The sportsman drag racing category of Super Sedan certainly attracts some different takes on what a drag car is and Western Australian Norbert Claite has begun racing possibly one of the most unique Super Sedans in the country, a nineties model Jaguar.
It is Claite’s third car he has raced in the category, replacing the Chev Camaro which unfortunately hit the safety barriers hard in the final of the Westernationals earlier this year.
Claite explained that underneath the sleek body lies a tube chassis built to run in the US category Pro Modified, similar to Australian Top Doorslammers.
“The owner was 62 years old and had the car built by a chassis shop in Canada,” he said. “Unfortunately the previous owner had to have a fifth back operation and couldn’t get his medical clearance for racing anymore.
“The chassis rails were built wide enough to accommodate a Hemi or BAE engine (the kind used frequently in Top Doorslammer) at a later stage.”
Claite hasn’t yet progressed to the supercharged extreme, happy to settle into the car in Super Sedan first before thinking about adding the extra horsepower – not that the 10.3 litre monster he currently has under the bonnet is short on supply with a best so far of 8.26sec.
“We have initially put the naturally aspirated engine out of the Camaro into the Jaguar to get me back in the seat and driving again,” he said. “The plan is to stay with that combo until I’m comfy with the car, then put a supercharged engine back in and step up to Supercharged Outlaws. The car came with a Merlin block and heads and an 8/71 Littlefield supercharger that has run a best of 7.23sec.
“We are up to speed with the tune up on the Camaro’s motor already so the plan is to win some rounds this season.”
While the acquisition of the Jaguar was fairly smooth sailing, the lead up to finding the car was not as trouble free for Claite.
“Before purchasing the Jag I had found a Pontiac Firebird that I had bought and sent money to the USA but somehow the agent arranging the shipping talked the seller into selling the car to him for more money,” he said. “I lost a few thousand in the transfer exchange so we decided to look for something different that no one else had and the Jag ticked all the right boxes.”
Claite mentioned that his ill-fated Camaro has since been repaired from its accident and will shortly be heading to a new owner in South Australia. Check out the video to see the big Westernationals hit.
Images with thanks to Dave Hunter and the Claite family. {fcomment}
