The Cal-look Lounge

Some of you guys may already know that I bought Matt Keene's car a few weeks back. Turned out to be all that Matt said it was and more when I tried it out at Action.

With a few slow runs (it was my first time out) and a few 'pick it up' and 'go hard or go home' comments from Matt and out I went and ran a 10.94.... on my first day!

I really do owe Matt and his car performs as well as he said and more. How many other builders could allow a novice to go out and put in a 10, without any experience. The build is a credit to him and everyone involved. The car runs straight and true with no surprises.

So, now to move on and get some runs under my belt. I have wanted to do this for almost 20 years and seriously looked for a car for over 2 years, some of you will remember my volkszone comments etc. Anyway I am away now, with great support from Matt and my team.

I feel like a walking advert for AirKraft and the quality of the work Matt has put into the car. If you see me come over and say hello I may need some help!

Wow!!!

Great story and achievements.
Thanks for sharing and also sharing the credit to those who deserve it. That adds even more value to the story.

Yeah, you did run very well and consistant. Was good to see the car running and I think wise to starting on lower boost. Well done!

Well done :)

Would be cool  to see All Torque at The Cal Look Drag Day at Shakey April 6th & 7th 2013, shooting for its hat trick for quickest ET

Gives you a few months seat time  ;)

Count me in. I have a couple more times out before then, so with Matt's help should get it running that bit quicker.

Dont think a hat trick is very likely though! Not unless you can get Matt in to run it...

A great story  :)

Hi Nick. Thank you for your kind words; greatly appreciated! What you achieved over the weekend takes most people years to achieve, so hats off to you  8). I am so glad my old steed has gone to a good home. It means a lot to me.

Looking at your timing slips your best 60ft was 1.43, which is amazing!!! My
Best in All Torque was 1.38 so you must have dropped the hammer  ;D

I have a sneaky suspicion you might get even quicker when you get a little more seat time. I find the car very intuitive and a great giver of feedback. When we bring in more boost you are just going to love it ;) If you think it's quick now on 12psi of boost, wait until we nail in 28psi.  ;).

Here's to 9's next year  8)

Best regards, Matt Keene.

Nice work, keep it rubber side down.

Nick

Very Well done and great result in getting Matts car and heres hoping to many more 10s and even a 9, see my PM please.

ENJOY but Safely.

Russell

Well done Nick! Can't wait to see it out next time. When are you out next btw?

Guys,

Thanks for all the messages. Back out on 22/23rd September for Finals with VWDRC pro.

Thanks for all the encouragement and see you then!

Nick

Wow, I didnt realise how quick that was! 1.43...well pleased!

Congratulations on your purchase Nick, and on running a 10 already!  8)

It's a great car. I'm glad to hear it's gone to a good home as well.

What Fonz said.... An amazing car, with an equally amazing first time out result.... Way to go Nick.

Nick, just to say I watched you first run in the car through to your ten second pass. I have to say I was really impressed. It's not only a daunting task to get in a car like that in front of a crowd (and there certainly was a crowd) but also to do so in front of seasoned VW drag racers. It was truly brilliant to see you take the bull by the horns and realise such a great result on you first weekend on the drag strip.
I spoke with Matt today on the subject and we both agreed the car has gone to a very good home. It was obviously hard for Matt to have to part with the car, especially after putting such great work into the build. But the pitter patter of tiny Simpson race boots comes at a cost...
Talking of kids, I noticed your nippers were having a good time - and were, if anything, probably harder to keep in check than the new car! The women-folk were like meerkats trying to keep 'em in check :-)
I didn't get to meet you in person and to be perfectly honest I didn't come and say hello as you had enough of your plate, but my fellow Greenhearts VW club members were opposite and my purple 911 was parked there on Saturday.
Here's to working you way down to the 'nines' and enjoying one very special VW Drag Racer. Next time I see you out, I'll come and say hi.
Ivan McCutcheon,
VolksWorld 

Its fascinating to see how many were keeping an eye on me! I feel very lucky to have dropped on such a great car.

As you said, daunting it certainly was, especially when I ended up sat on the startline for over an hour on my first run for the oil down incident on Saturday. It was daunting but I am well used to getting right in at the deep end! Thanks to Matt I gained confidence quickly and managed to get within 0.05 of his best 60ft time. Now I can get used to it and move forward.

Thankfully I have a great support team round me, not a massive amount of knowledge, but I can do that, but plenty there to celebrate the highs and if there's nothing to celebrate, just pull out the pin on the chute!

Pop over next time we are about, I think a couple of the members came over saturday night, but as you could see it was a lot to take in one weekend, meeting many many people and many admirers of Matts work.

Thankfully the whole family is behind me, I couldn't do it if we weren't all petrolheads!

Hey Nick... When's the next outing for All Torque?
Regards, Matt

Matt,

Car booked for the finals on the 22nd/23rd of September with VWDRC.

You anywhere nearby? need to think of turning it up a little....

Will drop you an email later