We are building an original '32 Three window coupe, 50's salt lakes/El Mirage style with a race built 50 Merc Flattie with four Stromberg 97's. stock height body, original ch***is, 40's Ford Brakes & rear axle, Okie Adams drop beam......... We are going to put a number on the door and wanted to know if it would have had a letter after the number such as 50c, any info would be much appreciated, thanks Melissa
Best pick up a rulebook. Numbers are ***igned. Your cl*** will depend on cubic inches, body style, fuel, and blown or unblown. You have to p*** tech to run.
As I understand it, you're building a tribute car, not a race car, and want the old-fashioned letter to designate the engine size. Nowadays the engine are larger at the A and AA level, and decrease in size to I, J and K. I believe that the C letter may be right for your size flathead, but am not sure. Rich Fox might have a better handle on this than I. Stan Back
It all depends on the size of your engine. If it has the stock bore and stroke it's a 'B'. Anything larger, paint a big 'C' on the door.
***uming you aren't planning to race it at Bonneville go ahead and put whatever your favorite number folowed by a small letter c (for coupe). If you are planning to race it you will need to contact the SCTA and get an ***igned number and determine exactly what your cl*** is. The flattie, I believe, will fall into the XF engine catagory but I'm not sure on the body.
1933 Muroc Racing ***ociation cl***es. Cl*** A: 70-80mph Cl*** B: 80-90mph Cl*** C: 90-100mph Cl*** D: Six and eight cylinder cars Cl*** E: modified roadster bodies Cl*** F: stock roadster bodies over 100mph Although none of this is applicable to your car it does give you an idea of some sort. I'd be willing to bet your coupe is capable of 100mph. Remember, in early lakes racing the coupes were not allowed to run although i think later the Russetta Timing ***oc. and a club from Nth. California added them to their programs. Pictures please.
The "C" was not for the body style, but rather the cubic inch cl***. In the early days A was the smallest, then up the alphabet as the displacement got larger. Somewhere in the mid 50's SCTA reversed the system and A was then the largest, with the rest of the cl***es going through the alphabet. That's the system still in use today. In the beginning there were only Roadsters, Coupes and Lakesters. As the racers developed different body configurations, SCTA expanded the cl***es into Street Roadster, Roadster, Mofified roadster, Coupe, Altered Coupe, Compe***ion Coupe, Lakester and Streamliner.
www.scta-bni.org It's a "must read" ... and read again ... Applying this book to a car you plan to race, will help you understand how we got Catholics and Baptist out of the same book . {humor intended} Greatest bunch of folks I've ever raced with . Jeff Brock
Thanks guys, great info, we are not planning on racing it at Bonneville, we would have to ship it over first from the UK........although we did ship our '32 truck out there last year for the 65th Speed Week! By the sound of it the letter would be a C as the engine has been over bored.
Coups ran at Bonneville at the first Bonneville Nationals in the Open Competion cl***. That ment they ran against other coups but there was no engine size cl***es. Everybody ran in the same cl***. In the SCTA cl***es engine sizes were A-0 to 183 cubic inches. B-183 to 250 inches C-250 to 350 inches and D for anything bigger
Hay Rich...wasn't the "no coupes" more of a SCTA pre-war thing which lead to the formation of the Rusetta Timing ***ociation?
Yes but the no coups deal lasted at least until 1950. I guess it's always sunny on SoCal. So they didn't understand why anybody wouldn't drive a roadster. Wish it was still true.
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