A Glen Preview for a new car

[rgu]

The heat wave broke in New York and I was driving down route 14 past Seneca Lake. I was admiring the sail boats on the lake, the 8 foot high sweet corn and the neat rows of grape arbors. Why did this happen? I was going down to Watkins Glen to witness the inaugural running of a new FST. Dennis Richason ‘s Adams was running its first race. I said I’d help out. Got to the track and there was little that needed doing. The car was absolutely ready to go. Had a lot of coffee and good conversation.

Dennis just bought a new set of tires on alloy wheels but found that his studs were too short so he had to run the very old worn out set he also had. He chose to start at the very back so as not to jeopardize anyone in the vee race. He wrestled the car around and it looked to me like the balance was fine but he had no grip. Dennis confirmed this fact but he still moved ahead smartly. I clocked one lap at a 2:20 with my Timex so I think the car would really come alive with decent rubber.

The ex Carl Middledge “spare” motor looked “very” strong, sounded great and Dennis said it surprised a Ford or two. So a flawless debut and for Dennis and his wife its on the New Hampshire next, then back to the Glen for our series race in September.

A couple of pics included

[Bill Bonow]

So glad to hear that Dennis got the new/old car out on the track. That should make (3) NE Division FST cars (Dennis, George and John) to be more regular at NE events

I will change his color on the master list from red to blue meaning that Abrigail is now racing in competition!

Grattan should bring another red to blue conversion in Steve Dunlap's new Wasp

I'm kicking myself that I can't go to WGI in September

[Dennis Richarson]

Incredibly happy to report the car ran flawlessly, other than having to run 2 year old tires due to stupidly not fitting the alloy wheels at the shop. Even at that it has very predictable handling and a ton of torque! A big thank you to Bill Bonow, Jim Schings, and Robert Gudhe for all the advice and encouragement during the conversion. We're looking forward to September and meeting the rest of the group.

Dennis Richardson

[Bill Bonow]

Dennis,

Your a long time FV'er, what did you think of the drivability differences? Brakes, steering, torque (well, you covered that a little ), ect. I know the tires were old, but love to hear your first impressions, was it all it was pimped up to be?

P.S. That looks a lot like Greg Rice's old Adams?

[Westroc]

Nice to see the nose worked out. Westroc.

[Doug FST 5]

If the short studs were your biggest problem you did a great job of prepping a brand new car. Can't wait to see it in September!


Doug FST 5

[JimR]

Kudos to Dennis on the conversion. Having exchanged many emails during his FST conversion I can tell you he was all in making his already fine FV something to be proud of as it became an FST. He obviously succeeded and the car looked absolutely fantastic on track.
Job well done Dennis!
Jim

[Dennis Richarson]

Thanks for the kind words. The conversion process was fun, no real issues to report.

My impressions of the car are favorable. The engine is very driveable, great torque from 3500 RPM on up, pulls strong to about 6300, and other than a bit of weeping at the oil pump, is dry at the end of every session. The steering is smooth! None of "box" feel at all, nice feedback, and about 50% quicker than the Adams setup which is really nice. The brakes are very easy to modulate, running the stock pads, and don't feel the need to upgrade the pads to a more expensive type as these work well. I'm running a 225 lb rear spring with a Penske shock, in the front a stock spring pack on the upper beam, the standard sway bar in the lower, with Ric Racing tuned red Penskes. The car is close to neutral in handling with a slight understeer when the tires are cold.

Yes Bill this was Greg's Adams good eye and memory. We've had it for 10 years or so and it'll probably be my last car unless someone wants to donate an Evolution. Thanks to Jim at Westroc for the Jacer nose, makes the car look really nice. About the only question I have is why didn't I do the conversion sooner. Other than keeping fuel in the car and checking tire pressures there isn't a lot to do in the paddock between sessions. We had a great 20 plus years in FV, the FST feels like the logical evolution of things.

[fvhopeful]

Dennis

Do you have any pictures of the conversion

Cheers
Desmond

[Dennis Richarson]

Sorry, no pictures of the process, but I can send you some with the body off to show the steering and dry sump installation.

[fvhopeful]

That would be very helpful
Do you still have any of the
Vee parts left (steering rods)
Cheers
Desmond

[rgu]

Here is a link to our conversion manual with pics

http://formula-first.org/Technical/F...Jan%202012.pdf

[veefan]

Congrats Dennis, the car looks great.

3 cars now in New England very cool!!!

[Mark Filip]

Congrats Dennis, the car looks great.

3 cars now in New England very cool!!!

But none of you race with each other

Glad you got on track Dennis

[rgu]

Well.......

Race at NH in--- 2-3 weeks New Front Hoosier tire to the winner courtesy of me.

[Dennis Richarson]

I'm signed up for RAL at NHMS. Anyone else?

[jim murphy]

Saw in your impound photo sitting next to you my rental car F600 with driver Matt Strand as we ran our F600 Challenge Series in your group. What did you think of the F600's which had never run there before?

Jim

[Dennis Richarson]

The F600s sound fantastic! Really quick too, great to see them out in numbers. Now to get some more FSTs to play with.