inglenookfan Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Hello Just wondering if any rmwebers watch or compete in drag racing. I went to Blackbushe alot when i was a kid with dad. He knew a guy with a drag mini and worked with a chap who ran a car called Ratcatcher. I love those old skool names. I went to the ' the pod ' saturday to watch a bit of these RWYB(RUN WOT YA BRUNG) meetings. Drag racing is noteveryones cuppa and sometimes i am on the fence but apart from autograss its probably the cheapedt motorsport. I helped a chap out with his mk2 fiesta with some chassis aero mods last week as he was suffering from traction problems through the gears. Our mods worked as he did a PB with 10.7 secs and 136mph. All shed fabricated and home built he is getting 550bhp out of his 2liter turbo Zetec. I hadnt been for a good while and i quite enjoyed myself. Everyone i know seems to have given up hillclimbing and circuit racing due to the expense and that it isnt as good fun anymore so i might try and help a bit more with the 'fezzer'. Anyway.....as i said just wondering if anyone has an interest. Inglenookfan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 I had a go once at Santa Pod in my old 635CSi. 4-speed auto, quarter mile in 16.67 seconds. Might have been able to do it in 16 if I'd removed the rear seats and the spare wheel.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
inglenookfan Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 I contemplated having a go in the metro but the nights are closing in these days Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium New Haven Neil Posted October 25, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 25, 2016 I've a mate that started with bikes, doing the 'Ultimate Streetbike' challenge in the 80s with a turbo Kawasaki in a Rickman frame. He moved on to a car, a Jaguar engine in a long skinny thing called the 'Alcoholic Kat', two turbos from a Ford RS, nitromethane burner, that was not a cheap way to go racing. No idea what the times were now, but it didn't half go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
inglenookfan Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 Alcholic Kat..... what a classic name for an old drag car. Nostalgia drag is quite a big thing here and in the states. I could get into doing it on an old bike as you can bang it in a van a dont need a trailer. More manageable in my mind. Saying that i sold a Fiat 126 to a chap and we pushed into the back of his long wheelbase high top transit. Inglenookfan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium New Haven Neil Posted October 25, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 25, 2016 Of course it had drawings of Garfield drunk on the sides! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Storey Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 I saw some transvestites running quite quickly along the west side of the Level at Brighton a few years ago. I am not sure who won. Does that help? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium New Haven Neil Posted October 25, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 25, 2016 Martin's Alcoholic Kat, before and after turbos! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
inglenookfan Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 I saw some transvestites running quite quickly along the west side of the Level at Brighton a few years ago. I am not sure who won. Does that help? I wondered how long it would take for someone to come up with something like that Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
inglenookfan Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 Martin's Alcoholic Kat, before and after turbos! AK1.PNG AK2.PNG Sweet! Inglenookfan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
inglenookfan Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 For old uk drag cars see... ukdrn.co.uk And there is a book i read a while back called 'the history of british drag racing'. It is quite interesting the early history and how the american airfields were hotbeds for the import of tuning bits. Also the split in the community that led to Santa Pod coming about. Oh what fun! Inglenookfan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartingram Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 We went to Chelveston airfield many years ago, to view a Bristol L s/d bus that was preserved there (we were in the market for a similar one). They took us out for a spin around the country lanes, we passed Santa Pod raceway, but they wouldn't go in to try her out..... Stewart Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium petethemole Posted October 25, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 25, 2016 I used to go to Santa Pod in the early days, '66-69, as I lived in mid Beds; it was a comfortable bike ride, or Dad would drive up and drop me off at the gate. I often hitched back as far as Bedford, several times in US muscle cars driven by servicemen from the USAF bases. I still have some b/w photos of those days. You could walk round the pits, look at the cars and talk to the owners. The Yanks often had cases of beer and some would offer you a can, usually Bud or Schlitz. For the first season the strip started roughly where the finish line is now and the pits were along the present strip. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
inglenookfan Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 I used to go to Santa Pod in the early days, '66-69, as I lived in mid Beds; it was a comfortable bike ride, or Dad would drive up and drop me off at the gate. I often hitched back as far as Bedford, several times in US muscle cars driven by servicemen from the USAF bases. I still have some b/w photos of those days. You could walk round the pits, look at the cars and talk to the owners. The Yanks often had cases of beer and some would offer you a can, usually Bud or Schlitz. For the first season the strip started roughly where the finish line is now and the pits were along the present strip.Ahhhh....that explains some pics i have seen. As a kid we would stand at the end of the strip at blackbushe and get a ride back to the pits. I remember getting wedged into the back of the mini. Wouldnt happen these days and probably for the better now nigh on 200 is possible for road cars(saw a new shape nissan gtr pull 177mph! Saturday) and big boys doing 300. One could stand by the barrier back in the 80's at the pod but so could one at le mans on Mulsanne. Inglenookfan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
inglenookfan Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 Petethemole Do you remember the Worden dragster? Inglenookfan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1 Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Ah, more memories! Went to Blackbushe and the Pod a few times in the early 1970s. Still remember the noise. Saw Clive Skilton and Dennis Priddle race. I was also a member of the British Drag Racing and Hot Rod Association in its early days. My interest was more on the hot rod side as I built car kits at the time. (Something I have taken up again...) steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Also Dave Lee Travis. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
inglenookfan Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 Steve1 Do you remember the Worden dragster? Inglenookfan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 57xx Posted October 25, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 25, 2016 Martin's Alcoholic Kat, before and after turbos! AK1.PNG AK2.PNG Martin as in Martin Holgate? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertiedog Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 I remember late 60's at the pod, watching Alf Hagon getting ready for a run, cleaning his thick pebble glasses, and double checking he was facing direct down the track, before letting rip with his record breaking machines. I don't know these days whether his poor sight would allowed in competition now, but it never hindered him in speedway, grass track or sprinting. and Brighton was once the place for sprinting, on the front, Marine drive, better not say Brighton was known for drag............. Stephen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium petethemole Posted October 25, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 25, 2016 Petethemole Do you remember the Worden dragster? Inglenookfan The name was familiar so I googled it to check, and yes I did see it race. I was in the BDRHA in its early years but didn't stay with it. I largely lost interest in the British scene while at Uni but kept up with the US scene by buying Hot Rod and other mags for several years. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamperman36 Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Slightly of thread but has anybody ever modelled a drag race or a dragster being worked on in a workshop on a layout, or any other sort of race/ racing vehicle. I once started trying to build a F1 stockcar in OO but it got miss placed in a house move, I may have to try again in the future. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1 Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Steve1 Do you remember the Worden dragster? Inglenookfan No, i don't recall that particular vehicle. I did look it up but if I saw it in the past. the memory hasn't stuck. steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edcayton Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 When I was at college in 1978 the barmaid's husband had a V8 Midget he raced. Amate and I went to see it. It looked impressive painted to match his tow-car Capri. Blue and gold or yellow IIRC. Good thing it was auto, there was nowhere to put your left leg! The car wasn't doing very well when we saw it, still being fettled. Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium New Haven Neil Posted October 27, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 27, 2016 Martin as in Martin Holgate? Yup, one and the same. Been a long time since I saw him, we had a mutual friend who isn't a friend of mine any more! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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