Manky Monkey Motors

Don't forget this is one of the best events at SCR. Its a pity that I am not going to be able to take my car this year. (Will be the first time since 1990) but I am going to be very busy over the weekend with a couple or so officials not being able to make it.
My crewman Dave will be there with his green with envy altered and of coarse our very own Black Pig Too will be making a few runs or so during the weekend.
See you there (I will down the entrance road just past the pit entrance doing the scrutineering)

For more info go to

http://www.shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk/eventdetails.asp?event=48

  "Black Pig Too will be making a few runs "

Anyone else up for crewing besides Doc ;D

I'll be there for the day on Sunday, but will be running about taking photos & buying stuff from the trade stalls, as well as collecting parts for Taz's car.
This one's definitely a biggie. If you've never been drag racing, this is the one to go to.

I`d have loved to but will be working all weekend again!  :(

I was going to a rally on the trike this weekend but it's a long way, the forecast isn't brilliant, and the trike needs new shocks....

I could be persuaded however, to get in the car and go to Long Marston - is anyone else from here going to be camping there?

I am BG

Great!  Have you been before?  Is the camping area far from the action?

No not been before and dunno. ;D

Oh well at least that's two of us without a clue!

 ;D

No guys, you can camp either side of the pits, 6 inches from the tarmac if you want to, or right across the other side of the fields if you prefer more peace & quiet, (at a drag strip? Harr, ha, ha!!). Avon Park, or Shakespeare County Raceway as they insist on calling it now, used to be Long Marston airfield during the war, so plenty of room. 
Facilities are pretty basic, (their loo blocks are legendary), but there's a large Portacabin bar, plenty of burger vans, live bands, fireworks, a drive-in movie theatre showing continuous hotrod films on Friday night, lots of trade stalls selling parts, books, clothing etc, plus a turn up & sell autojumble -the Rumble & Jumble. Of course, there's also all sorts of classes of racing from Friday lunchtime onwards. If you're really desperate for something to do there's a Sunday market on the airfield too.
Oh, & the chance to sample Lesley's bacon butties & coffee at the Black Pig camp too -though make sure she doesn't catch you doing it! 

Come on Mr Mankey don't let Jannet or John hear you say that, the loos are always kept clean with the main ones being shut during the night,while the others get wrecked by no brain people, they found parts on one loo in the club house (What a bunch of twats) then others moan of the state of them.
There is plenty of room for camping but I warn you that if you decide to set up near the toilet block, it is also next to the main generator which is on 24/7, we used to camp there all the time and you do get used to it.

See you there

Said with tongue firmly in cheek Tony.  :P
I much prefer Shakespeare Raceway to Santa Pod, mainly because of the people that attend. The Pod crowd seem a lot ...chavvier. Don't know why. Maybe it's easier to reach from London. Who knows. The Shakey mob always seem more proper race fans somehow. I only do two drag meets a year now, the Hotrod Drags & The Nostalgia Nationals, both at Shakey, although Taz & I did the Mopar Nationals at the Pod last year. Really looking forward to this weekend.

Can't be worse than bike rally loos!  Don't forget Manky, I'm one of those hardy camping peeps, unlike you!

Deffo going to this, always up for something new and exciting!   ;D

wish I was going  :'( :'( :'( :'( it was a ball last year but working sat morning 04.30 so I'm going to the Frames and Flames at the end of my road instead  ::) ::) ::) :P

And being our roving reporter for the day don't forget Shaun.  ;)
Got the new issue of Brit Chopper in the post today by the way -thanks for that mate. Some interesting stuff in there, (for those that don't know him, Shaun is an ace reporter for Brit Chopper magazine).
Being a fellow Postie, I'll be on the same shift as you, so won't be at the Drags till Sunday.

Oh well, didn't get there today, hope to make it tomorrow.....

Try & make it if you can Bobbi. You'll enjoy it, promise.  ;)

I fully intended to go today but life got in the way.

It has an annoying habit of doing that doesn't it!
Very warm & humid here in Surrey today. Same forcast tomorrow with the chance of light rain early in the morning. Avon Park's in Warwickshire. Drag racers don't race on wet tracks so with luck it'll stay dry & warm for the rest of the weekend.

Well I'm back and I must first thank Steve and Leslie for a really enjoyable weekend despite the few odd problems that occured.

Leslie I know I didn't thank you enough for the splendid grub, I wasn't expecting to be fed. THANK YOU.

I will come up again and help out if you wish me too, as long as you can put up with me being a complete thickie

Steve sorry I missed you to say goodbye hope you find out what the problem was.

Thanks again for everything.


(Yes Andy photo's soon)

Glad you had a good time. I'm so miffed that I had to work. Andy's literally just walked in the door too as he's been sat on the M25.

There's always next year ;D

I'm home too, what a great weekend!  Again many thanks to Steve and Lesley for their hospitality, I'm really sorry the Back Pig Too wasn't running cos it must have spoiled your weekend but I had a great intro to the wonderful world of hot rod drags!

Photos coming soon!

Yup, just got in from an hour parked on the M25 near Heathrow, turning a 2 1/2 journey home into a 3 1/2 hour one. Glad you guys made it back safely. Nice to see you again, even if it was just in passing -I got there later than planned so was on a mission to get plenty of photos before people started packing up & heading home.
Lots of familiar faces to chat to -always a nice friendly atmosphere at these meets. Also had to collect a part for Taz's car from one of the racers, so lots to do in a few hours.
Mr & Mrs Brock, (& Graham the roadie), I didn't know you broke the car last time out. Was really looking forward to seeing it run, but if it's any consolation, it looks as good in the flesh as it does in pictures. I think I prefer it to Pig One.
Pics online soon, but if any of you lot would like to add some words, that'd be rather spiffing.  ;)

Just got back, absolutely knackered, What a brilliant weekend, done a few miles on my bike and check lots and lots of cars. A few oil downs only damped the weekend, but that can happen any weekend.
Great to meet Mankey and Doc (TP) again and really nice to meet Bobbi, really glad you had a good time.
Cant wait the see the photos.



OOP's

Hello All

Black Pig Too has just been dropped off back at the sty.

Nice to meet you Bobbi, sorry you didn't get to see us run but glad to hear you enjoyed yourself.

Big thanks Doc for all your help, anytime you fancy coming up your more than welcome.

Manky I'm sure Brock will post an update soon on what hapened two weeks ago,we didnt realise it did a little bit more damage than expected, more to follow, unfortunately when we got back he had man flu for a week then his PC caught it. 

Thanks again Doc for your help.

Mrs B

   yep, just as Lesley said.

   Tony, I think that's single "O" and double "B" mate  ;D

 ;D ;D





And the car I would most like to take home was.........

And the Vehicle I would have taken home would have been...........................

Thats 2 vehicles, greedy  ;D

I know but just loved the Truck, it was parked in front of Brocks pit all weekend.

The car was alright too ;D

That was a really hard decision to make as I think there was only a small number of cars there I didn't like, if any.

But if I just had the truck it would look wrong so it has to be both.

I honestly think there wasn't one vehicle there I wouldn't happily take home with me. So many different styles to choose from it'd be impossible to pick just one. I guess I should say this one.
A real shame we didn't get to see The Pig in action, but there's always next time. Lookin' good Brock.

Mind you, the palatial new transporter was just as impressive.

I've got a bit of a thing for big, boxy, ridiculously un-aerodynamic, huge engined 60s Yanks though. I love this Plymouth.

But in blue or red?

This Biscayne was opposite the Brock camp. Sounded gorgeous.

Or maybe a lovely, beat up, rumbly ol' Caddy.

A chopped LandRover?

How about this Plymouth Fury?

A classic leadsled?

For me, it's gotta be the bare metal & orange perspex pick up though.
Acting as side kick to "Rubellion",  classic 70s show car, now reborn & radically re-worked. The new version of Ruby provokes mixed reactions -most of which seem to boil down to "I like it, but shouldn't cos the original version was so famous. Couldn't you have done it to another car?!" I admire the owner's bravery in cutting up a well known car & making it his own though, rather than just being custodian of another builder's creation.

Yeah, obviously I'm biased cos it bears a passing resemblance to my own pick-up project, but I love the attention to detail & the way the owner's thought outside the box -like the vintage Bush radio mounted on the dash with the speedo in place of the dial. Crazy, but I love it.

Nice to see Bobbi, (Biker Gran), & Doc, (Twisted Patience), again.

Their photos online when we recieve them, but here's mine to be going on with:

http://www.mankymonkeymotors.co.uk/Photos/hotroddrags09/manky/

A few more snaps.

.

.

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A very nice 10 minute YouTube video of the Drags here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsM40l_m3b0

Buffering's a bit slow but worth persevering with. Includes the Friday night "Cacklefest", (firing the cars up en masse in the dark), fireworks & Saturday racing. A lot of cars there that had already left for home by the time I arrived Sunday lunchtime.

Bobbi's, (Biker Gran's), & Doc's, (Twisted Patience's), photos now added. Thanks guys.  ;)

http://mankymonkeymotors.co.uk/Photos/hotroddrags09/words.html

Some really nice shots there.
Slightly fuzzy, but most of this lot look like that anyway-  
Doc, Welsh Tony, (CunningPlan), Lesley, (Black Pig, Mrs Brock), & Steve, (Brock). 

Mrs Brock on the tow vehicle.

Brock, Doc n the Pig.

Always hard to convey the deafening noise of a drag meet, which is a big part of the race atmosphere I think. This shot of Doc's shows it pretty well doesn't it.  :)

Nice shot of Ken Brooks' "Roarin' Rat", one of the big name race cars from many years back, still showing them how it's done & still looking fabulous.

Some of the fuzziness was caused by the lens gradually picking up more dust as the weekend went on - I had nothing to clean it with, I've lost my little brush!

A brush?! Coo, you're posh! I just wipe mine with me T shirt.  :P

so do i or with whatever is handy at the time.

I had a  proper little brush with a puffer - you can scratch the lens if it's covered in dust and you wipe it with your (dusty) T shirt!

I know Bobbi, but still not that posh, or that organised. I've got a polarizing filter over the lens, (makes the skies look better & stops some of the glare on sunny days), so at worst I'd just scratch that. Used to have a puffer brush to clean the inside of my old 35mm Nikon, but that was because I was constantly opening it to put in new rolls of film & it got dusty quite quickly. Rolls of film -jeez, that seems old fashioned now!  :)
I only ever get to the Drags on the Sunday cos I have to work on Saturdays, but looking at you guys' piccies, obviously Saturdays are the busier days. Lots of cars there that weren't about on Sunday.

got to give up this work lark Manky >:( missing too much fun  :'( :'( :'(

The way Royal Mail's going we could all be gentlemen of leisure soon.

Bobbi's Hotrod Drags write up now added to the photo galleries. Thanks for that B.  ;)
If anyone else wants to add their own slant on the event, or any other show we've been to, PM or email your words to either Taz or myself & we'll selotape them into the appropriate page for you.