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Click on any image to get the bigger picture |
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The original wheelie car - the Wheelie Stingray owned by Santa Pod Raceway was driven by Roy Phelps. The V8 engine was mounted next to the driver. |
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The Wheelie Stingray doing its thing at Santa Pod. The body of the car can be seen to be lifting clear of the chassis at the rear - it actually flipped right off the car on an earlier run fortunately without damage to driver or car. |
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This shot, which shows the car resplendent in a new paint job, was taken on 5 November 1983. Roy Phelps is standing behind the car. |
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Second Invention was a Vauxhall estate with the engine mounted right in the luggage space at the back, it is seen here at Silverstone probably at the June 1974 meeting. Dave Grabham has written in to say that the driver was Brian Richards. |
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Second Invention again, doing what comes naturally, this time at Snetterton. Ex-NDRC startline marshall Phil Brown has given me some further information on this car. It used to be strategically placed near the start line so that it could nip out when unexpected delays occurred. Trouble was it had no radiator and was limited to about 5 or 6 minutes before it started laying a trail of boiling coolant from the header tank breather pipe all over the strip - much to the annoyance of the marshalls! |
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An almost identical pose to the last one but this time Second Invention has a new paint job and is at Blackbushe. Phil tells me that the car was powered by a Jag straight six lump reverse mounted which drove through a gearbox to transfer gears then back to the rear axle. |
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Same paint, different venue, this time the car is back at Snetterton. The engine can be seen in the rear window. The driver peered out through a perspex floor and steered by a double butterfly steering wheel. The inner set steered the car whilst on the ground, the outer set were in fact paddles which operating individual brakes on the rear wheels and were used when the front wheels were up. |
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Still at Snetterton but the paint has changed again. |
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The Wheelie Truck owned by Santa Pod Raceway. Judging by the RON 1 number plate I suspect Ron Picardo was the driver. |
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The Wheelie Truck in the spectator lane at Santa Pod. |
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Praying Mantis looks like a re-worked version of the Wheelie Truck, seen in the pits at Santa Pod on 5 May 1985. Praying Mantis was driven by Roy Phelps' son Jason (thanks again Dave). |
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If you were wondering what the 'etc' stood for in the title of this page - the clue is in the name of the car - Revell Altered. It is a Revell kit and it sure has been altered! |
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Take a funny car kit, lose the body, scratch build a Model T body, bung a wing on the roll cage and hey presto. |
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I am not sure if this looks much like a Model A but I suffer with hay fever so a bit of poetic licence is allowed. |
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A-Fever showing off its rounded derriere - amazing what you can do with a bit of plastic card and some filler. |
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T-Totaller was inspired by pictures seen in American magazines of the characterful competition dragsters. Another scratch built Model T body, this time applied to a shortened dragster chassis, did the trick. |
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Two into one does go as the Two Timer dragster proves. |
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Another shot of Two Timer which accentuates its shortened chassis. |
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All material on this site is copyright |
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