Too Extreme, or Just Ahead of its Time?

The Chaparral 2J, despite being over 50 years old, remains today one of the most fascinating vehicles ever made. Its unapologetic, utilitarian styling and forward thinking (if unfortunately, ill-fated) technology inspired a generation of engineers to think outside the box, not just in Can-Am, but Formula 1, Le Mans and beyond. Did it deserve better?
Ethan the video editor: ethanvideoedits?t...
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#racing #genius #granturismo

[@automobilistic]

Small correction: The smaller 2-stroke engine was from a snowmobile. It was later used in jet-skis, but the jet-ski as we know it didnt exist until 1973.

[@tommccallan8802]

💯 correct..although Polaris (Canada) had a water craft long before kawasaki.

[@rednecrodevil3754]

is vacuum cleaner not washing machine sey it right plz!!!

[@turbo_marc]

i swear nobody will shut up about this car

[@Eduardo_Espinoza]

Also ironic, McLaren made their own fan car

[@todd3285]

@@tommccallan8802 What the fvck does that have to do with this conversation .

[@nissim9081]

Gran Turismo has contributed so much to the legacy of this car

[@automobilistic]

Coming across this car for the first time in GT4 was awesome

[@RedWingPixy]

For fact, I'm using mazda 787b race car on world champion, that mclaren almost equal my speed but somehow the tyre wear are slower than mine, so the result mclaren get first place without pit in

[@jt5782]

Some of the songs in the background is from gt lol

[@kalmmonke5037]

@@automobilistic gma t50 is similar except its supposed to also increase top speed by areodynamics, lift car for less bumpy ride, improve effeincy, and downforce , with airleons , and i guess it also changes how much downforce or lift each rea corner gets, or maybe all 4 corners get some support. theres a testing mode that makes it all on display. but im suprised that is supposedly has more than ideal downforce etc, because its a good distance off the ground and so side panels isolating the ground area, for driveability on rough roads and less of a bumpy ride.

[@justmakingthistoreply5085]

PS3 I remember this car

[@vylbird8014]

The history of car racing, really. Engineers are challenged to make better and better cars - but if they actually succeed then the race operators promptly ban their work from competing.

[@benji-menji]

My guess that's what happens when you are competing as an engineer in a sport where driver skill is also involved. If a car you made has no rival then it becomes less of a sport. Despite that somehow when the blame is on a racer, it seems to be more tolerated. At least building a sports car sounds like a fun compeitive challenge regardless. There is always robotics if you don't want to deal with those problems.

[@vylbird8014]

@@benji-menji Sports needs stars. Charismatic figures to focus fan adoration, and become marketable.

[@benji-menji]

@@vylbird8014 Well they make many sports as good as they are and easier to appreciate for a lot of people so I think it's alright in my opinion. There are still sports like micro mouse that are less about figures and drivers and more about their craft so its not like all sports require the cool guy or anything.

[@Mr0901]

We got pikes peak for that :v

[@victoriazero8869]

It was hated for being an asshole car who left everyone else with dirty air turbulence Doubly true today when aerodynamic cleanliness is so important in racing regulation That's why even though it was a marvel of engineering, Red Bull X1 is literally impossible to race

[@SteveBakerIsHere]

There is another benefit to this setup. Usually, as the car moves through the air - there is a drop in pressure behind the car - which results in it being somewhat sucked backwards into the low pressure area. By pushing the air sucked out from under the skirt into that void behind the car - they were reducing that negative pressure - which improved the car's drag coefficient.

[@johns9652]

Not only that, but I bet other racers couldn't "draft" behind it either... not only because of the debris flying back, but because that void was probably reduced, and you'd be going against a headwind if you tried to tailgate, even if it was a small headwind.

[@gamemeister27]

If I can be a stupid pedant for a moment, the low pressure meant the higher pressure in front of the car pushed the car back. As my 7th grade science teacher always said, science doesn't suck, it blows.

[@johns9652]

@@gamemeister27 'Commence Operation Vaccusuck. Megamaid has gone from suck to blow".

[@josepablolunasanchez1283]

If you allow cars with such big fans, one day someone could bring a propeller airplane without wings and say it is a racing car.

[@gamemeister27]

@@josepablolunasanchez1283 Radial engine cars do exist

[@pr4xzy]

THE WASHING MACHINE !!!

[@rjung_ch]

Yeah, that was funny, 😅

[@vik8218]

the flying refrigerator

[@Weird.Dreams]

2J NO SHIT!

[@NavF1]

I remember buying this in Gran Turismo just because of its looks, I had never seen anything like it

[@automobilistic]

you and me both!

[@MidnightMechanic]

I got it, and wasn't really impressed. Compared to the times I could pull around Nurburgring with the Audi R8 LMP, the limitations of the 2J just didn't warrant any real use in a race. 3 speeds means less time you're in the powerband, because the gear ratios were extremely long for top speed, so acceleration and cornering are chores.

[@xnotasweatx]

@@MidnightMechanic skill issue

[@garethwillis]

@@MidnightMechanic absolutely a skill issue. The car is an animal, extremely capable. He's also comparing an audi R8 lmp to a car built about 30 years ago.

[@kai_444]

@@MidnightMechanic you probably play with all the driver aids on

[@taylorowner]

You might want to add that the one and only 2J is on permanent exhibit at the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Midland, Texas. Actually, all of the versions of the Chaparral cars are on exhibit at the Museum. This also includes the 2K 1989 - 1990 ground effects Indy car that was driven by Al Unser(89) and Johnny Rutherford (1990) Indy 500 winner. When Pennzoil returned to Inday Car Racing in the late 1980's into 1990's' era Jim Hall Racing campaigned a single car entry. I was fortunate to be Pennzoil's Indy Car photographer and, I spent 6 years photographing The Jim Hall Racing, Team campaigning the Pennzoil sponsored Indy Car. The Drivers were John Andretti (2 Years); Teo Fabi 2 Years); and Gil Deferran (2 years).

[@piuthemagicman]

Wow! You have truly lived :)

[@SoonerStoneAI]

You can see some of the footage is from the petroleum museum.

[@botingsten4440]

All versions of the Chaparral are NOT in the exhibit at the PBBM. The 2G version has NEVER been restored or recreated after the fatal crash in Las Vegas 1968, that crippled Jim Hall and ended his racing career as a driver. The 2G is a too painful memory for Jim that he never wanted it to be part of the legacy. I've got this from the mouth of the horse himself in a visit to Midland and Rattlesnacke Raceway some years ago...

[@richleineweber7279]

The 2K Indy car was from 1979 and 1980. Winning the 500 in 1980.

[@johnlockwood367]

I was at Watkins Glen for the debut of the Chaparral 2J, driven by Jackie Stewart. The car was retired with mechanical problems during the race but drew cheers from the crowd as Stewart passed cars on the outside of the old "Hard 90" in the opening laps. Denis Hulme won the race in his McLaren, but Jo Siffert finished second in the same Porsche 917 that he drove in the six-hour endurance race on Saturday. As was custom in the day, after the checkered flag the crowd jumped the fences and ran across the track to the paddock. Siffert decided to take another lap instead of going into the pits, and the crowd on the track parted like the Red Sea and I was staring at a 917 heading right at me. Fortunately, my brothers and I were able to jump out of the way (along with dozens of other fans).

[@edwardbaker1331]

I was there too, and the carry over atmosphere of Woodstock was still prevelant with a lot of drugged out hippies. Amazing that no one got hurt. I did notice a lot of debris blowing out the rear of the 2J, so the other teams had a legitimate gripe.

[@petebeatminister]

The same idea was also brought into F1, when Brabham showed up with the BT46B at the Sweden GP in 1978. The car was driven by Niki Lauda and won the race, being way faster than anybody else. Thats why the FIA banned the car straight away. Brabham claimed that the fan was there to give additional cooling, but the FIA didn't buy that.

[@tonyb4773]

Designed by David Cox, who soon afterwards designed an F1 CVT - using the prototype Romulus 3D CAD system in Cambridge…

[@toppy83]

there is a car out now called McMurtry Speirling that uses the sucktion to the ground prinsip to =) Cool looking electric car, look like the car from Carmageddon if you know that game =)

[@navret1707]

The major clue that the 2J was very good was (wait for it). . . . . They banned it! A page out of NASCAR’s book - “If you can’t outrun them, outlaw them.” It was great to see that you chose the interview with Mark Donahue, although very quickly, twice.

[@kberlinquette]

This is a sickening way to think... I know it's not you... it's just sickening to see something spectacular get banned because it's "Too Good"

[@duncan-rmi]

same thing happened to colin chapman when he tried fan-assist in F1.

[@cdjhyoung]

@@kberlinquette This might be true, but the other teams had a legit complaint unrelated to the speed advantage the 2J had: it was dangerous to the other cars on the track. This car was a giant vacuum cleaner picking up any and all debris on the track an blowing it into the face of any car behind it. It also created a destabilizing wake in its path unlike any thing the other racers needed to deal with. It contained unfair advantages far beyond its mere 'sucker' powers.

[@edh7492]

Back in the day playing Gran Turismo my mates and I knew it as “The Fridge” and it was a hard fridge to beat! 😂

[@teebird94]

It's funny that McLaren,the utterly dominant car at the time,complained the 2J would become too dominant.Only for the following years to be thoroughly owned by Porsche destroying Can-Am completely.

[@daledavies2334]

The preparation of Team McLaren was providing a boring spectacle for fans, but there was some semblance of competition. When Penske and Donohue teamed up with Porsche with the turbocharged 5.0L and 5.4L 917-30 cars, that series was done. Penske/Donohue had the McLaren preparation down pat, and the turbo engines had 200HP to 300HP on the competition.

[@russbellew6378]

​@Dale Davies Good summary. For years I watched the "Bruce and Denny show" at Watkins Glen and saw what I think was the Can Am debut of the 917. I had thought that Mclaren's M8 was unbeatable. The 917 and Mark Donahue soon conclusively proved me wrong.

[@daledavies2334]

@@russbellew6378I was a corner marshal at EIS, Edmonton International Speedway, in the latter part of the season when the 917's were introduced. I had a photo in the pits of the two Penske cars. One had the body on and the other had the body removed. Was a real nice shot showing the construction. Jody Scheckter practiced on Saturday with a 5.0L engine which was replaced Saturday evening to have a fresh engine for the race. Those flat 12's were a tight fit. The mechanics had the engine suspended 1/2 way and it was getting caught on something. They were jabbering in German but swore in English, which I found quite humorous. The engine they installed was a new 5.4L engine. When Jody came out for warmup and practice Sunday morning, he had a bit of difficulty comming out of Corner 1. The larger engine had enough extra torque that he had to get used to how much throttle he could apply and where. The displacement increase was about 8% so power was likely up that much. Starting with about 1,000HP, that was quite a bit of increase. I do not know if the BBC could have survived if turbo charged. Porsche had a leg up on development there with other race programs using turbocharged engines. Like the 911 RSR cars competing against John Greenwood's BBC Corvette. Great watching both series from 50 feet away from the marshal post.

[@andybrice2711]

I would've thought _"It blasts gravel at the other drivers."_ was a more reasonable objection.

[@daledavies2334]

@@andybrice2711Those Chaparal sucker cars settled about 2" when the snowmobile engine was started. Yes there were complaints of tossing sand at following drivers. I read once that Denny Hulme was passed on the outside by the Chaparal ad promptly pulled into the pits having a bit of a snit. Most of these CanAm drivers were championship winners including F1. Big egos go with that. IMHO banning the sucker cars, suspension mounted wings and moveable aerodynamic devices were good moves due to safety concerns.

[@TalkingGIJoe]

The Can Am series was, IMHO, the best racing series ever... loved the cars and drivers.

[@oddshot60]

Can Am and Trans Am. Virtually unrestricted cars and big money drew the best drivers from around the world. Some of the GREATEST racing EVER!

[@terminus8444]

Yes indeed! I don't think there will ever be anything quite like it again...

[@michaelmoore7975]

They were essentially _Formula Libre_ cars, or "Free Formula". Run whatcha brung. Spawned from Group 7 racing. The only conditions being safety equipment. The Can-Am series ushered in the most cutting edge technologies in auto racing and were some of the first using turbocharging, wings, ground effects, and materials like titanium. They were even faster than Formula 1 cars at one time.

[@oddshot60]

@@michaelmoore7975 There was even room for the manufacturers. God ... how I'd love to see it again. Maybe a spec "escape pod" for the drivers, height-length-width and weight limits (out of consideration for the electrics), minimum of 3 tires-max of 4. During a season run them on EVERY racing track known: up Pikes Peak and across Bonneville one at a time, down drag strips by twos and en masse for 2 hours on Mount Panorama. Participation at Le Mans and Daytona for points.

[@MrKruger88]

Tremendous for innovation, that's for sure.

[@kh40yr]

Chaparral had the very first DRS system, by way of extra footpedal to activate it. Once off the Chaparral DRS pedal and on the brake pedal, the wing would automatically snap back to high drag. Bruce McLaren was caught laying under the Chaparral car, to see how it worked.

[@Fopeano]

It was this old-timer I worked with when I was 20ish who told me about this car, the Whittington brothers, and F1 rocket fuel in the 80's. He got me reading Racecar Engineering magazine when all the other kids were splooging about The Fast And The Furious and buying $13 eBay strut tower braces. His name is Paul, and I just want to say thanks.

[@JohnCharb87]

A jet powered washing machine. Gives a new definition to Spin Cycle. Looks more like a refrigerator on wheels. Or a commercial air conditioner because of the fans. Anyway let's call it the Chaparral "Race Appliance" because of it's wild looks. Especially that newspaper article at 8:22 "Hall's Chaparral "Vacuum Cleaner" Racing Car Banned". Unorthodox design philosophies gave us the Deltawing and Peugeot 9X8.

[@daledavies2334]

The fan engines were snowmobile engines. When fired up the whole car settled 2 inches from the vacuum under and air pressure above. Banned as it would vacuum any debris off the road surface and spit it out the back. The other factor in banning it was that the ground effects were so strong and consistant at all speeds. Underbody ground effects lose effect as the speed drops coming into a corner, where you need the downforce the most.

[@TheAlphacad]

I was lucky enough to have seen the 2J run laps at Laguna Seca as a kid. The sound produced by this car had all of us kids waiting at the fences long before we could even see the car. Might have only been doing test laps that day, I don't remember,we would illegally ride our dirt bikes to the track all the time back then. Thanks for the memories. Great video

[@LadyAnuB]

When was this? I didn't know Laguna Seca was on base until I saw it driving around in the company 5-ton and it took a second drive-by to figure out it was Laguna Seca. (88-89)

[@TheAlphacad]

@@LadyAnuB oh it's been awhile since those days. Late 60s thru 79 was when I lived in Marina. Far fewer gates and fences back then. And it was quiet enough to hear the can am cars all the way to the beach !

[@2nd66tube2]

My introduction to the 2J was my Tyco Pro slot car in the mid 70's

[@frankengels7843]

Thanks for a really concise and entertaining vid about Chaparral. I was a friend of Phil Hill. He said that the best racing car he ever drove was built by Jim Hall. He knew what he was talkin about.. .CHAPARRAL.

[@kazefw3834]

THE FLYING FRIDGE!!!!

[@automobilistic]

I haven't heard that one before 😂

[@kazefw3834]

@@automobilistic my mom came up with this, because it look kinda like my houses fridge 😂

[@MrBonger88]

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that some drivers admitted, years later, to fabricating stories about debris hitting them from the 2J just so they could get it banned

[@TheWretchedWorld]

the gm 427 all alloy engine was the basis of whats found in the chaparral 2j, it had larger bore and stroke so it was actually more along the lines of 7.6L or 465ci

[@daledavies2334]

Most teams all used the Chev ZL1 engine that started as 427 CID or 7 liters. The race engines were poked and stroked to 494 CID and produced about 850HP. Good for 210MPH at EIS as reported by the Edmonton Police Service with a radar gun. I used to corner marshal at Corner 1 at the end of the drag strip, a 3/4 mile long straight.

[@Loulovesspeed]

@@daledavies2334 - Yet those monster ZL1 Chevy engines were reduced to the equivalent of mere go-kart engines when the all conquering Porsche 917-30 Can Am, twin turbo flat twelve arrived in Can Am. While the Chevy big block was good for 800-850 hp, the 5.3 liter Porsche engine produced an amazing 1,100 hp at 18 psi of boost. For brief periods however, the boost could be manually increased to a staggering 1,550 hp at a piston melting 32 psi of boost! It clearly was a matter of .

[@daledavies2334]

@@LoulovesspeedI was a corner marshall at EIS, Edmonton International Speedway the year the Porsche 917-30 was introduced. The early engines were 5.0l. By the time the series got to Edmonton, Team Penske had the 5.4l engines. On Saturday, Jody Schekter a former F1 champ practiced with a 5.0l engine. After practice and we were heading home for the day, Jody's mechanics were swaping engines for race day. The mechanics spoke in German but swore in english. Hilarious. Sunday we found out Jody now had the 5.4l engine in his car. Almost 10% displacement increase. The problem with CanAm was almost no regulations. IMHO if they limited to no boost or power adders and a 5.0l or 6.0l displacement limit the series may have continued for a number of years.

[@majorgrub1730]

Nice GT music in rhe bg. Love it. Great video ❤ love this car. Chaparral are underrated af.

[@rayh592]

My favorite car when I was young. I remember building the scale model that was available.

[@richardwaugh2049]

Everything that Jim Hall (Chaparral) did with aerodynamics, aside from this vacuum car, was the forerunner of what dominates racing to this very day. Consider him the godfather of automotive aerodynamics. Dan Gurney (a contemporary of Jim Hall) was hired by Toyota to extend aerodynamics on their race cars (designed by Gurney's AAR Race car company) that created far more negative pressure than what was needed to drive on top of a tunnel without falling down. The car dominated so completely that all the competition had it banned by the racing organizers. A wind tunnel was NEVER used to assist any of Hall's cars

[@ramblerdave1339]

Jim Hall had a lot of help with the aerodynamics, from GM engineering, and their wind tunnel. They were Hall's biggest supporter.

[@richardwaugh2049]

@@ramblerdave1339 Chaparral (Jim. Hall) never once used a wind tunnel for designing any of his cars

[@sptony2718]

I think it should also be pointed out that one of the reasons the 2J and later the Brabham BT64B were banned, was due to the amount of dust and gravel they blew out. So, yeah, sometimes it's not some big evil racing executive just wanting to mess with a team, sometimes it's really just legitimate health and safety concerns.

[@grahambell4298]

The Brabham was not banned, it was withdrawn by Bernie Ecclestone as a sop to the other teams because he wanted to become president of FOCA. Gordon Murray, the car's designer said the claims of debris being thrown out were cobblers.

[@TS-1267]

8:58 ... INDEED OLD BEAN... ✌️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@jeffharper9703]

BOILER SPEED GALORE FIR SURE DADDY'O !

[@TheGravitywerks]

Jim Hall used to live on Seaboard in Midland...in 1969. My friends and I were 6th graders at that time and frequently spoke with he and his wife as they walked around the block after supper in the evenings. We would ask him about his projects (which were difficult to fully grasp for a kid) and would often peer into his garage when the light was on to see what he had cooking. He'd say, "the good stuff is at the shop"...we were always disappointed with this. Hot Rods were the thing then...Rat Finks' Monster mobiles, muscle cars...every form of motor sport was booming. Thanks for the video!

[@michaelbauers8800]

Nice to see a video on this fascinating piece of automotive racing tech. I have known about this car a long time. I never got to see CanAm in person, or on TV, but the vehicles were very cool

[@JackAdamCarter]

Congratulation on 1Million Views!!! Amazing to see this Channel do so well! Can't wait for more!

[@madarab37]

I remember hearing about a Chapparal car with an active rear spoiler that was banned. It seemed ridiculous to ban such innovation to me. Finding out it was McLaren that got it banned is hilarious. I remember McLaren came out with ...I think it was the F1 in a road course series around 1995 and that got banned it's first year. Bad karma, McLaren :)

[@ITProjectManagerMan]

This was a very well done video, thank you. You have a new subscriber. I remember my father brought home a story in the New York Times sports section explaining the concept, complete with a really good technical drawing of the car. The 70's were a very exciting time for technical innovation in motor sports. Unfortunately , it was all to often deadly as well. Good job keeping the legend alive.

[@kirstenspencer3630]

Yes, Mark Donahue was killed testing an early carbon graphite bonded honeycomb chassis car ford engineered. Mark was an excellent test driver.

[@drskull9]

I used to have several hundred 35mm Slides from the Can-Am races at Watkins Glen from 1969-71, including the Chapparal. Also had a lot from the US Grand Prix for those years. A lot of interesting cars, though the Porche were my favorites

[@fsharp7]

This car's so good in Gran Turismo, I'd still drive it in night time, but with driving line/guide on, due to it lacking lights.

[@Spherz]

Worth the wait! Thanks for another great video :)

[@automobilistic]

really glad you enjoyed!

[@-yeme-]

i remember this thing from Gran Turismo 3, not from driving it but from trying to race against it. There was one series where you and the rest of the grid would be in a particular class of car, then there would be this thing, half a lap ahead and almost uncatchable.

[@LethalSpine]

At 0:50, is that Road America? That looks like turn 14 but there's enough off about the scenery where I can't tell

[@rossbrown9571]

Just a little thing but the expression "He was damn good at it' is not an understatement. 'He was good at it' would be an understatement. 'Damn good at it' increases the sentence value so the reader knows it was more than just good. And this folks, is why no one invites me to dinner parties. Excellent film BTW

[@txoilfield]

I grew up in Midland, Texas. Jim Hall was based out of Midland at this time. His chief mechanic, Franz Weiss, was our next door neighbor on "H" street. I saw the Chap 2J on its trailer parked in front of Weiss' home several times. Mr Weiss, a stoic man of German ancestry , when asked about the 2J, would tell me "I am not allowed to talk about this item" when I pestered him for details. We all supported Hall's racing and we took it personally (as a community) when the 2J was outlawed. Not to be stymied, Hall continued with the high mounted wing aero device on later models.

[@WILLIAM1690WALES]

After watching this, it reminded me of the McMurtry car, particularly when it was racing around Goodwood, setting a record time quirky, but my God, the speed was fantastic

[@zoltankaparthy9095]

I remember watching it race at Bridgehampton. The Hall guys were hi-tech with all sort of technicolor screen electronic monitoring devices.

[@TS-1267]

... Quite Whimsical With Detailed Explanation Without The 'Bumpf'... Cheers Alot ✌️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🥂

[@dennisboekema2065]

I first saw this car in Gran Turismo, even than it was beyond odd but thanks this video i learned the history of this cutting edge design.

[@michaelcerkez3895]

I remember that car when I was a child. Didn't know that much about it other than it was very fast.

[@spikey2740]

When it was "right", it was fantastic. Interestingly it acquired the nickname "the vacuum cleaner", probably among others.

[@glasair38sr]

Great vid BTW. Would otherwise never hear of the cool niche manufacturers.

[@jimmurphy9328]

I personally saw the Sucker Car at the Road Atlanta Can Am race; I also saw all the rock damage to the rest of the cars AND drivers' helmets that was caused by the sucker car sweeping rocks up and shooting them out the back. It reminded me of bird shot damage. This is what the drivers protested about and got the car banned.

[@sparkeyjames]

FYI the tires on any race car kick up just as much crap as that 2J ever did. Driver lied about it.

[@jimmurphy9328]

@@sparkeyjames I saw up close the cars and helmets BEFORE and AFTER their first track session. I have NEVER seen in all the decades since such extensive damage. I was an eyewitness . . . .and you . . . ?

[@inn0v8]

In addition to this car being in Gran Turismo there was also homage paid to it in Ridge Racer Type 4. Just a neat tid-bit of info I thought I'd share.

[@mcgwerks]

Another great video! really good job explaining such an obscure car

[@patrickgriffitt6551]

Not that obscure if you were a huge fan of group 7 during its run. Saw them race at Elkhart Lake.

[@phillipmcmurran8991]

I remember watching that car race on "Wide World of Sports".

[@joebfnl1079]

I had a model of this car and the one with the wing and my slot-car set had one as well!

[@tigerpjm]

Nice vid mate, keep 'em coming!

[@automobilistic]

Thanks!

[@Equals488]

So true. I went the museum in texas. Where Dave's cars are on display, before it was open to the public. I got to sit in this very car. It was cool to find out by sucking the air out from under it; it could have better handling in corners and go faster.

[@jennifersman7990]

Jim Hall would later say that production of the car was rushed and if they’d had another year of testing they could’ve worked out all the reliability issues it had

[@caribman10]

Yeah, and if wishes were horses we'd all have a stable.

[@elmerfudd979]

I saw Jim Hall crash his Chaparral 2G at the Stardust Raceway in '68. He broke his legs. I was lucky to see the 2J race at Riverside Raceway in Ca. It was the #1 qualifier but retired due mechanical difficulties.

[@swamihuman9395]

- Thx for the history lesson. - I'd heard of this race car, and its "suction" technology, and that controversy lead to its banning - but did not know all the details covered in this video. - Great job. And thx, again.

[@philgiglio7922]

The automatic transmission is why he was never able to get off the line fast enough. It always penalized his starts

[@caribman10]

It had a lot of drawbacks along with the slow starts......

[@kiwibiker9754]

Reminds me of the Eagle Thrust II,by Clarkson design studio.

[@jasonkeyes474]

Great video; I just subscribed! Question: since you are doing GT car videos (fantastic idea, by the way!), can you do one on the Mitsubishi GTO? Just tonight, I tuned mine to beat Sarthe in GT6, the iB Supercar Festival. Stock, it's a pig, but with careful attention to power distribution, I can make the understeer vanish and let the tail hang out while the fronts keep us moving along the line. Anyway, I needed to share this because I have nursed this car through every race it qualifies for, and it really paid off. Anyway, cheers!

[@JackAdamCarter]

Back with a BANG! Brillint as always!

[@NoLimitSquad]

I love using this on gt7

[@automobilistic]

I haven't played GT7 yet, when I do the 2J will be in my garage as fast as possible!

[@xnotasweatx]

@@automobilistic there’s a mission challenge for it, you can save millions by just doing that

[@perry92964]

i had the slot car, it was afx scale. unfortunately it didnt have a vacuum system on it so there was no advantage

[@jackwood2328]

Good presentation. Very good.

[@video_gabes]

Another banger of a video mate!

[@TalenGryphon]

When I was a kid I honestly thought this was a special high-speed vacuum cleaner for clearing debris off the racetrack

[@automobilistic]

lmao

[@captainsmartass3368]

I love all cars in the CAN AM and I hope you can do a video on the 917

[@automobilistic]

Its on the list!

[@jamesjross]

0:38 “We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like "I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive...."

[@Derek_Kalki]

I feel like this design concept regarding air dynamics could be better adapted today especially in the electric car realm.

[@rich4444hrsm]

Pretty cool :) nice video!

[@davidrobertson5700]

An ancient fast roads sweeper. Handy at giant gigs to clean up after the crowd

[@wallacewallets7557]

i had this model car.. but back then i was way to young to appreciate it

[@stubaker2574]

I remember well and kept up with the team..chapparal...the name got my ear and using a chevy engine sealed the deal for me at that era of time...

[@samfrancisco8095]

Great museum in Midland , Texas. Was in town when they brought this car out and drove it around. Loud.

[@alanwright7819]

I’ve always loved Chaparral race cars, since my first encounter with them (sort of); a Hot Wheels Chaparral 2e, from some time in the mid-1960’s.

[@Mike28625]

I had imagined a hover craft car hybrid. Now i don't know why i hadn't thought of it before. The control problems with hovercraft may be mitigated by a one or more, powered turning wheels on struts. Like fuse the front forks of a motorcycle to the hovercraft on a ball swivel. Apply the wheel to the ground when you want physical traction and raise it up when you don't need it. Cool vacuum car though, thanks

[@renakunisaki]

I thought that too. But since the idea was to suck the car down to the ground, it seems like a hovercraft would be doing the opposite of what they want.

[@genesanford9412]

Very interesting car & great episode! I have a Hot Wheel sorta like it. P.S. My 12" G.I.Joes are talking about that Off Road Vec. behind you as you speak. Nice , they said. ( i,d hide the keys... )

[@PurpleLEANKrabs]

I like the gran turismo soundtrack in the backround. I remember this car all these years later. Was crazy good.

[@MidnightMechanic]

The TH400 3 speed automatic was a truck transmission that could handle 600 hp easily, insomuch that the Vector W8 used one as well.

[@Nightmaretyrant]

The best thing about those cars were the transmission, road and track said every single Vector they tested broke down after 10 minutes. Looked awesome but they never sorted them out properly and couldn't handle any kind of harsh testing. Also all Vectors performance claims were never verified publicly. Pretty dodgy company apparently.

[@Nightmaretyrant]

Awesome transmissions though they still use them in drag raceing today.

[@mrspandel5737]

Don't mind me being pedantic, but actually Vector used the FWD TH425 transaxle from the Olds Toronado and Cadillac Eldorado. Mechanically its mostly the same but reversed to work in a FWD config and driven by a massive chain

[@daledavies2334]

Not a TH400 in the Chapparals. Modified and beefed to the knackers 2 spd Powerglide. Converted to a manual valve body. This allowed the left foot to operate a pedal to raise or lower the spoiler and later to flatten the wing going up the straights. Torque converter multiplication made up for the difference in the number of gears.

[@grease253]

I'm digging the gt background music!

[@petegarnett7731]

Jim Hall could always think out of the box He was an innovator par excellence, in an era when the U.S. hardly knew what a sports racing car was..

[@jamesdellaneve9005]

F1 today reminds me of the old America’s cup monohulls. A $3,000 Hobie catamaran could beat those monohulls worth tens of millions of dollars. A fan car would smoke the current F1 cars. They are simply chasing ever changing design specs.

[@oler777]

There needs to be a race series for these cars

[@sheldonnorton9035]

I’ve been thinking about this car since it was described to me by a Sunday School teacher in 1982 but didn’t know what is was until now! Cheers!

[@licensetodrive9930]

Recently watched "The Fastest Maze-Solving Competition On Earth" where they talked about the history of the Micromouse, a maze solving robot competition, which has now evolved to using the same 'vacuum cleaner' method of sticking to the floor for maximum grip to solve mazes unbelievably quick, and the first thought in my head when I saw that was this car.

[@oldthudman]

Jim Hall was out of Midland/Odessa Texas........Discovered that suction(downforce) was needed to keep the race cars glued to the ground.......He also came up with the (adjustable IIRC) wing that is still popular today (Porsche).....Mercedes Benz later came up with venture channels on the underside to achieve the suction......Saw an MB at a Canadian GP hit a bump in the racetrack and did a complete flip , landing on all 4's........Happened at LeMans too IIRC

[@ottisthedog3544]

something you can always count on in racing. the guy in 2nd place will be complaining about something "he cheated that's not fair". i watched my father almost come to blows in the pits more than once because he thought of something new or different they didn't. dad also had a saying "the guy that wins is the guy that didn't get caught cheating".

[@Mattbe72]

If i'm correct the Chaparral was at Le Mans Classic last weekend! The square body was really remarkable !

[@BigEightiesNewWave]

7:57 Mark Donohue Piloted one of the 2 Roger Penske Turbo-flat 12 Porsche 917s That dominated CAN-AM, early 70s, then were outlawed. George Follmer drove one too. I was there 1580 HP in qualifying tune. Spinning the massive tires coming out of turn 6. Riverside.

[@SPARTAN_Cayde-26]

Damn Gran Turismo 4 music at the background and this car feels so nostalgic!

[@barryberman2741]

I was at WG for the 2J’s debut. I knew it was coming before actually seeing it!

[@KyleKing-vx4by]

Absolutely LOVED this car in Gran Turismo 👍😍😎🌟💯🌹❤️

[@musicstewart9744]

The next to the last scene here is Mr. Hall standing next to it, so at least one still exists.

[@TheRealArtimusKnight]

This car looks like something you’d see in an air museum

[@emdotrod]

Truly one of the greatest innovations in motorsport history

[@patrickgriffitt6551]

Buy one of the great innovators.

[@todd3285]

@@patrickgriffitt6551 Nooo !! When every manufacturer copies what you do you are the greatest. !!

[@shaynegadsden]

It's a nice idea but incredibly dangerous when you push a normal car too hard around corners you can generally tell or even compensate for the slip but with a fan car it's like driving a slot car, really quick right up to the point it's not and i think we have all seen what happens when you push a slot car too fast

[@emdotrod]

@@shaynegadsden Of course it's dangerous. But at least it makes people realize that making a race car isn't just making it fast at straight but also when cornering

[@todd3285]

@@shaynegadsden So where did you take your advanced driving course ??

[@s2studlys2]

Mate your sunnies are total bad ass. Great video too!

[@johnjones928]

It would have been interesting to see how the 2J stacked up against the Porsche 917-30, but the SCCA already had experienced what happens when factory money ruins a sport with the Trans Am series.

[@daledavies2334]

On a tight track the 2J may have done well, but on tracks with longer straights the power of the 917-30's would have run away from the Chapparel.

[@ramblerdave1339]

Factory money is the thing that made the Trans Am series, the great battles we remember so fondly. The loss of that money, was the undoing of the original formula.

[@johnjones928]

@@ramblerdave1339 It was that boom/bust cycle i was referring to, the series started as a sedan racing championship and grew so large it couldn't be supported or properly officiated. The cheating became so rampant that the factories didn't want to have their name associated with it (that is unless they were actually winning at the time).😉

[@Tunda2]

My guy invented DRS before F1 cars had wings

[@automobilistic]

lmao

[@mrbmw42]

Greatly enjoyed the story, even though I've long been a fan (pun intended) of the 2J. One point of clarification, however, is that the Rockwell JLO engine that powered the fans was normally a snowmobile engine, not a jet ski engine as you say. In fact, the first Jet Ski didn't exist until 3 years *after* the 2J.

[@automobilistic]

You're totally right, my mistake. I will pin a correction

[@robertatkins272]

Chaparral cars are on display at the oil museum in Midland Texas if anyone wants to see them.

[@johnbillings5260]

Just came across this randomly and had to say that someone really needs to make a custom pc case that looks like that.

[@robertburke6174]

The segways are hilarious 😆 Loved the rest of the content though.