Originally posted by Two Lane
What is the deadline TA Performance must make re: release of their aluminum heads in order for the heads to be eligible for TSM 2004?
As I stated last year, the new TA heads are legal now for the POINT SERIES...they're just not available.

The deadline for product releases applies to turbos, turbos and turbos - but not necessarily in that order

And note, my comments are directed at the TSM Point Series and not any one specific race in particular.
And, what is the precise definition and/or criteria for actual accomplishment of "product release"?
TIA!
IMO, this means that the turbo (again, the "product release" applies to turbos) must be commercially available to the TR world on or before December 1 of the year prior to a race season.
At the GSCA Nationals earlier this year, I had a phone conversation with Harry Hruska concerning the PT-70GTQ subsequent to finding one on Mr. Bamford's car. My point was that the turbo hadn't been available to the "TR world" until the Wednesday of the Nats when he brought the first 3 examples of this new model...not exactly "commercially available" to anyone IMO.
Harry's point was that the "new" housings had been run for the last few years on import cars with big turbos.
Personally, I don't care about what parts were available to the import racers. I am interested in what is commercially available to the turbo Buick racers. Unfortunately, this means the turbo needs to be available from PT&E, Limit Engineering and/or Innovative Turbo - the TR vendors that make up the vast majority of turbos sold to the TR group. Now that you can get this new turbo/housing prior to December 31, 2003 it is legal in the TSM Point Series beginning in 2004.