Hot Rods Dare to be different - 63 Scout

Due to complications with my Staging Lane injuries (Hurt like hell and having trouble bending, walking, sitting, standing....) the Scout won't be ready for testing this Canada Day Long Weekend. I also have not received some safety upgrades and they may be delayed further due to a pending mail strike.

The Scout runs, runs well and isn't broken (unlike the driver...)... I'm really ok with taking the time to heal and make the changes and tweaks I have planned without being rushed. This should put me in a better state of readiness for Meltdown.

See you there folks

 

Meltdown News:

Jon Tomkins and the Great Lakes Gassers have asked for the Scout and the Prefect to run with them again. Paul and I are really happy and honored to be part of this group and the Gasser shoot out. Maybe this year I can actually score a point for the team...

Thank you Jon Tomkins and the Great Lakes Gassers

 

Nice to have met you today at the meltdown. Hope your weekend goes great, Scruffy.

 

Meltdown 7 is done ... and it was - EPIC... best Meltdown yet !
The weather was great, over 600 race cars made passes, 100+ cars on display and in the car show, Celebrity drag racers, legendary cars, 2 days with night racing until 11pm. They are saying a new attendance record was set for a Saturday at the track... think about that for a second... a new attendance record for a track that features the Power Wheel stand contest... a new attendance record for an event that has no payout, no prize money, no winners, no losers... Wow - just doesn't quite cut it. This year was loud and fast with more than a dozen 8 second gassers going at it and more 9 second passes than probably all the years prior combined...

I was very skeptical about bringing more of the heads up gasser classes (Ohio gassers and Supercharged gassers) but I am very pleased to say - I was very wrong. These guys were loud, fast and incredibly entertaining... I talked to a few of the racers and they loved the format and the event. I hope they come back next year

This was also an extremely successful weekend for the Pelissier Family Racing operation !!
Paul found a glitch in the timing for the Prefect and the rusty beast went from 10.90's to a 10.54 on the next pass. then it just kept getting faster. In the end my niece Megan ripped off a 10.29 / 131 on Sunday after we hot lapped it with no more than 5 - 10 minutes between passes. Those 3 passes were - 10.40 (Paul), 10.35 (me), 10.29 (Megan). What a great way to finish this event...

The Scout is a Monster !! ... the first pass saw the Scout and the Prefect line up together. The Scout pull a huge wheelie bar bending wheel stand coming off the foot brake. When it came down and I was sure it was still intact and safe I got back into it. I passed the Prefect in the lights with an 11.01 / 138 (Yes kids... 138 !!) to his 10.94 / 118. 10 minutes after the pass, the guys from Gasser Wars magazine called me over to show me a photo sequence of the event. It clearly showed the left rear tire off the ground. I'm guessing I made the magazine... I'll post video as soon as I track it down.

The second pass on Friday I idled it off the line. It still pulled the wheels a few inches, as I eased into the throttle and shifted it picked up the front end again and then it really started to march... It went a 9.78 / 136. It took me the better part of an hour to calm down after that pass. Point of interest - this was my first 9 second pass - in anything !!

Saturday we adjusted the valves and I'm thinking I screwed it up as the Scout slowed to low 10's. My first pass was another sky shot off the foot brake and another safe recovery. The Scout went 10.40 / 130.

That was it until the night racing with the Great Lakes Gassers vs Nostalgia Gassers****ociation. I was matched up against a gorgeous blown big block 56 Chevy that was deep into the 9's all day. If I was running like Friday it would have been a good match. I managed to find the happy spot on the launch (about 1/3 throttle) as it picked up the front end about 2 feet and carried the front wheels for 60 ft. Once it landed I put the spurs to it. The Scout did a 2nd small wheel stand and then motored through with a 10.11 / 130. I got a lot of compliments on that pass from those in attendance and from those watching the live feed. We re-fueled and then waited for the next round - which never came. The event hit the 11pm curfew and we didn't get a 2nd pass.

It pounded rain that night but the conditions were good Sunday. We made a pass but the Scout popped and farted all the way to a 12.01 / 110... best I can figure is the fuel we left in the alloy fuel tank absorbed water. After that pass we focused on the Prefect and then loaded up and went home. (Update: The problem wasn't the fuel - we had pushed out the intake gaskets. I'm surprised it ran at all with almost the entire passenger side gaskets missing)

If I want to keep running 9's then I need a comp license. The Scout will need a few safety upgrades and a chassis cert.. The problem is getting the license. That may have to wait until next year. Since I'm running 9's on alcohol with a blower and a modified fire wall I may need a more expensive fire suit. Of course the better suit is recommended, as is a fire suppression system. I also found that the 3.7 gallon fuel tank is just a touch too small. We were topping it up in the staging lanes and still barely making it back to the pits. I'll order in the 4.4 or even the 5 gallon tank. I could use the weight up front regardless. We will also be replacing the wheelie bars. The current mounts are bending and weak. We have a set of solid pro-bars that were intended for the Prefect but are not required.

I have a new front axle on order from Bill Carlson at WAC Customs. My decision to go through this guy was reinforced after I talked with him at the event. This will be stronger and straighter than what I have now. I will also be moving my shocks to a position outside of the frame to keep the axle ends from bending.

Stay tuned... apparently the journey has just begone

 

Saxxon,
My wife and I had a great time talking to you. Thanks again for the shirts and hope to see you again at next year's meltdown! We'll be keeping an eye on the scout's progress.

Aaron





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great job. i saw it make a few passes. i still think it has a eight sec pass in it. going on the record there.

 

The Scout never looked so good !!

 

I was very happy with how well the Scout handled at speed. Very stable and straight even at 138+ . If we can sort out the launch then I'm certainly not opposed to seeing how fast it will go. I have a fire suppression system on order and taking steps to making sure it's safe.

Great to see you there... the Green Monster looked great. I look forward to following it at Drag week

 

Saxxon it was nice to see you again and man that thing runs I'm like Brian I don't think high 8's is out of the question with some tuning on it I told you alcohol and injection is the way to go better yet it's way easier to tune than those carbs you had lol oh and the mail box scoop is just badass I think I'm gonna have to get one for my 4port and shelf the hilborn scoop lol


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Some pics from Meltdown 7
Full credit to Chadly Johnson for the first shot and Dean Coryell for the 2 night shots

 

I'm guessing an avatar photo change is in your future.
Great shot mid wheelie.

 

Sure does look like air under that drivers side rear tire too.

 

Same wheel stand, different angle

 

The Scout gets some new Wussie Bars...

Sooo... after bending the wheelie bar mounts 3 times at the Meltdown event I decided it was time to step up to something more substantial. The new system is not period correct but if it keeps the front end down and under control then I consider it a good trade off. They are also a little wide and goofy looking but they are as narrow as I can make then without welding to the Dana center section and without moving the springs.


Now we're ready for a little dancing and showing off at the Terrace Bay Dragfest this weekend

Ummm - on second thought... maybe not... kind of hard to make boost when your bottom pulley has nothing to bolt to. (Bummer)


Good thing we found this before it came apart at speed. No damage to the crank snout... guess we'll be missing the Terrace Bay event

 

wow. I was at my pit spot at the melt down when a chevy drove past me. the guy had just made a pass. as he went by the balancer with the lower blower pulley fell off. whats going on with you blown chevy guys?

 

Facebook has lit up with action shots of the Scout. Nostalgia Drag World posted a shot of the Scout up on 1 wheel. My buddy Larry posted it on Facebook. Shortly after Dean Coryell followed up with a series of shots of the same wheel stand. The pictures explain it all but there are 2 sub stories to the event.

The first:
After the moonshot, I was walking past the Gasser Wars booth when Phil called me over all excited. His photographer has a 6 shot series of the wheel stand from a front angle. It clearly shows the bars bending and daylight under the rear slick. After looking at the series I asked Phil... "So... did I make the magazine ?" As I walked away I could hear Phil talking about splashing the series across the top of 2 pages... wouldn't that be cool !!

The second:
When I lined up for my second pass I could see a couple of dozen photographers lining up at the wall and dozens of fans coming down to the fence... This was the pass where I idled it off the line. Still pulled the wheels (twice) but not nearly the sky scraping moonshot like the first pass... My brother told me the photographers all dropped their camera's with looks of disgust and disappointment... until Ron Leak called out the 9.78 / 136 time... then most of them snapped to attention and turned to look down the track. One guy was heard to say... "Holy*****, he's stepped that thing up since last year"... too true

 

More from the same pass

 

Man you sure know how to have fun !! I hope you are ok after your little accident a very lucky man !!

Just my opinion but I think wowing the fans and running mid 10's if you can make the little beast run consistent would be great !! Plus a milder tune is more fun for you and if you do not continuously break things is easier on the old pocket book !! jmo

On a lighter note if you get a chance check out Canadian Hot Rods Magazine the Aug/Sept issue has an article I submitted on SIR's 50th anniversary it is a 4 page spread with photos . You can pick it up at Walmart or Chapters and many other magazine racks !!

Also are you still planning on attending SIR's 50th on August 17-20th ? It should be a packed house and I just know all in attendance would love to see the old Scout perform again at SIR !! hehehe

I think the crowd will go crazy to see this piece of drag racing history go down the track again !! So hope to see you there at the 50th Big Go . I think you are doing a great job keeping this piece of Canadian drag racing history alive and well for future generations to enjoy !!!
A vote of thanks for this !!
Spike

 

SIR 50th is not going to happen. (sniff) I had planned to attend even if just as a static display but the company I work for is being bought out and they have cancelled most of the extended weekends, including mine. I understand about the history and significance but I simply cannot get the time to attend.

I am 90% recovered from the dumb-ass pit incident. My tailbone and lower back are still giving be troubles. I take it as a reminder and a lesson learned. I still have not fixed the damage to the Scout... like I said elsewhere... I am keeping it as a dunce cap for the incident for at least this summer.

I am repairing the broken crank hub as we speak. Having this area of the motor apart will give me a chance to swap the pulleys back to an under-drive set up (5% under vs. 5% over) and at the same time I will pull back on the timing a few degrees. This should keep it in the 10's until I get a competition license. With all the Facebook and internet attention the Scout is getting and comments regarding the 9 second pass from different sources I don't think I can claim another 9 second pass as an "accident" or an "oops...sorry". My local track has already contacted me about it. Which I very much appreciated. I am also putting in a new / stronger front axle and moving the shocks outboard of the frame. This should make the re-entry procedure a lot safer.

I'm just the current keeper of the Elephant Hunter (I hate that name by the way) and I believe it was fate, karma, kismet, destiny... whatever... that I ended up with it .. I am also being told that, thanks to social media, I am creating more history with it than anyone else ever has... which I find humbling and exciting at the same time. I give full credit to the builder Jim Pratt and 2nd owner, Richard Bedford for making the Hemi Scout famous back in the 70's. I know my time racing is somewhat limited (age, physical issues) and the Scout will likely head down the road to the next keeper at some point. The greatest satisfaction would be 10 or 15 years from now still seeing it run or hearing stories and tall tales about it in the same way I heard them back in the 70's and 80's. Until then I plan on pounding on it relentlessly as often as I can afford or my wife allows me to...

 

Sorry to hear that you will miss the SIR 50th it was one thing I was secretly wanting to see !!!
but that's the way it is some times the best plans sometimes do not work out !! Hopefully Richard Bedford will still be coming and it will be great to see him again !!

On the bright side I am happy to hear you are doing better physically and you continue to heal ok !! Yet good lesson for all to learn from that is why racing organizations have safety rules same goes for running faster than you are certified for !!

I personally used to work for NHRA tech at national events and some racers would get p.oed at us for making them tighten up their harnesses in the staging lanes before a run , I mean some people run down the strip with them barely tight !!
Yet some racers you did not have to tell or make them tighten their belts at all ,some so tight they could hardly breath and when I asked those racers why? They would reply have you ever rolled or hit the wall?
I said no they usually answered well I have and they learned from experience how much a belt can stretch in a roll over while you are hanging upside down with your head a few inches from the pavement !!

So do not beat yourself up too much about your mistake just learn from it and pass the word on to your fellow racers !!
Hope to see you at SIR one day and stay safe !!!
Spike

 

The Scout gets a bigger fuel tank...

We found that the blown injected set up sure likes it's alcohol. Much like it's owner more than a few years back. Except I was never fast. In fact I made up for being short wide and heavy by being really slow... but I digress. A quick call to BAM Manufacturing and they made me up this cool 8 x 22 tank to replace the 8 x 17 I started the year with. It should give me almost a gallon more to play silly games with... Next step is to adjust the feed line (too long) as well as the return line (also too long) then replace the broken crank hub and get back to racing.

 

Speaking about getting back to racing:
1 test pass in July followed by a great Meltdown event... then I missed Terrace Bay due to breakage, I won't be going to Saskatoon International Raceway's 50th anniversary and now I have a family obligation for the Sept long weekend that is usually on my local track's schedule... Suddenly the summer is over and I haven't done much...

I guess there's always running with the MDA at Rock Falls Wisconsin Oct 1, 2

 

But But But if you shorten the lines you will loose about a gallon of fuel capacity

 

That was an old Smokey Yunick trick. Rules stated how big the tank had to be, but nothing stated how long or big the fuel line had to be. So he snaked about 20 ft of 1" line under the car for an extra gallon or 2.

I got a larger****ortment of bypass jets so I'm hoping to reduce some of the fuel consumption by having a better tune. (Way to rich) but I don't mind the bigger tank and even the extra weight on the front. It'll give me some capacity to drive into the staging lanes and back down the return road. Maybe even help keep the front down a bit

 

Well... it finally happened... Someone called the Scout a "Clown car"

I received an IM through Facebook from - not a friend - who decided it was his responsibility to tell me the Scout is a pile of***** and I make way too much of a fuss over it. And I quote - (edited for decency)

"Noone give a f*ck about your f*ng clown car****-hole. Its not the sh*t you think it is. I hope Tim Taylor drops a f*ng beam on it and puts us out of our misery. The paint is sh*t, the wiring is sh*t and its f*ng slow as sh*t. Call me when your running 8 on no prep"

I waited on this message for a bit to see if it was a joke... apparently not. So to entice a response I sent a thumbs up symbol. The response was for me to - go forth and multiply with myself...

Can't say I'm surprised. The Scout gets more than a fair share of attention for being what it is...different. When it's not moving, making noise or standing itself on the bumper... it will still draw a crowd. It was only a matter of time before someone decided to taker a negative stance against it. It's called human nature.

I'm laughing about this. I'm not taking it seriously and I did not respond to the 2nd message from this "clown". (you see what I did there...clown - clown car...) I actually appreciate the Tim Taylor reference and I have always said the paint was sh*t and it's slower than it should be (until this year) ... but I find it depressing that social media has created the keyboard hero phenomenon and people find it necessary to criticize something that someone else has worked hard on and has no impact on their own lives.

I was curious to see what kind of person this guy was so I trolled his Facebook page. I was disappointed to only see a couple of Mustang and Honda pics. Nothing that shows he has built a hot rod or even races. He did have a shared link to the Nostalgia Drag World coverage of Meltdown ... so the guy is not a total loss and it explains how he found me.

It boggles my mind that someone would take the time to send a message like this. I can only speculate on the motives and what he hopes to accomplish. To my Facebook critic - I hope you find peace in this world...until you do I'm going to have a ton of fun running my Clow Car just as hard as I can. In this instance the positive comments have outwieghed the negative comments about 1000 - 1 ... cheers bud

 

As the owner of a Bantam I feel your pain.

I love your truck. But that's coming from a "clown car" guy.

 

The internet world is full of idiots like this we all have dealt with them the last****hat that tried this***** with me I told him to put his money and his car where his mouth is so that Friday evening I met him at the dragstrip he brought some money and a 75 camaro he thought was really badass and I took his money and his pride in front of all his friends when I left him sitting at the line and took a nice leisurely drive down the strip in my rusty bucket of blown Willys pickup that jackass didn't have a snowballs chance in hell of winning but I took his money anyway truth be told I didn't think he would even show up but he did Dave you have a real******in scout and if that jackass doesn't think so he just don't get it so there is probly no hope for him anyway


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You have nothing to be ashamed of. The truck is bad****. Even though its hard to get it out of your mind try to let it go. Your friends here know how hard you have worked on it and how hard you drive it. You have done a great job. You should feel proud.