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Click on any image to get the bigger picture |
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The original Stripteaser with the metal Minivan body. You can just see the six exhaust headers from the Jaguar engined poking up above the roof as the car sits in the fire up area at Santa Pod. |
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The Good Vibrations Ford Popular-bodied car pictured in the pits at Wroughton. My thanks to Nick Cleveland and Carl Kirk who have identified the driver as John Dickson, journalist brother of Tony Dickson of Money Hungry fame. |
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The Ant Hill Mob Topolino-bodied car moves
into stage at Silverstone. Glen Searle, who was driving the car when this
picture was taken, tells me that Pete Lane and Ray Tucker were the other
co-owners with him. This car had originally been campaigned by the Hillbillies
team before becoming Earsplittenloudenboomer and then The Ant Hill Mob. |
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The Panic! Senior Competition Altered belonging to the famous Page team. This picture was taken not long after they had crashed their previous Fiat Topolino-bodied car. |
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Brian Mondey's Optimist. This car was typical of a number of Jaguar powered Model T bodied cars of the time - a bit agricultural looking! As we shall see later this is not a comment applicable to his later efforts. |
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Barry Sheavills didn't always drive a Top Fuel Dragster. This is his neat Austin Ruby with transplanted Jaguar engine which he raced with his brother Dave. The car was originally built in 1967 by Peter Mylrea and Colin Dunster. I think the toilet in the background frames the shot nicely and really makes the picture. |
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My thanks to Anders Olsson who reminded me that this car was owned and driven by Anders Lantz. The car ran low nines and was very tough opposition for Panic! in the Senior Competition Altered class. It is seen here in the pits at Wroughton. |
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The infamous and spectacular Chrysler Hemi-powered 'Swedish Jeep' belonging to Svante Ericsson. This car was street legal and was sometimes driven to the strip with a pair of slicks in the back. Although theoretically a street car, it would have demolished the opposition and therefore ran (very successfully) in competition altered. |
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Believe it or not Metronome was once a Top
Fuel Altered powered by an engine from the Firefly dragster! It was driven then
by Ed Shaver but is seen here with a more modest Daimler V8 engine in the pits
at Blackbushe. |
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Sue Coles warms the tyres of her Helzapoppin' Middle Competition Altered entry. This car underwent continual development over the years and finished up running sevens in Pro Comp. Way to go! |
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Stripteaser has now got a fibreglass body and looks all the more lively for it as it launches off the line at Santa Pod Raceway on a fine sunny day. No wonder the Swedish competitors called this car the 'Jumping Doghouse'. |
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This is Vic Hammond in his Mr Big Senior Competition Altered showing a reckless disregard for his rear tyres at Blackbushe. |
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My unkind comments about the earlier picture of Brian Mondey's Optimist could not be less applicable to this version. I could fill a page with pictures of very well presented Jaguar T's and this would certainly be one of them. |
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The Devil Senior Competition Altered was owned and driven by Keith Potter. This immaculately prepared car was a real crowd pleaser. In case you think all those speckles are my poor photography I'll have you know it is snow - boy was I a die-hard fan in those days. |
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Chris Ison's Wild Honey was one of the historic altereds from way back. It has been fitted with a lightweight body here but the chassis betrays the age of the car. |
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Thomas & Loten's Jaguar bucket T Paranoia looking, dare I say it again, a bit on the agricultural side. Like Optimist, this car was soon re-built and looking absolutely superb. I know scrutineering used to take a fair time but the skeleton was a bit much surely! |
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Norm Wheeldon's The Wheel Thing was the way many competition altereds went - Jaguar power and a Model T body. It looks as if it has bitten off more than it can chew here as it stages (no doubt in a qualifying run) against Panic! at Snetterton. |
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Barry Sheavills takes a small step towards Top Fuel with a rather more muscular version of Stagecoach. This car ran in Senior Competition Altered and is seen here behind the line at Santa Pod. |
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The Alky-Holic Fiat Topolino of Carlyle & Lowes has definitely drawn a bead on the Santa Pod Christmas tree as it launches spectacularly off the line. I don't think it ended in tears. (My thanks to Andy Barrack for providing car and team details) |
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