US spec car and a ROW spec car, or there had been a flurry of new roll bar add-on's at some point.

Thanks, Brian

[Larry]

legal is not the question.........does it pass tech is the question
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That is obviouslly the wrong answer! It MAY pass tech if it isn't legal, but each time it goes through tech you'll have the same worry. It may also pass in a particular region, but then be caught when you go to another venue. If it is legal, you won't have the worry--ever.

The best thing you can do is read the GCR sections on roll hoop and become thoroughly knowledgeable on these sections. I haven't pulled the GCR out to review it, but offhand, I would say that the front bracing doesn't comply. I'd have to get the book out to be certain, but if I were working tech, I'd definitely investigate further.

The requirements for roll hoops have evolved, and what was legal when the car was first built is no longer the standard.

I have long maintained that a thorough race team includes driver, engineer AND attorney--or at least someone willing to study the fine print and the details of the GCR.

Larry Oliver
International Racing Products...and a steward

[Scotty Segers]

As I understand the rules if the car has never had a SCCA log book it will not be grand fathered so it will have to meet 2009 specs.

[Phil Creighton]

We homologated all the RF85's at Essex and the SCCA should still have the data from the time. Nothing has really changed as far as the VD is concerned - as far as the current rules go. It should still be OK as an alternate structure - tube sizes should be OK although VD was producing UK spec chassis in that era that did not meet SCCA specs.
If you have a problem let me know
Phil

[Jonathan Hirst]

As I understand the rules if the car has never had a SCCA log book it will not be grand fathered so it will have to meet 2009 specs.

True.