A very vintage Top Gear celebrated Mini’s win 1964 at the Monte Carlo Rally way back in 1994. Yes that’s the 30th anniversey complete with pop references which we may or may not understand. Regardless it’s a great piece that catelogues exactly why the win was so impressive. Enjoy. Part One Part Two More...
Cool stuff. Watching a classic Mini tool around a rally stage only makes me want one more than ever. I didn't know that Tony Mason was on old Top Gear. I've seen him on Classic Car Club on HD Theater.
Very cool. I noted that they mentioned using 10" wheels and Paddy said he could have used 4 wheel drive during one section. How does the gear box work that you don't need the clutch? Are all rally cars like that? Jim
That gearbox has a dog-engagement, as do all rally cars, and race cars. A few might have snycros in low budget events, but the team would be crazy to race with them for too long. Through some wizardry, the thing doesn't have syncros, but harder metal teeth that allow for instant gear changes, instead of the slower synchronization that happens with brass (or other soft metal) syncros. As a result of the harder metal in dog-engagements, the thing can take more abuse and can be shifted with power full on. In a syncronized transmission, the clutch as to be disengaged, taking engine power off of the transmission so that the syncros can do their thing - they are softer after all. I hope this made some sense, maybe some engineer will chime in with more.
Thanks Nathan That was great. It reminded me of Antiterrorist Drivers Training. All day long driving someone else's car through road blocks. Doing Reverse 180s and Bootlegger's Turnarounds. Disabling moving cars without injuring the occupants or taking out the occupants without damaging the engine or drive chain. That one Bootlegger's Turn Around that Paddy did in part one brought all that back and put a big smile on my face."We were young once and Soldiers.":cornut: Jason
