VSRG Race Cars
- Charles Christ
- Steve Church
- Stefan Vapaa
- Mary Anne Fieux
- Randy Cook
- Ed Diehl
- George Vapaa
- Jon Ewing
- William Harding
- Chris Moberg
- 1960 93F
- 1973 97 Sonett III
- 1968 97 Sonett V4
- 1964 Quantum Formula SAAB
- 1967 Brand'X' Sports Racer
- Racecar Group Photos
Crews
- Tom Cox
- Chip Lamb
- Sune Nilsson
- Laura Briggs
- Don Wollum
Last Updated: Mar 26, 2006
1960 93F (C. Christ)
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Making a good showing at the '02 SOC, before the later addition of hood vents (credit unknown) |
In Turn 10 at Summit Point Raceway during the '03 SVRA 'Blue-Gray Challenge' historic racing event (R. Harrington photo) |
Chuck words the history of his famous 1960 93F this way:
This 93's history is spotty, at best. We know it belonged to a man named Rex Harrison, of Salt Lake, Utah back in the mid-60's. But, that's all we know up to me reconstructing it for vintage racing. It had obviously been raced, as indicated by the extensive list of serious modifications that it had on it when it was found. Unfortunately, it had been left to the elements and vandals, as evidenced by every body panel being beaten, dented and scratched, the dash instruments being smashed, and numerous bits being either smashed or pried off the car.
The car was a rolling shell, with a gearbox and engine barely sitting in it, when I took possession of it. The restoration back to a competitive condition was a long search for all the missing and vandalized components:
- Windshield and rubber gasket (with it's bright trim)
- Driver's door window glass, regulator and channels
- Front and rear bumpers
- Set of tail lights and rear reflectors
- Hood emblem and rear 'Saab 93' emblem
- All the mirrors
- Two headlight adjuster assemblies
- The list of broken, missing or smashed bits goes on and on ...
... And, the replacement of all brake components, bearings and seals; the reconstruction of the drive axles; and, the complete disassembly of every bit of the engine and all ancillary components.
The car is painted, numbered, and class marked to emulate my father's last racing model 93, the scourge of the road racing, hillclimb and ice racing scene at the time, when he drove it back in the early to mid-60's. The 2002 SVRA season saw me finishing 6th overall in the Edelbrock Sprint Series in the SVRA's Group 1 (small displacement class) of over 140 entries. I finished 7th overall in the 2003 Sprint Series program.
Today it's one of the most visible vintage Saab cars on the vintage racing and hillclimb circuits. The car has appeared in European Sports Car and European Car magazines, numerous vintage racing publications, and websites all over Europe and the United States. The car was awarded Third Place in the Competition Cars category in the 2002 Saab Owners' Convention concours, and was instrumental in my receiving the coveted Walter Kern Award at the same convention.
1973 Sonett III (S. Church)
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Posing
in 2001 at Fed Ex Field in Washington, D.C. wearing SCCA Solo
II (autocross) signage (S. Church photo) |
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'Mixing it Up' during the 2003 SVRA "Blue-Gray Challenge" historic racing event (R. Harrington photo) |
This car was purchased from Bob Taylor (Front Royal, VA) as a gutted chassis with no driveline. Bob did nothing with it over 5 years. Before Bob’s time it was driven by Mike Romanell (Ellicott City, MD) in hillclimbs. So, Steve started with almost nothing, including no knowledge about vintage Saabs or about racecar construction. But he learned what he needed to know, and incorporated many Motorsport Service (MSS) components, to make a winning platform.
The car is made of the following parts:
- Stripped 1973 Sonett with 6-point bolted-in roll cage, no door glass, Lexan rear hatch; no headlights; no windshield wipers; no heater core, blower or vent ducts; no bumpers
- Aluminum racing seat, 5-point harness; 14-inch Motolitta classic racing steering wheel
- Jack Lawrence's engine configuration from the mid-1980s (bored 0.040 over; 14:1 pistons; lightened and balanced reciprocating internals and rotating externals; heads opened, ported, polished, with oversized valves and stronger valve springs; his dual-port exhaust conversion with custom headers and exhaust system; Solex 40 PII carb on modified stock manifold) w/114+ octane gas required
- Custom cable throttle system; VW aluminum radiator; twin electric cooling fans; "Accusump" oil reserve system; lower engine mounts
- Custom gauges, custom wiring, no alternator
- 8-gal fuel cell, Fram replaceable cartridge filter, Carter fuel pump
- Saab Sport & Rallye "Special II" gear set in cast iron case (these gear ratio's are NOT good for autocrossing, but the gearbox is bulletproof)
- Saab Sport & Rallye dual-cone limited slip differential
- Jack Lawrence's front anti-roll bar system, and my own design for a rear anti-roll bar system patterned after Jack's rear system
- 420 lb-in front springs, shorter than stock
- 180 lb-in rear springs, shorter than stock
- Rebound-adjustable & rebuildable Koni circle track racing shocks in the front
- SPAX 14-position adjustable shocks in the rear
- Jack Lawrence's Wilwood "Dynalite II" 4-piston brake caliper system in the front on original 5-bolt hubs
- Goodyear "Bluestreak" vintage bias-ply tires on "Jackman" lightweight racing rims (or racing slicks for autocross on custom-made Diamond Racing Wheel rims)
- Gear shift mechanism moved rearward and higher for better shifter position to driver
The car is very challenging & difficult to drive in autocross, with its 130 HP going through a LSD and 10-inch wide racing slicks, but its a joy to drive at road circuit speeds.
1968 Sonett V4 (S. Vapaa)
Autocrossing in Blacksburg and ... (credit unknown) |
Salem, Virginia (credit unknown) |
1964 Quantum Formula SAAB (S. Vapaa)
Driving in the 2004 Pittsburg Vintage Grand Prix (credit unknown) |
2004 PVGP (credit unknown) |
