Where is the 38' Top Banana #60?
01-19-2007, 04:16 PM
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Where is the 38' Top Banana #60?
I've used the search function and also checked out the Banana boat web site and didn't find anything... What ever happend to the 38' Top Banana race boat?
The fact that the Banana boys were restoring Benihana rather than the Top Banana sort of piqued my curiosity.
(Charlie, I've had some seat time in a 1LE Camaro too! For a stock mid-80's GM product it was a really solid race car.)
The fact that the Banana boys were restoring Benihana rather than the Top Banana sort of piqued my curiosity.
(Charlie, I've had some seat time in a 1LE Camaro too! For a stock mid-80's GM product it was a really solid race car.)
01-20-2007, 08:24 PM
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Re: Where is the 38' Top Banana #60?
The Top Banana was a "throw away" boat......that means it was built so light that it wasn't expected to live very long...especially racing in open ocean conditions.
In its second race it cracked it's deck from the middle to the rubrail..(See story of Bacardi race on the website and in the latest issue of Extreme Boats Magazine)
It cracked many times again and finally started to delaminate on the bottom too.
Another one that is just gone.....that is why we are trying to find and save the ones that can be saved.
1LE's....yeah, we did the development work for GM on them with Bill Mitchell out of Connecticut....they were amazing cars and the punishment they took on the 24 hour races was something to behold.
In its second race it cracked it's deck from the middle to the rubrail..(See story of Bacardi race on the website and in the latest issue of Extreme Boats Magazine)
It cracked many times again and finally started to delaminate on the bottom too.
Another one that is just gone.....that is why we are trying to find and save the ones that can be saved.
1LE's....yeah, we did the development work for GM on them with Bill Mitchell out of Connecticut....they were amazing cars and the punishment they took on the 24 hour races was something to behold.
01-21-2007, 01:17 PM
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Re: Where is the 38' Top Banana #60?
Charlie,
What about the other Banana race boats do you know there fate? I have seen pics of Mike Snow's boats o that had side port holes the otherone is a 2 seater and has no side portholes.
Any details and what about your old 24 race boats are they still around?
I recently looked at second choice not a full blown race banana but a little race history
What about the other Banana race boats do you know there fate? I have seen pics of Mike Snow's boats o that had side port holes the otherone is a 2 seater and has no side portholes.
Any details and what about your old 24 race boats are they still around?
I recently looked at second choice not a full blown race banana but a little race history
01-22-2007, 12:26 AM
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Re: Where is the 38' Top Banana #60?
Thanks Charlie. Too bad, it was a great looking boat.
Seems like, if the historic race boats ultimately take off and parallel the historic cars, you guys are going to run into a similar problem they are seeing now with the aluminum tub cars. When a tub "goes soft" and a car needs to be retubbed, people generally accept that it's the same race car as long as it has the same chassis plate and the "correct" mechanicals. So it will be curious to see if boats, which ultimately go soft or fall apart like a tub chassis race car does, will see a similar practice as the cars. I guess if you had the HIN and builders plate for the Top Banana or The Cigarette and stuffed it full of original or period correct internals, you could argue that it has retained critical portion of it's historic siginficance...
In any event, I think all of you HORBA guys are doing something really special with these old race boats. Keep up the good work!
Thanks!
Sean
Seems like, if the historic race boats ultimately take off and parallel the historic cars, you guys are going to run into a similar problem they are seeing now with the aluminum tub cars. When a tub "goes soft" and a car needs to be retubbed, people generally accept that it's the same race car as long as it has the same chassis plate and the "correct" mechanicals. So it will be curious to see if boats, which ultimately go soft or fall apart like a tub chassis race car does, will see a similar practice as the cars. I guess if you had the HIN and builders plate for the Top Banana or The Cigarette and stuffed it full of original or period correct internals, you could argue that it has retained critical portion of it's historic siginficance...
In any event, I think all of you HORBA guys are doing something really special with these old race boats. Keep up the good work!
Thanks!
Sean
