Jim Hall

[manta22]

Yesterday I stumbled on a fascinating interview with Jim Hall, one of the most important innovators in the history of auto racing. He goes into detailed descriptions of his cars and covers interesting details of their design and construction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0rXyMwFMUI

In 1970 or '71 I moved to Tucson and passed through Midland, Texas on my drive across country. I asked a local gas station attendant where Hall's shop was and headed south a few miles to where it was located. Someone met me at the closed gate and I explained that I was designing and building a small sports racer and wanted to know about what they recommended for shock damping ratios. I was admitted and introduced to Jim Hall who was with a few fellows trying to balance a crankshaft on a machine whose normal operator was off work because it was the weekend. Hall took time to talk to me about suspension design among other things. I appreciated his interest in what I was doing. Jim Hall was, in addition to being a first-class race car engineer, a very nice, soft-spoken person.

[panic]

The definitive test of excellent but innovative engineering: "IT'S ILLEGAL!". Translation: "It's faster than my friend's car". Some race officials wait years to do this to someone.
IIRC the penalty was to add the JLO snow machine engine's displacement to the V8.

[JimL]

Thank you for this post/link....it was great fun to watch!

I was at N?rburgring for the 1967 1000k when the high wing Chaparral broke an axle on the second lap.  Some of us had driven down from Kassel, hoping to see a repeat of the prior year win.  We were all camped near the "dogbone" at the end of the front straight, and we heard the "bang" when the axle broke exiting that turn.

They had a slow start, getting strapped in after the footrace across the track, but they were headed for the lead when it happened.

[TD]

Thanks for the link!

I was about to start a cross-country RV trip yesterday, with a stop at the Petroleum Museum in Midland, but life intervened. 

I am a big fan of Hall and his Chapparals and have been since I was given a Cox Chapparal 2G slot car as a wee lad.   Never saw a CanAm race but wished I had.

It is fun to remind British motorsport writers that it was not the British F1 constructors who first added wings to racing cars... it wasn't Hall either, but I usually leave that part out 

[floydjer]

I have always thought a 2F would be a fine road car.😀

[Stan Back]

Yeah!

Didn't one entrant, a Polish-extracted guy, have a similar car with doors (indicated) along with exterior door handles?  (Or an I drinking too much before dinner now?)

[TD]

Are you thinking of Oscar Kovaleski?

https://www.scca.com/pages/oscar-kovaleski

[Stan Back]

Probably.  But my steam-powered Mac won't open that.  It says my clock is off  (and it doesn't look so).  I'll have to shop around for a 13-year-old to fix it for me.

[ronnieroadster]

Probably.  But my steam-powered Mac won't open that.  It says my clock is off  (and it doesn't look so).  I'll have to shop around for a 13-year-old to fix it for me.

    Time to replace the old wind up desk top !