Vintage Grand Prix
Written by Keith Fudge

Hello and welcome to My Classic Car!  Dennis Gage and the crew had the chance to travel to Watkins Glen, New York for the Zippo U.S. Vintage Grand Prix.  There were cars present from all around the United States and even from Europe.  One thing was for sure, they were all there to race!  Carl Jensen is the Competition Director of the event and Dennis caught up with him soon after his arrival.

Carl began by telling Dennis that this was the 18th year for the event and that there were 10 different classes of cars ranging from vintage pre-World War II cars to vehicles from just 10 years ago.  Carl also went on to say that there were classic racing Jaguars, Can Am cars, and even Formula 1 racers!  He said that the people who are in attendance are folks who always wanted to do this type of thing, but up until this point in their lives just never had the time.  Carl went on to tell a bit of the history of this historic race town.  Before there was a track here, people raced through the downtown streets!  To honor that tradition, they hold a re-enactment of the race that draws as many as 10,000 spectators!  There were some unbelievable cars on display at the track and several were just waiting to get onto it.  Dennis soon had to take a closer look at some of these vintage racers, so he began to make his way around the track to see what he could find!

Dennis ran into Sandy Greene, the owner of the earliest racer at the track!  Sandy is the proud owner of a 1925 Type 35 Bugatti.  Purchased in Massachusetts and completely disassembled, Sandy said the car was “more of a project than he anticipated.”  He went on to talk about the reputation of these early cars from Bugatti, citing that they were the lightest and easiest to drive and that the Bugatti design was to “Keep it light, but yet keep the artistry in it.”  He pointed out that this car possesses the first cast alloy wheels ever made and the engine is a two-liter, eight-cylinder engine with two Solex side-draft carburetors.  Sandy said that he had just finished 35 laps on the track with this historic car, and it performed remarkably!  Next, Dennis found Ron Deppert and his magnificent 1958 black Corvette!  Looking as if it had just come from a California speedway back in the day, this vintage Vette sure enough raced in California!  It features the original louvered hood and trim, but has quite a few other mods such as a roll bar and fuel cell.  This car is just the way it was when it raced in the early days.  Powered by the legendary 283 cubic-inch engine and outfitted with a four-barrel carburetor, this car is one classy Corvette!  Dennis then ran into Brian Stark and his yellow 1966 Alfa Romeo.  Brian said that this car is both affordable and competitive!  In fact, it raced in the 1966 Trans Am series and won First Place!  Brian has installed a type of air conditioning that runs through a cooler full of water to make him more comfortable when driving.  The motor is a two-liter, four-cylinder engine that makes almost 200 horsepower.  When dropped into a 2,000-pound car, it certainly does make for an interesting ride!  Brian says that he loves this event because this is a famous track, and there are plenty of nice people here.  Dennis then ran into another Brian.  Brian MacEachern is the owner of a silver 1956 Lotus 11.  This futuristic, sci-fi creation is lovingly referred to as the “silver bullet.” Talk about aerodynamic!  Powered by a Coventry-Climax 1,500 cc engine that makes approximately 130-140 horsepower, it really does a fine job - especially considering that the car only weighs 1,000 pounds.  Talk about an excellent power-to-weight ratio!  What a cool car!  Finally, Dennis found a real rarity when he ran onto Doug Karon and his red Devin.  Built by custom car developer Bill Devin in California, these fiberglass-bodied cars were made to compete with European cars on the racetrack.  Doug told Dennis that this particular car was built upon a 1956 Chevrolet chassis.  It does well in a straight line, but the curves are an adventure!  Doug went on to say that he has added reinforcements to help in the handling of the car.  Amazingly enough, he said that these bodies only cost $300-$400 when new!  What a cool and classic racer!

Dennis and the crew had a great time in Watkins Glen, New York watching these vintage cars do what they were built to do!  If you would like more information on the next event, give them a visit on the web at www.grandprixfestival.com.  That’s it from historic Watkins Glen, New York.  So until our next visit, “Honor the timeless classics.  Happy Motoring!”