[ukdrn]

I'm finding this topic fascinating even if a good part of the tech talk is going over my head
As you say there's nothing written on how to do things so any data or information given could be a real benefit.

Hopefully this thread may also encourage people to go the nitro route as we all know there's nothing better than a fuel car of any description let alone a Nostalgia Funny Car

I will do anything I can with ukdrn to help the class develop so if anybody has any ideas how I can help then please contact me.

Of course Chris Eyre has had a dedicated website for the class running for a while now at
http://euronostalgiafunnycar.jimdo.com/

[Doc Stinger]

I built (with the help of Paul) a NFC which is already set up for a nitro engine. One reason why i run the car with an alky motor is the money, the cost of the buildup ate most of my budget, i only run a small business so i´m not really Bill Gates either..... and i had the motor as a leftover from my old Coronet.
Second reason, it is my first center steer car, i only ran Doorslammers before and starting with a mild engine was no bad idea to get a feeling for the car.
But, in the meantime i collected a lot of parts for a fuel motor, unfortunately i lost a lot of money to a guy in the UK who ripped me off with a TFX block, thats the reason why we have to run our old alky motor one more season. So the goal for next year for us is improve our startline procedure, the turnaround after a run and maybe getting in the 7´s. But thats not easy, cause its a nitro chassis with only a 2-speed trans and a crowerglide, we have bad 60ft times but a lot of speed through the traps. But for only one more year with the alky motor i dont want to change anything, would be wasted money.

I think, that one can run a nitro FC on a budget, you only have to know what you are doing and dont stress the parts too much. I know that we wont be competitive under these circumstances and that we have to learn a lot more than before, but for us the main thing is being part of the game. The team with the biggest budget will rule the class, but hey, thats racing... We dont have a problem if we loose, we are not over motivated, we only want to have fun, for us its all about the show, the noise, the big burnouts and the dryhops. And actually, how much of the spectators have the interest who won, they want to see big smokey burnouts, nitro fumes and dryhops. And thats whats about Nostalgia Dragracing, showing the crowd how it was 40 years ago.....

Personally i think its a good idea to make the class Nitro only, and the rules are not really hard to read..... for me the biggest point in the rule book is the appearance of the cars, no bubbletops, no sideskirts and long noses, no modern paintjobs etc. so let them look like back in the days !!!
And look back two years, there were only Paul and Wendy with their NFC, then came Ramon, then me, now there are a few more cars in the progress, who knows what will be on the startline in 2016? So dont be so negative, join the show or sit back and watch us run and be happy that there is a group of enthusiastic people, which throws their hard earned money into such a stupid thing like a Nostalgia Nitro Funnycar We have to drive 1000 miles from Austria to SantaPod two or three times a year cause we have no racetracks here, i think thats prove enough to be enthusastic LOL

[ukdrn]

Thanks for your input Doc and don't worry we love watching these cars no matter what fuel they're running

Maybe you could answer a question for me while your here.
Is your chassis the old original showtime Corvette? the one that the Drapers now own the body from?

[Doc Stinger]

Yes it is. Its the original Sarte Chassis from Tom Hoovers Showtime Corvette. But with a lot of modifications to make it legal for todays safety standards.

[Rob]

torment, jaytee shout if you want a trace of a particular channel from this file posted up, there's a mile of data to look at. If you try and put too much on the screen at once it just looks like coloured pasta so try and keep it to three channels. I don't have internet at home or a smartphone ( I know I know ) so the posts will be late afternoon when I'm done working.

This is the same part run. Now the rpm is red, clutch slip is green and the G-meter is yellow. The vertical white line is positioned at the gear shift. The clutch hadn't locked, Tim shifted, the clutch started to separate and the G-Meter took a dump.

80% nitro ( by volume ), 1.44 transmission, 3.89 rear, 34 1/2" tyre, 6.6 :1 compression, 19% O.D. and 53 degrees ignition.

It's not perfect but we're closing in on our base set up. Target E.T. is around 6.45 at 215.

[PaulS]

these computers might catch on ( Paul )....

No trust me Rob, just a passing fancy - just like that Electricity stuff



We actually do have a data logger on our car, it's an original 1960's version, fitted just above the driveshaft. It records most things I want to know and has the added advantage of actually being able to vocalise the download rather than attaching it to a computermebob.

It has some drawbacks, for example it doesn't like to be wet or cold, but it works pretty well in the dark although we do have to be careful that we never, ever feed it after midnight .

[SydMac]

Especially bread pud.Lol

[GNRCUSTOMS]

Like other i am just bystander here but finding this thread very interesting.

Growing up in the 80s and not getting to see a drag racing until the mid 2000's for me the best era of Funny Cars were long gone. I love the "proper funny cars" of the 70s/80s but only get to see them now in books and old film footage, or watch the likes of Paul/Wendy, Ramon and Doc

Personaly i really want to see this work and if i can help anywhere i can i will.

The one thing that does get my back up with European drag racing is that people keep comparing us to the Americans and the NHRA.

The reason i say this is because---

Yes Drag racing as a sport was bought to the UK/Europe from America and thats were its roots will always remain i cant and wont take that away. Yes the majority of the parts come from the US but to me thats about it.

I am a former crew member on a Top Fuel Dragster and i know whats involved not only getting the car ready at the track but endless weekends of work that as to be done away from the track aswell and i bugs me when spectators come up to us say have seen so & so in the NHRA they are the best in this sport etc etc. Yes i have seen them i do watch ESPN. They also blow their own trumpets and come back with the"hes now the TF/FC or pro stock world champion" How you only race in the states and very few teams from around the world can afford to race with you so therefore your not the world champion in my opinion.

In my opinion the Americans only appear to be any good or falsely "the best in the world" because they have either endless budgets or extreamely high budgets that only teams over here could dream of. They can afford to take uncalculated risks and blow stuff up and they can turn a TF dragtser around in 40mins because they can afford to have a spare 60k worth of motor just sitting there ready to go, And not have to check and service the majority of components from the previous race

For those teams that have attempted to race in the states from Europe i honestly think if they had even half the budget an average NHRA team as they could make even most high teams out there think twice.

I dont get to see alot of the hertiage series in the states but taking from what you see in the Pro series i can only assume they try to throw endless amounts of cash at these nostalgia cars aswell.

I really hope this takes off and look forward to seeing.

[nitrobird78]

Well I've been reading this thread for a couple of days and seeing as I have a few minutes to spare I just thought I'd add my thoughts into the mix.
Firstly I'd just like to say that I have to agree with what Andy has been saying... no one has a gun held to anyones head over this, its more about those that would really like to have a go. We already had what would have been a competitive combination with the oldsmobile to run in comp and didn't have to take this route.... its more about having been around nitro funny cars this year and being given the opportunity to be involved and learn what makes them tick that makes me want to get involved.
I don't expect this to be an easy ride but given the fact that the friends I have around this are willing to help made it an ideal opportunity to be involved.
To those on the outside looking in at this thread surely the fact that robs posts (data trace) show his willingness to help anyone looking at this as an option.... and to date his attitude towards us being involved has been very positive and welcoming.
On a personal note the year I've had working around these cars has been extreme to say the least and its safe to say the needle is well and truly in.
At present our car is having the body adapted to suit our chassis and the tinwork and tree is in the process of being put together..... we have plenty of parts to go on with and a list as long as an orangutans arm, but we will get there.
Who knows we may even turn a wheel next year.....

[Rob]

GNRCUSTOMS, thanks for your support. These things run on people as well as money.
I can sympathise but I'd try not to judge the 'typical' U.S. drag racer by the few percent that appear on ESPN. I've come to know quite a few that bust their chops with a budget similar to ours.

Same data file. Engine rpm is red, exhaust gas temp ( deg. F ) is green and the driveshaft ( prop. ) is yellow. I have no reference data but I believe our egt's to be higher than average ( for this type of engine ) when the car is idling. We run the idle quite lean because I'm a tight a**e and most of the fuel is used while the car is idling. Idle speed is about 2,800 to 3,000 at which point the engine uses about 1.6 gallons per minute ( gpm ).

Have a good day

Rob