Originally Posted by Marco620
Originally Posted by Cujet
Originally Posted by Kawiguy454
Those things were fire breathing monsters! The echoes between buildings as they blasted down the streets of Detroit were fantastic. And the smell of the fuel in the air was unforgettable. We may never get that level of visceral experience from racing again. Of some interest was the use of ultra high octane fuels in those machines. Most people are completely clueless about what Octane is and when/why it is needed this a good example of that.
I was there at the Detroit Grand Prix a few times. We developed Ford Motorsport stuff and raced a Mustang turbo. What a joke compared to these guys. But we did learn about using Toluene and N Heptane as a fuel. The result was that we could run as much boost as we dare, no risk of detonation. We then turbocharged a cosworth BD series engine and made over 700HP using a spin off of that F1 fuel blend.
Only once was I able to follow an F1 car for a few seconds, around the track during an open test. The heat plume from the exhaust was flat out remarkable. While mixing cars was very frowned upon then, they did allow it occasionally if someone had a valid reason to test.
Met Caroll Shelby there too. He and I walked up the stairs to the convention center. He had a very hard time making it to the top and stopped about half way up. I stayed with him and had some interesting chat. He was very forward looking and wanted to talk about what was up and coming. Especially turbocharged engines.
Meeting Shelby would be a great bedtime story for many. Only American car company I would have any interest in. He was the Ferdinand Porsche of America. I loved his enthusiasm and forward thinking. Thanks for sharing!!!!
Agreed, thanks for sharing that experience, Cujet@