So it's that time of year again when the VHRA put on the Pendine Sands Hot Rod Races on the sand at Pendine Beach in South Wales, UK Too tired too sun/wind burnt to do much other than post a few pics and say a heartfelt thanks to the VHRA, Neil and the Sidewinders for putting on another massive weekend that saw records fall like ninepins. You really had to have been there, and if you weren't, put on the bucket list for 2018 More to come when I get home Cheers Juggs
Thanks for the photos! Looks like a great time, you guys have it figured out. Saw the YouTube video posted yesterday of the parade, like a day back in time...
So back home - vids uploading so some more pics Didn't get the camera out on Saturday, too much catching up with people, looking at cars I'd not seen before, making new friends and having a few beers with some old ones Sunday started out wet, meaning a delayed call down from the assembly point by the Speed Museum (Pendine Sands home of the Land Speed Record in the 20's). Rain backed off and we all got down on the sand late morning. Tide out but course still very wet. Some standing about Eventually the Clerk of the Course (Neil) and the Head Starter (Marco) decided it was safe to race and we were off. A dry line soon appeared and a brisk tail wind certainly helped. Records fell (and some smashed) and personal bests bettered. The times will be up soon on the VHRA website. FTD and Course record now over 127mph. Fastest 4 banger over 112! Vids soon Cheers Juggs
Fantastic weekend, thanks for posting the pics. Managed to squeeze 83mph out of my flattie roadster on the sand..not gunna set the world on fire, but I was hoping for 80 this year so I'm very happy with that. Huge thanks to Neil (VHRA) & the Sidewinders and all involved.
Speeds here http://www.vhra.co.uk/VHRA/News/Entries/2017/6/27_Pendine_Speeds_2017.html Half mile course + 110 yards through the traps On wet sand...
So how wet was the sand? Left the Fordor running whilst we set up the timing gear... Didn't get to take many pictures this year as I was a bit busy with the timing gear. Had our first push started sprint car - rolling to 100mph in one gear. Couple of pictures of the fastest four banger on the sand. Convoyed down with this rather handsome A400 running an overhead conversion and overdrive. Mental. Supercharged four banger - ran 89.9 on the Saturday but a misfire blew the pop-off valve seals. Startline Marco enjoying a well earned drive back down the beach. I brought my very own personal flag girl with me. So I let her have a little drive herself whilst we tidied up at the end of play...
Some vids HAL powered McDowell that did 112.9mph. Much respect Brian's banger powered A400 with GEM ohv conversion Didn't get any vid of Jamie's car on the sand, but did get this. Mental is right And traditional mass run back to start line after last car through on Sunday, towing Dan's modified that had lost its crank pulley. Still went through the trap at 91.07!
What an awesome event! Thanks so much for the pics and videos. I LOVE that the event includes OHV V-8's too instead of excluding them, that's the spirit! Good job VHRA!
I believe this car belongs to a HAMBer, and there is a build thread on the top chop and also on the impeccably gorgeous chassis upgrade and Hemi engine swap.
This event looks so cool! Thanks for the pics! Really dig that pair of Black and red Roadster Pickups!
Unbelievable, the number of Sprints and modifieds there! Those Brit blokes are a-buildin'! Amazing what they have to go thru to get parts, even whole cars...I truly admire their dedication.
A fine weekend. It just gets better and better. This event is now in its fifth year! Where did that time go? It's crossed my mind that there are more than a few parallels with the birth of hot rodding going on here . That's not taking things a bit too far, have a think about it. The event is a few hundred miles at least from most entrants. A very high percentage drive there and back. The German racers drove over for instance! Once there, the racers are all making it up as they go along! No book to follow, no catalog parts to tick off. It's all down to having a think, then putting that into practice. Hand cut rear tires (Redneck Dirt Trackers) are appearing, all kinds of cam and clutch ideas are being tried. Big gears, little gears, big cam, little cam, the ingenuity is all very reminiscent of the lakes back in the day. There is no established means of running on the sand over an ever changing course. It all has to be learned. Once the event is over, it's all about planning for next year and figuring out how to go faster. Sound familiar? Speeds are already on the rise. This years high number was 127 MPH!! Bear in mind the course is a half mile runup, a hundred yards timed, followed by far too short a braking distance. The course can't be longer, the sand gets very soft outside those distances. The time available to set up and tear down depends on the tides as well. If you like your Hot Rods raced and driven hard, the UK is not a bad place to be at the moment. That's a bit of Brit understatement going on there by the way. Tony.
Don't know if Paul is on here, but from seeing this car in 'real life' several times, it certainly is a superb piece of work. Those blistered and louvred bonnet -sorry- hood sides look just as good on the unpainted inside as they do on the outside.
You guys sure know to have fun. Really nice cars over there guys. I, too, like that its an inclusive event. SBC, nailhead, A banger, flathead v8, hemi, Plymouth 6.
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