Nitromethane + Hydrazine = MADNESS!!!!

The German's experimented with Hydrogen Peroxide rocket planes at the end of WWII. Hydrogen peroxide inthe concentration they used was known to dissolve pilots.

I'm sure they would have tested hydrazine if they knew what it was.

 

I remember some traveling exhibition car running hydrogen proxide at Union Grove in the 60's....don't think it even had an engine...just some big side mounted tanks and just ran with a big plume of smoke out the back....anybody remember this? Found some info...http://www.draglist.com/stories/SOD Mar 2002/SOD-030402.htm

 

Hi, I found this on yahoo search:
""Skinner and Jobe got together with Bob Skinner's mother — who owned the Red Apple Motel there on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica ...."
I am interested in any info, (links, pictures, etc) on the fate of The Red Apple Motel! My college sweetheart and I used to sneak off there in the early 60's. I recently remet him after 35 years, and we are trying to put together our past. Any info from anyone would mean a lot. Thanks, Anne

 

We were at U.S. 30 in Indiana with the funny car in '69 .The guy who drove that go cart was called Captain " Somebody " I don't remember the rest. U.S. 30 had stands all the way down the track on both sides,sheltering the track from the wind. The wind is always blowing in off the lake, crossways to the track. At the end of his run and at the end of the stands Capt. 'Whatshisname" pulled his chute, the wind caught his chute and the good Captain, go cart, and all wound up about 50 ft. above the track and came down very hard. Captain whatshisname survived with a few bruises, but when they called him to the line for his next pass he was nowhere to be found.I never saw the go cart race again after that.Gemin EFI

 

My hero- Captian Jack Mackclure!!!(sp?) Silver suited on a go cart,was the parachute strapped to his body?? PPFFFFFTTTTzing!!!! he was flying.. crazyman with cast iron cojonies!! My Exe's father was John Kranenburg,used to run with the spegettii racers,the Greek,and other wild charachters.. I remember the H.P. rocket car 'The Pollution packer, the announcer used to countdown the 'launch", he'd hit the throttle for about 2 seconds and cover the 1/4 mile in less than 6 seconds,maybe faster.

 

There's been some great stuff so far about hydrazine, but there's more where that came from.

The Greek was supposedly the first guy to ever break 200 while match racing with 'zine in the tank. Of course, the NHRA poo-pooed the record.

Nitromethane, Hydrazine, Benzene and other such chemicals were tried by the Germans as rocket fuels. Wouldn't be surprised if they experimented with any liquid except water for power.

I remember an article in a late sixties "Hot Rod" about hydrazine being very corrosive. They mentioned that the insides of an aluminum tank would appear to have been coated in "laundry soap", and stainless lasted a little longer for those who wished to commit to 'zine's volcanic power.

There's got to be some old-timers who remember more stories - let's hear 'em!

 

I was just talking to my uncle the other night, asking him about "the old days." His first digger was a Logge chassis with an injected small block Chevy, on 100% nitro. "We went through engines with some regularity then."
This is the same guy who once told me that when they added enough metal shavings to the paint, the tech inspector's magnets stuck to the aluminum bellhousing, that Logge car weighed 900 pounds in full race trim with him in it, and "It's been my experience that if you're upside down and going backwards at 80 or 180 miles per hour, it's all about the same."
I'll have to ask him about Hydrazine! I'm sure he'll have a story or three.
-Brad

 

"It's been my experience that if you're upside down and going backwards at 80 or 180 miles per hour, it's all about the same."

This paints a very vivid word picture. I'm sitting here trying to wrap my brain around it.

 

I seem to remember opening this tin of worms once lol

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6864&&showall=1

 

When I was a kid---like in 69-70---I was working on a couple fuel car crews---and we had a beat-up can of "stuff" ---was all crystalized on the outside---the stuff was called Picric Acid(not sure of the spelling)--used it to strech the fuel load---found out years later it was HIGHLY explosive in crystal form---we used to throw around in the truck.I had a Haz-mat class a few years ago and the instuctor show what it could do---3 pieces the size of a pencil eraser blew a hole in concrete about 2 foot wide---WOW!

 

Hydrazine it what the Germans powererd the Me 163 Comet with. They occasionaly blew up in flight as they flew through turbulence. Unstable shit.
These planes killed more than 50% of their pilots, they never lost one to enemy action.
Doc.

 

There was an article about the rocket cart in a '73 (I think) issue of Drag Racing USA. Courage of Australia was a long needle like 3 wheeler with a 'plane style fin at the rear that ran a hydrogen peroxide rocket. It ran in the US also. It used to push 300 back then from memory.

 

But we did capture a few, we've got one at work.

These old stories are great, keep em comin, I love it.

 

I'd love to be able to say "we've got one at work" like, who hasn't! I've got to come and see that stuff.

 

You spelled it right.
We used to run straight can in a Jimmie powered roadster & in a friends Ardun rail.
Had another buddie that was a Chemistry major at a College in Logan Utah. he used to mix us up some very strange concotions for us to try. Once he showed up with some stuff that was not even a true liquid, sort of a slurry -- kinda like a 7-11 slush. Said it was made of Picric acid & tri-nito tetrotolulene & a couple of others I don't remember. ( semi liquid TNT!!!)
The only thing we could run it in was the Ardun because it was Hilborn Injected , the Jimmie had 5 Bxov2 carbs & it dam sure would not go thru
them.
The Ardun FLAT Smoked off the line , smelled real strange & just screamed --till about half way down the strip -- then it just shut down -- complete silence .
Finally found that in about 4 seconds the goop had COMPLETELY DISSOLVED THE ALUMINUM MIXTURE PILL for the injectors & let the entire pump output return to the tank!!
Chemical professor said --"Oh, guess I should have mentioned it might be a little Corrosive "~!!!

 

Haha, sorry. Sorta forget sometimes how cool it is wokin where I do.

Any time you come through behind the scenes mate, drop me a line.

 

damn, I love threads like this.

Keep the stories comin!
I'm living the hot rod scene in a different generation and would give my left nut to live it in the 50's up to now.

 

If I remember right, Chuck Yeager claimed in his biography that he shot a Comet down (the guy was out of fuel and gliding). Wonder what happened to the gun camera footage?

 

I believe it was an ME 262 twin engine jet returning to it's base that was shot down by Chuck Yeager, not a rocket powered ME 163 Comet.

 

"I believe it was an ME 262"

Hahaha, we got one of them too.

 

Dang, thanks for posting that kerosenebomb site. I've enjoyed reading CC's stuff in the past. I'll be busy a while reading all that, and have to get that book. Lots of cool pics in the links also.

http://kerosenebomb.com/girl-hydrometer/

http://www.kerosenebomb.com/pomona/


.

 

Wow, thanks for the new stories. I have a friend who has some wild picric acid tales. I'll call him and post them up.

 

What a great thread this is.
A great friend of mine who passed away last year, James "Boston" Smith had some good hydrazine stories. He grew up traveling during the summers with Ezra Boggs and the Moby Dick funny car team in the 60's and 70's. Pretty good summer vacations for young kid. The original funny car summer.
Part of his job was pulling the drain plug on the fuel tank when the car got back to the pits when they were running a special fuel mix. Drain it into the ground and purge the system with methanol. According to his tales, every second counted. Said you could tell someone was running hydrazine when they're car would "mysteriously" blow up in the pits after a run, or on the way back. If you knew someone was running the stuff, you took your time staging. One day he commented to me how he was another victim of hydrazine cancer. Apparently the stuff is extremely carcinogenic.
Here's to all those who can't be here, a round for the house.

 

I told my girlfriend about this thread, she used to work on planes, and knows all about hydrazine. The first thing she asked after I told her some of these stories... "Are any of these guys still alive?". Pretty nasty stuff, but interesting stories never the less!

 

Great stories!
But what about this?
Any of you left out there?!
"""Skinner and Jobe got together with Bob Skinner's mother — who owned the Red Apple Motel there on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica ...."
I am interested in any info, (links, pictures, etc) on the fate of The Red Apple Motel! My college sweetheart and I used to sneak off there in the early 60's. I recently re-met him after 35 years, and we are trying to put together our past. Any info from anyone would mean a lot. Thanks, Anne"

 

And speaking of "Red Apple", check this out>>>>>
http://www.draglist.com/stories/SOD%20Nov%202000/SOD-111200.htm

 

This is way cool. Thanks Anne.

 

You're welcome! Now, what about the Red Apple Motel? Can we go back...?

 

<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on" width="100%"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">this is great, love these reads. insane.
</TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on">
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>