500 BHP Mini Pickup!! Is Nat smoking grass!?

[@johnhurst3737]

Nat, " I'll hand over in a minute "......... 40 minutes later! We love a tangent😂😆👍

[@ManilvaRS]

I must have commented on every weekly video about the class 7, and now we have a whole video. What a treat!

[@Braveheart7914-idfl]

Brilliant Nat this will be so interesting and popular no doubt 👍🏻😉

[@totalutternutter]

Is Nat smoking grass? No, he's doing class A.

[@stantheman_10]

lol

[@001Elan]

Classic Matt… at minute 3 he said “I’ll be brief” and true to form he was ‘Matt brief’ … took four breathes in the next 14 minutes and educated us all on what sounds like a great day out.!! Great stuff as always ….

[@FeathersMcGinty]

Thanks for this one; super interesting and a nice treat towards the end of the week. Always look forward to Sunday evenings 😁

[@vogs72]

Never ceases to amaze me how many unsung heroes every career/profession has. Great to see another recognise.

[@dasfunkyzeit8848]

Many, many years ago, I visited a mate at Loughborough Uni for a trip to the Birmingham SuperPrix. On the Sunday, we had a run out to a country pub for lunch and stumbled upon an autograss meet. As one race finished, another started! The action was non stop!! Highly recommended and cheap to watch. Not sure how widespread it is though.

[@colinmann8956]

One of my favourite videos from RP. Love the indepth info and Nats genuine enthusiasm for the sport is contagious.

[@joeyd879]

Not seen a car KZbin title that good in a long while 😂

[@stephengriffiths6047]

Please take the cameras to an event. Please please please. Oh, and I do love Nat's breif explanations. Nat, dont ever be tempted to shorten them further. The level of detail is inspiring and intoxicating.

[@ernied3123]

That was awesome Nat. Cheers.

[@chrisslater3174]

"I'll try to be very brief..." 😂

[@retropowercars]

😂😂

[@angeloshanahan6239]

Needs to be on a t-shirt

[@IanClements-q9m]

Looking good Nat, but noticed on several of the rose jointed bolts that the bolts are not long enough for the nyloc nuts, ideally you are wanting as a minimum 1.5 to 2 full threads through the nut where as they were not engaging on the nyloc collar.

[@RetropowerNat]

It’s just put together temporarily at the moment, will be fully stripped to paint and plate/coat everything yet then all rebuilt

[@pdriwsteve]

My `grassing` history goes back a bit further, 1980, first in a mini but soon progressed to class 9, back when roll cages could be made from 1" box section 🥺. Finally settled into class 8 and bike engines, never won a nationals but close a couple of times. Raced with Geoff quite a few times and has been said always a gent, he will leave a big hole in the Autograss world.

[@rodneymounsey4168]

What a mad little car, this is a side of Nat I haven’t seen before! What a fine young man. That things nuts and we must see it on the track, please.

[@salohcinnosnah6379]

A lot of those tig welds on the chassis have a real undercut from too much heat / not enough filler. Look like they're gonna crack. Especially where the suspension mounting plates join the tubes. I think you need to bring a fillet off each end to prevent fracturing. Great build other than that. Can't wait to see more updates.

[@StevenStratford]

Gorgeous piece of engineering

[@mikeroz6549]

That was very interesting. 👍

[@johnrussell5245]

I used to race Autograss back in the 1970/80s. Beresford was racing back then and starting to offer some components to other drivers. Sad that he's no longer with us.

[@colinhead284]

Autograss , apart from the Dragstrip , its the only place you can see cars doing wheelies away from the start line , and don't forget this is on dirt !!!

[@-MacCat-]

It sounds like the perfect incubator for future champions. Great idea.

[@spowagematthew]

I remembered because my first car was a mini pickup. YDO 145T.

[@leeattwood5443]

The funny thing is, he looks so normal 😜🤨

[@adamyearsley1204]

Just awesome 🤙

[@Danger_mouse]

Lovely looking car, and it will be lots of fun!! A couple of things that caught my eye... 1/ The radiator looks like it could be vulnerable if you cop a whack on the RH rear. I know you mentioned non-contact, but if you have a spin and someone cleans you up having the radiator right to the sides of the car might mean damage. 2/ The pedal placement looks odd with the levels all up and down. Maybe that's your preference, but typically you try to get them all on the same plane to switch between them in a hurry... Will be great to see some vision of the car racing soon 👍👍👍

[@rangerlongshot]

It's a two speed box so I doubt they are shifting much once the race starts. Also, I doubt they brake. I grew racing AMA Dirt Track on 1/4 mi, 3/8mi, half mile ovals (and 1/8-1/10mi indoors on concrete) . We geared the bikes to never shift and never used the brakes. In my era, and even today, bikes had no front brake. We didn't use brakes in a race anyway. In fact until 1969 or 1970 no AMA dirt track bikes had any brake at all. Even the 750cc bikes on mile ovals.

[@Danger_mouse]

@rangerlongshot You'd be surprised him much left-foot braking is used on dirt to settle the car. Regardless, it still makes sense to have the pedals on the same plane for emergencies. Things like dipping the clutch to save a spin or avoid a crash and not stall the engine...

[@superchickensoup]

Do any of you lot really think that this car belonging to Nat has any details that have not been thought out? What you say may be correct but I'm pretty sure everything on this car is done for a reason and how Nat wants it 🤦‍♂️

[@Danger_mouse]

@@superchickensoup The question was to Nat 👍 Interested to hear his thoughts.

[@RetropowerNat]

Pedals are just thrown in, with no master cylinders attached so they are all over the place. They are now mounted but they weren’t in the video. Reece had just dropped the car off and the pedal location and steering column were wisely left until I could sit in the car and trial the positions. Radiator is quite vulnerable. Contrary to what I imagine may be assumed by a few viewers, the car is being built on a fairly modest budget, so while I would love to have had a custom radiator made, a Far Eastern made jaguar xjs v12 alloy radiator was so close to working that we went for that. It’s cheaply replaceable and “almost” fits! We will see, if it gets broken a couple of times then I will have to dig under the sofa for some money for a custom made one.

[@lukeframpton3671]

Be nice to see it on the road take a look at project binky now that's a mini

[@criscross572]

Cant wait to see you coming out the corners on the back wheels. 8 into 1 exhaust please.

[@timbetts7377]

Motorsport at any level is all about the size of the chequebook

[@philtucker1224]

Yes, It’s great competing with others on the same budget. (Clever thinking can often overcome a small purse). Winning feels just as good whatever the outlay! 😁👍

[@oikkuoek]

That front end is going to be a handful. Cornering grip will be very inconsistent and restless. On a field surface, the A-arm pivot has to have a bearing for the movement and a soft housing to eat the bumps. Inboard lever suspension would bring even more sensitivity and necessary travel to the setup. The rear on the other hand is going to be all over the place. Once one wheel finds grip, it flings the back as an armed leaf spring. Getting it to lean on any surface will be a challenge, if not entirely impossible.

[@RetropowerNat]

The basic setup is well proven. We aren’t reinventing the wheel, just tweaking it. The cars will touch 100mph on a 440 yard dirt oval so work reasonably well

[@GeneFraxby]

Binky looking a bit rough in this one...

[@tintin6892]

Are you going to put some dirt protection on those rose joints, or are they a consumable?

[@RetropowerNat]

Consumable really. I’ve always found that when jetwashed off, dirt ends up inside protection boots and then they are worse than not having any

[@allandriver2066]

Cant believe he got through that without a Coffee in his hand...

[@GuyChapman]

Much quicker than Binky, though!

[@andydix6243]

Non contact... 😂 Rubbin' is racin' 😂

[@spowagematthew]

Midweek magic🎉

[@JamesYoung61]

If you want to see what happens when you put one of those cars on tarmac, Liam Doran took his to the USA and joined up with Cleetus McFarland, to see what happened Google I Drove The CRAZIEST Mini-Truck on EARTH!

[@ronald1968]

Huge cleetus fan here.... liams mini is bonkers

[@superchickensoup]

Hey Nat, I realise you come up the lake district a fair bit, I love in Ambleside, been here my whole life, my family where lakeland hill farmers back in the day. I do a fair bit of outdoor stuff, if you ever want guiding up some of the more interesting routes up the mountains drop me a message, there are some pretty awesome things to go up. Like grade one scramble type stuff 😊

[@RetropowerNat]

Awesome!! We were in Ambleside briefly a few weeks ago! Stayed a night in Ings then pottered through Ambleside and Windermere and over the passes to Eskdale. I have so many fond memories of holidays with my parents in the Lakes.

[@shaun5313]

Have you corner weighted it yet ?

[@RetropowerNat]

Yes………

[@13harward]

You didn't mention the tyres! Im a tyre weirdo and if i spot an interesting looking tyre tread pattern, i need to know! 😆 Are they specific race tyres?

[@japanesetoenglish]

Maxsport Alaska 2s. 195/55/15s or so. Other dirt oval sports have staggered tyres (the outside being larger), but the standing starts in autograss make that problematic.

[@mopedmarathon]

It always seems a shame when you look at the machinery used in oval racing that they don’t get to drive on more interesting shapes of track. I get it’s still very complex and skilled but wouldn’t it be great to see them on a dirt version of various world famous tracks played out in a big field?!

[@lestercranmer2631]

any rotary engines being used?

[@mopedmarathon]

Are the seat and pedals on the piss? Is it due to nats height or because they only turn one way?

[@japanesetoenglish]

Quite common in these cars to either i) get more weight on the inside rear or ii) to provide more room for taller drivers. The cabs are tiny.

[@RetropowerNat]

@@japanesetoenglishexactly those two things

[@evanjohn503]

lets start with the Jimmy Saville 'hallo guys an' girls' shall we - Yes, really

[@ayocaritauu]

nice

[@ogofog9120]

It appears to have no brakes…

[@DavePilotCH47]

What type of tires do you use?

[@RPM.Retropower_Marc]

Does that do sick ass wheelies

[@RetropowerNat]

I suspect it may do 😂 you’ll have to have a try!

[@RPM.Retropower_Marc]

@RetropowerNat if you let me I will do it 🤣🤣

[@Jonny-s400y]

There are now 12 different classes in the sport

[@JohnRolyAU]

mint

[@markkulehtinen4733]

1000 hp is todays 500 hp. Wink wink..

[@philtucker1224]

With those tyres on dirt you could probably transmit maybe 150 horsepower maximum before traction ceases.

[@RetropowerNat]

@@philtucker1224you’d be surprised. It varies enormously depending on conditions. As an idea though, my old class 9 was 200hp or so in 450kg and on some tracks I could use full throttle nearly continuously. On others barely at all!!!! Loose, half clay/half loam tracks that are damp but not wet, can use huge power, whereas packed clay tracks can barely take any. That’s one of the greatest skills in autograss, reading the grip in the track as it changes and altering your line to suit, while still racing the other competitors of courses!!

[@philtucker1224]

@ Cheers Nat , you’re a diamond. Keep up the good work and DON’T ever give up the “waffle” 👍🇬🇧

[@alanlofus3100]

surely that steering column dangerously emulates a spear pointing at your chest ??????

[@13harward]

Nat did mention that the fabrication guy had deliberately left it too long so that Nat chose his steering wheel position, then it will be cut down to suit.

[@stevepearce1913]

Well - he's clearly got an oil burning LS addiction! This even is passed on to Retropower customers who for example pollute fine classic Mercedes with them.

[@tigjunkie73]

Liam doran already done it !

[@RetropowerNat]

Done what? If you mean, “has a mini pickup autograss car” then probably 500 people have already done it. He bought a twin bike class 7 that was an already proven car. His isn’t v8 power, probably 100hp less power than the v8 cars have, but also a smidge lighter. His demos have done a lot to promote the sport. I look forward to having a little race with him when he does a few more race events with it. He looked to be on a steep learning curve (as will I be!) when I saw him racing earlier this year!

[@johnfish8674]

😂

[@BuiltatBlackjacks]

Never understood why people use Hatabusa engines. Yes they do 200mph, but that's the aero not the engine and in a car you're not using the aero. ZZR 1400s look much better suited, and are a lot cheaper.

[@stevemcilroy.62]

Binky 2

[@paulwhite7475]

I hate floor mounted pedals

[@leowalless9328]

I love the show, I love Nat and all the team but this video was phenomenally IRRITATING to watch, because Nat constantly talked all over Reece, even when Reece was answering a question! Need to improve your co-presenting skills Nat. I bailed after 20m

[@RetropowerNat]

I was a bit concerned about this, and yes I do indeed need to improve my co-presenting……..you’d think I was an engineer not a presenter 😂

[@MrAussieCrasher]

Nice fabrication work but some of the rose joints look stressed .

[@RetropowerNat]

Inner rear arm joints and lower outer fronts. Rears need to be that way to achieve adjustability, are commonly run that way and are grossly oversized (50tonne radial load) to cope, and the front corner weights are 75kg so very lightly loaded, and again proven on several hundred cars with same uprights and bearings so should be ok 👍

[@Farlig69]

20:49 💉💉💉☠☠☠