Wasn't the 2021 season full of highs and lows, but aren't they always? Anyway that's it for another season, but this year was just a little different in that the team were doing ok in the points Steve Dave and Diana had done a brilliant job in keeping the car on track and making it consistent. The up shot was that up till The Hot Rod Drags we were in 3rd place, This is when I came over to take over the driving with Steve telling me not to f*** it up. As we know my driving didn't become an issue as the car broke on the Friday The whole team was gutted.
We all thought that we had screwed up our chances of finishing anywhere in the points, a few weeks later Steve rang me to tell me that we may have finished in fourth which was later confirmed by Claire, after what we had been through that was as good as winning a Wally. Once again Steve has turned out to be an incredible tuner and a brilliant mechanic and....not a too shabby driver either, he deserves all the plaudits. Dave and Diana also worked their socks off to keep the car on track as usual. As for me well I still pay some of the bills and keep the blog going and Steve and I have weekly conversations about the car .
Steve drove the car too new best times and speed low 8's and over 160 mph on a few occasions, 8 years ago when I first drove the car to a 17 second run I would never believe it was capable of running 8.24 s incredible!. Last Saturday night, 28th November Steve and Dave and their better half's Kerry and Jenny attended the Wild Bunch annual Christmas Awards Dinner and Dance and they came away with trophy's yes real trophy's
It wont be long and Steve will have to get a bigger fish tank to put all the trophies on. so on to next year where we hope to go faster and quicker once we have an axle that works, we are in discussion at the moment on what way to go and as usual the car will be probably be finished being assembled at the track!!!! That's the last blog for this year hope everyone has a safe and great Christmas see you all at the track next year.
As a race report this could be the quickest blog entry ever..... So lets start with the elephant in the room, I had some stuff nicked which made getting home a bit tricky and resulted in me having to stay a little bit longer than I wanted, the upside is everything is now sorted and Lorni is feeling much better thank you everyone for your concern and well wishes.
OK so around 1250 miles on motorbike from my home here in Spain to Santa Pod, I left my hotel in Portsmouth very very early Friday morning...god how do you lot put up with all that traffic, Steve and Dave had already set up camp the day before and changed a few bits on the car that needed it.
I arrived and sat in the car while she was fired up...dam! did she sounded good almost a little frightening we did have a happy engine whatever Steve has done the engine likes it! I noticed that the team had fitted the new chute as the old one didn't seem to want to work anymore.
Just before the first run Steve mentioned that we had a wee problem with the trans brake in that we seemed to have a two step set up which we didn't have??? so I had to hold the button in mash the throttle it will hold at 4000rpm let off the throttle and mash it again and it will climb to over 5000rpm. Right so that's what I did and all hell let loose the earth rotated and all I could see was clouds and a very large wall approaching at a rapid rate of knots so I got off the throttle steered away from danger and just tootled up the track. I now know what Adrenalin smells like...all I could say to Steve when he got to the top end to tow me back was "What the f*^k have you done to my car?" It's now half a second quicker than when I last drove it and in drag racing terms that's a light years difference and boy did I know it.
Before the run I had Steve telling me it's the same car don't worry about it, but I had Dave and Diana telling me that its now a beast and I had better hold on for gods sake when I hit it. OK so the main problem was I had the steering wheel off set slightly so I could get my hand down to the gear lever easily. Steve had found the offset and thought "I'll put that right" so hence my ride towards the wall. Second run I decided to let it go at 4000rpm I got my first ever red light in 8 years of trying the car went through the lights in 9.0 at around 155mph. So feeling a little more comfortable in the car after nearly three years away I told Steve to put the 8,2 tune in and lets go. We towed down but I could hear and feel something not right so I stopped Steve and we pushed the car back into the pits, Steve had found the troubled with the trans brake..a stuck poppet valve and something had gone wrong while testing it. The floor can out and then the back plate of the diff where we found loose teeth where there shouldn't be any we had stripped the teeth from the ring and pinion gear.
Steve tried his best to find replacements parts we phoned everyone we knew then everyone we didn't know we had help from everyone including- to name just a couple John Webster and Matt Wright and at this point I would like to thank everyone who tried to help us get back on the track that weekend but it was not to be.
We put the car back together and did some watching for a change on Saturday we went to pack the car away on Sunday morning but we still had a full tank so Steve fired her up, I could have cried, that engine sounded so strong and even Steve though she was going to PB again.
So that's it for this year we were third int he points up to the HRD but we slipped to fourth but the team are still excited to be running the number 4 next year instead of 64 the best we have ever done in over 8 years of being members of The Wild Bunch, so now time to repair, refresh and rethink ready for next season where once again I hope I will be able to come over at least once and drive the car again...only next time I'm going to fly over and bring Lorni with me. Stay safe folks see you all soon.
Baring in mind I am writing this bit on Sunday morning and things may change dramatically yet, the one word that keeps going through my mind is "Frustration" . Steve and Dave turned up on Thursday to set up camp and to initiate our cunning plan! The car, as is, can run in the 8.2 range and probably in the high 8.1's in good air but! that is not what we are about so after a lot of chatting and research we came up with a plan to go faster, without the need to go supercharged or add a nitrous kit or play with the fuel contents. nitro etc.
Up to 5 years ago we were running with a set of 4.11 gears in the rear axle, as we got a handle on the new engine and injection set up we found the car was out of puff at around 900 - 1000 foot where we were hitting the rev limit of just over 7000rpm so we had a set of 3.73 gears put in, since then even with the new pump and cam shaft we still don't go through the top end over 6500rpm sooo with over 8500 revs to play with we decided to put the 411 gears back in.
So Thursday afternoon Steve started stripping the car down and removing the axle, not an easy job with our chassis, he ran out of time to complete the job that evening. Friday morning another problem was found one of the front wheels had a puncture. we have been using 17 x 2.5 inch innertubes where we really needed 17 x 2 inch, a lot of phone calls were made and the only one found was in Flitwick at Flitwick Motorcycles so off Steve went to collect, thankfully Friday was a washout.
Saturday morning and the car is just about ready to rock and roll but on the warm up Steve noticed a problem the axle had come loose so, the car was stripped again and everything tightened up and checked, on the tow down for the next run again Steve was not happy with a strange noise he was hearing, so back to the pits and another tear down where it was found the drive train wasn't aligned properly, again this was put right and for the third time of asking they towed down to the start line.
After nearly two hours in the lanes and this was because RWYB was bumped as there had been some long stoppages due to fluids being thrown all over the track Steve eventually got to the front of the line and??? rain stopped play, I even got him to wave to me on camera....The rain became persistent so ended the days proceedings not one run in two days now that is frustrating.
So with the car in one piece ready to go we wait for Sunday which arrives wet, after a huge effort on the part of the track crew racing started again mid afternoon, Dave had to get the car dried off and ready.
Steve got out on track and took it easy, still managed to break out with 8.35 on a 8.4 dial-in at 158 mph on the 411 gears not bad, unfortunately there was a problem with the car on that run. A hub gasket let go and some oil came out on the track at the top end also it covered the rear brake disk so no brakes and for some reason the parachute just fell out on to the wheelie bars I wont tell you what Steve said but it was a squeaky bum moment.
Back in the pits yet another frantic thrash to get the wheels off and fix the leak, the time between rounds was coming down fast as there were less and less cars running as the elimination ladders took hold and a fair few racers had gone home thinking that the rain was not going to abate or they had a difficult and long journey home. Job done and once again in the pairing lanes. A slight hiccup on the line and away Steve went producing another PB of 8.24 seconds at 160mph.
So after a very frustrating weekend due to the weather not playing ball and a huge effort on behalf of the team to get all the modifications done and mechanical problems sorted the team walked away with three more trophy's, 4th place overall, fastest speed of the weekend and best slingshot, and new PB so a smile at the end of the day as we move ever nearer to that elusive seven second run.
Now we are looking forward to the Hot Rod Drags there is still a lot more to come form the car in it's present set-up. Covid permitting I will be back to drive the car after nearly two and half years, a new chute will be on order soon along with some more fuel as the Team nearly run out at this event Then we need to look at re-tagging everything ready for 2022
I can honestly say I really don't know where to start with this blog update. drag racing is always full of ups and downs but the ups and downs always tend to be extreme, this Friday the team suffered both on one day and then it rained!! As already mentioned in my previous update the team have been very busy collecting new parts and sorting the car out ready for this weekends 10th Anniversary of Dragstalgia. Steve went to the car Thursday to fit the new parts then met up with Dave and hooked up the trailer and made their way to the pod and set up camp...so far so good.
With new parts fitted there is a fair bit of fettling to be done so with a safe tune in place the car was started up and it sounded different, now with the Dizzy locked out and different injector nozzles and the correct coil in place it sounded angry as hell.
So everything was looking good for a first checkout pass but then....the car wouldn't start, the problem being a broken coil HT lead a big thanks to Darryl at DASH Racing for sorting out another lead for the team. Steve was looking for a soft 8.8 checkout pass but it turned out to be an 8.4 pass with a 159mph far better than expected.
Video courtesy of SantaPodTV full video click here
With the car back in the pits small adjustments were made to timing and fuel settings also the new catch cans were leaking so they had to be re-sealed as well. Steve was not happy with the way the starter motor was behaving but they towed down for their second run which was a belter a new PB for Steve at 8.25 @ 161.3mph.
Video courtesy of SantaPodTV full video click here
With the car back in the pits the starter was removed and it had basically disintegrated and therefore of no further use, so now the panic starts, the first qualifying run was later this evening and we had no way of starting the car. Enter Roy Wilding who helped us no end this weekend. Roy sourced a new starter at Hauser race cars for us so off Steve went to collect it on the way back he phoned me at the entrance to the Pod to tell me it had started raining and boy did it rain, it finished all further action on the track for the rest of the day which was rather fortunate as the new starter was just a little different and was damaged while trying to start the car hmmm so another call to Mike Oates and another starter was found, nothing more was done that evening apart from sheltering from the rain.
Saturday....
Saturday morning needed a phone call to Moses as the place was flooded we needed floats for the car not slicks, somehow in this mess Steve managed to persuade enough bits and pieces of starter to come together in the right order well enough to use on the car and hey presto it all worked...phew!!
Steve and Dave had to move the car away from the water to fit the starter and thank god it worked or that would have been it for the meeting.
So with the car looking like it would survive another day of racing they towed down for the their first run of the day, with so much rain and with the heat there was a lot of moisture in the air which takes power away form an engine especially a normally aspirated motor, adjustments were made but it was a suck it and see situation which continued for the rest of the meeting.
A strange thing happened on this run, the car is always checked over before each meeting and during this check up all nuts and bolts are checked however!! the front steering arms were not checked and they had come loose as you can probably see in the above video somehow Steve still managed a decent run of 8.43 @ 159.0mph
After much nut and bolt tightening and some more adjustments to try and make up for all the air moisture the team took the car down for it's last run for Saturday this netted a slightly quicker run of 8.32 @ 158.3mph with a brilliant 0.03 reaction time.
But of course that was not it for the day as the team had entered the car for the fire burnout show later that evening. little did Steve know that he was going to be the only car in the show but what a show he put on for the spectators.
Photo by Nikki Marshall
Clip courtesy of Santa Pod Raceway
Sunday....
First job of the day was to replace the parachute pack, the seat padding and the wheelie bar which was found to be a little bent!! it looks like the "hit" is getting stronger and stronger. A quick look over showed no apparent damage from the previous nights fiery show which is good news. So after a quick service the team towed the car down for it's first run of the day still struggling with the bad air but managed 8.46 @ 157.9mph.
Video courtesy of SantaPodTV full video click here
Not too bad but getting the tune right with all that moisture in the air was not an easy task, so instead of hunting for quick times it was decided to just go for the points however! on the next run there was a wee bit of driver error as Steve launched in second gear with a stutter which slowed the car up a bit to 8.88 @ 157.9mph.
Video courtesy of SantaPodTV full video click here
Shame about that run as we would probably have finished in the top 3, never mind. What the team didn't expect was another run which meant a very quick turn around so quick that some of the rest of the Wild Bunch teams didn't have enough time to cool their engines down so had to give it a miss. So on this last run of the meeting Steve ran 8.47 @ 158.5mph.
Video courtesy of SantaPodTV full video click here
All in all not a bad meeting for the team Steve managed another two trophies one for 6th place and one for best burnout.
Unfortunately it was not such a good meeting for two other Wild Bunch teams who suffered major damage, Andy Stones and Frantic and Chris Manning and The Villain both drivers are Ok I hope they manage to repair or replace their vehicles and get back on track soon.
Our team didn't leave undamaged either the slightly damaged flex plate and bodged up starter motor both have to be replaced and we are going to try some bigger injector nozzles ready for the Mopars.
The curse of covid is still with us so I will be missing this years 10th edition of Dragstalgia, but the team of Steve, Dave and Diana will be there along with some family members for support. bearing in mind we have no overseas competitors this year there is certainly a strong field in all classes so it looks like there will be lot of fun to be had. At the VW breakout meeting Steve and the team got the car running consistent in the lower half of the 8's, but that is still not where we want to be so the development continues.
First small change is the catch cans, Steve was told by Graham Rawlings (little digger) at the last meeting that the breathers were far too small for our engine and the resulting back pressure under the pistons could reduce the free revving of the motor. So new catch cans ordered and already delivered along with a few other bits and pieces thanks to Good Vibrations.
Every little helps as they say, a bracket has been made so that the new coil can be fitted this one is the correct one for our ignition system as the one we are using is 40% down on power. Another problem that we have had in trying to get the tune right is the fact that the ignition timing is advancing so much on the run, this has now been solved by locking the distributer down.
While Steve was ordering a couple of spare injectors he came across a small bit of information that he and others including myself didn't know. Some injectors are more suited to blown motors and some for injected motors something to do with the way the nozzles atomise the fuel and of course we have been running the ones more suited to?.....yep blown motors. So another call to the guys at Good Vibration and a new set of injectors are on the way.
A spare flex plate has been ordered as on the last run the car made at VW Breakout Steve heard a knocking noise and fearing the worse checked out all the bearings, only to find the starter motor had come loose and had damaged our flex plate...not too bad but! better safe than sorry. Also a packet of new body retaining pins has been ordered as cable ties don't look too good do they?
So fingers crossed with the updates we have made we will make improvements in time and speed, but that's not the be all and end all we are hoping to have some fun and entertain as well and as such Steve has entered Tight Fit into the annual flame show on Saturday night when he tries his first ever Fire burnout so give him a big cheer when it's his turn. Here's hoping the event is as good as ever and everyone has a fast and safe and fun meeting.
Dave and Steve were up early the car was still in one piece and it was dry with a forecast of more sun, perfect Drag Racing weather. After the trials and tribulations of the previous day today had to be a better day, didn't it?? the pair of them resembling walking barbers poles due to be being well and truly "Podded" They spent the rest of the day covering themselves up and hiding from the sun where possible.
First run of the day the car was left in the same state of tune from the previous day and had been warmed up and checked out. Steve was running alongside Pete Brown the Wrathchild car a staggered light handicap system was in place Steve had to sit on the line for awhile then managed to a few hundred yards more then the quarter mile as he manhandled the car to keep her straight the result was 8.44 @ 157.97mph.
Clip courtesy of Santa Pod Live for full video click here
Perhaps not as quick as was expected but the track played it's part on that run, so back to the pits and quick service and check over ready for the next run, this time Steve was running with Graham Rawlings in the air cooled VW powered "Little Digger" Steve ran a new PB of 8.32 @ 161.35 mph.
Clip courtesy of Santa Pod Live for full video click here
After the excitement of running a new PB had settles down a bit the car was again serviced and checked over and once again it seemed that everything had hung together well and no major issues were found. the car was fuelled up ready for run number 3. This time it was a solo run which netted 8.38 @ 156.72mph
Clip courtesy of Santa Pod Live for full video click here
Usually three runs is it at most meetings but this time there was a fourth run scheduled so again quick turnaround nothing wrong with the car but Steve tweaked the fuel system a wee bit and it didn't work the run against Graham was slower at 8.86 @160.26mph.
Clip courtesy of Santa Pod Live for full video click here
A great meeting in the end we have a consistent race car and it's still in one piece Steve and the team worked hard as usual but came away with big smiles and a hatful of trophies.
Roll on Dragstalgia and lets see if we can bring a surprise or two at that meeting as well.
It's been far too long since the last meeting, The Hot Rod Drags 2020 is nothing more than a distant memory now. I can't go any further without mentioning the passing of two great advocates of our Sport. Dennis Priddle was my hero back when Dave and I were attending Santa Pod from the early 70's onwards, I did shed a tear when heard of his death. Of course even more recent we lost Dave Rowlands I didn't know him that well, I did race against him in Destiny's Angel once but as Colin put it so well he was one of us. I stood in silence along with the rest of the guys and gals at the Pod at Springspeed here in Spain RIP the both of them, both legends in their own right.
First off I have increased the font size of the blog to make it easier to read on cell phones I hope this make a difference. In the last update we were waiting for the last parts to arrive so we could start work on the heads. After numerous phone calls to the States Comp Cams admitted they have no idea when the retainers would be back in stock so a refund was submitted. I would like to give ICE automotive a big shout out as Nick managed to source a set of retainers for us in short notice. Two weeks ago the real work started Steve and Dave went to the trailer dismantled the engine. The heads were bought back to Swindon, new coil, fuel lines and new fuel shut off were fitted to the dragster. The heads were taken to the legend that is "Mr Mopar" John O'Sullivan where in his workshop the machining of the heads was carried out to fit the Big Block valve springs in the Small Block head. some trimming of parts was required to stop parts rubbing with each other.
John O' hard at work
The heads were then assembled. not much room left in there!
While I was watching a damp Springspeed Nationals on live stream Steve and Dave were in the trailer thrashing to get the engine back together. This Thursday Steve left for the Pod got as far as Oxford when part of the Dodge's exhaust fell off, at the same time he noticed a failed valve on the trucks LPG system which was emptying his 200 litre fuel tank.
With camp set up on Friday the car was fired up and it sounded like crap after a lot of thought bashing more fuel was thrown in and some timing and hey presto smooth sounding motor but!!! low oil pressure the pump had failed so with a little financial help from Daddy a trip to Top Speed automotive a new high flow oil pump and sump gasket was purchased all fitted and buttoned up by 11 pm. The guys would like to say a big thank you to Rob and Pete for all their help and loan of tools without which the team may as well have returned home. And to Diana for running around like a looney as usual helping out the team. I am told the team also had help from Tony Underwood as well..thanks Tony.
To make things a little more homely at the track Dave bought a caravan a little more comfortable than sleeping on the trailer floor.
So to Saturday morning the car is good oil pressure is fine and Steve has 11 guests turning up today. First session of RWYB and Steve runs a very safe tune, second gear launch check out pass which nets a 8.79 run at a new PB speed of 161.38mph but!!! he ends up covered in oil as the gasket sealer used on the valley (inlet manifold) was out of date and didn't go off properly so repairs required and a new tube of sealer, second RWYB run missed while waiting for the sealer to set.
Video clip courtesy of Santa Pod Raceway for full video click here
Timing issues put paid to the third run at this point I think the team had just about had enough and was probably thinking it's about time to pack up and go home, but they had family and friends with them today, so after more fettling and probably a lot of swearing the car is fixed and ready to go once again. Once back in the pairing lanes there was a very long hold up due to a huge oil down which meant the fifth round of qualifying was cancelled and at one point. Once the RWYB cars were back on track they only had 25 mins to get them all through. Steve lined up against Ratchet Strap Racings Cheap Thrills slingshot and at the green Steve was gone, long gone! back into the low 8's @ 8.34 at 158mph. and breathe. After missing all day Friday and half the runs on Saturday everything was right with the world again.
Video clip courtesy of Santa Pod Raceway for full video click here
Just a few of Steve's VIP guests on Saturday, also the sun made a welcome return. Roll on Sunday!
The last 12 months have been....interesting? to say the least I am talking about every day life, it has been a difficult time for everyone. We have gone form asking if anyone knows of anybody having this dam virus to just about all of us knowing a few people that have had it, both my youngest sons and their families have had Covid. As for racing well who thought we would see any last year? Well done Santa Pod and crew, Steve managed to attend a couple of the events and somehow managed to get the car to go faster and quicker than ever before whilst being held together with jubilee clips, sticky back plastic and duct tape, and using borrowed parts.
Not too shabby considering the team was not going to race at all last year a decision taken before Covid raised it's ugly head. So as usual during the so called "Off Season" the team have been busy. As already stated in the previous update we had to sort out the valve train so new bigger stronger springs have been ordered and have arrived along with the spring cups the retainers are on order and should arrive soon along with the setting tool.
So just waiting for two more bits to arrive then the heads will be removed form the engine and taken to have the spring seats enlarged to take the bigger springs once this is done we can then remove the rev limiter from the engine which is and has been set at 7000rpm since Dragstalgia 2019. We have had to special order the head gaskets from Cometic as the ones we use are 80 thou thick they are also on their way along with new inlet gaskets. While doing some investigation work Steve also came across another problem or two, the first being that we have been using the wrong coil.
We have been using the one on the left with our MSD 6 ignition system and it produces around 40% less power then the recommended unit which is on the right, so the new coil is now on order also while reading up on all this Steve found that we have been using the wrong plug gap for our engines compression ratio in fact we have been gaping the plugs to twice the recommended size, new plugs on order as well.
The replacement fuel pipes for the injectors have been delivered along with a new three fuel way shut off valve the rest of the fuel pipes are going to be checked soon and replaced if necessary. and we have a Hans device ready to use.
That lot along with the replacing the body panel retainers with more substantial items that want keep falling off on the start line and a replacement screen as I keep cracking ours with my knee getting out of the car and new puke tanks that's about it for the car.
The trailer need work the rear end needs a few more supports and we still have to re seal the body to stop water ingression one of the things we really really need to do is already in hand as a diesel night heater is on the way and the solar charging system for the leisure battery is nearly done, and for the truck an air assist system for the rear suspension has also been ordered and is on the way.
So as you can see a lot of work is in progress or has been completed on the race car and the trailer and truck, I am looking forward to seeing the car perform so much better this coming season both Steve and I have only one concern..can we keep her on the track and pointing in the right direction??. This coming race season Steve will once again be doing double duty as crew chief and driver for most of the season with Dave crewing as always, and hopefully our back up girl Diana will also be on track with the team I am still hoping to get over and drive at Dragstalgia but there's is a lot of buts!..Covid permitting, vaccine certificate's, travel etc etc we will see. Lets hope this year goes ahead without any more problems and we get to race without any more problems.
