Danno Posted October 21, 2011 Posted October 21, 2011 Absolutely stunning Shane. You've outdone yourself on this one. Not that any of your other builds don't stand up to this one but when you are replicating an actual car and get it this close I think that carries m ore weight. x2! Outstanding!
randx0 Posted October 22, 2011 Posted October 22, 2011 That build is outstanding . I really like builds that have a lot of detail but don't look over done. also I want to thank you for the history lesson I probably would not have learned about the surfers otherwise. Love the story and Love the model.
Terry Sumner Posted October 23, 2011 Posted October 23, 2011 Very nice!!! As I was studying your build I noticed there was no idler pulley to adjust the tension on the blower belt like most blown engines have. And seeing the job you did and knowing the research you put into it, I assume that the lack of that pulley is correct. So what I'm wondering now is...how in the heck did the surfers adjust the tension on the blower belt without said tensioner pulley?
Fuel Coupe Posted October 23, 2011 Author Posted October 23, 2011 Terry, From what Ive read they just experimented with different belts to get the desired tension..
Terry Sumner Posted October 24, 2011 Posted October 24, 2011 That's amazing... I mean...that blower belt tension is pretty critical to it staying on for the entire run! Being just a little bit off would mean the difference between breaking a belt or having it fly off...
Mister Twister Posted October 24, 2011 Posted October 24, 2011 Fantastic work throughout this build! Nice pics also!
Bernard Kron Posted October 24, 2011 Posted October 24, 2011 (edited) That's amazing... I mean...that blower belt tension is pretty critical to it staying on for the entire run! Being just a little bit off would mean the difference between breaking a belt or having it fly off... That was part of the mystery and magic of The Surfers. Those three guys were as close to Naturals in the Top Fuel game as ever existed. I've always gotten the impression that not even they understood how they did it! But that mysteriously simple efficiency shows in every aspect of the car they ran - something Shane has captured so well. Edited October 24, 2011 by Bernard Kron
Fuel Coupe Posted December 4, 2011 Author Posted December 4, 2011 Thanks Guys for all the comments. I do enjoy building the early diggers. I just got the go ahead from the caregivers of Don Langley's Scorpion V. This was/is a Texas based slingshot car and I am in the process of getting pics and information on the car as we speak. Very excited about this one 1
geetee66 Posted December 5, 2011 Posted December 5, 2011 It looks like the real thing. Awesome skills. I wish I could see this with my own eyes.
Straightliner59 Posted July 10, 2019 Posted July 10, 2019 Eight years is entirely too long to go without seeing Shane's fabulous replica! It's my favorite dragster of all time, and this is (so far) my favorite model of this car. I hope that mine will come somewhere close to looking as good as Shane's. As soon as I get my B.O.Y.D. SS/GT Firebird done, this one's next!
Peter Lombardo Posted July 11, 2019 Posted July 11, 2019 Great looking digger. I was a teenager when these rails were racing every weekend. Love the fact that there is a minimum of body cladding on this car. Really catches the feeling of the 60's Just beautiful.
Straightliner59 Posted July 11, 2019 Posted July 11, 2019 On 10/22/2011 at 7:34 PM, Terry Sumner said: Very nice!!! As I was studying your build I noticed there was no idler pulley to adjust the tension on the blower belt like most blown engines have. And seeing the job you did and knowing the research you put into it, I assume that the lack of that pulley is correct. So what I'm wondering now is...how in the heck did the surfers adjust the tension on the blower belt without said tensioner pulley? They used different thicknesses of gaskets under the manifold, until they found the one that worked. They were able to run such high nitro loads, partly because Tom Jobe learned a whole bunch of stuff about how nitro "burns", and they ran a very high nozzle pressure for the injectors. Compression was only about 7.5:1, which was somewhat lower than what was common. I have a folder with a air amount of stuff that Jobe posted on the old Header Flames board at Nitronic Research. Very interesting stuff!
doggie427 Posted July 11, 2019 Posted July 11, 2019 Bill Pitts did a wonderful series on YouTube of about 50 videos on The Surfers involving hours of interviews with Tom Jobe. Wonderful stuff.https://youtu.be/t5tx-ntJEXw
Hmann68 Posted July 14, 2019 Posted July 14, 2019 Super impressive work, for sure! Elapsed Times magazine had a large story of The Surfers a few years back. Very interesting stuff to say the least!
Hoffman Posted July 16, 2019 Posted July 16, 2019 On 7/11/2019 at 8:46 AM, doggie427 said: Bill Pitts did a wonderful series on YouTube of about 50 videos on The Surfers involving hours of interviews with Tom Jobe. Wonderful stuff.https://youtu.be/t5tx-ntJEXw I thoroughly enjoyed watching those videos myself.......but it gets better! Recently I attended the Nitro Revival at Irwindale raceway. So, I'm sitting up in the stands watching them do burnouts on the track and a guy, his wife, and their daughter sit down a couple rows in front of me. I look and realize, "Hey, that's Bob Higginson", one of the guys I've seen those Surfers videos with Tom Jobe. Huh? So, I walked over, introduced myself, and thanked him for the awesome videos, and he asks, "so what did you think of the car?". I said, oh it's great, somebody should recreate it. He says, "well, I did! Didn't you see it in the pits?" I say, you're kidding, right? No, I'm not kidding, you wanna sit in it? I was shocked, but Bob wasn't kidding, I did sit in the car, then my friends and I helped him push it out on the track, fire it up, and push it back to the pits afterwards, with guess who steering it? What an awesome day!! Bob is one cool dude!! Check out the pictures. This is an earlier version of the car, put together by Bob, with lots of guidance and help by Tom Jobe. And by the way, when this thing is lit off, it sounds WAY meaner than any other cackle car I've experienced. The tune is authentic Surfers mystery magic. 1
Straightliner59 Posted July 17, 2019 Posted July 17, 2019 Man, that is AWESOME! I'm so jealous! I've exchanged emails with Tom Jobe, but never met him. Super nice guy. Congrats, Tim!
Vettegasser Posted August 10, 2024 Posted August 10, 2024 I’ve read thru this thread and even the build thread. Number of times thru the years. Hafta say this is stil the coolest
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