Post
by Dominic » Fri May 01, 2009 5:34 pm
Okay,
Here's my first stab at a plan and some rules;
TSE Top Shed Challenge
1. First off, keep it simple!
2. For ease, all cars should be driven to and from events; not everyone will have a tow car / trailer. For younger folk, CCI are fairly cheap for 3rd party insurance for smaller engined cars (from memory, aged 27, my 2.8l XR4x4 was circa £280 for 12 months roughly half of which would be refundable when the car is sold). Each team can decide if all will be insured for road use, or one nominated road driver.
3. Try to keep a lid on the costs, so cheap & chearfull events (i.e. no sprints)
4. We can come up with a theme for the cars... or anything goes? As suggested the more imaginative the idea, the more points.
5. Teams can be of any number of members, but ideally no more than 5, so that the whole team can travel together.
6. Top budget £500 for purchase. Minor repairs and quick fixes allowable along the way.
The plan / timescale;
Over the next couple of weeks, form teams and start thinking about what car to go for.
By the end of May, have a car bought; can be from anywhere, but good starting points; Auctions, Autotrader, the Yellow Paper (Scot Ads I think) Classic car websites and of course, pistonheads. Cars should be MOT'd and taxed;- need not be at time of purchase, but will need to be for the first event, so may as well buy wisely.
First event, in early June; a road trip, testing mpg and reliability. A route could be devised that takes in all road types, with some specific points to visit. Points added / deducted for mpg (we need not take MPG too seriously), and stoppages. A trip round the highlands in a day sounds fun!
Second Event, late June / early July (poss swap with 3rd event subject to what events car clubs are running to fit in with callenders), Kames track day. As others mentioned (If any sort of timing would be allowed) set a 'standard' time to aim for; points awarded for faster, points deducted for slower... all team members can take part, if desired; only the best time to count. If no timing allowed, then points deducted for any offs / or break downs.
Third event, late July. a grass test (swapable as above subject to available dates). Points awarded according to finishing order.
Forth event; August KH hot hatch day? / and or tarmac autotest - other suggestions???
After August, sell the cars, ready for any profit made to go to AMP3 charity day.
We can throw in some minor challenges along the way too; for example; researching your car's manufactures racing colour scheme, and preparing the car (with tins of paint & a brush) accordingly/ presentation of car/ etc etc.
If we can come up with a points system that does not require judges, then we can all compete. If it requires someone to oversee things, and have the final say on any disputes, then, in the absence of any other volunteers, I'll be happy to 'manage' the challenge. Otherwise, if it's simply a case of judging originality / paint jobs etc, we could always get some non competing SE'rs to act as one off judges.
Further suggestions welcome....