Dragstalgia
Santa Pod Raceway, 14th-16th July 2017

Friday


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Lee Johnstone's An't No Saint Volvo P1800 was running in the rwyb. Lee is supported by Apple County Muscle Cars based in Wellington, Somerset.


James Tanner's Shindigger slingshot is one of a field of 40 Wild Bunch cars. Engine is a 350ci Chevy.


Andy Thetford has his '70 Camaro here in rwyb but he also has the ex-Pete Wise '68 Camaro which he plans to run at a later date, and the ex-Paul Marston Racing Chevy 'Insanity' Vega Truck for selling on.


Doug Bond went for a drive in the dragster that Joe will be racing in the Slingshot Showdown, which now has a field of twelve cars and should be a highlight of the event. Son and regular driver Joe Bond said 'We ran the car at the Yanks Weekend and I feel ready to defend my win from last year'.


Billy Jones' '37 Willys with a 350ci engine is a show class car that is run on the street as well as here at Dragstalgia.


Jamie Faulkner is a British ex-pat living in Germany who has brought his unusual five window altered here for the first time. He said 'I have had the car for three years and have a new injected BBC engine, so it's quite nerve-wracking'.


Stefan Flodell from Sweden runs this Chevy Nova Gasser to times in the low ten second range, with a best 0f 9.76 recorded back home. It has a BBC of 468ci on methanol with TH400 gearbox and Ford nine inch rear.


Laurie Hilton picked his '55 Chevy up last weekend from The Hot Rod Shop. He said 'It's so new I want to be gentle with it as I don't want to break it'. The 454ci BBC engine has a Muncie four-on-the-floor gearbox.


Christian Zulauf from Switzerland has run his chopped and channeled Model A at this event for the last three years in rwyb and has got his times into the eight second zone. .


Willys Wars racer Jurgen de Jong from Holland is at this race for his second time and the 466ci Ford powered '41 Coupe has run 12.08/115 and he hopes to get it into the elevens.


Supercharged Outlaw racer Joel Kerr who we last saw racing a Rickie Smith tribute STP Firebird. He said 'My new car is a '57 Pontiac Star Chief which was first built 20 years ago by Geof Hauser but left unfinished as the owner passed away. I bought it three years ago and have spent the last nine months with Dave McCallan bringing it up to spec. It has a blown 540ci BBC engine from Kenny Gomez of EDA and runs on methanol with a Powerglide gearbox. As I am a funeral director I have named it 'Stiff Shifter' and will have a modified Hurst Stick Shifter with that name on it too'.


NSA racer Tim Howell has a BSA engine that has spent much of its life sprinting. 'The bike was originally built and run by Alan Chadwick - I only found that out recently - and had a Morgo supercharged Triumph 750cc engine. I changed it for a BSA engine and have been pushing it harder. I have a 30% nitro/70% methanol mix in the tank and 18lb boost on the supercharger. It has a 2in SU carburretor. The problem is I have been getting through one chain a run and sometimes it has been snapping going down the track. So I have a cush drive on the crankshaft and that has helped'.


Jason 'Big Boy' Darty owns this Camaro. I said 'I bought it three years ago and built it from scratch. It has a full tube frame from Andy Wright and a 632ci BBC on nitrous and Powerglide. This is my first time on track, it is MOT'd and I usually run the car on the street'.


Andy Cart has had his '58 Buick Wagon for twelve years. 'This is my first time at the track. I bought the car as a rolling shell and went through a few phases with the engine which is now a 496ci BBC with Vortec supercharger and TH400 gearbox with 12 bolt Chevy rear axle. It has put out 980hp on the dyno with the blower belt lifting'.


This '58 Chevy Delray (successor to the earlier 210) is owned by Dave Caruso. He said 'Barry Grimes of Pro-Tech Automotive built it. It has a 502ci BBC with Holley carb, TH400 gearbox and nine inch Ford rear'. This is his first time at the track.


Nostalgia Super Stock racer Clive Dandridge is at his third race with the class this year. He said 'I have had the car for three years and started running 16s. So my first task was to get it below the class cutoff of 14.99. I changed the diff to a lock up, got stickier tyres and rebuilt the engine and trans and put aluminium heads on the 289ci motor and a new radiator. It now runs a best of 13.41 and I still drive it on the road to car shows from my home in Oxfordshire. We have a much larger field here in NSS, as we can included non-tagged cars at this event that could be championship spoilers.'


Richard Warburton, known for his time as marshal and race director at SCR as well as a Willys Wars racer, has 'running in - please pass' on the rear of his '41 Coupe. He said 'My wife and crew chief Rachel did a lot of work on the engine with Andy Williams and Colin Bennett. We had new pistons, rings, bearings, oil pump, lifters, trans pipe and rear suspension bushes. We finished yesterday and covered around 200 miles since after an oil change. We will definitely leave the nitrous off today!'


Supercharged Outlaw racer Andy Fadster has been carrying out engine work on his road-legal Model T over the winter, the most noticeable being new zoomie headers. He ran a new PB of 7.70/178 at the recent Nostalgia Nationals.


Paul Dale's Acute Angle looks cool, with flames even on the air scoop to the supercharged 355ci engine, rebuilt by Eurodragster.com sponsor Jeff Bull. Paint was applied by Surrey Customs wgi did paintwork on Mick Taylor's Banshee and Paul Watts' '57 Chevy. The Acute Angle ran a 9.179/146.


Outlaw Flat Four racer Danny Pike is here for the first time with his VW Notchback Type 3, on which the fabrication work was carried out by Eurodragster.com sponsors Andy Robinson Race Cars. A NOS-aided 2332cc engine has powered the car to a PB of 9.96 at Gary's Picnic earlier this year. .


Willys War racer Philip Moules is having daughter Lauren take over the controls of his 41 Coupe in today's rwyb. 'I built the car 26 years ago when Lauren was three years old and later sold it. Now I've bought it back and she can't wait to drive it on the track'. The car is powered by a 454ci BBC with TH400 gearbox and has put out 600hp on the dyno.


Nostalgia Super Stock racer John Davison's Plymouth Road Runner has Soper & Heck lettering on the side in a nod to Super Stock and, later, Pro Stock legends Ronnie Sox & Buddy Martin. .


Ethan Lisle, now living in Newcastle and dad Paul Lisle from New Hartley in Northumberland run a Plymouth Road Runner with 540ci engine and Mercury Comet (called 'The Back Up Car') respectively.


Jim Tucker is in the rwyb section with his '34 Ford 3 window with Mopar engine and zoomie headers. .


Keith Freeman made a welcome return with his five window '32 Ford Coupe' after an altercation with the wall at last year's event.


New to Dragstalgia is Outlaw Anglia racer Luke Hoskins who has a 468ci engine in his road-legal machine. He runs a leadworking business Lead It Be.


Outlaw Flat Four racer Clark Hillyard's 'Never Forgotten' is a tribute car to the 456 British soldiers lost in the Afghanistan since 2001 (hence his race number 456). He said 'I was in the paratroopers for ten and a half years. I have had the car since 2011 and got it sprayed and sign written in 2014 by GM Bodycraft. It has a new roll cage, fibreglass panels, engine, gearbox and interior. The engine is 2776cc wih fuel injection and nitrous and has done a best of 11.40/126; I'm hoping for a ten this weekend'. The design is, fittingly, in poppies.


This Singer Gazelle VI is owned by Michael Hamilton from Blackford, Perthshire. 'It's been in my family since it was new and I have had it since 2002. I stripped and rebuilt it completely with a 3500cc Rover V8 engine and 100hp shot of nitrous and GM180 gearbox. I've run it at Shakespeare County Raceway but this is my first time at Santa Pod Raceway'.


Mick Hewitt from Milton Keynes has brought his Pop along for the rwyb. He said 'I've had the car for four years and it has been in this trim for just a year. It has a Buckland chassis, 383ci SBC, 6-71 blower and...a big bottle of nitrous in the rear, although I won't be using it today'.


Wild Bunch racer Steve Hudson is at his first Dragstalgia, taking a break from the rigours of Pro ET and celebrating his fiftieth birthday. 'I did a backup girl role last year and thought I would have to have a go this year and leave my dial-in board at home!', he said.



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