Gearhead goals -- sport or hobby?

This is something ive been rethinking for a few years now and I keep changing my mind.
I know an old street racer (carl P) very, very cocky and popular in the day, who is now very wealthy. I ask why he isn't interested in streetracing anymore. He says he could buy a "fast" turn-key car tommorow if he wanted and beat just about, if not, everybody but why? Other rich guys could do it too.
I would say to him, because its fun or exciting, but quite often it isn't when you sit up all night with the threat of cops harrasing you. I would say because its satisfying but not so much when you know full well that a guy can take you with his turn key car having a larger shot of NOS, big power adder, or bigger motor. So I figure that the only way to avoid these pitfalls is to do this "with rules" as a sport rather then a hobby.
Bracket racing is a hobby turned into a sport by the use of dial-in times which handycaps the guy with the big spray to a result that is more trivial then technical. Grumpy jenkins and others started pro-stock racing to eliminate this trivia and create a truely technical, all out, sport in which a smart guy beats the rich guy.
Pro stock eqivilent, all out, sports are very expensive so I persued downsized motorsports to fit my budget and so started building race engines for kids motorsport machines that are restricted by rules and torn down to inspect for cheating. Last weekend against wealthy hotshot compeditors my motors won both mod classes including the eagle river world championship 1/2a lap ahead of the entire field. Motorsports for me is now satisfying but its not all that fun. The machines perform very well on a small circuit track under 50 mph but I don't drive them. I've been working on these for about five years now, all year round and I'm getting burned out. I want some fun so I have to build machines to fit me and persue things as a trivial hobby again. I'm hopeing to be more involved in the street-racing this summer but again with all its problems.

[Mudtrux]

Ever been to a mud bog?
There are heads up racing or just free for all's
I don't need to compete so I like the free for's
That's what I started doing when I got out of fast cars.

my .02

[MR.hp]

I remember Carl and I do know one thing about him is that he could not build his own stuff. It takes a lot of knowhow to make a car go fast by building it yourself and there are some people who should never touch a car. I like to put stuff together and see what I can get out of cheap part not because they don't cost much but because it gives me a personal satisfaction knowing I can do something for less than the big dollar guys.

Let look at one example, Let's take Joe For instance he want's to run some big times but is limited to others to do it for him Why? is he stupid NO, The fact is Joe is just a guy that does not have the ability to do it himself, Anything wrong with that, Nope just that you are at the mercy of a builder tuner and we all know this story.


Here is another Brian and Todd who were a couple of snot nosed kids who though they knew everything and thought that because their cuda could beat 12 second cars on the street they also ran 12's Guess what they went to the track and ran in the 14's Ha Ha.


Let's look at another example Sloss for instance can he build a car, Yes then why does he not do it, Maybe because he has the dough to pay someone else and does not have the time and it is easier.


Then there is the Zman Built a late model car for less than most of the clowns on the street can hang with most and beats the crap out of a lot of these so called street racerswith no power adders, Why because he know how to tune and pick out a combo that works.

Then there are the people with all the frum roll cars do not know what it takes to build a Street and strip car and compair themselves with the likes of Don Prudome as the think because that have a ton of MPH they are as quick and as fast as anyone around.


Carl was one of those guys that had to put a blower on his car just to make it go fast and Bussy was the same, Guy who cannot tune a car. I get the biggest high out of an engine I built for $2700 that ran i the 10's N/A and that the reason I still do it today, The fact that it's still fun for me and I still enjoy cars after all these years.



Most people I know over the years sold their cars to raise families, lost interest
and for other reason, Who knows, But if they would have hung on to those cars a lot of these guys would have a gold mind.

I am sure as time goes on we will see a return to people building cars it's just a cycle
and I have seen the ups and downs in the car field. For me it's a hobby and a Job, Who Knows when I retire maybe I will take up needlepoint:rlol:

[Fast One]

I've been a gearhead since grade-school, but for me, it's strictly a hobby. I do the car stuff simply because I enjoy it. The most important things to me are the camaraderie & having fun. I have multiple hobbies - all of which require decent weather, a fair amount of monetary investment and a fair amount of time. I enjoy them all very much, and do not wish to give up one of them in favor of spending more time/money on one of the others. I've been to the track on a number of occasions, and it was fun. I would like to return someday.

I have nothing to prove to anyone. If others like my car - that's cool, however the important thing is that I like my car. I know that my car isn't one of the quicker ones around town. But it is fun for me, and that's the only thing that matters! I also know that for every race I've won, there are a bunch of guys who could leave me in their dust. As long as it's fun for me, that's what counts. After all, that's what hobbies are all about.

[Z28SSMAN]

I've seen guys throw crazy $$ at their cars and get lackluster results. In the late '70s, my SS-454 (with bias ply street tires), wiped out everything from motorcycles to lightweight Novas with slicks, to roadsters with the best of everything and a Duster with a blower featured on the cover of either Hot Rod or Car Craft. My car was my dd back then. The car was quiet and had the same factory wheels with stock ride height and no nitrous. Other guys made fun of my small tube headers and oval port heads, while they ran rect port an 2 1/8". I even had a guy with a Vette who terrorized people in So Mpls, send a message to me that he'd never been beat by a BBC and if he ever lost to one, he would swap his SBC for a BBC. Well...after losing to my Chevelle, he went to the local Chev dlr and bought a crate LS7.lol My Chevelle outran the others because I knew what it took to tune and drive the car past the competition. That's why few cars today impress me. Bob is the one of the few exceptions. He's out there running 11s N/A with a hodgepodge of budget parts from his garage and I've never seen any smoke trails coming from his engines. I've never been angered enough to add a powertrain to my Camaro with a couple hundred more rwhp to shut some of the locals up, because most of them can't outrun me with the combo I have now. Will that day come? Maybe..maybe not.

[big block fiero]

The other fun I forgot about is the great stories until you guys shared you'rs.
I guess it just bothers me that a guy could marginalize what I like to do by saying he could do it way better simply by writing a check. Then he says he choses not to do it because its a stupid idea that offers no return on his investment wich is the same thing as saying that I'm stupid for doing it.

The sporting part of the issue that drives my intrest is technical but of little value as a hobby. This can be broken down to its simplest terms in this example:
Naturally aspirated engine, everybody has the same head casting. I install my intake valve seats so they are not counter board all the way and so protrude .1 above the chamber surface leaving a sharp seat edge. This gives me a noticable advantage over everybody else in a sport where everybody was otherwise equal. I get all excited about the mod and cam choice to go with it BUT, If I do this to a machine that is used as a hobby the value of the idea is worthless because I will never be able to demonstait how good the idea was in a fair comparison. I would have been much farther ahead with a bottle of NOS so basically NOS replaces technology. The next thing better then NOS is more NOS. What sucks is that it is the technology that made me persue intrest in motorsport in the first place.

By the way, I do realize after sorting thru all the trivia that glens car is one of those technilogical achievers and its to bad more of the hot shot bottle babies couldent see that value also.

[Z28SSMAN]

Matt, I agree with using simple things like the valve advantage. I feel a certain way about nitrous (I don't use it) and Bob likes it as an equalizer to guys with deep pockets. Here are my reasons why I don't use it: Fuel injected cars that use it.. generally are tuned rich to protect from damage from running lean. When their bottle runs low or empty, their cars are generally "dogs". Then there's the design of the intake runners on LS1s where if not tuned right, #7 piston is destroyed. Nitrous isn't cheap. Unless you have access or your own fill station at midnite or later, when people are out playing, you aren't going to compete with your rich-tuned engine. I don't care what people say about how "nitrous is safe", I've seen too many people lose races or destroy engines due to a malfunction (sticking solenoids, nitrous backfire, blown off or destroyed hoods, maf,low bottle, etc). Then I've run against people who have said "I won't run you from a dig because I can't spray until 3rd gear"??? My point? If you can't build an engine and drive a daily driver (not a gutted lightweight) into the 11s N/A first without nitrous, you may be impressed, but I'm not. Again...that is my opinion, and what works for me doesn't have to work for the next guy.

[big block fiero]

So these heads up mud bogs, is it a sport? are power adders prohibited? is displacement regulated? is fuel type regulated? are tear downs done and fuel tested to prevent cheating?

[MR.hp]

Matt, I agree with using simple things like the valve advantage. I feel a certain way about nitrous (I don't use it) and Bob likes it as an equalizer to guys with deep pockets. Here are my reasons why I don't use it: Fuel injected cars that use it.. generally are tuned rich to protect from damage from running lean. When their bottle runs low or empty, their cars are generally "dogs". Then there's the design of the intake runners on LS1s where if not tuned right, #7 piston is destroyed. Nitrous isn't cheap. Unless you have access or your own fill station at midnite or later, when people are out playing, you aren't going to compete with your rich-tuned engine. I don't care what people say about how "nitrous is safe", I've seen too many people lose races or destroy engines due to a malfunction (sticking solenoids, nitrous backfire, blown off or destroyed hoods, maf,low bottle, etc). Then I've run against people who have said "I won't run you from a dig because I can't spray until 3rd gear"??? My point? If you can't build an engine and drive a daily driver (not a gutted lightweight) into the 11s N/A first without nitrous, you may be impressed, but I'm not. Again...that is my opinion, and what works for me doesn't have to work for the next guy.

Hey, Who said I use spray? that's just a nasty rummor. :rlol:

[big block fiero]

[IMG][/IMG]

My motor, again, will be winning the minnesota state championship tomorrow in isanti. This isn't really a car thing so much as it is an engine thing so I taged it on end of this old thread. I just really am confident that unless there is a breakdown nobody else can win. I've built this for a lot more horsepower then any other compeditor can achive.

[Z28SSMAN]

Ok. Now I'm curious. Any specs on this powerplant and what type of competition this is? Maybe Bob gave you a cheater nitrous system (hidden of course) lol

[big block fiero]

This is the chassis the engine was in when it won the eagle river world championship and again this year. This is a formula one, 60cc kitty cat race sled. I've got a surprize for the rich bastard compeditors tomorrow. I've built five more simular speced engines and they will all be in five sleds tomorrow with rented drivers. I hopefully plan to sweep the hole field to the point that the hot shots can't even qualify for sundays race final.

[big block fiero]

Here is a better veiw of the chassis detail. A completely waterjet cut aluminum chassis built from my buddies cad data.

[MR.hp]

If you want info on snowmobiles you need to talk to Marv Jorgenson, Now that dude know snowmobiles.

[Z28SSMAN]

Haha, I'd like to see the look on their faces. Probably a look of hopelessness, frustration and probably a puzzled one too.