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| Chaparral 2J Chevrolet |
| Article | Image gallery (15) | 2J001 | Specifications | User Comments (2) |
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Add your comments on the Chaparral 2J Chevrolet
| Long and skinny didn't work |
| Steve Smith 07-02-2011 |
The reason the 2H got up on two wheels was because it was too narrow...*way* too narrow. Hall embraced the same fallacy for the Chaparral that Ferdinand Piech applied to the original Porsche 917 (during his brief reign as head of Porsche's racing department): streamlining trumps downforce. Both men reasoned that if a car has low enough drag, its higher top speed will result in race victories. The 917 was a disaster until Mark Donohue proved to Porsche that traction is more important than a low Cd. Hall went Piech one better, reasoning that a slippery shape wasn't enough; you have to have a smaller frontal area if you really want to reduce drag. He was right, of course, if you're going for the Land Speed Record, but his mentor, Frank Winchell, head of staff engineering at GM (and the "godfather" of many of Hall's innovations, like the automatic transmission and the hub-mounted wing of the 2E) warned him long and skinny wouldn't work. (The original 2H design was a sort of coupe, with a windshield stretched between the front wheel arches.) Sure enough, the narrow track of the 2H gave it all the stability of the Toonerville Trolley (never mind the visibility problems Surtees' complained about; he might as well have been strapped into Barney Oldfield's Golden Submarine), and Hall abandoned the concept as quickly as had Piech to concentrate on the 2J, which proved to be most innovative race car in the world at that time...maybe ever. |
| Chaparrals |
| yarbrote 07-01-2011 |
We recently visited in Midland and were able to attend a "Party on the Plaza" at the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum. We were able to speak with Mr. Hall for a short while and see almost all of the cars. The 2J was not there as it is over in Goodwood again. We really need to keep our awareness of these cars high as they represent events that likely will never be duplicated. |
| Article | Image gallery (15) | 2J001 | Specifications | User Comments (2) |
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