13. Truck moved at last

It's Christmas Eve, what else can you do but set off on a journey to Bedford in a  7.5 to truck right in the middle of the "last minute Christmas shoppers" I was up early to check that the Dartford Crossing was open again after the storm and while I was at check for road closures as there had been a few due to flooding and fallen trees.

I reconnected the batteries loaded up and left around 8am, I had tried to find a route around the Low Emission Zone cameras...only time will tell if I managed that or not...I planned to fuel up at the last Service station before the M25 which I made in good time, I filled the front tank up and jumped back in the cab,,,,could I get the truck started again..could I hell, I know about the few missing teeth on the flywheel and usually a few waggles on the gear stick frees it to a point where there are teeth,,,but not this time, I even released the brakes and let the truck roll back a bit then I lifted the clutch to try and turn the engine a wee bit to clear the broken teeth but it didn't' work, So I phoned my brother in Luton who jumped in his car to drive the 90 miles over to see if he could help and at the same time I got hold of the AA and got them to agree to come out as well..only they quoted me about two to three hours as they were very busy.

My Brother  Dave, beat the AA and between us we managed to jerk the engine to a point where the starter could engage and we were off again , after a quick call tot he AA thanking them for their help but we don't need it now.

I could see , while driving up the motorway how bad the storm had been there was water everywhere...

At a steady 60mph we got t our destination just outside Bedford around 1pm only an hour later than I expected, so the truck is now in secure storage and not bothering my neighbours anymore or the Low Emission Zone bloody Pirates and the upshot of course is it is now a lot nearer to Santa Pod raceway only about 10 miles now so that will cut down on the mileage a bit...roll on next year.

12. My luck just keeps getting worse

After 3 weeks of looking, and of being let down and mucked about I have found somewhere to park the truck up, because I live within the M25 I am subject to the low emission zone rules and unfortunately the old MAN truck does not comply.

Anyway just to be on the safe side I decided to run her up as I did about 10 days back just to check the batteries out and make sure they are charged up, there is a battery isolator switch on the truck which for some reason has seized up solid and even with liberal use of good old WD40 wont budge and has now bent. Bloody typical just when I really need it to work it doesn't, will I be glad to see the back of this year or what?????

11. Some Race Dates

I haven't updated this for a while, because there hasn't been much to say till now, first and foremost I am still looking for somewhere to park the truck up I have e-mailed a certain party at Santa Pod a couple of times regarding private parking and I have yet to get a reply so unless they have been very very busy for two weeks solid or suddenly gone on holiday I must conclude I am just not important enough for them to answer so. I have got my son out looking for somewhere for me but that will mean parking the truck up some way away from not only where I live but the the Pod and Shaky too, but beggars can't be choosers.

In the meantime I have been looking at the race calender for next year, well the Pods one at any rate and I have asked my wife to try and get the following dates off from work,

29th March, - Run What Ya Brung-Dial in Day

28th-29th June, - Summer Nationals

11th-13th July, - Dragstalgia

4th-7th Sept, - European Finals

20th-21st Sept, - National Finals

That's it so far I am hoping to get a couple more dates in there at Shaky with the Wild Bunch and just how it goes with any other free dates that I get during the year.

It's nearly time to start thinking about fire-suits, medicals,  licences etc....oh and joining the racer groups, can't wait now.

10. Now it's Boris causing problems!!!

I don't know it looks like the big man upstairs just does,'t want me to go racing, got a message today from Turbo to say he has had a letter from the nice Nazi's at Transport For London to inform him of the penalty's etc for driving a vehicle within the Low emission zone of London, which is everywhere inside the M25 in a vehicle that does not conform to the required standards. So DVLC or whatever they call themselves these days haven't updated their systems yet so I made a few phone calls to find out what the hell all this is about and as far as I can see it's just another stealth tax another way of getting money out of people that can ill-afford it.

I have choices...I can  convert my vehicle to run on gas which means converting the engine to spark ignition...yeah right!!!

I can replace the vehicle..again yeah right!!

I can use one of their registered suppliers and fitters and get a new particulate filter fitted to the vehicle...

Again I made a few phone calls I was directed to the list of registered suppliers and fitters there are 12.....3 are not in this Country 3 are right up north and the first one I tried that wasn't too far away has stopped doing them...this is going to be fun!. I managed to get hold of a company in Milton Keynes who informed that supply and fit would cost anywhere between £3500 and £4000 we are talking about £150 worth of materials here and two hours to fit...god lets just rip everyone off again...

So none of the above so I am now trying to find somewhere else to park it up that is not inside the M25 bloody rip off zone grrrr!!!!

9. Young Blood is now home

Its been another short while since I last blogged anything on here, it always amazes me how awry plans can go because life just keep getting in the way. Right the good news having spent a day or two trying to get my son and Bother to agree on a date that they both could be free on I gave up...so last Saturday I got on a train to Nottingham. now there is something I haven't done in a while, and I have to admit it wasn't too unpleasant a journey.

Ian picked me up from  the station and took me back to his place where after a cuppa and a very welcome pizza I set sail for home, it took a bit longer to get home then it did to get to Nottingham but thankfully the traffic wasn't too bad at all.

As you can see Emily has taken over already but I am afraid she is going to have to wait a couple of years first as myself and my brother have booked the seat for a couple of years at least, I will have to look at hiring the Santa Pod junior dragster for Emily and see how it goes from there.

In the meantime I have another small dilemma,, if I sell on of my bikes and it's trailer then I will have enough room to get the dragster in the garage, but I will still have to find somewhere to park the truck up.........

Even though it is all legal I think my next door neighbour ..Julie..would love to park her car outside her house and stop having the light blocked from her window.......problems, problems always problems LOL

8. And so it starts

Ok so the time is getting near to when I have to go and pick the car up..just over a week now so I have to admit in getting a little bit excited I have got to work it so my son Steve and my brother can come with me, Steve wants to pick Ian's brain over how the engine is set up and how etc. So first thing on the agenda for tomorrow is getting the truck insured.

Santa Pod has published its race dates for next year so only waiting for Shakey to release theirs then it will be a case of going over them and see which events I can do or not do, then I suppose I will have to part with some more money to join the SPRC (Santa Pod Racers Club) and Shakespeare County s equivalent, then and I am probably going to join the Wild Bunch too.

Then it will be time to sort out my licence that means a medical and buy a fire suit...fingers crossed that will be it then we can go racing.

In the meant time my aborted attempt at getting fit and losing weight starts again on Monday, i have found my gym membership card and my ankle and back seem to be a lot better now, so with a bit of luck and a following wind we can get everything back on track.

7. Learn as you go

Here we we are in October only 4 weeks..ish till I pick the truck and car up from Bloodlines Racing in good old Nottinghamshire. we are just about at the end of the racing season now this is the time of year where racers take stock and sort out their cars and get everything ready for the next racing season, I am so lucky that I an has done so much already this makes my task a lot easier  I have still got to track down a few tools but nothing major to get.

I have also been informed by the font of all drag racing knowledge that is Ian Turburville that even the race fire suits are "Dated" so best of getting that in the new year as well. So you live and learn thank god the drag racing community are so helpful and friendly, Talking of which I found this piccie on face book of the car, one of the nicest ones I have seen yet........

I do love the look of this car the proportions are just spot on, but it is a bit of a squeeze to get in and out........

Here's Ian helping me in and yes I can get in and out LOL

I would like to THANK my brother for taking this picture of me LOL now you can see why I want to call the car..Tight Fit.

6. Getting things done in the right order.

I wanted to make sure that I was aware of everything I needed to go racing so I spent yesterday going through al the various racing sites.....first one I tried was the Santa Pod Racers Club they have a section on starting racing, now I also believe that if you want to race at he Pod you have to be member of this club the first problem is this web site is way out of date they really need to update it,...so I read the first few chapters and the first thing that hit me was this........

"Next, regardless of whether you are running a block stock Lada or a Top Fuel dragster you need a licence,
so send off to the Motor Sports Association (MSA) for a licence form. At this point it is a good idea to 
join our drag racing club and register your vehicle. Once you become a member, part of your membership will
include a drag racing rulebook, which then it is a good idea to read about your class regulations
(firesuit, helmet requirements etc) and the basics of race craft."

So off I surfed to the MSA website, tte MSA are the governing body of Motorsport I went to the downloads page and downloaded the form for the licence application the only problem is it is still for 2013 so I will will have to wait for that to change to 2014, god knows when that will be but that was only the start of it, this licence thing is not cheap especially if  you want to race in Europe god knows why this costs more for this licence, and if you over 45 you have to have a medical , probably have to pay for that as well,so you pay all this money for a licence send off you medical records you have bought a car purchased a fire suit and then they refuse you a licence......that's an awful lot of money wasted and it looks like this is an annual thing as well which suddenly makes what Ian Turboville said ring true "Getting the car is the easy and cheapest bit" and wouldn't it be a good idea to have a rule book before you start spending all this money????
Then if you are successful then you have to pay to race at organised meetings and they are not cheap either...strewth how much money do these people think us poor amateur racers have.

I am dam sure they these sporting bodies could get together and simplify all this paperwork and make it dam cheaper, don't they know there is a recession on, I understand now why you see so many fantastic cars at "Run what you brung" events and not at organised championship meetings....far too much money and far too complicated.

The problem is what came first the chicken or the egg, I bought a car to go racing then found out what else was required, perhaps I should have had a medical first then applied for a licence but, the application is only valid for up to three months before you race so if you don't find a car in time then you have to go through it all again...hmmmm something really wrong with all this. It does all smack of " lets see how much money we can get out of all these racers" as if racing isn't expensive enough as it is. I can see why so many racers are taking "Time out" for a year etc.

So to go racing is not as simple as I thought it would be, there are different organisations waiting in a queue with their hands out waiting for your hard earned money on an annual basis then you and your car have to conform to certain standards and once you have done all this you can actually get onto the track, I am sure there are valid reasons for all of this but it does seem over the top a bit.

I may have done things in the wrong order so now it's time to get everything sorted so first I need the various web sites to update for next years racing then I will apply for the licence and get a medical done, then I will get a fire suit, gloves, helmet etc. a bit pointless in getting these if I don't get a licence.

I would like to point out that these are just the views of myself looking to getting into racing for the first time and finding out what is required etc and how complicated it seems and in some parts irrelevant...why do I need a licence? why do I have to pay to enter meetings?? etc and how expensive and time consuming it all is.

Maybe all this will change in the future but in the meantime it looks as if I have no choice if I want to experience the amazing thrill of travelling down the quarter mile..........

5. My Christmas list is getting longer and longer

This week is going to be a big week for me I am seeing the nurse at the local doctors for a once over and to get my Blood Pressure checked, like most guys of a certain age I do suffer from Hyper tension which I will say is well controlled and if I get the OK then the keep fit and lose weight regime starts.

I have been in touch with the  "Wild-Bunch" via their Chairman "Crazy" Chris Hartnell, these guys run a class of drag racing machinery for nostalgia looking cars and altered's which I have been advised is a good place to start my racing career.

I may now have a car and a transporter but I still need a race suit and helmet and fire proof boots and gloves, yes Motorsport is dangerous these things are not cheap nor should they be seeing that my life will depend on them so I have put them on my Christmas wish list,

This list of mine is growing at an alarming rate, the fire suit is now on the list along with tools, generator, jacks, axle stands LOL but the funny thing is I have been given a guys name who deals with made to measure fire suits for DS Race-wear by both Ian Turburville and the secretary of the Wild-Bunch who I am told is a former owner of the car that I now own when it was called "RamraiderII" wonder if I will get a discount????? I think he had something to do with he building of the car as well I will find out later when I contact him.

RamRaider II

As it is at the moment

As you can see there has been a few detail changes over the years, now the other thing I am looking into is a name for the car, It was once called Ramraider Ian ran it as Young Blood as his daughter drove it , my brother thinks we should call her "Heaven's Toy" Heaven being my surname of course, but I'm not sure about that my wife came up with an idea for a name that so far everyone...apart from my brother likes and I have yet to have any negative comments about and that is.........

"Tight Fit"

4. Reality check

One of the things I decided to do once I had made the decision to go racing was to get fit, we all need an incentive to do things from time to time and mine is simple I have to be able to get in and out of the car without getting stuck, and I will admit that after stopping smoking  a few years ago I have let myself go a bit, so instead of walking the dogs today I jogged a bit, I say a bit as I didn't manage to get all the way round our usual route in fact I didn't even manage to get to the bottom of our road, I am now sitting at this PC with an aching back and knee support on and an ice pack on my ankle, so not only am I not fit and overweight but my body is falling apart as well, good job I have a few months to sort this out before the 2014 season starts...god this going to be painful, but worth it as my wife keeps telling me.

The whole idea of buying Young Blood was to have a bit of fun and do something that I have dreamed of doing for many many years and I still can't believe it. What an incredible sport this is where someone of my age can go racing and could end up lining up against not just a youngster of 18 but a female, there are not many sports in the world where women can compete on level terms with the men  and such an age range too...bloody brilliant, I can't wait.

I have spent the last day trying to source a few bits and bobs I will need and I have sent mails off to the Wild Bunch. I have also noticed that I am now officially famous as my name has appeared in the hollowed news page of EURODRAGSTER.COM...thanks Tog.

So I have learned to date that....

1. I am old wish I was 35 instead of 55
2, I am unfit and overweight
3. It is going to hurt if not kill me to get fit and trim but going to do it
4. You never have enough money or time.
5. Best I start doing the lottery again and find a time machine
6. Everyone in this sport seems to be helpful and friendly.

Of course the longer term plan is...... in a couple of years time to hand over the driving of the dragster to my step daughter Emily who is only 16 at the moment and still at 6 form college and well? you never know!

In the meantime there is still loads to do and sort out, Turbo is being an absolute diamond and is getting the truck MOT'd for me so will be able to pick everything up in the not too distant future he also serviced the car for me.............

3. Motorsport can be dangerous!!!

It was only last week when I decided to get in touch with Ian about buying the car from him, seems like a long time ago now, I knew he was racing at SANTAPOD RACEWAY last weekend at the National Finals so I arranged to go and see him, I wanted my brother to come with me but he was working on the Saturday so we went on the Sunday instead, which was good for two reasons, the first being it was a glorious day the sun came out it was warm if not hot at times, the other reason why Sunday was a good day was it meant we missed a nasty crash. In all the years I have been going to watch drag racing the one thing I hate to see is a crash, it means someone's hard earned money and sometimes years of work are destroyed in seconds and of course even worse, the drivers can get hurt and injured. Thankfully these accidents are not a common event, I have found a YouTube video of the crash if you are of a squeamish nature don't watch.




The driver in question is Graham Ellis who has been a race car driver for many years even his son and daughter race drag cars, Graham's car was a reproduction Plymouth Superbird running with a 3000 plus brake Horsepower twin turbo engine in the Pro Mod Class capable of running low 6 seconds passes at well over 220 mph, and to make matters even worse the car had already been sold to help finance Graham's new car.

This happened the day before I went to see Ian about buying his car.....it was close I very nearly pulled out after seeing this, even though the difference between the two cars in terms of performance is immense, how-ever drag racing is relatively safe motor sport and the safety equipment did it's job and even though Graham didn't escape serious injury he is alive but still in hospital at the moment, the latest report published in the font of all European Drag Racing Knowledge that is EURODRAGSTER.COM states that ......

"Graham Ellis update.
25th September: Many thanks to team member Rob Millward who got in touch with an update on the condition of UK Pro Modified racer Graham Ellis, who suffered a serious crash at the UK National Finals at Santa Pod Raceway last Saturday:

Graham is pretty beaten up as you would expect. He has two black eyes, a broken nose, broken neck although not serious, broken lower back, broken left arm (in a cast) and a broken collar bone on which they are going to operate as it has to support the aditional weight of the cast, and bruised lungs so has an oxygen feed as the lungs can't function fully. He is well-medicated so fairly comfortable all things considered. He should be in a back support by now and hopes that he will be discharged soon, but personally I think it may be another week or so.

I showed Graham footage of the crash and he was surprised how bad it looked. No decision on cause of crash, it all happened so quickly. Graham said "When I realised I couldn't catch it, I thought "This is going to hurt", I remember hitting the wall then the next thing I knew the safety crew were assessing me".

Graham is pretty upbeat about it and already planning his comeback. "

Anyway on with the show I now have a few options about where to park the truck and car thanks again to the Tireless Ian Turburville and I now have a direction to go forward with in terms of learning to drive the car and where to do it, more on that later, now I have more important things to do...walkie s dogs......!!!

2. Start of a new era in my life

I woke up this morning got dressed had a cuppa grabbed the dogs leads and went out for a walk, half way round the park I stopped and the biggest smile you have ever seen spread across my face and I just screamed out.."done it" which shocked the hell out of the dogs and my old dog walking friend Jackie, so I had to explain to her what it was all about.

It is also very emotional for me as it was my father who first took me to Santa Pod in about September or October in 1969 or 1970, my memory is not what it used to be. He was so passionate about the sport and he loved it, unfortunately he passed away at the young age of 56 in 1986 he was a real petrol head and I know he would have loved to have had a go up the strip so this adventure is as much for my father Tony as it is for me. And I know the first time I hit the strip he will be there watching over me.

This racing season is just about over which is good as it gives me some time to sort out a few things like a race fire suit a few tools, jacks etc etc. but one thing I can do is find a name for the car as I really can't call it "Young Blood" with me driving it LOL that would be wishful thinking. so all suggestions gratefully received.

Oh and I found this link on Facebook this morning, can't get enough of watching this car.......




My thanks to Andy Boyce for uploading this, now its time to get my nose to he grindstone and try to start making some money so I can afford to actually race this car, I also have to thank Ian again for all the information on the car and the setup that he sent me this morning.

1. Here we go then

Before I start this blog I need to put this warning up, No material of any sort may be copied or used from this blog  without the permission of the owner, ie ME Also I sometimes don't always tell the truth and maybe I sometimes make the odd story up or change it to make it read better so don't take anything as Gospel

OK so the year of madness starts well maybe more than a year, for 43 years my brother and I have attended drag racing meeting after drag racing meeting standing in glorious sunshine, rain, snow and hail, just over a week ago I decided that maybe it might just be time to have a go at this sport, there is no way on gods green earth I could ever afforded one the top class cars and of course I would never be able to steal enough money to run one either so I had a look on the www.eurodragster.com website where they have a classified section where I found the car that I have now bought.

A few e-mails to BloodLines Racing Team Manager Ian Turburville, and yes that is his name, and I was standing at the Pod on the National finals weekend looking over the car, the car is actually driven by his daughter Laura who is still under 20 years old and is now going to Uni hence the sale.

So after sitting in the car and listening to Ian about how to service it and what it costs to run I had a good idea in my head about running a competitive car in the Super Pro class. next problems where.....where do I keep it? how do I transport it to race meetings? the answer was staring me in the face,,,Ian's 7.5 ton truck which has been converted to a race car transporter /workshop/camper van now Ian was honest enough to inform me that he has never cleaned it and yes it needs tidying up a bit but , it's legal and everything works and it solves many problems...

..so a deal has been done for both the car and transporter, I have my brother helping out and one son at the moment I will get hold of the other boys later on. I still have a few bits and bobs to get and then roll on next year lets go racing....

Here is a video of the car with Laura at the controls for the very last time this was on Sunday 22nd September

I will update his blog as often as anything happens that warrants an update which will probably be very frequently..!!