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Hydrazine
Alton,
Illinois, Sunday, April 4, 1960; on a typical spring Sunday in the Midwest
- cool, crisp, and clear. The local drag strip is hosting a match race
between one of the heaviest hitters of the day, Chris Karamesines Chicago
based slingshot, powered by what was becoming the standard powerplant of
fuel racing, the 392 Chrysler Hemi. The nickname for the hemi headed
engines that were production equipment in big Chryslers was Chizlers, and
the Golden Greek had named his state of the art slingshot after the engine
itself.
On
this particular Sunday, the Golden Greek’s Chrysler was ready to go in a
manner that was a bit unprecedented. When the car was push started; many
knowledgeable and seasoned watchers noted that the engine sounded a bit
different – the cackle a bit louder, crisper. Don Maynard, the
exceptionally sharp crew chief of the Chi-town star, appeared to have
really done his homework. The
Greek left in the manner typical of dragsters of the day, the two rear
tires throwing off a rooster tail plume of smoke. However, the car started
to pull at mid range – hard –much harder than ever before. After a
brief period of silence, the announcer read off the timers’ reading to
the crowd – 8.82 @ 204.50 - a good 30 mph faster than the typical time
of the day. The Greek did not back up the astounding mph that day, and
did not in the immediate years afterward. However, a 199 mph clocking in
Kansas a couple of weeks later indicated again that the Chizler had indeed
come upon something. What
was the difference this time? Over the years, dark accusations and less
than complimentary statements were made concerning the driver, the
facility, and the pass itself. A hoax, it was called a PR stunt.
Maybe…but, then again, maybe it was not. a d v e r t i s e m e n t
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Greek had a secret that day and it was a dangerous, volatile secret. It
was the same secret that would launch the USA’s Titan Rockets into space
to put mankind into space orbit. The secret that the Soviet Union would
use to power their ballistic missiles designed to thwart the threat of US
aircraft. That secret was Hydrazine. Over the years, Hydrazine would prove
to be the additive to use to put one’s name on the map, to make the
“1320 news” as one of the players. It would also prove to be one of
the most dangerous products that one could run, and would result in the
destruction of equipment, and the injury of competitors.
Hydrazine,
technically named anhydrous hydrazine (N2H4) is basically designed as an
oxygen-scavenging agent, and is primarily used in rocket technology. It
has the aroma of ammonia, but is clear and colorless – and is extremely
caustic. If absorbed through the skin, it would make one extremely ill,
and in NASA environments one must use protective clothing to work with it.
Its oxygen scavenging capabilities were so powerful that it was generally
used at only 10cc per one gallon of nitro. A
monopropellant, (which means that it does not require an oxidizer to be a
propellant) it uses a catalyst for ignition. It is typically used on
spacecraft thrusters to adjust attitude and trajectory. Used also in
liquid fueled rockets, often mixed with “hypergolic” fuels such as
nitric acid, it requires no ignition source and combusts spontaneously.
Nitromethane is also a “hypergolic” fuel, which is where its use in
fuel dragsters came in. a
d v e r t i s e m e n t Jim
Miller, a Texas based Super Stock racer who has an extensive background
with Hydrazine through both his military and NASA careers, states that
it’s use in an internal combustion fuel motor is a bad combination. “Since
nitro (CH3NO2) carries oxygen with it already, and hydrazine needs that
oxygen it makes for a bad combination. That would make a ready made bomb
mixed in the right proportions.”
A
70’s era crew chief once told Miller that he set a record with only 2%
hydrazine mixed with 90% nitro and 8% methanol. Although
relatively stable to store and transport, its reaction with other
chemicals were unknown and could be extremely dangerous. A spokesman for
one of the nation’s largest producers, appalled that hot rodders were
messing with it in internal combustion engines, commented, “There is no
way to pinpoint every phase of the reaction between hydrazine and
nitromethane”, and went on to state it could easily “result in
unexplainable engine explosions. You have got to remember that hydrazine
can burst into flame when merely spilled on iron oxide (rusted metal)!” a
d v e r t i s e m e n t Its
use had been with drag racing since the early years. Not used until the
use of hot fuels began early hot rodders in Southern California soon
figured out that hot fuels would increase the performance of their early
dragsters. Miller
added, “I would not think it would mix well with gasoline.”
Some
were involved with the fledgling space program out at Edwards Air Force
base, and soon they discovered that this magic elixir might indeed make
their already developed out flatheads push the envelope just a bit more.
Among early users were Jack Chrisman, as well as carburetor and fuel
injection pioneer Holly Hedrich. What they found was that Hydrazine would
push the flatties to about 380 horsepower, up about 90 from a state of the
art, fully prepped nitro powered flattie. The down side, however, is that
they generally only lasted for one or two nitro runs, and then became
instant junk. The main webs and rods had a tendency to blow apart, taking
everything else with them. As a result, its use was pretty much shelved
after this sobering discovery. The
quest for speed, though, is addictive, so the success of the use of
Hydrazine would prove too tempting. This would cause racers to tempt fate
and use it to get those big numbers that would launch them into the record
books. The Ramchargers 65 altered wheelbase Dodge cracked the eight-second
barrier for the first time at Cecil County Maryland in the summer of 65,
thus becoming the first stock bodied car into the eights. When driver Jim
Thornton tripped the timers at 8.91, the Moon tank had been topped off
with a dose of Hydrazine mixed in with the alcohol/nitro. a
d v e r t i s e m e n t In
1967, Ed Schartman’s flip top Roy Steffey Enterprises Comet dominated
the Indy Nationals, clocking a jaw dropping 8.28 on the FC final. Crew
Chief Roy Steffey’s secret – you guessed it – Hydrazine.
Along with the record setting performances, though, was continuing
carnage. The Cleveland based SCS Comet was the last widely known use of
hydrazine, however, and although it was used off and on in years to come
its use began to wane. As
the technology of the sport progressed, it became apparent that the
engines were at the point where the good old nitromethane/methanol mix was
capable of producing enough usable horsepower to make the cars run quick
and fast. The technology was developing in other areas, and it was simply
getting to the point where it was not a cost-effective option. Every
sport and every endeavor grows through innovation. Drag racing was and is
no exception. However, one only needs to spend some time with some of the
true pioneers of our sport to realize the extent of innovation attempted,
and its subsequent cost in both dollars as well as physical injury.
However, the use of Hydrazine propelled early racers to phenomenal
performances, which resulted in big headlines throughout the racing world.
Those early 200 mph times, however controversial, helped develop the
quarter mile into a major motorsport, so perhaps it is just another
reminder of the debt that today’s competitors owe those that came
before.
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© Competitionplus 2004
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