Dragstalgia
Santa Pod Raceway, 10th-12th July 2015

Friday


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Latest update 16:55

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Outlaw Flat Four racer Udo Becker has been at VW meetings at SPR but this is his first appearance at Dragstalgia. He bought his car from the east coast of the US in 2012 as a rolling chassis and built his own engine. The engine includes Autocraft parts and is normally aspirated. At Bug Jam in 2013 it became the first normally aspirated VW engined car into the nines and Udo backed this up at Bitburg in 2013.


Outlaw Flat Four racer Ian Shorrock has had owned his car since 1996 and is still street legal. Daz Chandler built the roll cage and the engine is a 2276cc turbo item with 300hp output. The car's best time is a 10.9 recorded last year. Ian said 'We will get three runs on Saturday and three on Sunday, and I joined the OFF four years ago after running the Northern Street Car Challenge'. Ian is joined by crewman Martin Greaves who is building a unique NSU Prinz drag car (NSU were acquired by VW in the late 1960s) with a VW based engine.


Outlaw Street racer Mark Holmes' Model A is immaculate. Outlaw Street organiser Mark Wallington from Wisbech American Street & Performance (WASP) said 'I have been running the series for five years and it has grown to sixty cars, although with the 1980 cut-off there are about 20 here this weekend. The cars range from the Model A to a 2014 Camaro and times range from seven to seventeen seconds. Scoring is based on personal improvement, so it is a good, low cost way of getting into racing'. Support comes from WASP, American Car World and others and the series runs for eight events in a year at SPR and SCR. More details can be seen at www.outlawstreet.co.uk


Outlaw Street racer Trudy Slater runs this Cosworth powered 4x4 Minor which has been the subject of numerous magazine features. She has attended Dragstalgia since its first running in 2011.


Outlaw Anglia racer Steve Wells had a problem at the SPRC Summer Nationals when a union broke off the fuel pump as the car was going through the finish line. 'Fuel went evrywhere, the engine went lean and the manifold exploded. That blew the engine cover off its Dsuz fasterners; when I stopped the fuel pump was very hot and then I could see the flames oout of it; the SPR marshals were on it very quickly'. The rebuild was accomplished in just two weeks, thanks to a prompt delivery of valves and pushrods from the US and aluminium being cut for the manifold plenum on the same day as I enquired. It's been a busy two weeks'.


This 351ci engined TVR was not on the entry list but looks neat.


Supercharged Outlaws racer Vince Rosiello's tube-chassised '57 Chevy is for sale. He said 'This is our third time here after we hit the wall on the first run a couple of years ago. After repairs the car ran a best of 7.48'. Engine is a BBC with Powerglide and Ford nine inch rear.


Supercharged Outlaws racer Andy Hadfield is enjoying the class and his is the only street legal car in it. 'I ran a new PB of 7.7/178 at the Nostalgia Nationals and before that, ran the Hot Rod & Hills event with 154 other hot rods, organised by crew chief Craig. We were the lead car and all we changed was the exhaust and tyres'. Andy is doing ten passenger rides today in the water-cooled machine. Supercharged Outlaws have to run quicker than 9.9s and there is no lower limit.


Wild Bunch racer Steve Field drives Black Pig Too, a new build from FieldCraft Fabrication. The car has a SBC of 383ci with Powerglide and Ford 9" rear. Carburettor is a Holley 950cfm race item. Paint scheme is described as 'Mondrian' and alternative panels are used when Sarah Howells is driving.


Wild Bunch racer Darryl Howells' DASH Racing slingshot was upgraded by FieldCraft Fabrication. The superb paint scheme was applied by Lee Patrick last winter. Darryl said 'The paint scheme represents a chemical reaction and even the decals are painted on'. Darryl ran a new PB at the Summer Nationals of 8.9/151


Tony Betts has got into hot rods since he stopped racing fuel altereds a few years ago. He said 'I drive and my friends Kev Miller, John Mordey and Ian Walkerdeme build them. We said when we stopped racing we must still meet up but we do this for fun'. Tony's '55 Chevy which won an award at a recent Billing Fun Run, has a Dodge Viper V10 engine.


Tony Betts has rought this blown '34 to run on the track. He said 'We tested a month ago and I have my old crew of Mickey Moore and Jim MacKenzie helping me.'


RWYB racer Gary Parkes bought his Tee bucket as a barn find and set about creating an altered that pays a nod to Tee Rat. 'I first got into the sport when I went on a tour with Robin Jackson. The engine is a 3.5 ltr Rover with a Wade blower and Borg Warner box. I have made it so that the driving position is knees-up and there is a parachute lever in the style of an early seventies altered'. initial runs revealed ignition problems which Gary hopes to solve here over the weekend.


RWYB racer Bryan Whitfield from Sheffield owns and rebuilt Henry Hirise which was a regular runner in the 1980s. He said 'I bought it in 2009 and restored it. In 2010 I took it down the track for the first time and it handled like a drunk coming out of a club'. Work on the rear axle with the addition ofan anti roll bar improved the handling and the car now runs consistent tens. The car has a blown 468ci engine with a TH400 trans. The rebuild including a completely new chassis was done by Bryan except for engine work which was by Ian Tubb.


Bryan Whitfield also owns the ex Tim Cook Americar modified Chevy which ran tens in 1978 and is now running on the street.


Super Stock racer Dave Billadeau has this immaculate Coronet with the curioius name Ol' Scatter Bolts.


Willys Wars racer Richard Warburton, former clerk of the course at SCR, has aimed for a street and strip car. He has clocked 10,000 road miles since it was completed and he runs it to shows and will take it to Shelsey Walsh hill climb soon. He said 'The Willys Wars runs heads up as a rwyb with winners getting bragging rights and losers hanging their heads in shame for the rest of the year.' Richard has owned the car for three years and has revamped the roll cage, wiring, prop shaft, heads, radiatpr and fuel system. Wife Rachel acts as crew chief. The name of Prozac is because Richard thinks the car is 'The best anti depressant I know of.'


Willys Wars racer Damien Bacon bought his truck from Ian Kerr after which Damiebn rebuilt the rear of the car with new tubing and shorter wheelbase. The engine is a supercharged 350 Chevy with four bolt mains and TH350 supercharger and Ford 9" rear. The car has run a best of 11.3/121 but there is now a freshened engine after the crank broke last year.


The NSRA marquee includes Havoc, built by the late Bryan Godber in 1975 and featured in a series of artiles in Custom Car from October 1976. What happened to it is quite a saga, being left in a Park Lane hotel for 15 years and re-acquired by Bryan to be used in the US. Vaughan Wheeler and Dave Wiggins now look after it after repatriating it in 2010.


Neil and Andy Fenn's flip-up Mini V4 was in 1984 and restored in 2009. The all steel body was painted by Dave Driver who handled the rebuild of the running gear.


The legendary 'Hogslayer' of T.C. Christenson recorded Europe's first sub-nine second bike ET in 1974 at Silverstone. In the US he had run 8.52s in 1972 and was the second into the sevens at Ontario in 1975. The bike had been designed by John Gregory who owned a Norton dealership in Kenosha, Washington.


Derek Chinn and Ian Messenger ran Pegasus between 1974 and 1980. the bike has two Norton engines with Shorrock superchargers. Transmission is a two speed Lenco with Miller-Baskerville slider clutch. Best times were 8.39/170. More details are at wwww.pegasusteam.co.uk.


The Airbus Bike was a factory drag bike given to a HD dealership in California. After being modified extensively by Kosman in the US it was imported into the UK for an attempt on the British Land Speed record. Over the last eight years it has been developed aerodynamically by a team of Airbus engineers using aviation technology. The bike is now for sale - seach for 'Airbus Bike' on Youtube.


The Allard Chrysler, as Britain's first dragster, is fittingly on display. Brian Taylor oversaw the building of the car which belongs to Beaulieu Motor Museum.


British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member John Hobbs has his recreated Olympus and Hobbit here. The Hobbit team will be reunited tomorrow with Johnny Munn coming from Australia and other team members attending. He said 'Over the years Olympus was rebuilt and chopped around, but I bought vintage parts 5-6 years and have recreated it as it was in 1968, when I took the World Kilo record at Elvington at the age of 21. After the double engined Olympus II, I built Hobbit in 1975 and ran the first side by said eight second race alongside Danny Johnson at SPR'. The Weslake engines, developed for race use using billet parts, had reworked ports on the four valve-per-cylinder Cosworth head. Running on 60% nitro, John said 'Using the standard crankshaft output shaft was asking a lot of the parts.'


This RWYB racer was making regular passes on the Friday. The car is called Three Sixteen and driver is James Auld.



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