Question for member WC1982

[camlchris]

Hi Kent:
Would you please tell us more about the 12L you drove in this race? (see the page 3) Would you mind sharing the photos of this 12L & race with us?

Happy New year!

cheers,
camlchris

[WC1982]

Oops, just ran across this while browsing the forum...

I was bouncing ideas off Roger Curtis one day and he suggested the car would work better if the up/down motion of the rear pod was allowed to pivot freely instead of relying on the flex of a t-bar. The motion could then be damped & sprung entirely by the rear shock.

So I busted out my Dremel tool and cut a custom T-bar with extra pivot balls on the outside. Once assembled it had some flex problems due to the width of the T-bar. If I remember correctly the car had some serious rear grip that caused too much understeer.

The 12L was working well by that time so I probably dropped the experiment in favor of a car that was more in line with what the other team drivers were using. There was always some subtle pressure to win with a fairly stock car, so if you try something experimental and miss an A-main it doesn't look too good. But I always enjoyed trying new stuff at the smaller races, even if it didn't work out well.

I still have most of the parts for that car in my pit box. I'll try to snap some pics next time I open it up.

[WC1982]

Found the car and snapped some pics. Also found what must have been one of the early 12L prototypes from AE.

[RC10resto]

Great stuff, keep digging Kent

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

Gotta love Lavco being represented too. Not to mention the e-clip stuck to the motor in pic 3. Those damn things go everywhere! As always, thanks for sharing Kent. The members here live for this sort of inside info and detail.

[camlchris]

Found the car and snapped some pics. Also found what must have been one of the early 12L prototypes from AE.

I like your Anti Roll Bar design so much !!

[littleVETTE]

kent, were you guys messing around with different thickness t-bars around that time?

i noticed one lower pod that looks custom. did it help with aero?

that last picture had me scratching my head. how did that t-bar set up work out?