155. You can't make this stuff up!!

Dragstalgia was supposed to be a celebration of weeks, no months if not years of hard work dedication and a lot of words that would get me into trouble if I typed them on here, while watching our slingshot once again take to the track that has been long missed by the whole family. But! the litany of disasters that happened over the weekend would be enough to break most men, Somehow though the team left with a little smile and some encouragement. So what occurred then................?

The plan was for Steve and Nigel to leave from Swindon Thursday morning for the Pod to get set up ready for the RWYB session on Friday with Dave meeting then in Bedford.

The first disaster hit as Steve was leaving as he closed his front door the locking and handle mechanism fell apart so he couldn't shut the door. so he had to rush around and find someone to sit int he house till a repair man could arrive and fix the problem or Kerry, Steve's wife got home from work. Next problem happened near Oxford when the tow trucks front calliper seized started smoking and nearly caught fire, So Steve pulled over and used the precision instrument that all mechanics have about their person...a big hammer! One big clout and the calliper gave in. A few miles further on and Steve heard an awful noise coming from behind him, once again he pulled over to find one of the exhausts dragging on the ground after the rubber mount had given up the ghost. And somewhere along the way he had lost Nigel who was supposed to be following on his motorbike!! Eventually they made it to Santa Pod and set up camp ready for the weekend and everyone was happy and buzzing.

The car was looking good but there was still one or two little jobs to do before it was ready for battle on the track.

Friday morning arrived with a phone call from Steve..."That's it I´m packing up we´re going home" We were not sure if the car was going to be ready for Dragstalgia we knew it would be close but one thing we didn't do was pay for the electric hook up in case we didn't make it beside we had our own faithful generator. Old faithful dropped a valve and gave up so now no electric no way to charge the batteries etc. I suggested that they ask if they can still get the electric hook up and I would pay but they had setup camp in the exactly the wrong place for that, Eventually they managed to loan a generator so a big thank you to Paul Tarry of the Triggers Broom altered a fellow Swindonite for the loan.

Eventually after nearly four years of waiting Tight Fit was in the pairing lanes as Steve pulled round to the burnout box more problems set in, in fact you could call them disasters. As Steve pulled into the water box he nailed the throttle to spin the tyres to cover them in water but the car seemed to not lie it and nearly cut out as he pulled forward and nailed the throttle again for the burnout...same thing as the revs mounted the engine just cut out back in the water box Steve hit the starter motor to fire her up but! there was a problem with the inhibitor switch and the car started in gear at the same time Dave had his arm over the the top of the car and he was pulled over hurting his shoulder. Obviously there was more wrong with the car then the team knew. So it was towed back to the pits.

Picture courtesy of Eurodragster.com, for copies please the photo pages from Dragstalgia Friday please click "here"

The rest of Friday and most of Saturday was taken up either trying to find all the problems and fix them or plans to set fire to the car...literally happened on Saturday night ! or just to leave it rot in the trailer. They had help from non other than the great Charlie Draper who managed to sort out some of the fuelling problems and from Mike Oates who set up our fuel system in the first place the Team would like to thank both of them for all their help and patience.

Saturday afternoon and the problem was found! it was our MSD box it was cutting out at anything much above idle so Steve found the solution wind out the rev limiter to 9000rpm and the engine revved OK again, of course now Steve would have to drive on the rev counter, So late Saturday afternoon the car was back in the paring lanes.........but! the Wild Bunch got bumped out due to time restraints.

That was not the end of it though. Steve had put his hand up to do a fire burnout, in fact he was the last person to do this four years ago or was it five??? So after the Crackle Fest the track was cleared and Steve and the Tight Fit slingshot made their way to the start line, wheelie bar removed and the parachute pack removed so it doesn't go up in flames. The Fuel was lit the flames licked around the cockpit and Steve hit the throttle and accelerated out of the flames and without putting in one run over the whole three days he became the most photographed and talked about car on the premises.

If the owner of this photo could get in touch please so I can credit them

It would seem that on the beers that you can order in the bar now has Steve's previous fire burnout attached to it

Sunday dawned a little damp and far cooler than the very high temperatures of the previous days I phoned Steve to see if he was going to run today and he said no. He knew we had a few small problems with the car a failed oil seal on the timing cover, problems with the MSD box and the car was running way too rich so he decided to pack up and not cause further damage by running the car, The MSD box was removed for repair and the team made their way home. Steve found problems getting into the storage facility as it had been a couple of year since we last used it even though it had been paid for, then on the way home the brakes on the tow truck were squealing like mad...metal on metal, and when he arrived home he found that some evil bas&·$ had stolen his 3 ton jack from his garden that had cost him nearly 200 pounds.

A lot of problems but all fixable and even though the car had not made on run down the track the team were smiling they know the car is capable of far more, we will be back, Watch this space. Congratulations to all of the Wild Bunch participants for putting on a great show as usual.

 

154. Nearly there!

OK so this is the last update until Dragstalgia is in the can, the last few weeks have been.........Hectic! to say the least. Once again it all comes down to the last minute. Steve has been working like a man obsessed, burning the candle from both ends for weeks now, with help from his friends of course.  A few days ago the car was a chassis with an engine sitting in it...that was all. So! where are we now. In the last four days the wiring has been completed, the fuel lines and tank cleaned out and rebuilt.

The rear body panels were fitted, then a trial fit of the main cowl proved to be a bit of a problem, the new motor plate was a few millimetres  taller than the original so that none of the body pins lined up with the catches. The main cowl could do with a clean after spending nearly four years being stored.

An awful lot of cutting and grinding later and the cowl fits perfectly. Next job sort out the trailer? the trailer was emptied of everything including the fridge which had a surprise in store for Steve, a four year old carton of milk had at some time exploded inside the fridge hmmm tasty.

A lot of sorting out to do, next job retrieve a barrel of Methanol from our friend John O´Sullivan and then fill the tank and fire up the motor, hmm first attempt didn't seem too healthy.

Didn´t sound too good so Steve took all the injectors out and cleaned them, they were all bunged up! then he tried again and this time the engine sounded just like the 1000hp 421ci monster should sound like...phew!!

With the car out of the trailer time for a quick clean up and polish, it´s a lot easier to do this outside rather than in the trailer. This is the first time the car has been back together in a while complete with red chassis.

Next, un-seize the generator and get that up and running ready for Dragstalgia, there is still a few things left to do, attach chute, make new pipes for the breather to puke tank and when the new cage padding turns up attach that, as the old padding fell apart when it was removed. Fingers crossed once the tow truck is sorted that everything goes smoothly at the event.

153. I dont belieeeeeve it!

This latest update is being typed with a bloody big grin on my face, it has been a while but! I think we may just have cracked it. Its been nearly 5 years since I last sat in the car at the Hot Rod Drags in 2021 its been nearly four years since the car last went up the track with Steve in the cockpit and three years since the engine last ran. Since then finances, time and life got in the way. On more than one occasion Steve has threatened to cut the thing up and quit, it has been that hard.

So once again I need to thank a lot of people, dedicated people who have helped out in the last year or so. without who this car would be in a scrap heap somewhere. So many thanks to Jim, Nigel, Moss and Moss's boss, Wayne Colliver for sorting out the chassis for us, Mr Mopar John O'Sullivan Steve's wife Kerry who has had to clean up the mess Steve makes and put up with him out of the house for days on end and of course anyone else that I might have forgotten

So Yesterday evening after a monumental effort Steve re-wired that car with the drive train in place. Just about everything checked out, he couldn't start the car yet as he still had to fill up everything with the appropriate oil.

On the following video clips please click on the " Watch on YouTube" Link

Then this evening Steve filled up everything that needed filling up and with a little help from Jim and Nigel the first attempt to try and fire up the sleeping monster was tried.

Now obviously the car usually runs on methanol but with an empty tank a quick squirt of three year old petrol was used. So onto the second attempt this was far more successful and gave Steve the sound he needed to prove the car or more importantly the engine was OK.

 I can just about make out a wry smile on Steve's face OK so the car runs folks, now all the little bits need to be buttoned up and the floor panels and bodywork replaced and then.......... ......Dragstalgia here we come. Well Steve and the team, I will have to watch the live stream

152. Still trying...!

As usual with us nothing goes to plan and the last few weeks have been no exception. OK so Steve took the chassis to a professional painter as he could not get the paint to set right. After a couple of days the painter seems to have the same problem. The culprit..contaminated paint. So the chassis was collected and bought back home now in an even worse state, So a lot of money just went down the drain , as we supplied the paint there was nothing the painter could do without being paid more money of course, nobody works for nothing. Back to work for Steve and his mates and once again the chassis was rubbed down in the back of the trailer, The trailer was then cleaned and re-painted with fresh paint, Steve was still  not  happy with the finish as even though he cleaned the trailer out within an inch of its life a lot of dust had still settled on the paint. After a lot of discussion the decision was made to just put the car back together and go racing.

Front wheels an suspension went on first along with the steering so far so good..hmm! Then the rear axel was collected cleaned up checked and even the end plate was polished.

The axel was then mounted back on the car along with the wheels so now at least it was a roller, next job was to mate the engine and gearbox along with the new flex plate and new motor plates ready for installation. This when Steve found the gearbox mount need to be coiled as the threads were had it.

Next the whole drive train was re-installed in the chassis and......this is where it all went a little pear shaped again. For some inexplicable reason nothing lined up again, this was just a bit more than frustrating after so much work had been done, mainly in the pouring rain.

This all happened on this Thursday 4th and Steve was more than little agitated in fact he was furious, he was going to have another look at the car on the weekend and if not resolved he was finished with it all. I waited all day today Saturday 6th for a call from Steve to let me know which way everything was going and low and behold a minor miracle occurred with the help of Steve's friends Jim and Nigel and......everything is now lined perfect. Also Before the engine fitting disaster Steve had refurbished the braking system.

So now the rush is on to try and get everything back together again and running, just like the Nostalgia Nationals it my be a bit too late for entry to Dragstalgia.

It maybe a tall order but Steve and the gang are on it but no matter what happens the car will hit the track sometime this year,  badder and faster hopefully, See you all at the track very soon.

151....and maybe not!!!!!

A quick update on the repair and rebuild of the Tight Fit slingshot........not everything always goes according to plan, they certainly don't with us anyway, When Steve bought the car back from having the chassis sorted out by Wayne Colliver he noticed a small puddle of oil under the car, seeing that there is no engine or transmission in the car the only other culprit was the rear axle. With the axle removed and scrutinised, Steve found a crack on the bottom of the axle where the protection plate bolts on. A bit strange as the axle hadn't hit anything when loaded or unloaded form the trailer. So now we have another problem.

Our axle is a Chevy 10 bolt jobbie as once used by  top fuel cars in the past but its not the axle of choice these days, that's long been the 9inch Ford they are not interchangeable due to the position of the prop shafts. This is a dilemma do we look for a replacement which is going to be a long search or could the axle be repaired. "We know a man who can" enter Jim and his welding gear and...one repaired axle, thanks Jim. This held us up a bit. Next the chassis needed rubbing down again and repainting so hours of dust and red hands later with the help of friends the chassis was sprayed...but the paint reacted with something this time and came out all bubbly...not good!

Steve phoned a powder coating company in his area that had a tank big enough for the chassis, the guy was on holiday phone back later which Steve did and he got the run-around. So Plan B get someone else to paint it as Steve had giving up trying to get it to look good while trying to paint it in the back of the trailer. So this afternoon Monday 13th the chassis was taken to paint booth in Cirencester.

There is still a lot of work to be done and time is slipping away so it is beginning to look like the Nostalgia Nationals will come around too quick...maybe! So looking forward to the odd Run what you brung and Dragstalgia. Fingers crossed.

150 Maybe just maybe!!

Another year just zooms past in an instant, I spent last year watching all the races on the live feed, thank you "Santa Pod", just wishing I could just have one last race, but after finding out that it was not only a buckled motor plate that was stopping us from racing but also the chassis was bent and twisted, so my dream of one more race looked like it was never going to happen. Steve however! never gives up  on anything easily and earlier this year started looking at ways of trying to get back to the track but with the cost of living rising faster then Keir Starmer's record of failures it didn't look too good. Both Dave and myself had resigned ourselves that our racing days are probably over. We have had a lot of help from people over the last few weeks even Mike Waters made us another motor plate which because of the bent chassis didn't quite fit.

That was until a phone call to fellow "Wild Buncher" and all round good guy Wayne Colliver, who agreed to take a look at the car as soon as his boss agreed to it and when he has time, as he was snowed under with work at the time of the call. A few weeks later the call came though to bring the car to him so Steve with help from his mate Moss, loaded the car on to the back of a flat bed truck thanks to Moss's boss for the loan of the truck without which the car wouldn't have got to Wayne's workshop, and off they went.

I need to point out that at this time Steve had told nobody what he was doing as he didn't want to get our hopes up. Once the car was in Wayne's workshop he went to work. new motor plates were fabricated and with his alignment tool it soon became obvious where the problem was.

Many hours later and a lot of metal magic and huge amount of skill Wayne managed the impossible and straightened out the chassis.

The car was then put back on the truck and bought home, a long  long day but well worth it, the following day Steve with some help braved the torrential rain and refitted our engine and trans just to double check everything lined up with our gear in the car, and it did.

So now the hard work begins, engine and gearbox back out, the chassis will be touched up as it has been banged about a bit, then the rebuild starts it will take time, how much depends on the weather, money and whatever free time Steve has. No idea how long this will take but it will get done and the car will get back to the track eventually. 

Looks like I had better start saving for some fuel and getting the bike serviced and checked out, I wonder if I can still fit in the fire suit and the car, it was always a a bit of a "Tight Fit"

149. Yes it is red

 So to continue from the last update, to make sure that we don´t break anymore welds some gussets were made up and welded into the bottom rails.

Then Jim decided that maybe just maybe it would be a good idea to go over every single weld on the chassis, just for good measure. So I guess we won't be having anymore issues with those for the time being.

Steve had to then rub down the whole thing ready for spraying which meant having to turn the chassis upside down, So it had to be dragged outside first while Steve masked up the inside of the trailer so as not to paint the  parts which didn´t need painting.

Next Steve ordered the paint and just for a change he decided on "RED" as opposed to the previous black.

During the week in the evenings Steve got to work with the spray gun and painted the bottom of the chassis, it was then turned over again and the top half sprayed, a quick rub down and a second coat applied, and the chassis is now ready (excuse cheap pun).

As can be seen in the next photo the red on the chassis is a different shade of red compared to the red of the bodywork, something to be looked at next year, also Steve managed to paint another item in the trailer.

Now it is time to put the car back together and the race is on to complete it in time for the biggest and best race meeting of the year (in my humble opinion that is) Dragstalgia, time to get the trusty Yamaha Super Tenere ready for another adventure ride back to England