Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

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Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by Colorado Aircooled »

Hello,
So glad to have found your website! I live in Colorado at the foot of Pikes Peak. Always been a VW fan and began
researching the aircooled cars that have raced the PPHC and other races in this area. In the earliest attempts there were Dune buggies, Corvair and VW powered as early as 1966. By 1971 they had their own class. Meyer Manx and Deserter Dune buggies came in force. There were also plenty of Funco sandrails and a speciality made sandrail called the Grizzley's.
Later years Roger and Rick Mears teamed up with Paul Newman and Doug Dreager and won a few overall championships.Their race cars were designed for the oval tracks of California, Ascot and Fremont and were called a Newman-Dreager. Several (over30) drivers have raced N/D's on Pikes Peak.The last VW powered N/D raced in 2009!
As the rear engined design was finally accepted,(VW and Porsche), John Wells designed and raced (1974) a mid engined car called the Wells Coyote and Hill Climb racing in the open wheel class. His cars have dominated from then on.
My questions to the PA Hill Climb association is what impact has aircooled cars made in your area? Has any N/D, Funco's or Grizzley's raced in your Hill Climbs over the years. Pictures, stories, what ever you can provide will be helpful.

Matt Carpenter

If I figure out your image platform, I will provide pictures!
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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by boyracer395 »

I have no idea about Newman-Dreagers or other aircooled specials from the West Coast, but I do know a number of hillclimbers (including myself) drive aircooled VW powered cars. These are mostly Formula Vee, Solo Vee, and Special cars.
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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by dspgti »

What, you never heard of Bill Rutan? We have lots of stories for you. I'll let Ron Mann our resident Historian and all around air cooled VW geek fill you in.

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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by Colorado Aircooled »

There is really two different camps of Hill Climb drivers now in this area. Some who will only run Pikes Peak now that it will be paved all the way to the top and the car designed just for pavement. Then a second group that will still race the dirt Hill Climbs the rest of the year and then adapt their car to run the pavement on Pikes Peak. With the road paved it would be nice to see formula vee's race. The allitude just robs so much horsepower by the time you get to the top, even with turbos the aircooled VW motors just aren't keeping up . Most of the orginal aircooled Volkswagen hill climb cars that are still alive have been changed over to Ford SHO mid engined cars that run in mini sprint class.

Now back to the good old days :P I do get off course some times, sorry. :lol:

From what I have found,so far it seems to be,the east coast aircooled VW Hill Climb car in the past were more closed cars and slalom racers with a lower center of gravitiy.With a wider pavement tire. ( Correct or ?????)

With the Hill Climb cars in my area in the past, they were for the most part adapted from the off road crowd. Sand Rails, sprint cars, dune buggies with the dirt tires and higher suspensions.

By the way,the Mt Washington race internet feeds for practice and race day, was really good,much better then what PPIHC does. Good job !
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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by LARRY LONG »

Matt

On Facebook go to PHA Musem & Archives. Check the "Specials" photos and you can see some VW powered cars from over the years.

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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by Colorado Aircooled »

Thanks for the info on the pictures. Man that is a bunch of Formula Vee's !!!! Here the FV's run on track road course races for the most part with Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing (something like that). Their last event had 22 FV's show up for the race in Pueblo Colorado. At the local race track PPIR you can rent and run laps in Formula Vee's and Legend cars on the road course. Sad to say no Hill Climbing Formula Vee's here .

Was Bill's, "Bath Tub", displayed at Mt. Washington this year? Truly a amazing car with an amazing history.

Looking at the pictures in your archives,it doesn't seem to have been many dune buggies racing. Just no pictures of them, or did sandrails and dune buggies not compete much in the past? With Alex Dearborn's Autodynamics being on the east coast, I would have figured some Deserter's with the mid engines would have been well recieved on Hill Climbs. Of course they made a ton of Formula Vee's too.
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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by mckee »

Let us not forget Bob Ozwald's VW powered Kellison. That car is still spoken of reverentially in many quarters.

Bill Rutan told me that his 'Tub' was being displayed at Mt. Washington. Not sure that is was. The 'magic' of Bill's many quick cars came from his extraordinary ability to drive fast. Subsequent owners, although accomplished racers were not able to realize the same speed that Bill exhibited. E.g.; In 1968 he qualified for the Lime Rock F5000 race in the middle of the field. His engine had one-fifth the displacement of the big bore competition -- a 1000cc Lotus. He also ran 2nd at another big Lime Rock event back in the late fifties to Carrol Shelby's 4.9 liter Ferrari with a 1250cc MG! He was the only car in the field that Shelby could not lap.

Brgds,
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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by Colorado Aircooled »

The first VW powered Hill Climb cars on Pikes Peak were the off-road based sandrails. Funco's were the most common ,a few Grizzley's raced too.

Alex Dearborn and Ted Trevor hooked up in 1971 to race Pikes Peak in Deserter dune buggies. One ran Corvair power the other Volkswagen both mid engined.
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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by Colorado Aircooled »

The next step in race car design on Pikes Peak was the Newman-Dreager. Designed for the dirt tracks of California . Overall Hill Climb wins in 1972,1973 and 1981. Over 30 drivers have raced Pikes Peak in N/D's with the last running in 2009 . At least 13 of these cars survive ,a few still race in Hill Climb events in Colorado, most have been upgraded to Ford SHO motors mounted mid chassis.
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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by Colorado Aircooled »

The last major attempt at an overall win with Volkswagen power was made by John Johnson. His car was built by Bill Greenwood and Bobby Hull, running a massive Gene Berg motor. Later years the car has been upgraded with a V-8 larger wings and side pods for downforce. Jimmy Keeney races the car now and competed in this years "Race to the Clouds".
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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by Colorado Aircooled »

This was the journey of aircooled VW powered race cars on Pikes Peak. It seems to be a different path then what has happened east of the Mississippi . In 2011 the paving of the road will be completed and the next generartion of PPHC cars, I am sure will be more like the Hill Climb cars in your area .
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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by dspgti »

I'm certainly no expert or very knowledgable for that matter on early air cooled hillclimb cars. One of the big differences to East and West Coast is that from the earliest days, our Eastern hills were paved. While Mt washington and Giants Despair started over 100 years ago as gravel or dirt, they were soon partially or fully paved before hillclimbs became that popular. Giants and later the Duryea Hillclimb (60 years old this year) became part of the SCCA National Championship and by then were fully paved.

Sand Rails and Dune Buggies where just for fun, beaches, a few sand and mud bogg drags but not much for pavement. Besides, the SCCA sanctioned events follow a strict class rules configuration that don't favor unlimited modifications of the air cooled cars. Don't count them out though. Our own Morg Wilson was pretty effective in Specials with his modified SOLO Vee and Bob Oswald Jr is embarrasing a lot of larger cc powered, water cooled formula cars with his home built (not your typical backyard stuff) SOLO Vee.

Also of note that wasn't brought up yet is Jim Ozwalds Sports Racer that set many class, overall hill and FTD times that was powered by a variety of air cooled, normally asperated and turbo charged power plants. Somebody needs to post or forward the famous "leap" photograph of Oz at the jump at Weatherly.

We just need to let the West Coasters know we aren't a bunch of wussies out here. :mrgreen:

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VW water cooled still rules
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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by dspgti »

It's hard for me to understand why historical information doesn't remain on the web site. There was a thread some ago under this subject that was about getting "Air" at Weatherly. Although I ridiculed it's importance, it had in fact some Historical Value. Now when you go to the thread, no pictures are available. That really sucks. If we can't keep information available for more than a month or two, what is it worth?

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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by LARRY LONG »

Dave

If you go to PHA Museum & Archive's Facebook site there is a section with 9 pictures of cars taking air at Weatherly.

You need to click down through the "older post" a couple times.

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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by Colorado Aircooled »

Bill Brister drove a car more like what the east coast had back then. Still sandrail based but ran almost a full body and street tires. He raced this car in 1976-77
He later went on to race in a Wells Coyote and set two records.
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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by Colorado Aircooled »

Thanks for this wonderful picture !!! I knew you guys would come through !! :D

I can now show that Dune Buggies raced Hill Climbs on the right side of the country !

From the Hershy Hill Climb 1968 ,does anyone have the results from the race,or know who's car this is?

I think it is a Deserter Dune Buggy
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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by Ron Mann »

I have all the info....feel free to contact me via email (I posted that photo on www.thesamba.com)
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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by Colorado Aircooled »

Need help with identifying two cars.
The first is Ken Blockhan , he raced this Formula Vee on Pikes Peak 1972-1975
The only picture so far of a Formula Vee on race day. Any ideas on the make ?
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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by Colorado Aircooled »

A second car that I have no other pictures of, Is Paul Morton's car. Lasted raced in 1982.

Looks like a Super Vee and was powered by an aircooled Porsche motor.Photo from tech inspection.

Need help with what type of cars these two are.Thanks !
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Re: Aircooled Hill Climb race cars

Post by Mwilson »

The V looks very much like a Beach Mark 5. With the large tires on the rear, my guess he was running a 1600 or a 2000 cc engine.
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