Turbo Scirocco Autocross classing...

["I.Mannix" <mannix@privatei.com>]

At 12:19 PM 11/4/98 -0500, Wm. Josiah Erikson wrote:
>Your best bet would be to get a good body shop to weld the floors for you.
The
>floorpan is not a separate piece, really. It's welded to the unit body.
>A turbo Scirocco! Rare beast, that! I wonder where they'll class you in
AutoX. Is
>it an OE turbo, or aftermarket?
>    -Josiah

I'd put the car in Street Modifed.  AFAIK, the few "real" turbo Sciroccos
were dealer installed options - not sure how these came to be, but I
_believe_ you could buy one from the dealer, BUT, it is not a factory
option, it is dealer installed.  Dealer installed does not equal "Stock" in
the eyes of the SCCA.  For example, I believe Timmons would at one time(and
currently?  Don't know, Mike?) put Neuspeed stuff, IE, springs & swaybars
onto new cars - dealer installed, but not stock.  Beyond SM/Open Street
Prepared(local classes, some regions use them, others do not, typically the
only rules are "DOT Legal," IE, glass windshield, lights, DOT tires{R1,
Hoosier, etc}, registerable - Colorado looks at a car in the light of
"_could_ this car be registered and driven on the street?"  If yes, then SM
it can be.  We don't look for emissions legality, nor do we look for CARB
stickers/etc - we don't care if the car is "legal," just whether it could
be driven down the street & not ticketed for something like plastic windows
and no headlights.  The intent is to provide hotrodders a place to compete,
not to provide someone who has built a classkiller a trophy.  So,
technically, beyond a class like SM/OSP, I believe the car would be in E
Modified, maybe DM(displacement differentiates).  Not the class for the
faint of heart - and definetly not for a streetgoing Scirocco, turbo or
not.  Cars in EM - a Fiero with a Chevy 350, slicks, gutted, tons of power,
various Lotus thingys with big motors, a Mitsubishi Starion with some huge
V8 in the backseat, radiator sticking out the roof, etc.  Mostly
aberrations, but they're all FAST, some a lot faster than others.  At
Nationals, there were 26 EM cars - only #s 24, 25 and 26 were "slow" as
compared to all other times.  #s 24 and 25 were the same car, a Sunbeam
Tiger, leading me to believe that they were so-so drivers in a slow car.  #
26 was the codriver in the Mitsubishi mentioned above - the other driver
was not fast in class, but he was reasonably quick in terms of raw time as
compared to all other cars present(although WAY off the pace of the leaders
of the class).  

Unfortunately, there's no good place to autocross a turbo Scirocco in SCCA
Solo events, unless your region has an OSP/SM kind of deal going.  If it
does not, talk to the chairperson, get one made - EM could be fun, if no
one lives in your region with even a halfassed EM car.  If even a so-so EM
car shows up with a so-so driver, a turbo Scirocco will get smoked, almost
regardless of who is driving(the slowest EM driver beyond the last three
was a couple of seconds ahead of the fastest DSP VWs - no surprise, but
OTOH, the faster DSP VWs are a LOT faster than most street driven VWs, IE,
faster than an extra 50-100hp could make up for.  They're well thought out
_autocross_ cars - not to say that a turbo Scirocco could'nt be a well
thought out autocross car, but not many people are going to make the
sacrifices needed to build an uncompetitive car - a "real" autocross car is
stiff, uncomfortable, not something you want to drive day in and day out,
and I would not expect anyone to do that to a car which they CANNOT win in.
 The winning EM time was 6.5-7 seconds A DAY faster than the fastest DSP
VW.  I can theorize & imagine 2-3 seconds hiding in my car, but not 7 - and
definetly not resembling anything streetable).

Just some thoughts!

I.Mannix

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