1980 24 Hours of Dayton GTU class winning 914-6, pics Options

[gms]

Frank Beck's car...which is FAR from legal. But..it looks the part and he's a regular so it gets rubber stamped.

That is a totally FALSE statement!
I have looked over the suspension and brakes on Frank's 914 and it humbles me as a driver to see how much he can do with so little.

[gms]

Not every club accepts Imsa
My club only adopted the Imsa through 1976 and only did that recently
If someone builds a car to 1977 specifications with modifications from 1977 then it is not allowed.

Cvar doesn't accept ImsA at all

My club doesn't accept fia at all

I had to turn down a chalon because the scca never recognized a slope nose 914 because the factory never built a slope nosed 914

I guess my point as an eligibility person, is to read the rules
I don't know if glen's club gave him grief because they do or don't accept Imsa?

But if you find a club you like. See what years and to what rules they accept that then it should work

For example. The 914 gt's were raced in Europe as an fia class
If my club doesn't accept fia then I can't race a Gt.
I knew that when I built my car and pulled my fenders without putting gt flares on my car.
It goes back to the oldest saying in the book to read the rule book
I'm sorry the guy at the hawk wAs a jerk. That's not cool. Sounds like he was frustrated and not a good steward at all

Brant,
My club (Midwestern Council) accepts SCCA, FIA and IMSA cars and I have no trouble with my car there. I totally agree with you about picking a club before you pick the car, although sometimes you end up with an old race car (or 5) that you would like to race.

When I went to the BRIC I was merely trying to run at an event that is touted to be the largest vintage race in the US (I think Monterey Historics are better) and claims to accept all kinds of car. I take exception to people who insult me and my car and I believe that it is not a good idea to place a car in a class that puts the driver and car in harms way because of the speed differentials.

As you can see from the examples given the tech guy accepts anything (newer than 2000 Mustangs, Lexus and BMWs). He is just on a power trip and enjoys his role being “The Decider” and doesn’t mind rubbing it in your face.

I vote with my money and that is why I will not race at the Hawk until Jack is removed as supreme tech director.

[gms]

This is a really sore subject with me, so I hope you'll forgive a bit of a rant... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif)

The people running "vintage/historic" racing these days don't seem to have any idea about, or interest in, the actual history of motor racing. If they did they would have appropriate classes for these cars. Instead, they dis-allow the wings, spoilers and flares that these cars came with and insist that they run on treaded tires. Cars from the IMSA era never ran in that configuration, but if you have one and want to race, well, you'd better do what they say.

The truth is that they have the cars and participants that they want and are not interested in having anything that doesn't slot in to the existing program. That's fine. They are allowed to run their series their way.

Where I get aggravated is when they continue to say that they welcome and are seeking race cars that are "unique and authentic", but insist on excluding certain cars if they ARE run in an authentic configuration, even if they are one of a kind. A look around the paddock at all of the over-restored, model kit looking cars will tell you that authentic/original appearance isn't insisted upon either.

This issue comes up every time we try to run the Baker 914, which is nothing if not "unique". Even at the last Rennsport (administered by HMSA), we were told that our tires were illegal (slicks) just as the five minutes was given on the grid! We were then black-flagged out of the race two laps in.

End rant...

I hope that as more of these things show up that they will become more interested in allowing them to run as designed.

I love the idea of a book to document everything about the IMSA 914s. If I can help with anything on the Baker car just give me a call!

Mike

Mike,
Your Baker 914/4 is a significant part of the 914s race history and it is just sad that you have issues with tech people, especially at Rennsport.
BTW I did see your car at Rennsport IV and it was great to finally see it in person.

[gms]

...the last IMSA car was running in competition all the way into the late 80s.

Interesting fact, the previous owner of my car received a letter from IMSA in 1987 telling him they were no longer allowed to run. I wish he had kept that letter (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[stownsen914]

I recall when that happened, actually. There were several 914s running by NJ racers when they excluded the 914. It's strange though that they decided mid-season to do that. The 1987 IMSA code (see link below) specifically lists the 914 as eligible ...

And that's when Ray, Bruce, and Fred started running 911s. I recall hearing that Ray and Bruce looked into rebodying a 914 as a 911 (!), but they got shot down on that.

1987 IMSA code

[brant]

in the 70's Imsa rules were loosely based on FIA rules
and Imsa was trying to bring more cars in that were not competitive anylonger in Europe

the FIA regularly phased cars out of eligibility
remember it was a sanctioning body created to showcase manufacturers.... once a car became old and no longer available for sale to the public... the manufacturer didn't race it any longer

so the FIA phased things out

I wonder if this played into the IMSA decision and affected more than just 914's in 1987?

[stownsen914]

Probably ... from what I see in the 1987 IMSA Code seems to say bascially "anything that is legal in FIA plus these additional cars." The 911 wasn't called out specifically in the IMSA code but the 914 was, presumably because the 914 wasn't in the FIA rules since it was out of production by then. I guess was being more liberal to encourage participation, but by 1987 must have decided that they didn't need or want an older model like the 914 anymore. I just looked again and see some other older models like in the 1987 code like Datsun 240Z. I wonder if they did some housekeeping and outlawed other such models at the same time.

[gms]

It probably wasn’t a bad decision removing the 914 as it was 11 years out of production and not really setting the GTU class on fire like the Mazda’s and Nissan’s . IMSA and FIA were co-sanctioning bodies for 24 hrs of Daytona and 12 hrs of Sebring up until the early ‘80s maybe they were trying to achieve some parity for shared events.

Ray Hendricks built a Mid-engine 911 that he raced in IMSA after my 914, he pulled the 3.0L RSR motor and 916 gear box out of my car to make it. Needless to say it is pretty cool.

[stownsen914]

I know he raced a 911 for a number of years after the 914 and at some point built a mid-engine 911, but I thought he never raced the mid-engine one. I saw some pictures of it at some point when he put it up for sale. I never heard more about it, so maybe he still has it.

[gms]

I know he raced a 911 for a number of years after the 914 and at some point built a mid-engine 911, but I thought he never raced the mid-engine one. I saw some pictures of it at some point when he put it up for sale. I never heard more about it, so maybe he still has it.

I bought the 914 from him in 2009 before he moved to AZ, i am pretty sure he took the 911 on the move. I thought he said he built the mid-engine 911 for IMSA but I could be wrong.

[gms]

I am going to ask Ray if the IMSA 911 was mid-engine
here is a picture of it