England, Australia and New Zealand, Yep, They Got 'Em!

Updated 2/18/03

Updated 12/5/06!

Updated 11/25/06

Updated 2/06/03

Updated 4/10/03

Updated 4/18/06

Updated 2/18/03

Updated 11/25/06
Now 5 pages!

NOW 5 PAGES!
Updated 11/23/06

NEW!!
JOIN THE 21st CENTURY!

California may have had a lot of fuel altereds, but they didn't have a lock on 'em.
On these pages, they come from everywhere! From Arizona to Australia,
New England to Jolly Old England!

Special thanks go to Andy Barrack and Mike Cooney, without them, there would be no "International" pages...all the comments on the Altereds from England are Andy's (with some 'small' editing). Good job, guys!

The transformation of Tee Rat 1971-74 From the Stones first injected Rat to their full blown AA/FA...

Apart from the paint and the powerplant little was changed as Tee Rat grew from a 10 second smoker into the UK's favourite Fuel Altered.

The Stone's Tee Rat B/CA (A/FA) going off against the "Shutdown" A/CA (AA/FA) of Mike Hall...

Again, Dave Stone and Mike Hall duke it out...

Note: B/CA was equivalent to A/FA and A/CA to AA/FA. This later changed to S/CA and T/CA ("Senior Competition Altered" and "Top..." the latter again being the same as America's AA/FA).

Almost there...the paint is new, just missing that windmill on top of the engine...

Yet another wild ride for the UK's Dave Stone. Got his Tee Rat AA/FA outashape and clipped the Santa Pod Raceway Xmas Tree on this ride...and back in those days the Pod's Xmas Tree was a big and beefy homemade affair (picture a 6 foot tall fire hydrant...) Tee Rat and Tree both sustained damage.

Photo Roger Gorringe

Here we have a couple of B+W shots showing the aftermath of the out of shape move of Tee Rat on the first page...Dave Stone couldn't rescue the run and ended up into the barrier and looking almost the same as the colour angle-except this was taken from the other side of the strip-so Tee Rat has turned 180 degrees (and the front axle some more...). And such was the end of the hugely popular Tee Rat-in 1974. But the Stone Family was soon back in '75 with a new Tee Rat...

The UK's "Big Four" Fuel Altereds of the 70's

Shutdown, with Mike Hall in the seat

Tee Rat, Dave Stone , owner/driver

Sneaky T, Phil Elson the pilot...

Aardvark, Freeman Rogers at the helm.

Norm Oakey's Goggomobil-based Altered, appropriately named "Pinocchio"

Mean 'Hombre' Topolino This is 'Hombre', meanest, wildest altered in New Zealand. Campaigned by Peter Lodge, the car runs a hemi-Chrysler moto in a Fiat Topolino shell and currently hold's both ends of the country's national double-A Altered record with a 9.177/157.06mph blast. circa 1975

Ian Splatt's rat-motored Bantam took on the Armco barrier at Heathcote in 1985...the Armco won...

1974 Santa Pod Raceway. Fuel Altereds (or Top Competition Altereds as we had to call 'em). "Sneaky T" demolishes the starting line signage during burnout. Note startline official (or is film sound man with stick mic?) wishing someone had warned him about Fuel Altereds handling reputations...

UK's Fred Whittle in his "Shutdown" Fuel Altered (or Top Competition Altered to use our English). Above was 1971, below 1972. Most obvious difference is the engine height which has been lowered, like everyone had done in the States a couple of years earlier...

Mike Hall in the ex-Fred Whittle "Showdown" racing at Blackbushe - one of the airstrip venues that racers used as an alternative to Santa Pod Raceway...

Not sure how to caption this one... This is what Santa Pod Raceway looks like in November-California it ain't! Mike Hall's 'Shutdown' Fuel Altered sits dejectedly in the dawn of a cold and bleak winter morning. The likelihood of racing slim to zilch... This is my very last scan for you, Jim-and you know what? I even took the photo! November '74 it says on the slide. My photography was always lousy but I always liked the way this one came out (more luck than skill). You can just feel the cold cutting thru to the bone. The early morning light making the pits resemble something more from the aftermath of a disaster than anything to do with drag racing. And I guess it kinda sums up the end of Fuel Altereds in Drag Racing. It was the last meet of 1974. The new year would see the arrival of Pro Comp. Dave Stone would run his last race in his Fuel Altered against the Funny Cars. Mike Hall would revamp Shutdown and drop down to AA/A. Phil Elson would clothe Sneaky T in a funny body but soon disappear from the scene. There just wasn't a class left for the Fuel Altered boys to run in. (...better end now before I burst into tears!!!)

Looks like they just cleaned up the debris and got the altereds in to stage. That's UK's 'fourth' AA/FA in the near lane, Freeman Rogers "Aardvark" running a blown 427 Ford-car was painted in camouflage colours as Freeman was a US airman based in UK.

Top Competition Altered was England's equivalent of AA/FA, prior to the advent of Pro Comp. Then, just like the States, you either dropped the nitro and went to AA/A, moved to Funny Car or went forth into the wilderness... Anyway, this was 1974 and Pro Comp was still around the corner, so pictured in the foreground is UK's 'fourth' Fuel Altered. Can't remember what it was supposed to be based upon (!) but the car was driven by Freeman Rogers-a US Air Force serviceman I seem to recall- and ran an ancient 427 Ford motor. Certainly didn't set the class alight but did at least provide another Fuel Altered for Shutdown, Tee Rat and Sneaky T to race. Here is seen racing Mike Hall in ex-Fred Whittle Bantam at England's Santa Pod Raceway.

Photo Roger Gorringe

1971 Santa Pod Raceway.

"What the hell is this?" you might think... Well, in the foreground, easy enough, the Hillbillies A/FA, driven by Roland Pratt. But, in the background...well, it was classed as a Cometition Altered, and with a blown and injected nitro burning Hemi, would be the equivalent of a Fuel Altered.

But, the body was from a Bond Bug - that is (or was) a British 3 wheeler production car from the early 70's. Bond (now Reliant) still produces 3 wheeler cars in the tradition of the Italian Bubble Cars and German Messerschmitts...

The class A/CA was definitely the same as AA/FA, the altered was owned by Mark Straton and was called "Metronome" and certainly was a wild beast - as you'd expect if you dropped a blown hemi into a three wheeled buggy. Note startline offial holding his head and screaming "This guy's INSANE!!!"

Keith Harvie in the ex-Lawce & Gunn AA/A...note the change in wing mounting position, dictated by the English 'scrutineers"...Lawce & Gunn always ran the wing over the engine...

Well, I hope Lawce and Gunn weren't prudes as this was the treatment their AA/A got when it got to the UK. Custom Car went thru almost the whole 70's featuring nudies with their featured cars. Quite what cowgirls and whips have got to do with blown altereds, I don't know...

Another, but this time better pic of New Zealand's "Hombre" AA/FA. Further details include owner/driver Peter Lodge. Engine 400 Chrysler And by 1977 had run best of 7.677/182.18 mph

Photo courtesy Allen Porter

Ollie Burn smokes the hides in his "Liz & Ollie" altered 1975.
I could say this was a Fuel Altered as the class "T/CA" was the equivalent of AA/FA, but I'm fairly sure Ollie ran the Bantam on methanol so truthfully, it was an AA/A. Anyway, the Burns didn't seem to run the altered for long, before concentrating their efforts on the Pro Comp dragster that wife Liz drove. But Ollie must have been bitten by the altered bug as he's still around today (2000) as part of the "Over The Hill Mob" Fuel Altered -these days abbreviated to just "The Mob" (sacrilege!)

Simon Addinsell Photo

The Stone family was soon back in '75 with a new Tee Rat, shown here making its debut while still unpainted.
Alas, while the new AA/FA was as popular as ever and ran strong, the Stones soon switched to running the Stardust funny car that had been imported from the States.

Mike Key Photo

The hood 'ornament' would suggest this was another UK Custom Car photo shoot, but no, the girl's got clothes on - so it must be UK Street Machine instead. Correct! Anyway, another shot of Clive Mechaell's AA/FA (early 90's) in it's '34 guise. The '34 was a nice try at something different. Maybe the nose is a bit rakish and the side-skirts spoilt the lines, but a 10 out of 10 for trying. And 11 out of 10 for giving the UK a Fuel Altered that ran hard and often.

Here's Clive in action with this version of his 'California Kid' AA/FA, a nice try at something different to T's, Bantams and Topolinos...

UK's Clive Mecheall in his California Kid Fuel Altered 1988

Roger Gorringe Photo

Clive Mecheall's "California Kid" Fuel Altered. One of those 90's AA/FA's. Has run in the low 6's at 210 plus. Not sure he's been out racing in the last couple of years, but was regular racer during the 1990's.

Houndog AA/FA gets engulfed in flames. Somewhere in this conflagration is new driver Alan Bates. Note front wheels on fire! Well, okay, EVERYTHING is on fire, but owner Nobby Hills loved putting on a show. This was at the appropriately titled "Firework Meet", Santa Pod 1985.

Roger Gorringe Photo

UK's Houndog AA/FA. Owned by Nobby Hills, piloted by various drivers. Sponsored by SDLO-DEMAG. Nobby first created this transformer in the late 70's, and ran it on and off for several years when he wasn't busy racing it in its usual form as a funny car.

UK's Owen Hayward in the Houndog transformer (AA/FA-funny car) 1980. Houndog was the name of a series of very successful fuelers and funny cars built by Nobby Hills and his team, going right back to the 60's. In the late 70's, Hills wanted to put some spice back into drag racing (UK style), and created this AA/FA using his latest funny car... The Fuel Altered was an instant success using the proven setup of his funny car. "DEMAG" was a lifting company who provided sponsorship.

Roger Gorringe Photo

...and more of the Houndog AA/FA doing fire burnouts...

Jim Sorenson

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