Last weekend was the running of the Six Banger nats at Warwick, Queensland. It's as described. Only six cylinders allowed. That's not a bad thing because it gives the low budget racers a chance to shine. Saturday arvo and night was bracket racing for anyone but Sunday is six pots only. There was 3 HAMBsters racing on the Saturday including one that hasn't raced since it changed hands about 4 years ago. It was driven by a 17 y.o. so he was very nervous as you would imagine but he soon got in the groove. The other was Brendan who sheared the oil drive off the cam in the Slant six at Willowbank 3 weeks ago but got it repaired in time.
I've done a complete run to show what Warwick is like. It's eighth mile but a real good surface with wonderful track staff and you can camp onsite. This is a the same run from a different angle. Night time is always enjoyable as long as you can see where you're going.
Yes, we did have a good time. Even though it's a stand alone drag strip it retains it's laid back country feel. This is a track built by volunteers with the assistance of local council. For me it's a leisurely 81/2 hour drive, but worth it. I'm having problems loading photos, so this short video shows the 3 of us lining up with the Street bracket. Sunday was the Six Bangers. The first couple of runs were just test n tune runs with the qualifying later. We elected to run in the Stick shift bracket as the Street bracket is popular and therefore long waits in an open cockpit. John Gallagher joined us on the Sunday which gave us 4 HAMBsters. We tried to do a bit of staging lane seeding so we didn't race each other but unfortunately it didn't work. Young Jackson who'd had his first run ever in drag racing the day before came up against a 6 sec Torana . Jackson dialed a low 10 so you can imagine the gap. Unfortunately he red lit but still gave it all. The Torana driver was pitted near us and he was crapping on later about having to go up against such a slow competitor. You get these loud mouths unfortunately. Me and John slugging it out. I broke out again.
Despite the rain and wind on the Friday night trying to ruin a good sleep (we were sleeping in our enclosed trailer), nearly freezing temperatures on Saturday night, both of us getting covered in ticks and being delayed by a day getting home after our late model Nissan going into limp mode because of a faulty sensor, we had a great time. Sunday 11th September is the last round of the Nostalgia series in Sydney.
Sounds like the ride home was as exciting as the drags.It's sure nice to see someone putting a lot of runs on their car and thoughtful enough to video it and write about your adventures.
Hell, I'm already jealous over you still getting to make night runs. We had to give those up a few years ago, when the cost to light the strip at Bako became prohibitive for the smaller meets. And you gotta love new (sic) cars, they make'em so damn reliable with computerized engine management that they have to throw in a couple dozen sensors to break down instead.
Partial I must admit that Old6rodder is right on this. You can usually fix the old stuff with simple tools and "eyeball engineering", but when the compoopers bugger up, ya can't even diagnose it on the side of the road.
Instead of waiting for the tow truck to be available I rang the Nissan dealer 80 klms. (50mls) away and asked if I could drive it there in limp mode without the trailer. Yep, no worries they said. Unhooked and set off. Wound it up to 80 (50mph) on the flats, 110kph on the downhills and 20kph in second gear up the hills. They hooked up the computer and said Nissan knows about the problem but won't issue a recall. New sensor and drive back to get the trailer but too late to continue on. Australia has a problem with it's national emblem animal (kangaroos) being able to inflict major damage to cars so you avoid travelling at dusk on country roads. I'm sure other countries have similar issues.
The Jalopy Journal
