Thursday, 3 April 2008

Collie Auto Test

With a few hours sleep under my belt after returning from Lidia and Gregs wedding, I sprung out of bed ...(well not quite) at 4:30am to pack the car with spare tyres engine oil and other vital fluids a 33 year old car needs, to head off the the Collie Auto Test held by the The Triumph Sports Owners Association of WA.


Our “In Shot” Galant which is usually used for chasing limos around the Perth wedding scene while on couples photo sessions, certainly had the cob webs blown out of it on Sunday.

This was my first auto event in the Galant and my first event in years since doing some basic formula ford driver training.


The 1975 Chrysler Galant sliding about

Caution, Petrol Head Talk ahead;

I ran standard street tyres on the the back of the car for half the day in a bid to save rubber. However this combined with un-modified rear suspension on a car that was build before computers even existed. It was like driving a trampoline and slid sideways almost every corner. However once I put my mags back on you couldn't keep the smile off my face. It was considerably faster than earlier in the day. which I hope the time results released in a few weeks will also indicate.


The Galant with a race prepared Datsun 240z hot on my tail


I definitely learnt a lot about the Galant. The open diff is terrible for corner exit speed in trying to get the power to the ground. Street tyres are scary and slow, but oh so fun in the corners and a whole bunch of other stuff I won't go into.


Although my car was quite the underdog compared to the scope of vehicles there, I had a great time. It was a well organised event by the club and venue. I hope to return soon.

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