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Discussion
m dowd said:
Sorry I should of signed in here first. My name is mick dowd and I first came to the pod in 1978, helping chris ison with Wild Honey comp altered. I attend every meeting at santa pod and sometimes shakey now with my wife and two youngest in family camping. I am the works manager for CPE pressure vessels in Tamworth, and we recently made a polished stainless vessel for the allard chrysler restoration project.
Hi mick I'm Chris ison,s son in law was great to see this post as he has spoken about you and how you worked on the car with him I have some pictures of the car if you wanted them . Hmmm - scary. My first foray into on-line forums. As the name suggests I have indeed been standing on the Santa Pod bank 'way too long'. though increasing age now leads me towards the 'comfy' seats on the other side. Started reading Custom Car in 1971 and first went to the Pod in 1973 after much pester power of my Dad. Still going some 40 years later.
No racing involvement but I have sure seen a lot. I have read some interesting threads on here and would hope that an occasional view from the other side of the fence would be welcome.
Many thanks
No racing involvement but I have sure seen a lot. I have read some interesting threads on here and would hope that an occasional view from the other side of the fence would be welcome.
Many thanks
snakehips said:
They also serve, who only stand and watch.
Hi everyone .. Well that's me covered if it's OK.. thanks, Snakehips, for the great quote, generosity and openness on this forum.. not so respectful of me to start posting stuff before signing into the register - sorry - hopefully better late than never.. So, it's Walt, I live just outside London but on the right side for getting to the Pod early which I've been doing regularly on a fanatical basis since the BDR & HRA Summer Internationals July 1972. As a young school kid then, I was introduced to the most exciting spectacle on the planet by a mate and his dad. (Was driven there in an orange Mustang Mach 1 ) . So my first sight of our amazing sport was the imminently ill-fated Transcontinental Funny Car (hence my monicker: a tribute) racing Mullen's "Invader" and 8.77 seconds later my life was changed permanently, so in 2014 a middle-aged git clambers out of bed at an unearthly hour on weekend mornings to get there a.s.a.p.. I've been to meetings at the Pod every year since and also the temporary NDRC tracks in the 70's and continental Europe as well. The memory of that run in '72, seeing and hearing Nitro V8 charging towards us as we stood near the gantry , is still totally vivid in my memory and captured my imagination with permanent repercussions. I've loved pretty much everything I've seen over 42 years with the very clear exception of 1000ft nitro racing which I think sucks big time but that discussion has been and is going on elsewhere... as you can imagine I've seen lots of incredible and now legendary things over those decades and still spend more minutes every day thinking and reading about (and weekends attending) this sport than perhaps would be beneficial to my personal life and career but as a Dragholic from 10 years old it was for life - but heck here there are worse things to be addicted to for sure.. there is so much good humanity in this sport..that's really part of the life-affirming buzz it creates, as much as the sight and sound..
That's definitely enough about me .. thanks to everyone for hearing and responding in a tolerant way to 'those who stand and watch'. I totally appreciate that most members of this forum are active participants and have the skills, expertise, genius, tenacity and grit which have created and maintain the thrill of the sport I love so much. Thank you and though I don't always understand all of the technical discussions I love reading it anyway and being better informed when I go to the race track. For perfectly understandable reasons, other areas of the Drag Racing media are honour-bound to be impartial and I'm so grateful that this forum exists for people like me who are mere spectators to speak as they wish and no doubt receive robust rebuttals from those on the inside who are so much more well-informed. See you at the track, please never stop your amazing hard work and dedication to something uniquely free-spirited, defiant and creative in our ever-more regulated and conformist world. With huge respect. W
Edited by transcontinental on Monday 28th April 19:26
Edited by transcontinental on Thursday 1st May 13:41
Edited by transcontinental on Thursday 1st May 13:42
I'm Andy Taylor, I raced from the mid 80's to the late 90's starting in street bike and then finishing with my CBX Funny Bike. I now occasionally crew on Neil Ward's Nostalgia Dragster "Andromeda" and generally tinker with old cars and bikes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJpewj4cSc0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJpewj4cSc0
I raced at the same time as Barry, it was seeing Barry's Funny Bike that made me want to race in the first place back when it was comp bike before the funny bike class came back into being (in the UK)
I didn't race outside the UK so the only contact with racers from the continent came during the Euro rounds in later years but I didn't come up against any other CBX's than Barry's. I think we only raced each other once when my bike was in it's black super street guise and on that occasion Barry had issues on the run and didn't catch me by the end of the run.
I didn't race outside the UK so the only contact with racers from the continent came during the Euro rounds in later years but I didn't come up against any other CBX's than Barry's. I think we only raced each other once when my bike was in it's black super street guise and on that occasion Barry had issues on the run and didn't catch me by the end of the run.
Hi!
I'm Perry aka Nitrousmgb. I guess if this is an introduction thing I should give some background info.
I was taken to the Pod when I was a kid by my Bro in law who used to run a V8 Sunbeam Tiger back in the day. I was only 14 but I did like being able to wander around the pits and see the cars etc. I also got taken to the Chelsea cruise by my Bro in law back in the day.
Then I hit 17 and got my driving licence. First car was a MK1 Cortina 1500 deluxe estate in Ford Lagoon Blue. Fast forward 4 years and the Tina had a MK3 Tina back end with an engine from a Formula Ford open wheel race car that had been crashed along with wide Rostyles on the rear, a jack up kit (which was just longer rear spring hangers) but they were chromed And the compulsory Red Fog light under the rear end to show up the painted rear axle. By the time my pops had helped me chuck the side draught Weber kit on it ran pretty good. My best roadkill back in 1978 was a Jag on Park lane London one Saturday night. I held him up to 70mph and then he waved goodbye
Then my First of 4 children was born and the Tina and my Yammy RD250 got sold. Fast forward another 20 years to 1998 and I got my first MGB. The kids were becoming less of a drain on my time so I thought I needed a new toy. £100 later I owned a Yellow MGB GT. I knew nowt about MGB's back then, but it had rubber bumpers which reminded me of Stingray on the front! And I liked it. I got sucked into the classic car thing for a few years and eventually got fed up with going out to car shows and parking up alongside a load of other cars all the same ? I did manage to avoid getting sucked into the tartan blankets and wicker picnic baskets thing though
For some reason Santapod came into a chat with a mate and I thought I should go back and see if the Pod was still there one sunny Sunday. So me and my young Son took a ride out while the wife and the 3 girls were doing other stuff. I was more than surprised to find that UK Drag Racing was still going.. That shows how out of touch with all things automotive I had become eh? Was the Pod still there
Fast forward another 6 years to 2004 and I now had an MGB V8 with a Rover 3500 fitted. I took this to the Pod and did my first RWYB run. I ran 17 seconds and came off the track with my heart pounding and got back to my Son in the pits to hear him say "Dad, your MG sounded great, but it was a lot slower than the other car" ? Fast forward to 2006 and the MGBV8 was now running nitrous and making 14 seconds on the 1/4 mile. By this time I had realised that the car needed a few upgrades. We move on to 2008 and the old 3500 was now running low 12's on track with a TH350 fitted, I was happy to be learning about V8's and rebulting them. and my young Son was crew chief for me now. Fast forward to 2014 and the same car now runs mid 9's on the strip, my Son also runs his MK6 Escort with rwd and a Rover 4.6 up front which makes mid 11's on a build budget of a grand. And my Son is also now a Fire marshall at the Pod Sometime around 2006 I met Andy Frost for some transmission advice at his workshop which is why I now run the auto box in the car. Frosty was kind enough to lend me a spare box to mock up my tunnel for the build. I ended up buying a box on ebay and got it fitted and working so Frosty didnt make a sale, but he helped a middle aged budding racer. And since then Frosty has given me lots of advice by email to help the MGB go quicker. And he hasnt earnt a penny from me. But he has always been there online to help with advice God Bless Him !!
So thats where I am right now. I enjoy my RWYB and I'm somewhat sad that I missed out on 20 odd years of UK Drag Racing. But luckily I now know loads of folk who were into the scene while I was raising a family who keep me updated on the things I missed over the years. I was 56 last week and I'm hoping to be back on track next year for my 8 second attempt in the MGB with the Rover V8 fitted. And by the time I'm 60 I want to be running 7's on track. I'n aticipation of the future I have just bought my fisrt SBC engine to play with which will hopefully be built and fitted into the MGB in 2016. Sorry for the ramble guys.
Here is my fisrt deep 9 pass which I have backed up around 17 times now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs-elD0eyDk
And my latest test run which saw me off the pedal for 2 seconds and then getting back on it to run a 10.1 pass. I had just fitted a new hi stall converter to match the Rovers output and it lit up like never before The old converter was slipping badly. This took me by surprise I must say. The Slingshot in the right lane is one I helped to build and I race it now and then. I ran a 1.3 60 foot on the back wheels, which tells me that when the wheelie bars go on I should be running sub 9.5 next year
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg3avnsNKrc&li...
Regards to all
Perry
I'm Perry aka Nitrousmgb. I guess if this is an introduction thing I should give some background info.
I was taken to the Pod when I was a kid by my Bro in law who used to run a V8 Sunbeam Tiger back in the day. I was only 14 but I did like being able to wander around the pits and see the cars etc. I also got taken to the Chelsea cruise by my Bro in law back in the day.
Then I hit 17 and got my driving licence. First car was a MK1 Cortina 1500 deluxe estate in Ford Lagoon Blue. Fast forward 4 years and the Tina had a MK3 Tina back end with an engine from a Formula Ford open wheel race car that had been crashed along with wide Rostyles on the rear, a jack up kit (which was just longer rear spring hangers) but they were chromed And the compulsory Red Fog light under the rear end to show up the painted rear axle. By the time my pops had helped me chuck the side draught Weber kit on it ran pretty good. My best roadkill back in 1978 was a Jag on Park lane London one Saturday night. I held him up to 70mph and then he waved goodbye
Then my First of 4 children was born and the Tina and my Yammy RD250 got sold. Fast forward another 20 years to 1998 and I got my first MGB. The kids were becoming less of a drain on my time so I thought I needed a new toy. £100 later I owned a Yellow MGB GT. I knew nowt about MGB's back then, but it had rubber bumpers which reminded me of Stingray on the front! And I liked it. I got sucked into the classic car thing for a few years and eventually got fed up with going out to car shows and parking up alongside a load of other cars all the same ? I did manage to avoid getting sucked into the tartan blankets and wicker picnic baskets thing though
For some reason Santapod came into a chat with a mate and I thought I should go back and see if the Pod was still there one sunny Sunday. So me and my young Son took a ride out while the wife and the 3 girls were doing other stuff. I was more than surprised to find that UK Drag Racing was still going.. That shows how out of touch with all things automotive I had become eh? Was the Pod still there
Fast forward another 6 years to 2004 and I now had an MGB V8 with a Rover 3500 fitted. I took this to the Pod and did my first RWYB run. I ran 17 seconds and came off the track with my heart pounding and got back to my Son in the pits to hear him say "Dad, your MG sounded great, but it was a lot slower than the other car" ? Fast forward to 2006 and the MGBV8 was now running nitrous and making 14 seconds on the 1/4 mile. By this time I had realised that the car needed a few upgrades. We move on to 2008 and the old 3500 was now running low 12's on track with a TH350 fitted, I was happy to be learning about V8's and rebulting them. and my young Son was crew chief for me now. Fast forward to 2014 and the same car now runs mid 9's on the strip, my Son also runs his MK6 Escort with rwd and a Rover 4.6 up front which makes mid 11's on a build budget of a grand. And my Son is also now a Fire marshall at the Pod Sometime around 2006 I met Andy Frost for some transmission advice at his workshop which is why I now run the auto box in the car. Frosty was kind enough to lend me a spare box to mock up my tunnel for the build. I ended up buying a box on ebay and got it fitted and working so Frosty didnt make a sale, but he helped a middle aged budding racer. And since then Frosty has given me lots of advice by email to help the MGB go quicker. And he hasnt earnt a penny from me. But he has always been there online to help with advice God Bless Him !!
So thats where I am right now. I enjoy my RWYB and I'm somewhat sad that I missed out on 20 odd years of UK Drag Racing. But luckily I now know loads of folk who were into the scene while I was raising a family who keep me updated on the things I missed over the years. I was 56 last week and I'm hoping to be back on track next year for my 8 second attempt in the MGB with the Rover V8 fitted. And by the time I'm 60 I want to be running 7's on track. I'n aticipation of the future I have just bought my fisrt SBC engine to play with which will hopefully be built and fitted into the MGB in 2016. Sorry for the ramble guys.
Here is my fisrt deep 9 pass which I have backed up around 17 times now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs-elD0eyDk
And my latest test run which saw me off the pedal for 2 seconds and then getting back on it to run a 10.1 pass. I had just fitted a new hi stall converter to match the Rovers output and it lit up like never before The old converter was slipping badly. This took me by surprise I must say. The Slingshot in the right lane is one I helped to build and I race it now and then. I ran a 1.3 60 foot on the back wheels, which tells me that when the wheelie bars go on I should be running sub 9.5 next year
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg3avnsNKrc&li...
Regards to all
Perry
Edited by nitrousmgb on Sunday 7th December 21:58
Hi, I'm Richard Warburton and thought it about time I put an introduction on here.
Started my involvement with drag racing back in the '70's as a Marshall at the then named Long Marston airstrip. Worked my way through the ranks so to speak and ended up as a National A Clerk of the Course/ Race Director.
I have also represented Avon Park/Shakey on the MSA Drag Racing Sub-Committee and was partly instrumental in putting the Regulations in place for Wild Bunch class.
It is only now, in later life, that I have had the finances to have a go at RWYB events, (most marshals are frustrated racers or too tight to pay an entrance fee as a spectator). I, along with my wife Rachael, own a '41 Willys Coupe called ProZac which we have had for four years. First run down the track was a mighty 15.2 but now running 11.82! It has also done about 12000 miles since we've had it and gets used all year round.
That's it, that's me.
Started my involvement with drag racing back in the '70's as a Marshall at the then named Long Marston airstrip. Worked my way through the ranks so to speak and ended up as a National A Clerk of the Course/ Race Director.
I have also represented Avon Park/Shakey on the MSA Drag Racing Sub-Committee and was partly instrumental in putting the Regulations in place for Wild Bunch class.
It is only now, in later life, that I have had the finances to have a go at RWYB events, (most marshals are frustrated racers or too tight to pay an entrance fee as a spectator). I, along with my wife Rachael, own a '41 Willys Coupe called ProZac which we have had for four years. First run down the track was a mighty 15.2 but now running 11.82! It has also done about 12000 miles since we've had it and gets used all year round.
That's it, that's me.
Hello Richard,
thank you for over 4 decades of support for the sport,
I have no opfficual function but know that being an official is sometimes hard and ungrateful,
always consuming time and energy if done well,
and not the big ego trip that some spectators and racers make out of it.
I hope that you enjoy your time "on the other side" of the track, in the groove.
thank you for over 4 decades of support for the sport,
I have no opfficual function but know that being an official is sometimes hard and ungrateful,
always consuming time and energy if done well,
and not the big ego trip that some spectators and racers make out of it.
I hope that you enjoy your time "on the other side" of the track, in the groove.
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