Siegfried and Roy don’t have anything on Tom Patton. They prepare their white tigers by way of relentless repetition, and so does Tom. It takes them eternally to get their tigers to obey instructions, because it does Tom. However as soon as they get these animals tamed, Siegfried and Roy–in addition to Tom–can put their beasts by way of their paces and wow the crowds.
Doin’ the Shag
In the summertime of 1979, Tom purchased yet one more Tiger. It did not have an engine, and the entrance finish was crumpled. It was painted a sickly inexperienced, and inexperienced shag carpet coated the sprint. None of this mattered, as a result of Tom might see the chances. Though neither Tiger nor proprietor knew it on the time, a 20-year coaching and growth program had began. Earlier than too lengthy, the street-Tigers had been bought to finance the racing effort.
When Tom acid dipped the Tiger, he discovered it had been properly used. He discovered Bondo an inch thick in some physique panels, and realized that someplace alongside the road, the automotive had acquired an Alpine entrance finish. However from the firewall again, the unibody was stable ·and clear.
To stiffen the bathtub for the monitor, he welded each seam he might discover. Then he welded in a roll cage, put in a gasoline cell and bolted on a set of American Libre wheels. Since Manufacturing-class guidelines had been restrictive and never a lot go-fast tools was obtainable for Tigers, Tom’s first race Setup got here from what he had learnee whereas autocrossing. As soon as the items had been again in place, he painted the Tiger Wimbledon White with blue stripes, a paint scheme that is still in the present day. Tom attended his first SCCA driver’s faculty within the spring of 1980.
He rapidly realized that racing an 86-inchwheelbase roadster powered with an enormous VS was like, properly, taming a tiger. For the primary couple of years, he gained driving expertise and tweaked the Tiger for extra pace and higher dealing with whereas working regional races. In these days, the Tiger was classed in C Manufacturing and ran in opposition to automobiles just like the Jaguar XKE, Mazda RX-7, Datsun Z-car and Porsche 914-6.
It did not take him lengthy to see the disadvantages of working an “orphan” automotive in opposition to these factory-backed, well-developed race automobiles. With no producer to show to for recommendation and tools, he knew that if the Tiger was going to be aggressive, he must develop it on his personal. And he wasn’t an engineer, so the event was going to be a gradual means of “what works and what would not.” There was all the time the pinch of a decent racing price range, since he and Janet had been funding this undertaking themselves.
Tom first certified for the nationwide Runoffs in 1982, however selected to not compete till 1983, when he completed fifteenth. Within the early years, he discovered the Tiger robust to drive quick constantly, regardless of his efforts to drive easily. Working by way of the dealing with and reliability issues, he continued to imshow, making the Runoffs annually and slowly creeping up the ending order. Nonetheless, there have been instances when he questioned the knowledge of sticking with the Tiger, as his opponents had been now typically working purpose-built automobiles with manufacturing facility backing and readily-available pace tools.
SCCA rule adjustments–which moved the quicker Manufacturing automobiles over to the GT category–and a crash or two started to assist. After the Tiger’s entrance finish was destroyed in a 1982 crash, he changed it with a tube body entrance finish, now allowed below GT2 guidelines. Later he did the identical with the rear. These adjustments allowed Tom to mount a coil-over suspension and bigger wheels and tires. These improvements resulted in improved Runoffs finishes through the late ’80s, however the Tiger was nonetheless a handful to drive.
Again to Sq. One
Tom calls 1990 a “crossover” 12 months. After he drove his coronary heart out to complete eleventh on the Runoffs, he was fed up with preventing the Tiger and able to take the subsequent step. He got here to the conclusion that it wasn’t his driving; the automotive simply would not deal with.
Lastly he determined to eek professionalfessional assist. Simply two weeks after the Runoffs, he introduced the Tiger to Craig Carter, a famous chassis tuner in Marion, Ind. Tom says that he obtained his first inkling of what was in retailer once they rolled the Tiger off the trailer and into Carter’s storage. As they pushed, Craig’s first query was, “How do you drive this -?” Craig then informed Tom that the “entrance finish was screwed up; the center was screwed up, and the rear finish was screwed up.”
As soon as that was settled, Craig put the automotive on his floor plate and began from scratch. Since he had constructed a number of Trans-Am racers, he developed drawings for the Tiger primarily based on a ¾-scale T-A automotive. He balanced the corners, decided the correct suspension pick-up factors, and set the trip peak. He pulled out the Tiger’s steering rack, changed it with a Woodward rack, and redesigned the steering geometry. He repositioned the welded rear finish with a Detroit Locker. And that was simply the beginning. When he completed, he gave Tom six extra pages of issues to do over the winter.
In any case this work, Tom began the subsequent season with excessive expectations. He discovered, however, that with the chassis lastly arrange the way in which it needs to be, he needed to discover ways to drive the Tiger over again. He discovered he might not dirt-track the automotive by way of the corners; he needed to drive by way of corners and wait longer to get on the gasoline. The Ellison Engine Service VS had all the time made loads of horseenergy, however now Tom felt that he might make higher use of it. The Tiger’s bodywork additionally obtained extra aggressive, as Tom developed the subsequent technology of fiberglass panels to supply easy accessibility and canopy the larger tires.
As Tom and the Tiger obtained quicker, the subsequent few years produced extra podium finishes on the Runoffs, together with third twice and second thrice. However for a coil wire that separated in mid-race whereas Tom was main in 1997, he may need gained that 12 months. After which there was 1998, when he got here along with a competitor whereas passing for the lead. Regardless of a spin, he completed second but once more.
Even after 20 years of growth, the Tiger just isn’t what you’ll name high-tech. It nonetheless retains a lot of the unique manufacturing facility tub, which has required some modification and repairs after a few unhealthy crashes. Guidelines require a 289- cubic-inch Ford small block with cast-iron heads whereas lim.iting carburetor dimension to 600 cfm—early ’60s know-how at its finest.
Tom runs a four-speed, Jerico-modified Ford Prime Loader transmission and a Pacemanner Engineering quick-change rear finish. The rear finish rolls on Wilwood wide-five hubs, whose bolt sample permits extra wheel selections at decrease costs. Not numerous technical advances in comparison with, say, a purpose-built, tube-frame Toyota Celica. And neglect the massive bucks support: Tom nonetheless does practically all of the work himself, and on many race weekends solely Janet offers crew duties.
1999: Yr of the Tiger
This brings us as much as 1999. The Tiger had a fantastic season, successful six out of eight Nationwide races, ending fourth as soon as, and getting one DNF attributable to a damaged valve. Tom handily gained the Central Division championship (the eighth 12 months in a row) and felt this might be his 12 months for the national championship. Subsequent to Indianapolis Racemanner Park, Tom considers Mid-Ohio his dwelling monitor and has run many miles on the course, which rewards a automotive with a number of torque just like the Tiger. When qualifying rolled round, Tom was prepared. He positioned the Tiger on the surface pole, second solely to a Nissan 300ZX which set a category monitor report to realize the highest spot.
Race day dawned cool and cloudy, and by the point the GT2 race rolled round, it was riskening rain. The polesitter took them round for a quick stai1, which was precisely what Tom had hoped for. When the inexperienced flag dropped, the Tiger was on the cam_ in second gear and out-dragged the sector into Flip 6. After that, he simply motored away.
Whereas 4 opponents had been exchanging paint–and extra–for second place, Tom was savoring each lap. “It was pulling so good and dealing with so properly, I needed to make it final,” he mentioned. Afraid to ease up even with the massive lead, he saved the hammer down. “I knew somebody would get clear in that battle for second and hunt me down like a canine, so I ran as arduous as I might,” he mentioned. And whereas the Tiger will not be high-tech, it nonetheless has the motor to ‘hustle down the Mid-Ohio again straight at 152 mph.
On his fifteenth strive for the championship, Tom gained the race by practically 15 seconds. Janet shed just a few tears of pleasure. It was a preferred win, cheered on by a bunch of throwback Tiger supporters and different fanatics who favor “orphan” automobiles, particularly once they sound like a Tiger. Then there’s additionally the truth that this win marks the Tiger’s first SCCA nationwide title, 32 years after Sunbeam stopped making the automotive. As one of many Speedvision commentators remarked when speaking about producers’ contingency awards, “What’s Tom going to win, a toaster?”
After 20 arduous years of taming the Tiger, even Siegfried and Roy might be proud. To say nothing of grandma.
Trending Merchandise
