Autocross 80's Style

I can't believe what I'm seeing. The camera work and color look modern. It looks like a high budget Hollywood reproduction of 1985.

At times I couldn't believe it. GREAT footage. How much modern digital reprocessing is in that?

zlalomz wrote: In reply to Snowdoggie: As a teenager I would pack a lunch and drive the family Buick to go watch the Corvettes at the Pleasanton Fairgrounds. I autocrossed there years later in a 240Z.

I drove a white MGB in SCCA and NCSCC autocrosses in Pleasanton and Sacramento back then. I also hung out at Sears Point a lot on weekends as a corner worker. I was a member of Competition Sports Car Club of Sacramento when I was an undergrad at UC Davis and I remember a lot of the cars on the video. You could do one event in the morning in Sacramento and run another event in Pleasanton in the afternoon.

That was awesome. Fantastic footage.

Loved seeing the spectators crossing the course at various times, just ahead of a car on a run .

I was born in 1985... after watching that, I think I was born too late. I SOOO want to do a street autocross now!

Yeah, I can't believe how awesome that was. There's got to be some hick town that is in enough need of money that they would let this go on.

Parachute, Colorado did this in the late 80s, early 90s. I ran my Spridget there. I guess that Western Colorado would qualify as hick.

In reply to Tyler H: 1985...when dinosaurs roamed the earth...ouch, he he. Thanks again for the props, and as for digital proccessing? Hmm,let's see; first I dubbed it from 3/4 to betacam in the nineties, dubbed again to DV in early 2000s, to DVD last week, to a cheapie home Adobe 3.0 edit software, uploaded to youtube and wallah!!!

Thanks for posting that! The Z car collecting a cone in a big way was cool, as was the in car. It reminds me of the Elsinore Grand Prix. http://www.dirtopia.com/wiki/Lake_Elsinore_Grand_Prix

Ya know, there's some small towns around SC who would LOVE to have a signature event...

Travis_K wrote: If anyone noticed the shelby gt350, it is real, and i have actually seen that very car about two years ago.

I noticed it too. It was and still is owned by Frank Stagnero(sp?). He still autocrosses it regularly at various Northern California events. I saw it less than a month ago where it won C prepared. There is also brief shot of a black and gold air-cooled supervee that still competes in bay area events.

Type Q wrote:

Travis_K wrote: If anyone noticed the shelby gt350, it is real, and i have actually seen that very car about two years ago.

I noticed it too. It was and still is owned by Frank Stagnero(sp?). He still autocrosses it regularly at various Northern California events. I saw it less than a month ago where it won C prepared. There is also brief shot of a black and gold air-cooled supervee that still competes in bay area events.

For a complete rundown on who the drivers were look here: http://www.baautox.com/forum/index.php?t=msg&th=5707&start=0&rid=0

Wow, that is so awesome.

You know, I bet I could get our town to allow something like that....too bad our streets suck & the insurance would be unaffordable - if available at all.

Cool video! thanks for posting!

So it seems to me that this isn't all that different than a hill climb, just with out hills. Hill climbs on public roads are santioned by the scca as solo 1 right? If you could find a willing town this could probably be done again with the assistance of the scca and/or organizations that set up hill climbs and open road events. Make it part of a county fair or some kind of festival and it could be a big win.

Probably the wildest outlaw event I have ever participated in was a one-off "test" event that was held near a rural east tennessee town at a recently completed subdivision. There were curbs but the reverse Z type so that you didnt have the implications of bumping the curb. Essentially an oval with several kinks. I remember spinning on my "out" lap. We had a few spectators and the local sheriff's dept drove by but we had no problems.
East Tennessee Region, SCCA conducted the last official street autocross known as the Dogwood Grand Prix. The last few years we were told by SCCA that we were exempt from the rule stating that there would be NO street events so long as we keep the event going. We were able to hold it for 9 years but road construction caused us to lose access to the last site. I got a waiver from SCCA to postpone the event for one year but we could never find a replacement site. I will drive down recently completed streets and developments and try to imagine holding an event again but generally the insurance and safety regulations would restrict any event.

zlalomz wrote: In reply to Tyler H: 1985...when dinosaurs roamed the earth...ouch, he he. Thanks again for the props, and as for digital proccessing? Hmm,let's see; first I dubbed it from 3/4 to betacam in the nineties, dubbed again to DV in early 2000s, to DVD last week, to a cheapie home Adobe 3.0 edit software, uploaded to youtube and wallah!!!

Cut it out!! If I may ask, where has your carrier taken you? This stuff is good filmaking period. thanks for posting.

http://www.bluemaxxracing.com/bay_bottom_crawl.htm

Think flat hill climb in an abandoned development and it takes place in the Keys.

Keith wrote: Am I the only one that thinks it would be a good idea to set up an autocross in a half-finished subdivision? We've got one here that consists of roads only. Easy crowd control (there are only two entrances) and it would be a quasi street race. I think it could be a lot of fun.

I want to do this so bad. I wish i knew where one of these was near me.

in to watch later

Keith wrote: Am I the only one that thinks it would be a good idea to set up an autocross in a half-finished subdivision? We've got one here that consists of roads only. Easy crowd control (there are only two entrances) and it would be a quasi street race. I think it could be a lot of fun.

lol its been done but i wouldn't say it was an organized even.. along with office building parking lots that have dividers between all the rows.. but that was in the early 90s

Greg Voth wrote: http://www.bluemaxxracing.com/bay_bottom_crawl.htm Think flat hill climb in an abandoned development and it takes place in the Keys.

DUDE! U suck! That's the same weekend as the challenge. read all the info about looked over the coarse layout, got all excited, looked at the date.....WTFM!?!?!? gah and here I was thinking IF if my car survives the challenge that would be cool, if it goes in....well there's always next years challenge car.

zlalomz wrote: I worked for a show in San Francisco called Evening Magazine. Some auto related stories included, riding with Jackie Stewart F1 champ on a hot lap of Sears Point, following Dan Gurneys Toyota prototype team for 2 days (including a 2am engine change), the Mint 400, a day with Bob Bondurant, drag racers Don Garlits and Shirley(don't call me Cha Cha) Muldowney, Salt Flats stories and more. It was fun. In the video, that was just half the camera. A 3/4 inch tape deck was tied down inside of Gary Walton's IMSA 914 Porsche.

You lucky son of a....

That 510 is so sick....I want it..

Greasy tires and short shorts were how it was back in the day. Great stuff. Google "Eloy Grand Prix" for wheel-to-wheel action from the same era out of the little crossroads town of Eloy, AZ.