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

[@johnhurst3737]

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

[@Paul_Hassell]

What a fantastic build so far, it is nice to see people thinking outside the box and not just following what everyone else is doing within the sport, top class engineering at its best, well done Reese and Nat.

[@chrisslater3174]

"I'll try to be very brief..." 😂

[@retropowercars]

😂😂

[@angeloshanahan6239]

Needs to be on a t-shirt

[@malcolm8938]

You explain things very well, you take what time it takes.​@@retropowercars

[@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.

[@ernied3123]

That was awesome Nat. Cheers.

[@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.

[@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 😂

[@mikeroz6549]

That was very interesting. 👍

[@StevenStratford]

Gorgeous piece of engineering

[@jamiedufrayer5461]

Yep, id love to see some footage when you take it racing! Beautiful job!

[@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.

[@-MacCat-]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@bobqzzi]

Cool project and the racing sounds like great fun. Surprised to hear the FT200 gears can hold down the V8, but I suppose the short shafts are a help there

[@adamyearsley1204]

Just awesome 🤙

[@adamjackson3436]

funny seeing people suddenly realising what these cars are and how cool they are now

[@fredericrike5974]

Do this thing, Nat! Please keep us updated and some clips from the races. We didn't really have many Minis over here, but a number of the others were pretty numerous. Maybe it's time for another transAtlanic borrowing! Five hundred hp, crank or wheel, on a total machine weight under 500 kilos (1100 lbs, US). Lively is a small word to describe how it should go.

[@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

[@leeattwood5443]

The funny thing is, he looks so normal 😜🤨

[@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 !!!

[@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.

[@spowagematthew]

Midweek magic🎉

[@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.

[@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.

[@criscross572]

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

[@lukeframpton3671]

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

[@ChristopherHallett]

I like the American style of banger racing where you have to nominate a value for the vehicle you enter into the class - the higher the value the bigger your handicap, and whatever you value the car at is the value that anyone can buy the car for after the race, no questions asked. Fellow competitors, spectators, track officials, race series administration staff, if you say the car is worth $6000 and you finish in the top half of the grid, literally anyone can say "here's $6k, give me your car" and you can't refuse. Talk about levelling the playing field!

[@spowagematthew]

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

[@andydix6243]

Non contact... 😂 Rubbin' is racin' 😂

[@allandriver2066]

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

[@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! 😁👍

[@GeneFraxby]

Binky looking a bit rough in this one...

[@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

[@markellis796]

Would like to see and hear! the finished product, and maybe some brakes?

[@ayocaritauu]

nice

[@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.

[@GuyChapman]

Much quicker than Binky, though!

[@JohnRolyAU]

mint

[@ChristopherHallett]

I bought my wife a book called "How to get your point across in 30 seconds or less" a few years back. Can someone get a copy of that to Nat? Bloke seems to LOVE the sound of his own voice, to a point I don't think I've ever encountered before in ~42 years of life. Feller - say what you mean. Quickly, simply, and in basic language. Don't repeat yourself, if you have to repeat yourself then you fucked up the first time.

[@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

[@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” 👍🇬🇧

[@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.

[@DavePilotCH47]

What type of tires do you use?

[@shaun5313]

Have you corner weighted it yet ?

[@RetropowerNat]

Yes………

[@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!

[@danb.3397]

Not sure about the LS engine VS something lighter

[@haraldhannelius]

Lovely. This is like wednesday night beer can racing with sailboats. It's not that uncommon for a beginner to race in the same race with an olympian or world champion or a 1000 € boat competing with a one milloin € boat on time-on-time handicap. Just show up and race. Lovely

[@evanjohn503]

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

[@lestercranmer2631]

any rotary engines being used?

They have been tried in the past but with the obvious flaws they did not last how ever there is one being built now a class 7 Wankel turbo in wales , youtube channel called the Wankl pick up 77

[@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?!

[@jerehada]

Can you make a road legal one like single seater Aerial Nomad?

[@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

[@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

[@ogofog9120]

It appears to have no brakes…

[@Jonny-s400y]

There are now 12 different classes in the sport

[@VROOM_tube79]

Does that do sick ass wheelies

[@RetropowerNat]

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

[@VROOM_tube79]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@GrahamLangston-i5n]

Nice car but can a family man afford some things I race 14 years 70s 80s when cars were all home made

[@johnfish8674]

😂

[@csakbencee]

it has some Mini panels but it is not a Mini

[@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

[@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 💉💉💉☠☠☠