Pro mod how to........lottery win dreams
Discussion
Ok, so say Ive just won the lottery.
I want to race competitively in the FIA pro mod series.
So, what do I do ? Go to the last NHRA meet and buy the winning car ?
Whats that likely to cost ?
or phone ARRC and tell him what I want ?
Where do you get the info on motors etc.
Humour me here, Im curious.Say Im the next Andy Carter (Im not), but how do I go about getting a team together and running a combination ? Is it possible with no experience and a good crew chief ?
none of this will happen,Im just in awe of anyone that can put this kind of deal together and run hard and fast all year - so that means all of you that Ive enjoyed watching all these years
I want to race competitively in the FIA pro mod series.
So, what do I do ? Go to the last NHRA meet and buy the winning car ?
Whats that likely to cost ?
or phone ARRC and tell him what I want ?
Where do you get the info on motors etc.
Humour me here, Im curious.Say Im the next Andy Carter (Im not), but how do I go about getting a team together and running a combination ? Is it possible with no experience and a good crew chief ?
none of this will happen,Im just in awe of anyone that can put this kind of deal together and run hard and fast all year - so that means all of you that Ive enjoyed watching all these years
Furyous said:
Ok, so say Ive just won the lottery.
I want to race competitively in the FIA pro mod series.
So, what do I do ? Go to the last NHRA meet and buy the winning car ?
Whats that likely to cost ?
or phone ARRC and tell him what I want ?
Where do you get the info on motors etc.
Humour me here, Im curious.Say Im the next Andy Carter (Im not), but how do I go about getting a team together and running a combination ? Is it possible with no experience and a good crew chief ?
none of this will happen,Im just in awe of anyone that can put this kind of deal together and run hard and fast all year - so that means all of you that Ive enjoyed watching all these years
I believe the reason that the European Pro Stock teams tend to buy new cars rather than buy in last years NHRA cars is that by the time they have run a season of NHRA, the car is completely knackered. I imagine similar issues would arise with the Pro Mods (I can only thing of Robert Joostens car being a second hand US import, off the top of my head). For a door car, my first point of contact would be any of the fine car builders over here, Andy Robinson, Jon Webster, Chris Isaacs or Mats Eriksson.I want to race competitively in the FIA pro mod series.
So, what do I do ? Go to the last NHRA meet and buy the winning car ?
Whats that likely to cost ?
or phone ARRC and tell him what I want ?
Where do you get the info on motors etc.
Humour me here, Im curious.Say Im the next Andy Carter (Im not), but how do I go about getting a team together and running a combination ? Is it possible with no experience and a good crew chief ?
none of this will happen,Im just in awe of anyone that can put this kind of deal together and run hard and fast all year - so that means all of you that Ive enjoyed watching all these years
The biggest reason for importing a car from the US is time usually, you can have the car in your garage and completed in plenty of time for the new season, and there is the bonus of it usually being baselined too and complete with a couple of tune-ups so you can hit the ground running. When having a new car built from scratch you can often run in to time issues and start the new season with an entirely un-tested setup that can cost you if you're after a serious run at the points. Urban Johannson is a good example, he purchased his 'vette complete from Steve Cartier in the States with only a handful of passes on it, but the bugs were mostly worked out already. He didn't exactly have a stellar year first time out with it, but I think that was more down to the learning curve of switching from nitrous to blown, but the following year he was crowned European champ and smashed the et record.
That said though, if I was in a position to start a ground-up Pro Mod team I'd have the car built here in Europe if possible by ARRC or Mats Eriksson etc. Although they run the numbers, US built cars aren't nearly as durable as our Pro Mod cars as they are often sold on after 1 season and replaced (Jim Halsey entered the 2007 season with 3 68 Camaros in his trailer!). Even a Tommy Mauney car (arguably the best Pro Mod chassis builder) will require freshening up regularly to stay in good condition because US cars just aren't constructed to last more than a couple of years. As UK chassis builders are more than aware that Europeans don't have the finance to to buy a new car every year, they build the cars to last. Maybe an ARRC chassis will be a touch heavier than a US car but it will last a whole lot longer and run straight and true for season after season....just look at Andy's Studebaker.
Don't get me wrong, a car like Robert Joosten's is proof that an older car from the States can still hustle, but I'm willing to bet a lot of money that the chassis was updated every season when Fred Hahn and Jim Oddy ran it.
Buying the championship winning car from the last IHRA season would be an exceptional place to start, especially if you could acquire some tune-up info with it too, but after all the laps it'll have covered in a Stateside season it'll be a tired car. I can almost guarantee that this year's champ Scott Cannon jr. will roll to the line in a brand new car next year for the same reason.
As far as engines go the BAE hemi is the sensible option in the current state of play but there are numerous options available after this. As the base engine is virtually the same, the thing that sets the blown combos apart from one another are the fuel systems and superchargers. There are lots of builders like Oddy's, Quest, Al Billes, Les Davenport, Howard Moon, Carl Spiering etc who all offer their own individual fuel systems and blowers, it's all down to your personal preference and who has the time and willing to help you with your program over here in Europe. I guess it's just a matter of picking up the phone and talking to them all and find out how much it costs, what support is available and how quick parts can be attained should something go pop. It helps having someone that would be either willing to come to the track a couple of times too, or someone that will be available on the phone over race weekends too.
As for crew, I think when you're born in Scandanavia you automatically get allocated about 12 bodies for future racing endevours as they never seem to struggle to find good crew members! In the UK though it's not that simple, it's often the case that you will have to get together a good bunch of lads and learn the ropes together as you can't always find the experiance you need.
That said though, if I was in a position to start a ground-up Pro Mod team I'd have the car built here in Europe if possible by ARRC or Mats Eriksson etc. Although they run the numbers, US built cars aren't nearly as durable as our Pro Mod cars as they are often sold on after 1 season and replaced (Jim Halsey entered the 2007 season with 3 68 Camaros in his trailer!). Even a Tommy Mauney car (arguably the best Pro Mod chassis builder) will require freshening up regularly to stay in good condition because US cars just aren't constructed to last more than a couple of years. As UK chassis builders are more than aware that Europeans don't have the finance to to buy a new car every year, they build the cars to last. Maybe an ARRC chassis will be a touch heavier than a US car but it will last a whole lot longer and run straight and true for season after season....just look at Andy's Studebaker.
Don't get me wrong, a car like Robert Joosten's is proof that an older car from the States can still hustle, but I'm willing to bet a lot of money that the chassis was updated every season when Fred Hahn and Jim Oddy ran it.
Buying the championship winning car from the last IHRA season would be an exceptional place to start, especially if you could acquire some tune-up info with it too, but after all the laps it'll have covered in a Stateside season it'll be a tired car. I can almost guarantee that this year's champ Scott Cannon jr. will roll to the line in a brand new car next year for the same reason.
As far as engines go the BAE hemi is the sensible option in the current state of play but there are numerous options available after this. As the base engine is virtually the same, the thing that sets the blown combos apart from one another are the fuel systems and superchargers. There are lots of builders like Oddy's, Quest, Al Billes, Les Davenport, Howard Moon, Carl Spiering etc who all offer their own individual fuel systems and blowers, it's all down to your personal preference and who has the time and willing to help you with your program over here in Europe. I guess it's just a matter of picking up the phone and talking to them all and find out how much it costs, what support is available and how quick parts can be attained should something go pop. It helps having someone that would be either willing to come to the track a couple of times too, or someone that will be available on the phone over race weekends too.
As for crew, I think when you're born in Scandanavia you automatically get allocated about 12 bodies for future racing endevours as they never seem to struggle to find good crew members! In the UK though it's not that simple, it's often the case that you will have to get together a good bunch of lads and learn the ropes together as you can't always find the experiance you need.
Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 27th October 06:47
Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 27th October 06:48
If I won the lottery I would start by two phonecalls, one to Tim McAmis Racecars and one to Brad Andersson Enterprizes.
There are plenty of good chassi builders out there, I just prefer McAmis chassi. Maybe because I worked on Patricks Camaro, Urbans Corvette and now Mikael Lindahls Camaro, all with chassi from McAmis and I like them.
There are plenty of good chassi builders out there, I just prefer McAmis chassi. Maybe because I worked on Patricks Camaro, Urbans Corvette and now Mikael Lindahls Camaro, all with chassi from McAmis and I like them.
Rat_Fink_67 said:
As for crew, I think when you're born in Scandanavia you automatically get allocated about 12 bodies for future racing endevours as they never seem to struggle to find good crew members! In the UK though it's not that simple, it's often the case that you will have to get together a good bunch of lads and learn the ropes together as you can't always find the experiance you need.
How true is that!
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