Simon Barlow & Team Orange Pop

Meeting Simon Barlow and his Orange Pop Crew

Just before Christmas, I popped over to see Outlaw Anglia driver Simon Barlow and his crew to have a chat and see how he has been getting on after quite a season in 2005. We met on a cold Saturday morning and it took a few minutes to get that familiar-looking Orange Pop out of the garage. The plan was to do a few pictures, have a chat and nice cup of coffee. As the lads manoeuvred the car was The engine in his bright orange pop was, unfortunately, damaged at Shakespeare County Raceway’s (SCR) Halloween bash and is still undergoing repairs. Undeterred, we took a few pictures and found out how Simon had got into racing and how he’d got that Orange pop hiking its front wheels down the quarter mile:

TN: So Simon, how did you get started in racing, when did you first get started in racing?

SB: It was about 7 or 8 years ago, now, I was living in the States at the time – it was with my brother. Basically went to all the races over there and got well hooked. He’d got a car and didn’t race it. We used to do the Saturday night messing about on the highways over there (Absolutely not, Officer! - Ed) and then I came back to England. I found this car. I bought it as a Sunday drive, not as a race car and spent three, maybe four years taking it to bits to build it to what it is. Obviously every time now we do race it every season, we break it! So we can make it bigger and bigger.

TN: So what’s the specification of the engine, Simon?

SB: It’s a small block Chevrolet V8 388 cubic inch bottom end with a 350 top end, which is holding it back, but we also have approximately 210 bhp of gas (nitrous oxide injection) which keeps breaking it!

TN: Just sticking with the mechanicals for a minute, Simon, what transmission are you using?

SB: We have a Powerglide transmission in it with a transbrake and obviously that’s what brings the wheels up when we launch. We have also got a solid 9 inch rear end (Ford 9 inch rear axle)…

TN: Has that been shortened at all?

SB: Totally shortened with racing half-shafts in it…

TN: Summers Brothers? Or Strange?

SB: It’s Strange.

TN: Looking at the car, it’s in great condition – all original metal, from the look of it..

SB: Everything is original metal except the wheel arches back and front. Every thing else is.

TN: The wheel arches have been treated to some…

SB: They’re fibre glass. I’m lying, actually, the boot lid is fibre glass as well! Those are the only bits! The rest of the car is original!

TN: At what point did you decide then, or when did you move away from the ‘Sunday Drive’ plan?

SB: It would be about three to three and a half years ago when I went to the Hot Rod Drags (at SCR) and I took it down the track – I had a little baby Rover V8 in it – and that was it! I came home, took the Rover out, (and threw it over the hedge! – Ed) and ordered a Small block Chevrolet! We’ve progressed from there… every year it gets harder and harder because they (the MSA who set all the standards) change/upgrade the rules, obviously, At the beginning of the season we had a roll cage and we had to have it all cut out and a new roll cage put in..

TN: Oh no!

SB: We had to do a lot of modifications just to get out this season.

TN: Thus the stickers from Webster Race Engineering…..

SB: Jon Webster did it; he actually altered all the cage… Well, it’s a completely new cage! (Turning to his crew) What else did we have?

Crew Chief: Seats

SB: Yes, we had to have new seats and had to reposition them

TN: So during the second half of this season, then, things really started taking off LITERALLY! (Laughter) when you started using the Nitrous Oxide.

SB: Yes, we had a lot of problems at the beginning of the season and we didn’t know what it was. We had the engine out, we rebuilt it and we put it back in and we had got a tremendous misfire which we couldn’t get rid of.

TN: Yes, I recall that

SB: We had Andy Frost with us and Andy couldn’t get rid of it either. So we took it back out and took it up to Peter Knight’s (Knight Racing Services Limited) and put it on the Dyno and we found it. Believe it or not, it was a carburetion problem. Because it was coming up (starting to lift the front wheels a little), even though it didn’t look like it – it was starving itself of fuel and actually pulling the fuel off number 1… So.. we put a much, much bigger carb on it and away it went! It really did! It was the difference between day and night!

TN: So what was the carb that you put on it then?

SB: It had a 600 (cfm or cubic foot a minute) to start with

TN: That would have been short of breath…

SB: And now it’s a 750 ‘double pumper’ now and that solved the problem.

TN: It certainly did cure the problem, as I can bear witness from the side of the track. Later on (At SCR again) you then decided to sizzle off those rear tyres, I recall?

SB: We had some Hoosier tyres on – I’m not knocking Hoosier, yes they were great, but the tread was getting very, very low and it was towards the end of the season and there was one race left and we decided to ‘finish them’ (much laughing)

TN: And then what happened at the last ‘Shakey’ meeting, The Halloween meeting ? What happened there?

SB: Basically put these new tyres on and they hooked up so hard (they are almost a slick but they are supposed to be a road-legal slick) and it pulled the car up so high (wheelie) that it starved the fuel into the engine on both sides on the nitrous side and the normal side, which leaned it out and obviously its caused ring damage and other stuff.

TN: And looking at the wonderful picture taken by Tog, the wheelie was high – even by your standards!

SB: Very very high! I could see nothing but sky! And it just seemed to be sky, forever!

TN: You didn’t lift, of course?

SB: No, no, no! Stayed with it all the way!

TN: So how did you guys all get together, then?

SB: Jason is family. Andy (Lawrenson) & I actually work together. He does all the graphics for the company that I work for. Phil (Crew Chief) came along basically via his Dad. I met his Dad through a Hot Rod club (Ram Rods - Derby). His Dad was the brains behind it but between us, we’ve sussed it and that’s really how it all happened. It’s been his hard work, engine-wise, mechanically-wise, that’s kept us going. I’ve done a lot of helping but he’s the brains behind it, now (Phil)

TN: I take it the mechanical side of things isn’t your strong point?

SB: It can be, but it doesn’t have to be when I have my Crew Chief standing by!

TN: So what’s going to be new for 2006, then ?

SB: It’s going to have the re-bored motor (to 440ci!) We’re going to up the camshaft as high as we can and maybe change the exhaust. We’re not sure about that yet. Depends on time.

TN: What exhaust are you running at the minute?

SB: We’re running 2.5” inch at present and I’d like to take it up to 3” because then we can change the heads; but at the minute the exhaust is too small to change the heads. But obviously, really, the main thing is to re-bore it and get it up and running and take it back out and progress from there.

Easter is the start and we want to be there. We will do our best – test and tune maybe a couple of weeks before that and see how it goes.

TN: Anyway, well Good luck with the car and thank you very much indeed for the words and have a great 2006!