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| Convoy to the challenge |
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| The lethal line-up |
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| Environ-Mental Aero-Beatle |
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| Megs step on the gas |
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| Speedy twin-engined Chaos Crew |
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Motorway madness
On the 250-mile trek down to south Wales, all the teams got a taste of luxury travel. Smudging the posh veneer of Marlborough, they got onto the M4 for a raucous ride to the valleys. The Barley Pickers suffered from a hideous top speed of only 45 miles per hour, but that was nothing compared to their gas-mileage of four miles to the gallon – their 16 cylinders of Rolls-Royce were certainly thirsty.
The Green Goddesses found their journey to be one of grinding gears as their clutch had trouble keeping up with the 1.9-litre engine shoe-horned into their Beatle. The teams pulled in for lunch and made quite a contrast against the fantastically beautiful village of Tintern. Then they hit the road again. All the teams finally parked up in a scrapyard by Pendine Sands.
Laughing gas, the big bang and a secret
With just eight hours to convert their wacky motors into land speed cars, the pressure was on. The Green Goddesses had their work cut out as they spent most of the day making vital repairs to their Beatle. Then they moved on to adapting the car by adding some air ducting to the turbo and stitching an aerodynamic polystyrene backside onto the car. Lovely.
The Chaos Crew got to work installing the second engine into their double-headed cab. After a few gearbox problems, and playing shot put with the automatic gearbox controller, they were the first to finish and drive around the scrapyard. The problem was that it took them an age to park because of their unique twin-steering system requiring two drivers! After more thought, they went for locking up the twin steer and returning to normal control.
The Barley Pickers faced some real problems. How do you make a seven-tonne tractor go from 45mph to infinity and beyond? Answer: you add another gearbox to crank up the revs. Unfortunately, Devonshire's finest couldn't find another gearbox in the yard, so they went for some drastic measures. While tinkering with the engine's 'governor' (see Science) while on tickover, a nut fell off in Andy's hand. The 16-cylinder 'snorter' went bananas. The revs were off the scale and the team legged it as smoke and noise erupted over the yard. The Boat Buoys jumped in to help the farmers and after ripping off the fuel lines and suffocating the engine, the whole rig died with a nasty 'chundering' sound. Oh dear.
Meanwhile, the Megalomaniacs found a boy racer's nitrous oxide gas kit on a wreck in the yard. This power booster, together with a nice new roll cage, could make them real contenders. As for the Boat Buoys? Well, nobody heard much from them, except for the rumour that they were thinking of employing secret stability skis ...
Race day
It was a simple task of racing down the beach, doing a hairpin turn and then racing back. Each team got two runs and the fastest team would win the day. Unfortunately, the Barley Pickers were out because their tractor was still in the yard and in pieces.
The first run was between the Boat Buoys and the Green Goddesses. Off the start line, the Boys left their outboard engines behind! Their 'stabilising skis' were simply a special frame devised so they could leave their half-tonne engines on the line. Both cars raced well but the Goddesses had the edge.
The second run saw the Megalomaniacs versus the Chaos Crew. The Crew were super fast and left their opponents behind. What happened to the nitrous oxide? 'I missed a gear,' said Darren woefully.
The second trials for both teams gave similar results, but again the Megalomaniacs nitrous oxide kit failed to impress. Final best times were:
| Chaos Crew |
26.33sec |
| Megalomaniacs |
29.14sec |
| Green Goddesses |
29.31sec |
| Boat Buoys |
32.36sec |
The Chaos Crew stole the day, but will they be any good at off-roading in Yorkshire? Find out next week.
Series leader table
| Chaos Crew |
7 points |
| Megalomaniacs |
5 points |
| Green Goddesses |
3 points |
| Boat Buoys |
2 points |
| Barley Pickers |
0 points |
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