Rare Developments

14/10/2026

So, off the back of the previous post, a question, or maybe even a challenge ...... the gauntlet is down

We all know the lad Finn can pedal ....... especially when there's a slight tinge of red mist clouding the visor ...... but are you looking below at the 'fastest' 23 degree headed motor currently pushing a Brisca F1 around the tarmac ovals?

The lap times even seem to suggest it has the legs on most of the uber expensive 15* and 18* engines out there ....... and that's without mentioning the really exotic stuff

Heads previously condemned, pistons and bores three seasons old, as is the valvetrain, crank most likely pre-war ....... whole thing's a complete enigma, or nightmare if it's just gone past you ......

Of course, all work shown done in house ...... engine 'building' as I see it ...... not merely the assembly of new boxed components into outsourced machined parts

And yes, apologies for the shameless self promotion, but this is a serious game ......





BriSCA Heritage BriSCA

14/10/2026

The lad Finn out at Skegness weekend gone, with the 'tarmac' engine back in it's rightful place, and singing as good as it ever will

Saturday evening only, winning heat 2 ..... video not great but captures the moment

Otherwise the rest of the evening was the usual mixed bag ...... but what caught my, and others, eye was in the GN

Having accidentally been dragged onto the infield by a lower grader early on, and then rejoining the race, the next half dozen laps or so chasing the pack were, in my opinion, probably some of the quickest of the entire night's racing ...... be interesting to see the lap times when they surface

Brisca F1

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08/10/2026

So I guess we'll have to see come Saturday night how this goes

Been a while since I built one, but you never know .......

Brisca F1 Hotstox BriSCA Skegness

06/10/2026

I seem to have gotten over this 'messaging' bug nonsense here, so should be able to reply now ...... right up until the moment it stops working again

I'll likely be at Skegness this Saturday ...... so if anyone wants a chat or, god forbid, discuss work ...... by all means come say hello

I'm the ugly, tallish, bald bloke in the RD cap ....... who'll mostly be hiding away from people who want engines back

Be an interesting day ...... optimism tempered with bare naked reality, lol

Gotta love this stuff .......

Brisca F1 Hotstox

28/09/2026

More pics from three months ago ...... guess I was just too busy to post up ...... heads from the supercharged methanol dragster

If you think it looks like there's a lot of heat gone through 'em, you'd not be wrong ...... first pic

Heads are Dart 'Iron Eagles' ...... obviously cast iron, as opposed to the usual Aluminium stuff I do ...... which all things considered was a wise choice

After a minor repair, it was time to get all the seats properly in, which ...... bearing in mind they're likely more than a couple decades old now and have had various other builders 'interpretation' of what works put into 'em ...... took a little work

Last pic shows completed head, after CBN surfacing, all seats in, chambers blended and ready to assemble

Did they go ok on the motor? Well enough, with more to come .....

Santa Pod Raceway Hotstox F1 BriSCA Manston Elvington Straightliners Drag Racing UK Drag Racing Mart UK NOSTALGIA SUPERSTOCK British Drag Bike National Crail Dragzine.com Eurodragster.com

27/09/2026

Flicking through some pics realised I hadn't put much up about Allan's blown methanol dragster ..... it pushes around 180 mph in less than 7.5 secs

Kinda goes without saying that not all SBCs use chain drive, this one uses a (three) gear drive, thus retaining normal cam rotation

Methanol pump is driven off the snout of the cam drive, bespoke front cover yet to be fitted

Another build that maybe took longer than anyone liked ..... sometimes stuff pops up, unforeseen damage, parts delays etc ...... but seems to go well enough despite the wait

New crank, rods and pistons, in a reworked Dart little M underpin the job

My understanding is that further development is ongoing, and power in excess of 1000 bhp is the goal ..... so good luck to Allan and the lads for next season

Santapod SantaPod Raceway 1/4 Mile Drag Strip 350 UK Drag Racing Mart

27/09/2026

Well, lets hope this really is the 'final' assembly of the bottom end ....... first pic

Having not built an RV8 of any persuasion in maybe 35 years, you can be forgiven for overlooking the odd thing ...... and this turned out to be a very odd thing

Unbeknown to me, when you put one of these fancy, aftermarket, front cover/oil pump deals onto an 'early' crank, as most 'four-twos' were, you have a problem ........

Shame the customer didn't avail me of the issue in advance ...... hey Andy?

Anyway ...... turns out you essentially don't have a full complement of keyways, or at least a really long one that goes to near the front of the crank snout, to catch the balancer

So it, being all together, had to come apart, and another keyway slot machined reasonably correctly ...... it's the short one on the left

Being same width as an SBC key, and more importantly to hand, that's what went in

Trial fit of balancer confirms all is well ...... following pics ...... takes maybe a bit more setting up than the simplicity of the job might otherwise suggest

[Not wishing to offend the sensibilities of my loyal follower, I'll not mention the suggested 'hillbilly' method of cutting in the extra keyway slot, we do things 'all proper like' at RD ......]

Brisca F1 Hotstox BriSCA Heritage 350 Rover Rover V8

26/09/2026

Normal cam timing nonsense ......

Still not quite sure what all the gauges and dials do, but it all goes towards making a mightily impressive photo

There's actually a little bit more in it than might be apparent, and usually includes a conversation with the organ grinder ...... not the monkey ...... as to were to put the cam 'in'

Large chunks of precision ground steel stop the DTIs falling on the floor, not the usual problem I get with old iron

Brisca F1 Hotstox

26/09/2026

Very well done to Kyle, Mark, the team, family and friends ....... thoroughly deserved

26/09/2026

Heads going on upcoming build ...... more off which to follow

During mock assembly it became very clear that ......

Not only were the guides too tall to allow the retainer to clear the top of the seal at full cam lift

The seals themselves had too large an OD to clear the inner spring with any certainty

And the machining in general was hardly top draw, the already machined guides varying in diameter

Which was all a bit surprising given the provenance .....

So they were cut down to the required height and OD, and will be assembled when the new seals arrive ...... hopefully they'll actually supply the correct ones this time, which would be nice

Brisca F1 Brisca Heritage Hotstox BriSCA