I would do that with my attorney... Co signing that letter with intent of a class action law suit.... The POS NHRA inspector is nothing more than a low life thief.......
I'd be willing to bet Im not the only one but finding the others would take more time and trouble than its worth. Going to war with the NHRA is probably the last thing I'd want to do. My membership revoked, chassis certs gone. never race at any sanctioned event or member track... No thanks
Not going to war.......butbthey need to know if one of their inspectors is doing this stuff with a measuring device that is not correct. Let's face it ppls life's are on the line here. And ots truly not fair from stealing ppls money
I'am glad you wrote a letter to NHRA, because you can't be the only one that got rejected by a 20 year old outdated meter. I have to say, i'am very surprised to hear the NHRA doesn't have an instrument inspection process in place. Where I live, all the County & State police departments have in place, an inspection process for their speed radar equipment. It's not difficult to do this. I hope the NHRA comes through for you. VET (Navy)
Tech inspectors don't always know what they're doing. We had a $70K All-Pro motor disqualified at East Bay because they said the valve angle was wrong. They measured it with a plastic protractor, the kind we used in grade school. Glad you got it over with.
Briz, Next time you are headed to BMP you should hit me up. I live about 30-40 minutes from there and usually have a spare room. Why drink beer alone at the hotel when you can drink beer in a garage with Buicks in it. Glad it worked out for you. Cliff
Not for nothing, it sounds like the car is a quasi unconventional older build, albeit better, and couple that with Briz being somewhat unfamiliar with the particulars of the original build (no offense intended or implied) it doesn't seem unreasonable that the guy made a mistake. I'd bet a beer if Briz would have pushed back on the tubing then maybe the outcome would have been different. Writing the letter to the NHRA with your concerns is justified, hanging the tech inspector by his curlys is a tad over the line.. As with any inspector type job, lots of folks lie through their teeth to the man.
But as an inspector where you are making the decision you should have correctly functioning and tested and verified tools. I know when machine shops work together they often get together and see how how each other's tools measure so they know they are on the same pagep
If you have a machine shop and you are machining parts under a U.S. Government contract. You are required to have your measuring tools calibrated and certified by the U S. Government Bureau of Standards. One would think the NHRA would have a like system. VET
Oh I pushed back. maybe not hard enough but I did voice my concerns at the time of the inspection and then again when I called the guy back before I left the area to go home. He flat out didnt want to hear it and was standing hard on the call he made. Betting if I'd had the copys of the two prior inspections which passed it might have carried some weight. Had no idea I'd need proof.
Got a message from the 2nd inspector yesterday. First thought was this can't be good. Called the guy back and he wanted to let me know the 1st inspector and the "big bosses" from NHRA had been in touch with him. Seems my letter caused some waves. So far I've got nothing to worry about . He simply had a few questions about the rear bars coming off the main hoop running to the back. If there 1.5 ' dia & over 30", which the 1st guy insisted they were, it has to be interrupted by a cross bar anchored to plates on the floor.. I measured those bars and found them to be just 28" Something tells me I've not heard the last of it.
As I told you already in text. Those rear bars are fine. There is a cross bar holding them together which there is an update in the rule book so it negates the plates. That car is more legal and safe than most cars running the circuit. John jr
Glad to hear that the NHRA is looking into their Inspector. Now, they need an inspection system for their equipment. Hope they haven't lost that important piece of inspection process. You can have the best and honest inspector inspecting the race cars, but all that is trashed by obsolete inspection equipment. VET (Navy).
I know that and the 2nd guy knows also. Made sure to point it out while he was looking the car over. First gent wasnt even interested in looking under the rear hatch. Made sure the 2nd guy started there. Lifted the tin covering the fuel cell and also ready to pull the cover over the shock mounts if needed. Love that everything is so accessable and easy to get to in this thing
Briz, from reading all your posts, I have to say, the first Inspector is not qualified in his inspection duties or he has been ill trained. It's also very clear to me that John Jr has built a very safe car and has as adhered above and beyond all the NHRA rules. After the NHRA has completed their look see into this issue, they owe you an apology, big time. They need to either let their inspector go or retain him. VET
My Thunderbird was originally built in the late 80s like yours. (It's had many updates ) It is a thick chrome moly car also. For your own sake and less headaches down the road, you need to find out if it is moly or not.
So I'm going through my FB post and come across one from my local track advertising a chassis cert day with none other than..... you guessed it The first guy. Been debating to post up my exp with the guy or not stir the pot. Maybe just PM the track owner and share with him?
