One old race car to return to the track a bit sooner by purpleGT

3 minute(s) of a 12 minute read

OK. Time for some more pictures. The ones with the Midget in them were taken at St. Louis Int'l Raceway in about 1985 or '86, I think, at Jim's first competition driver's school. Although Jim initially had it labeled as a Sprite, it's actually a GAN2, which makes it a Midget.....I had some fun jerking Jim's chain about that one. Don't worry, I can assure you he got me back. He ALWAYS did!
Note that we were really young, then. Strange.
I had driven out, from Pittsburgh, to serve as Jim's crew chief that weekend. Jim had really done a nice job of preparing the car and it ran like a train all weekend. Other than a valve adjustment, checking dwell & timing and I think an oil change, I had very little to do to the car except take hot tire pressure readings and adjust tire pressures accordingly.
The black & white photo was taken at the Run Offs, in '81. Jim Biery is a very good friend of mine and of Jim's, who did the metal work (flared the fenders...no fiberglass...., welded the roll cage together for us.....Jim and I actually cut, bent & fitted the pipe) on our E-Production MGB. John Sopko is the guy Jim bought the Midget from. John raced the car in the Steel Cities Region for at least a few years. It was always a pretty good car, from what I recall hearing about it.
The Chartreuse, '76 MGB is now in Matt's care & custody. Jim bought it new, in Detroit, before moving to Pittsburgh.
Mike Connolly is another very good friend, who was instrumental in helping us get our MGB completed and onto the race track. Jim and I used to crew for Mike, at Nelson Ledges.