Rocky Manginelli Swap Meet
Don't put your woolies away yet. We've got some things to do this month and one of them is outside. The Rocky Manginelli Swap Meet is coming up on Sunday March 11th. We need five souls to be spotters at 3 a.m. until 7 a.m. This is our second biggest event of the year, and the one for which we actually get paid.
Call one of the club officers, or the usual band of suspects, if you are interested. Typically, about 10 to 12 of our more daring members will show up and with misery loving company you are more than welcome.
We will set up our booth and spread out any auto-related junque for sale on Saturday afternoon, the 10th, about 2 p.m. at the old Fairgrounds in the Lancaster Building. The swap-meet lasts until 3 p.m., and after we pack up our booth and get rid (i.e. sneek all that stuff that did't sell back home before the little lady sees it.) of the car parts we will again meet for dinner. Everyone, including those who weren't at set-up, are invited to a restaurant (yet to be determined) for food & drink.
Clean out the garage and bring it on down. Any auto related stuff can be sold. You can keep the money from the sale of your stuff or; as Sue Marshall makes Marvin do, donate it to the club. (She says it's still cheaper than hiring a garbageman and a dumpster.)
Humbling Experiences
Building an SCCA Club Racer
By Frank Grover
I've had several humbling experiences in my life and, as I think about the impact, I am not quite sure how each affected me.
I knew from the first time in 1965 when I saw the English cars at Elkhart Lake's Road America that I had to one day guide a race car up the hill and experience the feelings, emotions, and sense of accomplishment and achievement of the "checkered flag". By the time I was ready to retire from the Air Force in 1987, my building in Iowa was overflowing with English cars, but my knowledge of building and racing a car was very limited.
With the security of my retirement, I began my racing quest by enrolling in three programs at Metro Community college‚Auto Mechanics, Precision Machinist, and Welding. For the next two years I dedicated myself to developing the capabilities to building and fabricating the machine that was going to make my dream become reality. I immersed myself in engine, suspension, and transmission building; machining needed parts; and how to fabricate (weld) fuel cell containers, cages and roll bars, mirror mounts, brackets, and body modifications and repairs.
I am not sure why I picked the brown and quite rusted Triumph TR-6, that sat neglected in the back of the building, as my first race car project‚I had a lot of spare TR-6 parts, or just the influence of Paul Newman having been an SCCA National Champion in a TR-6 in the mid 1970s. The first challenge was to put the body back "right" and build the required roll cage. My welding instructor at Metro, Rex Stacy, was very supportive and allowed me to bring the car into the class room where I could take full advantage of the shop's many resources. After several weeks of intense welding and fabricating, the rust had all been removed and the cage was finalized.
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