Be Careful What You Wish For

So, this is Les.

Les enjoys racing vintage cars. 

But his wife wasn’t too keen on the idea. So he stopped for a while. But his wife knew he missed it.

So she made him offer, “If you find a car older than you are– you can race it.”

Les in his 1933 Plymouth

Which, of course, he did. Now he’s racing a 1933 Plymouth with drum brakes, skinny tires and a steering box with ±0.5 days lock-to-lock. It’s a lot slower than the cars he had before. But I’m not so sure that makes it any safer.

I had the good fortune of meeting up with him at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. We walked the course beforehand and he explained the limitations an 80-year old car imposes on your driving strategy. Undulations in the road surface can wreak havoc on a 2,500-pound car with leaf springs and lever shocks. And these are public streets in a city park… so there are plenty of blemishes in the tarmac to keep him busy!

But I won’t lie. He’s having a blast, and that’s hard to argue with.

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