Chaparral 2E
05-31-2009, 09:38 PM
#1
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Chaparral 2E
Jim Hall drove the Chaparral 2E this past week. We were rained out on Thursday so we had lots of time to visit with Mr. Hall.
Here's a picture of me and Jim Hall.
Mr. Hall said the 2E is probably his favorite of the cars. (can you tell?)
The first year (1966) they ran a small block Chevy. They got all the bugs worked out by end of the season and then Chevy said they wanted them to start running the "new" big block. So they changed over to the big block. They had more troubles and the 2E we never as competitive the 2nd year as they would have been with the small block. Mr. Hall thinks they should have stayed with the small block.
This was the first of the winged Chaparrals. Mr. Hall said one race the wing stuck in the up (max downforce) position and they couldn't run fast at all. I told him I found a video on the internet that showed the wing in action. He just grinned and said it worked good.
Wheels and tires - they started running 16" diameter wheels to allow larger brakes and better sized tires. Other racers were running 15" wheels with thin tires. The 2E now has Hoosiers but I think they still have some original Firestones for when the car is on display. The original wheels are magnesium and super light.
There were a few times he stopped and revved up the engine like he was going to burn rubber. Then he'd launch and go around the driveway much faster than the "regular" driver. I told him he put on a better show than the other drivers. He laughed and said "oh yeah....well if the track was swept I'd have gone faster" (already got some volunteers to sweep next time
)
This is one of my favorite pics.
Yes that is Jim Hall driving a motorized bar stool. He seems to be enjoying it...but talk about a short wheel base and high center of gravity
Here's a picture of me and Jim Hall.
Mr. Hall said the 2E is probably his favorite of the cars. (can you tell?)
The first year (1966) they ran a small block Chevy. They got all the bugs worked out by end of the season and then Chevy said they wanted them to start running the "new" big block. So they changed over to the big block. They had more troubles and the 2E we never as competitive the 2nd year as they would have been with the small block. Mr. Hall thinks they should have stayed with the small block.
This was the first of the winged Chaparrals. Mr. Hall said one race the wing stuck in the up (max downforce) position and they couldn't run fast at all. I told him I found a video on the internet that showed the wing in action. He just grinned and said it worked good.
Wheels and tires - they started running 16" diameter wheels to allow larger brakes and better sized tires. Other racers were running 15" wheels with thin tires. The 2E now has Hoosiers but I think they still have some original Firestones for when the car is on display. The original wheels are magnesium and super light.
There were a few times he stopped and revved up the engine like he was going to burn rubber. Then he'd launch and go around the driveway much faster than the "regular" driver. I told him he put on a better show than the other drivers. He laughed and said "oh yeah....well if the track was swept I'd have gone faster" (already got some volunteers to sweep next time
)This is one of my favorite pics.
Yes that is Jim Hall driving a motorized bar stool. He seems to be enjoying it...but talk about a short wheel base and high center of gravity
05-31-2009, 10:39 PM
#4
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
I don't think there is any padding in that seat and the sides are pretty high. I'm not sure I could squeeze in.
Mr. Hall said he still fit in the seat after all these years. It looks like he slid right in like putting on a pair of your favorite boots.
There is a mockup 2E in the museum that you can get in. It is very close to the original from the outside but I'm sure the seat is not near what is in the original.
I'll post some videos in the next few days.
I had a Hot Wheels 2E when I was little. That was my first intro to Chaparral cars and I thought they were the coolest. It was my favorite Hot Wheels.
06-03-2009, 02:35 AM
#8
Safety Car
I attended *every* Cam-Am (series #1) race at Riverside Raceway. (I saw Roger Penske win as a driver in the Zerex Special - which isn't really Can-Am, but....) At least 50% of the reasons for going in those days was to see what Jim Hall had come up with that year. To this day I remember the intro of the Chapparal 2 with that wedge front end. It was so low in the front (which no one did in those day) that the front splitter (also a new idea I think) would scrape on the pavement simply from backing off the gas. So, coming up the esses it would make this occasional, but quite prominent, chittering noise. It took us a while to figure out just what the heck it was!
Then came the 2E!
It's wonderful being able to see actual evolution in the aero knowledge.
Good days, those!
Z//
Then came the 2E!
It's wonderful being able to see actual evolution in the aero knowledge.Good days, those!
Z//
Last edited by Zoxxo; 03-20-2013 at 02:39 AM.
06-03-2009, 03:03 AM
#9
Instructor
Member Since: Apr 2009
Location: Mechanicsburg PA
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06-03-2009, 12:16 PM
#10
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Here's some videos
Jim Hall climbing into the cockpit. He joked "it still fits!"
I was surprised how quickly it fired up and idle smoothly. The car had been sitting for over an hour (that's how long I'd been there). I don't know if they warmed it up before that.
I was going to make a comment about him wearing his hat backward but thought better of it.
I call this the high speed pass because Mr. Hall is driving around the circle much faster than normal.
We joked about taking out the speed bumps on the roads behind the museum so they could drive the Chaparrals on the road course instead of the circle track. That would be cool.
finally - the wing. at the end of the video you can see the wing go to the low-downforce position Since there is no clutch, there is a pedal in its place that operates the wing.
Jim Hall climbing into the cockpit. He joked "it still fits!"
I was surprised how quickly it fired up and idle smoothly. The car had been sitting for over an hour (that's how long I'd been there). I don't know if they warmed it up before that.
I was going to make a comment about him wearing his hat backward but thought better of it.
I call this the high speed pass because Mr. Hall is driving around the circle much faster than normal.
We joked about taking out the speed bumps on the roads behind the museum so they could drive the Chaparrals on the road course instead of the circle track. That would be cool.
finally - the wing. at the end of the video you can see the wing go to the low-downforce position Since there is no clutch, there is a pedal in its place that operates the wing.
