The Dork-O-Motive Podcast

This is the in-depth history of Hydrazine in the sport of Drag Racing. It is one of the most mythic, misunderstood, and undocumented stories of the sport's past.

 

In this video we'll explore the origins of hydrazine, how it found its way into cars, how it enhances nitromethane and all of its associated dangers.

 

Hydrazine was by far the most dangerous chemical ever handled regularly by drag racers and perhaps the most destructive as well. In this exploration, we bust myths, dive deep into the players who ran "The H" successfully, and document the cars, people, and events that were effected by it most.

 

Using loads of period books, magazines, interviews, and history, the story is told in depth. Enjoy!

Nitromethane is the world's most powerful racing fuel but it's history and how it came to be may actually be more fascinating than its chemistry.

 

Nitromethane was first made in a laboratory in Germany back in 1872 and as you'll find out, it's history goes far beyond the race track. In this multiple part series we'll explore the origins of nitromethane, why is it a miraculous chemical compound, how it found its way into race cars, its major uses around the world, and it's history that ranges from awesome to terrifying.

 

We'll explore the myths, confirm some, disprove others, and take you inside this truly unique substance. Where did it come from? How is it used? Why does it work in engines? Who banned it? Who failed it ban it and why it scared people very badly in 1958.

 

It's all here!

 

A history of nitromethane...part one!

While the Liberty V-12 airplane engine of WWI is widely celebrated, there was another Liberty machine that has been all but forgotten.

The WWI Liberty truck was designed and manufactured in great haste for an American Army that had all but forgotten to modernize itself before The Great War began. After chasing Pancho Villa around Mexico with a rag-tag fleet of hundreds of different vehicles in 1916 and early 1917, the US Army finally realized the need for standardized vehicles.

An incredible national effort of engineering and manufacturing was put out to produce an order of more than 40,000 trucks in 1917 and 1918. But did it come too late? Could the nation answer the call?

That's the crux of this story.

The story of the WWI Liberty Truck is about the can-do spirit of a country wholly unprepared for war, the chutzpah of it's leadership in industry, and the idea that when the entire might of a country is thrown behind an effort, magic can happen.

The lingering question though. Was it worth it?

This is the story of Walter Arfons' incredible Wingfoot Express 2 rocket land speed car. It's also a history of some pretty incredible rocket powered cars from the 1920s through the 1960s. Machines that raced on dirt tracks, performed at fairs, and even ran at the Indianapolis 500.

 

The story of the creation of the Wingfoot Express 2 is one of perseverance, dedication, mechanical skill, and pure guts. It was a giant rolling science experiment designed to not only break the world's land speed record, but also break the sound barrier.

 

To say that this thing was a glorious failure would be an amazing understatement. Imagine building the first ever JATO rocket powered land speed car from scratch at your home shop, having it break 500mph on the salt flats and still being labeled a failure?

 

Rough, but we're here to tell you why.

This is the story of a company that is one of the most incredible in auto racing history. An operation known for making small engines for fire pumps, for manufacturing forklifts, and for creating marine diesel engines would become the most dominating F1 engine builder of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

 

How did this happen? Why did this happen? Who MADE this happen?

 

All those questions are answered here. You'll learn about the genesis of the company's racing program, the successful projects, the failed projects, the triumphs, and the brilliance of the people behind them all. Many people think Coventry Climax was an engine. In fact it was many engines and much, much success.

 

A British company that was driven by passion, sometimes hidden passion, came to dominated the likes of Ferrari and all the others at their peak. This is truly a tale for the gearhead ages.

This is the story of the fastest car in the world in 1906. The first car to exceed 120mph and a machine that destroyed the most decorated field of automotive competition ever assembled to that point in history...and it ran on steam.

The accomplishments of this short lived racing marvel are huge in the history of the automobile. The speed record it set stood as the outright automotive land speed record for four years. I

t held the steam powered speed record for 103 years. Yes, 103 years.

This is a historical exploration of the history of the Stanley Brothers, their car company, their adventures with steam, and ultimately their conquering of the world's land speed record with a car that used a body and frame made by a canoe company.

A story of early automotive history, Yankee ingenuity, and plain guts, there are elements of tragedy and triumph you will never see coming.

The famed Novi V8 is one of the most storied engine in American motorsports history and also one of the most star-crossed.

 

Massively power, innovative in its design and capable of making noise like no other engine in the history of the Speedway, it never won a race.

 

But why? How does the most powerful engine for a two decade span not win...anything?

 

This is a complete history of the Novi both in its developent and in competition. The people that made it, the technology that advanced it, and the issues that sunk it.

 

If you have wondered where this engine came from, how much power it made and what its guts looked like, you'll know now. Built in incredibly limited number, they were gloriously and awesomely lauded by Indy 500 fans, no matter their record on the track.

This is a story about how five cars with no proper competition class, all running on nitro, crashed the party at the 1965 NHRA US Nationals and changed drag racing forever.

 

This is the story of early funny cars, their search for acceptance, the resistance they had to battle, and how creative owners and builders got in making sure they got the attention and press they deserved. These cars were rebellious as much as they were unique.

 

This is their story.

 

The Offenhauser four cylinder engine is one of the most incredible power plants in the history of American motorsports.

 

It's basic design was conceived as a boat engine in the 1920s, making about 125hp. By the time it was all said and done, Offy engines raced into the 1980s and were making 10 times the power they were at first.

 

The story of the Offy is so amazing because of the cast of characters involved in its creation, the fact that it survived so many attacks, direct and otherwise, on it from bankruptcies, to world wars, to racing rules and more, it survived and thrived.

 

This is the history of the Offenhauser, from its origins to its heights of success in American racing and how this small engine crafted by brilliant minds and hands dominated competition in a way that we'll never see in racing again.

Ford's foray into the Indy 500 in the 1960s is a motorsports story for the ages. In 1963 the company used a pushrod engine derived from their successful 260ci small block V8. After nearly winning the race with that effort, engineers were turned loose to build the ultimate version of the engine.

What they designed was dual overhead camshaft, 255ci V8 that made peak power at 8,000 RPM, was tested to within an inch of its life, and arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ready to win. While 1964 didn't go Ford's way, the engine would win 7 Indy 500 races, countless USAC events, and spur the development of a horsepower war that lasted into the 1970s with turbochargers and ever increasing speeds.

This is an in-depth exploration, starting in 1962 of the development of this awesome engine.