<VV> Valve cover Racing

[Gary Mierzwa]

Ray Rodriguez" <reray at echoes.net> wrote: "Does someone out there want to 
give me the rundown on what this valve cover racing is all about?  My 
curiosity is killing me!"

Ray,  Valve cover racing is similar to the pine-wood derby cars the Boy 
Scouts run.  The primary difference is the Boy Scouts use small wooded cars 
and We use anything that will roll down the track, as long as a Corvair 
Valve Cover is used somwhere in it's construction.  The key to winning seems 
to be using the thinnest wheels with the highest quality bearings possable.  
Some people (My Wife) just build fashion statements, and some people (Chuck 
Armour) go crazy with 700 coats of black laquer with 1000 coats of clear. 
One entry was a valve cover crushed down to fit inside a soup can or 
something and rolled down the track.

Here are the rules used at the West Florida Corvair Club (WFCC) Corvair
Lovers Holiday, (The origin of the Corvair Valve Cover Race) and also the 
rules posted for the Daytona Nationals, as copied from Smitty on VV

WFCC Rules

1.  Gravity powered only.  No motors, springs, jets Etc.
2.  5 lbs Max weight.  No minimum.
3.  Must have Corvair valve cover used in construction.
4.  Max length 16" and Max width 8" including tires.
5.  First car to reach the finish line, no matter how, wins. Lane hopping or
interference with competition is Okee dokee.

     Rubbing is Racing!

6.  If judged a tie, then re-run until a winner declared. Each re-run will 
be
made in the opposite lane.
7.  Double elimination brackets.

WFCC  Race track Specs
1.  Track is 16 ft long end to end. Start end is approximately 3 1/2 feet
high (never really measured it). Each lane is approximately 10 inches wide.
2.  Start line is 16" from the top end, finish line is at the bottom of the
track (Ground zero).
2.  Track has side rails 1" high, no center divider. Just a painted stripe



From: vairologist at juno.com
Subject: <VV> Re:Valve Cover Rules

Subj: Re: valve cover rules.
Smitty says:
I had just rewritten the rules for our newsletter to refresh our membership 
on them prior to the Vair Fair.  These are the rules as used at Daytona and 
are the only rules that could be considered to be "National".

They will apply at the Vair Fair.

1.  Gravity powered only.  No motors, springs, jets Etc.
2.  4.5 lbs Max weight.  No minimum.
3.  Must have Corvair valve cover used in construction.
4.  Max length 16" and Max width 8" including tires.
5.  No part of racer can hang over 3" high start gate.
6.  No lane hopping or interference with competition.  First infraction, 
re-run.  Second infraction disqualification, which means one re-run for the 
entire event. To be safe, make your wheels the widest part of your racer.
7.  If judged a tie, then re-run untill a winner declared. Each re-run will 
be made in the opposite lane.
8.  Racer must finish on its wheels and in its own lane.
9.  Races will be run in 8 car heats.  First 8 cars signed in first heat.   
Second 8 in second heat Etc.  Main event will be heat winners.
10.  Techwrench note: We will modify Item 9 as needed for Vair Fair.

                              Race track Specs

1.  Launch ramp will be 24 ft starting from 4 ft high.  Total length is 40 
ft.
2.  Track has side rails 1" high and a center divider 3/4" high.
3.  Starting gate will be 16" long.