Hot rod drags 2014...

[spoodler]

Just a taster of the weekend of old time drag racing at Shakespeare County Raceway... I know lots of folks won't like this stuff, so just move onto the next thread please. For those that do find this interesting - highlights of the weekend were, undoubtedly, seeing Andy Hadfield's "Twister" Model T (fully road legal and regularly street driven) running a seven second quarter mile at about 180m.p.h. terminal speed, and, for me, the matt black Vauxhall Viscount with its consistent eight and a half second passes at over 160m.p.h. Flatheads were a little slower but no less enjoyable...
The Mk1 Escort seen in the pairing lane was one of two almost identical cars, one running 12.5 E.T.s and the other, unbelievably two seconds quicker...

As for the classic aspect - cars like "Dorset Horn", "Green Onions" and "Roarin' Rat" have been about for decades with the little yellow A35 running eights after forty one years of racing...

[spoodler]

aeropilot: The "Drags" is the home of the Flathead Meltdown, a race series for sidevalve powered cars, so there is normally a good showing of early Ford V8s and big fours, even a boat tailed six cylinder special this year. Some are running surprisingly quick times using old period speed equipment.

Hooli: I think you might have appreciated the exhibition runs from the old drag bikes including (I think) a 350cc J.A.P. single that was hitting thirteen second quarters with some pretty hairy startline wheelies, the old boy controlling it, complete with ancient crash hat, seemed completely unfazed and appeared to be about the same age as his bike.

[spoodler]

aeropilot said:

spoodler said:

aeropilot: The "Drags" is the home of the Flathead Meltdown, a race series for sidevalve powered cars

I know.

I've known Neil Fretwell, who runs the VHRA, for years.

You never know who you're in contact with on the 'net. I would imagine tho' that there are plenty of folk on this forum who weren't even aware that a "flathead" was a sidevalve, or that there are folk out there who'd consider racing a vehicle where the engine type has more in common with an old lawnmower than most "normal" cars... ah, the rich tapestry of life... and the narrow line between patronising and informative

Just for info's sake to put some perspective on performance, I think a couple of the flatties were into the fifteens at Shakey and last year on the sand at Pendine a mate of mine was just shy of triple figures in his Model A...