Introduce Yourself

[Stainless1]

You have come to the right place... start reading... then ask questions... if you plan to race get a rule book first, read it over and over... then ask questions...
Welcome to our addiction 

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Saskrunner, hey?  Let me guess -- that name reflects your location, right?  You didn't fill out the location blank in your profile when you registered, so we don't know for sure where you're from.  But don't let that worry you -- I'll fill it in for you.  If you don't like the choice of towns that I choose for you --- you're welcome to go back to the profile and enter whatever you like.

But don't let me make you think you're not welcome here.  Landracing.com is the biggest online collection of land speed racers - period.  The chances are pretty good that you will get a good answer to damn near any question you ask, and also that you won't be laughed at for asking something that "everybody should know anyway".  I don't say that the laughing won't ever happen, but now you know it'll be in good fun.

So - back to your location.  Where are you from?  Take a look at your avatar now and see if it needs changing from where I guess and put you.  And once more -- welcome to the Forum.

Jon a/k/a Seldom Seen Slim

[NICO10]

Hi......

My name is Nico Swanepoel and im all the way from sunny South - Africa, im 26 years old and a total hotrod fanatic I started out in drag racing and then did a bit of track an now im all about landspeed.... if never ran on the salt flats but will hopefully attend my first LSR event in September 2014 with my chevy El Camino and if the man upstairs lets me a Vw golf LSR car thats in the making..... so if anyone out there has any good tips please pass them on... and help me to reach my dream of one day doing bonne ville

If you dont follow your dreams you might as well be a vegetable - Burt Munro

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Welcome, Nico.  Wow - I can now say that we've got a couple of guys from the southern part of Africa on this Forum.  Thanks for joining up.  I expect you'll find this to be a great location to learn, to talk, to bench race, and most of all - to get help about land speed racing.

When you start building your race car(s) it'd be a good thing if you take the time to have a build diary on here.  Take a look at some of them that are already here, and pay attention to the amount of comments the diaries generate.  The diary can be a big help to you - and us, too.

Shall I fill in your location (in the "location" blank of the profile back on the registration page) - or will you?  How 'bout at least giving us the country you're in - if not both city and country.  We enjoy knowing where the other racers are from.

Once again -- welcome, and thanks for joining.

[Buickguy3]

   Nico,
   Welcome to the forum. On the topic : Build Diaries, Check out the Springfield Flyer. Mike also is from South Africa and is feeling pretty lonesome in the South African land racing world. He's just getting a start, too.
   Doug 

[Stainless1]

Welcome, Nico.  Wow - I can now say that we've got a couple of guys from the southern part of Africa on this Forum....    How 'bout at least giving us the country you're in - if not both city and country.  We enjoy knowing where the other racers are from.

Once again -- welcome, and thanks for joining.

Hey Slim, I think South Africa is a country....  at least Mikey thinks it is.... 

[TIIILSR]

Welcome NICO.
This is a great place for information.
I find myself reading more than asking questions but they will come soon enough.

Mike

[Bookfla]

Hello to everyone! My name is Tom and I too have dreamed for years of going to the salt and making my attempts at setting records in the motorcycle classes. I’m not a young man anymore but one who has tried to do the best he could with whatever life has put in front of me. My wife and I have raised 6 boys now and we are ready for the next challenge. We are not new to motorcycles or racing. I have had a passion for them since I was 8 years old. I drag raced nitro burning carbureted high gear Harley Davidsons for close to twenty years on and off earlier in my life. Set 5 national records and a national points championship. I guess I let my business career and raising our sons slow me up somewhat on my racing for the past 15 years. It’s now time to change that.

I decided almost two years ago I wanted to land speed race. I didn’t really know anything about it nor had I kept in touch with any old Harley racers who had been involved in it. I needed to learn. I decided to get some rule books and start to figure out what it was I wanted to do. I knew I would always run pushrod V twins. I have over 300K miles on HD’s on the street. They are a part of me. That choice was easy. Do I run nitro which I know or do I run gas? Do I run 2000cc or 3000cc? It didn’t take me long to figure out what I wanted to do. I looked at the record books and knew that the guys who ran these records probably did a very high percentage of things “right” to get to where they were at. What would make me think that I could go out there and drive different or better results with the same technology?  What’s the old worn out adage? The definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results…I wanted and needed to learn more. I wanted to learn the history of the sport and why people did the things they have done and what drove those decisions. To me you cannot move into the future without knowing the past. The Landracing site has been a big help for me to glean the knowledge and experience of the people who have met the challenge and won and lost. The internet is a never ending source of information. It has led me to meet some very helpful and knowledgeable people during this build who I am already indebted too.

The other great help on my journey so far has been my wife. One of the best things to ever happen to me was meeting her. She has a passion for riding motorcycles just as strong as mine. She rode here big twin HD to the Arctic Circle before to give you an idea of her will and determination. Not too many women have been up the Haul road in Alaska on a Harley. We found a Buell Blast that had been raced before and she asked me to fix it up for her to ride. I thought it was a great idea. I could learn the intricacies of the sport while engaging her into this new form of racing. So far it has worked well. She just finished her first year of racing and had set 4 national records at the ECTA primarily in MPS-500PG class. It has helped me learn the classes along with many other things one cannot pick up on until you are out there living it.

To make a long introduction shorter I think there are opportunities to improve the speeds in the pushrod classes with engine design, fuel systems management, traction control as well as streamlining. These are the areas I have been focusing on for the last year and a half as I build my A/APS-2000 PG bike from chassis up. We are nearing completion of the bike itself in the next few months. Streamlining design is also present work in process. It will take me through late spring to have the bike together. I’m hoping to have time to run it at one or two ECTA races in the summer prior to Bonneville. In one form or another, we will be at the SCTA race in August.  Our plan is to be there with two new motorcycles to run. We do not post pictures of our accomplishments or brag about what we do. We simply just go out and do the best we can and try to learn from the experience.  Hopefully we will make a few new friends along the way. I am not naive enough to think we can go to Bonneville and set records when we get there. I can only say we respect the history of all those who have come before us and we appreciate the support and camaraderie from those presently involved. Just like all of you we have dreams and goals. I can only say once on the hunt, I do not turn away. Hope my post was not too long winded. That was not my intention. Look forward to meeting you all there.

Regards

Tom and Jen In Florida

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Yes, Stainless, I know that, but the way that Nico stated his homeland -- "sunny South - Africa" I felt that just maybe he didn't mean the country of but rather than the area of.  See why I was rather unspecific?

Welcome anyway, Nico.

[Stainless1]

Looks like the crap I tossed landed 

Welcome Tom and Jen, Speed is addictive... looks like you are a former addict... the salt can be exciting, rewarding, disappointing, and as most of us know a lot of fun.  LSR is a great way to use all that cash you don't want to waste on things like the food, housing and utilities.   
Welcome to the fun, see you on the salt... 

[4Nines]

My name is Doug and I'm from Austin, TX. I'm interested in building a car to run during Speed Week and I'm here to learn more

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Hello and welcome to the Forum, Doug.  First of all -- either you or I should fill out the location blank in your profile on the registration page.  You do it - and it'll be something like Austin, Texas, right?  If I do it I'll probably put you in Groin Injury, Indiana.  You choose. . .

Second of all - the SCTA rulebook is not available on line.  It's a major source of revenue for the SCTA - that's one reason they do not publish it online.  They're $10 each, and we always suggest that you buy three of 'em at the beginning -- one for the shop, one for the coffee table in the living room, and one for the back of the toilet for when you're in there to study. 

You're always welcome to ask any of the Forum folks for help understanding any of the rules, but keep in mind that what you'll get back is "unofficial" in that it's not from an SCTA official.  If you want a "written in stone" (so to speak) answer about a rule - it's easy enough to contact the chairperson of whatever section of the rules you want to be helped with.  And then, when you do that, consider printing and saving the response just in case you get into a situation where something on your vehicle is questioned.  You'll have some proof of why you did what you did.

But whatever all of this is -- for now it's Merry Christmas from everyone on this website, and Nancy and me, too.

Jon a/k/a Seldom Seen Slim

[4Nines]

Hello and welcome to the Forum, Doug.  First of all -- either you or I should fill out the location blank in your profile on the registration page.  You do it - and it'll be something like Austin, Texas, right?  If I do it I'll probably put you in Groin Injury, Indiana.  You choose. . .

Second of all - the SCTA rulebook is not available on line.  It's a major source of revenue for the SCTA - that's one reason they do not publish it online.  They're $10 each, and we always suggest that you buy three of 'em at the beginning -- one for the shop, one for the coffee table in the living room, and one for the back of the toilet for when you're in there to study. 

You're always welcome to ask any of the Forum folks for help understanding any of the rules, but keep in mind that what you'll get back is "unofficial" in that it's not from an SCTA official.  If you want a "written in stone" (so to speak) answer about a rule - it's easy enough to contact the chairperson of whatever section of the rules you want to be helped with.  And then, when you do that, consider printing and saving the response just in case you get into a situation where something on your vehicle is questioned.  You'll have some proof of why you did what you did.

But whatever all of this is -- for now it's Merry Christmas from everyone on this website, and Nancy and me, too.

Jon a/k/a Seldom Seen Slim

Thanks for all the info! I don't mind buying a rule book, but the website either isn't working or they are out of them. There seems to be a lot of broken links and info on the site? The records link seems to be broken and it's really confusing as what competitors need to do to compete. I'm looking to purchase a car in the next couple of months, but I have no prior knowledge of the rule book and I don't even know where to start because the info that's on the web is real vague.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Gee, I'm kind of stumped on how to tell you to let the SCTA know about their website not working easily for a new guy.  In the rulebook - which book you can't get - there are email addresses and other contact information for many SCTA officials.  Only a few SCTA board members participate here, but maybe one (or more?) will see your note and try to get in touch with you to find out what troubles you have.  Remember -- SCTA is a volunteer organisation of racers, and maybe the website gets short shrift compared to bikes and cars.  Maybe not -- I know that Ed Saffrick (sp?) was taking care of it, but I think he's retired from that job.  He was pretty good, for sure.

Anyway, thanks for posting and for joining the Forum.  Ask questions all you want to, and don't despair - you'll get a rulebook soon.  If you really can't find one (the USFRA is a good source if SCTA is out of 'em) I expect that at least one or two of us will have a spare book to send you.  It'll be slightly out of date really soon, but it can help a bit for now.  Let us know.

Back to Christmas dessert.

PS  Sure you don't want to move to Hangnail, Vermont?

[Ford_Jeep_Fan]

Hi ALL,   My Name is Jim, Been into cars, trucks Jeeps and about anything with a engines since i could walk. I was saving a 88 Thunderbird for my nephew but he had other plans when he turned 16. SO,... I now have a stationary lawn ornament and i got to day dreaming about this old car and wondering about this Non drag,non oval, non road racing type of racing.
 So here i am to learn what can be done with limited funds and some time.