Solo2 car class confusion... noob topic, I know.

If I ever get time away from work I plan to enter some Autocross events with my white LSC this summer. I've been researching car classification lists for a while now and, of course, the Mark VII is not listed. I did however find the V8 Thunderbird lumped into F Stock (F Street?) and I assume that's where I would be. My problem is I had assumed my car would feed into STX once I toss on a set of C/C plates, underdrive pulleys, better bushings, subframe connectors and a panhard bar but everything I've read puts it straight into SM.

There seem to be a few overlapping and sometimes conflicting rule sets or maybe I'm just pulling up outdated info, I'm not sure.

Anyone out there with a less-than-common car have better results?

for theses of us that only speak model NAMES … what is a LSC ?

LSC I believe is a Lincoln Sport Coupe (Mark VII?).

Jed, It would make sense that your car would be classed with the same year range of Thunderbirds, probably would be covered under NOC (not otherwise classed) in F Street. It's probably not listed as no one has submitted a request to the SEB for it to be added to Appendix A in the rules.

Are you running SCCA? If so try CAM (Classic American Muscle).

Any American V8 on street tires is basicly the only rule.

For the latest rules just download from the scca website.
Main rules page http://www.scca.com/solo/content.cfm?cid=44517
Direct link http://www.scca.com/assets/2014%20Solo%20Rules%20Book%207%20w%20cover%20and%20links.pdf
For stock I don't see anybody locally having an issue with a Mark VII in F-Street even if it is not specifically classed there. Since it is a coupe it does not fall under the catchall at the end either. (V8 sedans, pick-ups, and sedan derived convertibles NOC). However I can't speak for your local region on that. I don't speak domestic well enough to know if the common Mark VII versions of those mods run into problems with the ST ruleset or not. For ST the Mark VII should be in STX since it does meet the catch-all for local competition there (Sedans & Coupes NOC (nonsports-car-based; 4-seat minimum; 3.1L to 5.1L normally aspirated or up to 2.0L forcedinduction))

Sections of the rules to double check your mods against for STX (2014 rules)

14.2.H (Bolt-on SFC's)
14.8 (with special attention to section G)
14.10.H (Underdrive pullys)

Or as Gearheadotaku said CAM might be a better option so you don't have to worry about pretty much any of these rules.

The pony cars got moved to STU this year. Does that apply to the bigger American cars, too?

I just read the 2014 rules, and underdrive pulleys look like they are only legal in SM so I would ask the local autocross leaders to see what the official ruling is since the technical jargon is difficult to understand sometimes. You can also ask them if they care about it if you do run STX this year, since they may let you do it until you start putting down killer raw or pax times. But, for the best results, get good summer tires and fix the nut behind the wheel.

Gearheadotaku wrote: Are you running SCCA? If so try CAM (Classic American Muscle). Any American V8 on street tires is basicly the only rule.

+1. As the LSC isn't really a popular autocross car, it'll generally be under the "NOC" (Not Otherwise Classed) group, which can be a bit vague.

But if you just want to have fun, do whatever mods you want and run in CAM.

Jed, will you be out at Mossville July 12?

I'll probably be helping with setup, registration, and tech again. Frankly, if you haven't done it before and unless you're on some R-Comps, it isn't going to matter--go ahead and class yourself in STX or STU or whatever is the closest ST class. No one is going to throw papers. For the most part all of our classes will likely be too small for us to even have classes, and in any case we only gave out trophies for top 5 PAX and top 5 raw that weren't top 5 pax. I can just about guarantee you will not be in the top 15 of either.

Thanks everyone... I've been stuck at work again, otherwise I would have replied sooner.

MTN, I was planning to hit the Rantoul event (assuming the work schedule doesn't interfere) July 19th and/or 20th that I found through CCSCC. I hadn't found the Mossville event, where is that listed?

Edit: Found the Mossville event the 12th, I think. BMW event? I assume they will allow non Bavarians?

As of now the only mods are the KYB front struts, and the others listed will be quite some time down the road and I don't think there's any chance of setting blistering times!

I need to look into Classic American Muscle.

That's what's so cool about CAM. There's (almost) no rules yet;it's mostly to attract the musclecar and hot rod guys to come race with us. I believe the only rule is no slicks.

On another note, I read in Sports Car magazine that they will probably change it a little next year. They might make it CAM1 for pre-1975 cars and CAM2 for post-1975 cars. Technically, C5 and C6 drivers can enter the class and spank anyone in it if they're a good driver.

Told the wife about it and she wants to flog on her Outback.

I like the idea of CAM since there I can band-aid what was done/forgotten from the factory (no positive caster, very little negative camber, no subframe connectors, no rear axle lateral locating device, etc...) and not be lumped in SM or CP.

I really like this movement toward street tires that's going on!

In reply to mtn:

Will you be doing the events in Rantoul as well?

Damn, I wish Mossville was closer, I need an excuse to be away from my house on the 12th.

Hey, it looks like you're not too far away from Rantoul!

Have any plans for July 19th and 20th?

I plan to be there, once again assuming my "schedule" cooperates.

Jed, Mossville is indeed a BMW event. No need to have a krautmobile, no need to be a member. More expensive if you aren't a member but at this point I don't think there are enough events to break even.

http://illinibmw.com/events/autocrossing/

As for Rantoul, I've run there a lot in the past and would like to do more events there. Unfortunately, it is 1.5-2 hours away now that I live in Peoria. Add in the 5 events this year in Mossville, there is no real compelling reason for me to get out there.

The_Jed wrote: I like the idea of CAM since there I can band-aid what was done/forgotten from the factory (no positive caster, very little negative camber, no subframe connectors, no rear axle lateral locating device, etc...) and not be lumped in SM or CP. I really like this movement toward street tires that's going on!

I didn't find the old way to be that controversial, but it didn't affect me, either. Part of the reason was that newcomers with stock vehicles couldn't be competitive without slicks, so that could discourage beginners from returning. Most newcomers aren't going to be competitive anyway, unless they have natural talent and good tires. Oh, and ironically, the classes are somewhat similar to how they were last season, before the groundbreaking changes.

The_Jed wrote: Told the wife about it and she wants to flog on her Outback.

Or the Impreza, since I'm still struggling to find my 'footing' with the Outback...

My schedule was just posted and it looks like I won't be racing anyway. 3rd shift the night of the 11th and 3rd shift the night of the 12th.

I should be able to swing by and say "hi" but then it's off to bed.

Stay in school kids!