SUNSET SPEEDWAY - Thunder Car Division Rules 2003

Thunder car racing is for the individual participating in the sport of car racing for a hobby. The rules and restrictions are designed to prevent the costs from getting out of hand, giving each individual a fair and competitive chance in this division. The enjoyment of winning and feeling of accomplishment is just as exciting as in the faster, more complex divisions.

THE INTERPRETATION OF THESE RULES WILL BE SOLELY THE JUDGEMENT OF THE TRACK OFFICIALS/TECH STAFF.

Any part of the car not specifically mentioned or covered in these rules must remain STOCK. Stock parts are those found in the O.E.M. (original equipment manufacturer) PARTS BOOK, not those found in high performance or off-road racing books.
Any cars being teched will be allowed to have only one driver and two mechanics present in the tech area ---no one else will be allowed. Any harassment from any driver and/or crewmember to the tech staff (or any other track official) may result in an automatic disqualification, thus forfeiting all points earned that night and all money earned at that race meet. The next finishing position will be then moved forward into the disqualified position.

Abiding by the following set of rules will enable everyone concerned to make the upcoming racing season at Sunset Speedway a more enjoyable event for all those involved.

REMEMBER STOCK MEANS STOCK, NO EXCEPTIONS.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

The word stock when used herein, shall mean unaltered, as factory available and produced by the O.E.M. for the make, model and year of the car being raced. That excludes all aftermarket "High Performance" parts, and all decisions and ruling shall be based on data obtained from the Canadian Service Data Book and other O.E.M. Specification Books.

The Thunder Car division is open to any approved make of North American built automobile having a factory listed wheel base of 101" or more for the make, model and year being raced. No convertibles, four wheel drive vehicles, trucks or station wagons will be allowed.

BODY AND APPEARANCE

Body must be stock in appearance to the original vehicle, with no chopping, channelling or sectioning allowed. Body must be complete with all doors, fenders, quarter panels, hood, trunk and roof as well as both bumpers. All chrome mouldings; door handles, nameplates and lights must be removed. All doors must be welded, bolted or chained shut to the satisfaction of the tech inspector.

Original wheel arches may have minimal trimming. Inner splash aprons in the front fenders may be removed. Trunk floor and inner wheel arches on rear fenders and 1/4 panels must be retained.

Absolutely no bars shall extend outside of body panels including the grille and bumper, with the exception of side scrub rails. Scrub rails cannot extend any further forward than rear of front wheel opening, and no further rearward than front of rear wheel opening. (No sharp edges) Maximum 1" x 2" welded or bolted to the roll cage.

If bolting on scrub rails, use carriage bolts (bumper type, rounded heads), or if using hex head bolts, recess them to the inner face of the scrub rail. Stock body mounts may be removed or left in place. No substitutes for stock mounts.

Cars must not be excessively rusted and must be presentable in appearance. The tech committee will reject cars that are considered unsafe or improperly prepared.

BUMPERS

Bumpers must be stock for the make, model and year being run. Reinforcing behind bumpers allowed. Maximum of 1 3/4" outside diameter with maximum .095" wall thickness (roll cage tubing) or equivalent. Bumpers must be mounted in stock position with no sharp edges exposed. No cut- offs. Bumper shocks may be welded. Chrome steel type bumpers must be welded and chained, to prevent bumpers from falling off onto the race surface and creating a hazardous condition during a race meet. All cars must be equipped with chains, front and rear, strong enough to lift the car by a tow truck for towing purpose.

INTERIOR

All upholstery materials and trim and padding must be removed. The front and rear firewalls must have all holes and openings filled with sheet metal. NO SHEET METAL SCREWS TO BE USED. Pop rivets or welding/brazing only.
All inner metal doors and quarter panel bracing must be retained unless full roll cage door bars are used. Any holes in the floor pan must be filled. Original floor pan and firewalls must be retained.

No fuel or brake lines or fuel filters permitted in the driver's compartment. All windows and glass except for front windshield must be removed. No screens or half windshields. Windshield may be lexan or safety glass with a minimum of 4 safety clips (No Plexiglass allowed). When using lexan 2 windshield centre braces are mandatory. Only factory tinted windshield glass permitted. No obstruction of the driver's view on the front or rear windshield area except for the top 4" of the front windshield for a sponsor decal. Front and/or rear windshield braces must be on the interior side of the vehicle. Stock interior mirror is permitted, stock location, maximum size 3"x10".

ROLL CAGE -MANDATORY

a. See page 9 for minimum and maximum roll cage requirement.
b. Cage must be 1 3/4" minimum outside diameter with .095" wall thickness (minimum).
c. Base of uprights must be electric welded to frame of car
d. Unibody will be welded to a steel plate 12" x 12" of 3/16" minimum plate which is formed and welded or bolted to floor pan.
e. In a Unibody car, the rear upright bars must be connected by a side-to-side member just above floor pan .
f. Cage shall be braced to the rear frame kick-ups and diagonally between the rear uprights.
g. Full roll cage allowed from firewall back to rear frame rails. Rear and front hoops allowed.
h. All welds must be properly gusseted with gussets of no less than .095" thick. No pipefitting allowed.
i. All metal in driver's door bars and roll bars in the driver's area must be properly padded and taped.
j. Left leg protection bar must be installed between roll cage and left front frame rail.
k. Minimum 16 gauge metal between roll cage door bars and body skin on driver's side only. Minimum 40" in length by 14" high

ALL WELDS WILL BE SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE TECH INSPECTORS.

LETTERING

Only those who are registered members of the Sunset Speedway Thunder Car Division are permitted to pre-number their car. Numbers of members must be on the roof reading from the passenger side and in the centre of each door, in large (minimum 36") letters in a colour that clearly contrasts the paint job on the car. Sponsor's name and logo may be placed any other place on the car. "NO FOIL NUMBERS".

Block type numbers 6" high, white in colour, must be displayed on the upper right hand side of the windshield to make it easier for line up purposes.

Vulgar words and expressions are not permitted.

ENGINE

Only engines that were factory available for the make, model and year being run are permitted. Cam lift will be inspected and must conform to the engine specs for the car. GM valve may have a maximum lift of .390" / .410". No head modification. Chev: minimum 74cc combustion chamber. Engine must be stock!!! Maximum overbore of .040" allowed. Any GM model car may run a 350 CID engine.

Engine block deck height must be a minimum of .020" if used with a steel head gasket, or zero deck height if used with a minimum .035" composite head gasket.

The maximum valve sizes as measured across the face of the valve are as follows:
General Motors: Intake- 1.94" Exhaust -1.50" Ford "Cleveland": Intake -2.04" Exhaust -1.65" Ford "Windsor": Intake -1.84" Exhaust -1.64" Chrysler Corp. Intake- 1.88" Exhaust -1.60"
Four equal eyebrow pistons only. No reworking of the pistons.

Exceptions to the above engine make, model and year rule must be presented in writing to the tech official and tech supervisor for discussion and ruling through the track management.

CARBURETTOR

One OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) two-barrel carburettor that is factory stock for the engine being run is permitted. Choke accessories may be removed. No adaptor plates allowed.

Two throttle return springs (running in two different directions) and a throttle stop are mandatory and an accelerator toe bar is recommended.

No truck carburettors. Carburettor insulator spacer must not exceed 3/8" and must be stock bore as per intake manifold.

Rochester carburettor throttle body maximum bore diameter is 1 - 11/16" maximum main venturi diameter is 1 3/8"; maximum boost (secondary) venturi bore diameter is 1/8".

Carburettor power valve port plugs will show no signs of tampering or epoxy. Fuel Injected cars must have approval from Tech Staff.

Original cast iron exhaust manifolds only. No ram horn manifolds allowed. No aluminium intakes or headers permitted. No aftermarket high performance ignition systems permitted. No roller rocker arms permitted. No special external oil pumps or dry sump systems permitted. One 12-volt battery only.

IF IT ISN'T STOCK, IT ISN'T LEGAL

WEIGHT

Minimum weight will be 3150 lbs. with driver in car. When adding ballast the weight must be maximum 55% left side and 50% rear weight. Ballast must be mounted safely and properly secured, painted white and labelled with the car #. When using FUEL INJECTED MOTORS you must add an extra 100 lbs. Fuel injected motors can only be used if it is available in the make/model /year of the vehicle being run.

DRIVELINE:

Automatic transmissions only. Must be stock factory available for make, model and year of car being run. No racing automatics. No special torque converters. Must have stock torque converter for transmission being run. No manual transmissions.

Driveshaft must have two 360* steel retaining loops minimum 1/4" x 2" positioned at the front and rear of the driveshaft within 8" of the U-joint. No chains. No aluminium driveshafts. Driveshafts must be painted white or fluorescent. No accessories may be driven off or attached to driveline.

LOCKED REAR ENDS ARE PERMITTED. Mini-spools or welding may be used to lock a rear end. If welding, be sure a professional type job is done. No Posi-trac rear ends.

SUSPENSION AND FRAMES

All suspension and frame components must be stock for the make, model and year of the car, with no modification. Suspension may be adjusted, but no components can be interchanged for those that are stock. No modification of stock suspension locating points allowed. Unibody cars may install subframe connectors. Frame height must be a minimum of 7" and will be measured without driver . Stock style shocks in stock locations with stock style shock mounts. All steering columns must be of a collapsible type. Centre of steering wheel hub must be heavily padded. Stock springs may be replaced with stiffer or lighter springs as long as the springs retain the stock style. Left and right side spring wire diameter must be the same. Racing springs allowed, minimum 4" diameter. No spacers allowed.

EXHAUST

Muffler(s) and catalytic converter may be removed. Exhaust pipes must exit to the outside of the car to the rear of the driver and ahead of the rear wheels. Exhaust pipes should be firmly mounted and have no sharp edges or protrude outside of the bodyline. Maximum exhaust not to exceed 2-1/4 (+/- 030") OD.

FUEL CELL AND FUEL SYSTEM

The fuel cell must be mounted in the trunk area of the car on top of or above the trunk floor. It must be separated from the driver's compartment by an all-metal firewall. There can be no openings in the firewall and any holes must be filled in with metal. No filler neck or fuel line is permitted inside of the driver's compartment. The fuel cell must be firmly secured with steel straps to the floor of the trunk. Minimum of two straps front to back, one side to side. The fuel cell may be lowered in the trunk area. The bottom of the fuel cell may not be lower than the top of the rear end housing. The fuel cell must be centred between the frame rails. Plastic fuel cells must be placed in a metal container, minimum 20-gauge steel. There must be a minimum 1" gap between the fuel cell and steel enclosure to act as a crush area. A fuel cell rear protection hoop may be used. Minimum 1- 3/4" x .095" tubing.

Gas cap must have an appropriate attaching line to prevent its lost.

External electric fuel pumps allowed on fuel injected vehicles as approved by Tech Staff.

All filler caps must be non-vented. No car will be permitted to run if any sign of fuel leakage is found. The trunk must have a quick release hold down.

Fuel: Petroleum based unleaded fuels only. The gasoline shall not be blended with alcohols, ethers, or other oxygenates and it shall not be blended with aniline or its derivatives, nitro compounds or other nitrogen containing compounds. No lead additives allowed. No NOS system.

COOLING SYSTEM

Radiator must be stock or stock replacement type. NO aluminium radiators. Must be in stock location. NO ANTIFREEZE ALLOWED

WHEELS

No reverse or aluminium type rim permitted. STEEL ONLY. Maximum rim width bead-to-bead -7 inches. Heavy duty or racing rims may be run on all four wheels. Heavy-duty wheel studs and nuts on right front mandatory. Right front rim must be a racing wheel. No wheel spacers allowed.

SAFETY EQUIPMENT

1. Safety Belts and Harness
A quick release belt of not less than 3" in width and a 3" shoulder harness are compulsory.
Belts must be securely fastened to the frame and/or roll cage with grade 8 bolts of a minimum diameter of 3/8". Crotch V-belt recommended. NO INERTIA OR REEL ROLL TYPE SEAT BELTS PERMITTED

2. SEAT Aluminium racing seats only, head rests mandatory. Wrap around headrests on both sides recommended. Seat must be bolted to the seat frame or roll cage assembly. See diagram on page 8. Seat must be positioned to the left of the centre line of the car. No bolting of seat to the car floor. Use minimum 3/8" grade 8 bolts with large washers to hold racing seat-to-seat framework. Minimum of two (2) bolts on the seat back and minimum of two (2) bolts on the seat bottom.
3. Fire Control Cars must have a current year approved fire extinguisher mounted in an approved mounting bracket bolted down and within driver's reach with seat belts fastened.

4. Safety Helmet An approved racing type safety helmet must be worn at all times during all races and practices. Helmets must be 1995 Snell Approved or equivalent. Goggles or face shield mandatory.

5. Drivers Window Net: Proper drivers window net mandatory with minimum 3/8" rod. Must have a top release.

6. Drivers Fire Suit
Driver's fire suit is mandatory .No coveralls. Driver and suit must maintain clean looking appearance. Fireproof gloves, neck collar, balaclava, underwear, socks and shoes are recommended. No nylon shoes. FLAME RETARDANT SOLUTION SUGGEST FOR RENEWING FIRE RETARDANT PROPERTIES: 6 ounces boric acid 1-gallon water 9 ounces borax
Soak in above solution for 5 minutes. Allow to drip dry.

7. All cars running in a feature event are subject to technical inspection by random selection at the end of the race. Any car running illegal non stock parts will be disqualified. No car will be permitted to compete in an unsafe mechanical condition.

8. Cars must be self-starting and have an ignition kill switch on the left and right side of the dash. KILL switch must be painted red and marked KILL -ON and OFF within reach of the driver on left side of car.

9. Oil pressure and heat gauges mandatory .No plastic gauge lines.

BRAKES

Four wheel hydraulic brakes are required. Lightening of backing plates, drums and/or shoes is not permitted. Any cooling holes must be drilled in such a manner that they do not weaken the unit. Brakes will be tested for pedal "feel".

TIRES

1) Goodyear 02935 Compound A400 27.0 x 7.0 - 15 marked SS.

2) Other speedway's approved Thunder Car tires may be excepted at Sunset on a temporary basis provided there is no advantage over our tires.

3) DOT approved 15" passenger car radials in 205, 215 or 225 series, R70 or R75. No recaps, performance tires, LT or V rated tires allowed. Sunset Speedway or registered Thunder Car drivers may claim any of these tires for $30 each plus $5 for removal. The money is to be paid to the tech staff before the feature starts and the tire is removed after the feature is over.

Thank you for choosing Sunset Speedway and good luck in the 2003 season.