Robin (UK)

Here are some P15s in action...

Fantastic. Looks better than ever, Bob. Thanks for sharing.

Yes. Definitely sounds like a poor ground.

Hi John, Simon needed (hard to find) rear drums for his 50 Dodge Wayfarer coupe recently and did a lot of research to find parts. So he will probably have some contacts for front and rear drums. He's on here as SimonTiki and on FB as Simon Leighton. He's in Andover, so local to you. Good luck. R.

I made a 466 mile round trip with my son, yesterday, to see the original 1925 Bluebird land speed record car return to Pendine Sands on the 90th anniversary of Malcolm Campbell being the first man to top 150mph. Bluebird was driven by Malcolm Campbell's grandson. The awesome Napier Railton also made an appearance. It was just a shame that another record breaker - Babs (The Higham Special), which is housed in the museum by the beach, wasn't taken out to meet its nemesis on the sand. Here are links to some original movie footage: http://www.britishpathe.com/video/a-mile-in-a-1-3-of-a-minute/query/Malcolm http://www.britishpathe.com/video/brooklands-500 http://www.britishpathe.com/video/mr-parry-thomas And some old and new pictures...

I have an OD, Marty. And have tried exactly that on a few of my runs. But I have fast second ratio, so the split is not quite where it would work to best effect... so I just ran out of track.

Yes, it's a speed trial. Half mile run up. Timed through 1/16th mile. Having now made 9 runs at Pendine I can vouch for the fact that the sand costs a lot of speed. But it's not only the resistance the sand offers against top speed that's the problem. In lower gears it's very hard to get the speeds up high enough to make the most of the power band after shifting up. There's a gap between maximum speed in 2nd and optimum speed for shifting into 3rd. Although this year's run on Saturday (in the video) was my best so far, I could feel the car bogging down after shifting into top. On the road, that's no problem. I was still accelerating coming out of the time traps, so it's now a case of trying to find that acceleration earlier, to see if I can break the 80mph barrier.

Welcome aboard, Steve. Look forward to hearing more news and seeing pictures.

Hi Chris, I'm running a Dodge 230 with Fenton head, Sharp intake with dual Carter carbs and Fenton headers through twin pipes. This year (for the first time) the exhausts were uncapped under the car. The sand is a huge limiting factor, so I ran with high tire pressures (benefitting from the advice and experience of some of the other racers). My cam is standard. Dean's car runs a freshly built 218 with an Edgy head, Edmunds intake, Langdons headers and a fast road cam.

We haven't yet got the full results list from this year, but last year we beat all three 235 powered Chevs and four out of six V8 flathead powered Fords. The Plymouths are doing well and it was noticeable that there was a lot more interest in our cars this weekend.

I want be able to drive home, Don. If I got a powershift wrong I'd be worried that some of the engine's moving parts would be making a break for freedom!

I've just got home from the 3rd annual VHRA Amateur Hot Rod Races at Pendine Sands. Congratulations to Deano, who set a new class record of 80.09mph on Sunday, in his 2-door sedan - the first 6-cylinder powered full-bodied car to break the 80mph barrier. My convertible managed 77.98mph on Saturday, holding the record for a full 24 hours! It was an amazing weekend. Here's your chance to take a 'high speed' ride in a P15 convertible...

The new drums that are available are front only and Simon hasn't yet been able to find any good used drums. As you say, they must be out there, but the search goes on...

My Westach was about $140 for the tach itself, plus less than $20 for the bullet mount. I can't remember how much the stainless bezel was, but I'm guessing also less than $20. You can check it all out at www.westach.com

I wish it improved my driving... not my appearance!

No Greg, It's a vintage Clymer helmet, from California. Here's a picture of me wearing the helmet at Pendine Sands. And an original Floyd Clymer ad from 1956.

A few nice stills from the day at Brands Hatch.

Yes Cpt Fred... 6V +ve ground.

Westach. I ordered mine with a special instruction, requesting an all-white pointer. It matches the original gauges really well. I also bought their bullet mount and painted that to match the steering column. Very pleased with how it looks and works.

Just the Indy circuit, Simon. Although we did go round virtually the whole Grand Prix circuit to enter and exit the track, as there was racing taking place as we gathered.

Just got back from a great day at Brands Hatch, where I was able to take my Plymouth round the circuit a couple of times, as part of a demo run by the Vintage Hot Rod Association. The meet included a round of the Nascar European Series, so there was a big crowd. Great fun. And the first time I've run the car with open headers... https://youtu.be/VJa6yEcdRAM

I'd recommend Bill Hirsch at www.Hirschauto.com I'm very happy with the top he provided for my P15.

Really enjoyed our cruise around London, Brent. And I'm looking forward to tasting that Oregon coffee!

A zany mash-up of action shots from ATOMIC - the Vintage Festival that I organise in the UK. Hope you enjoy this...

SimonTiki's 1950 Dodge and Buick John's 1947 Chrysler business coupe at a show last weekend. I'd been looking forward to seeing these two cars for the first time, and they didn't disappoint...