Oslo Hot Rod Klubb

Oslo Hot Rod Klubb was a car club from Oslo, Norway. The club was founded in 1958, an it is known as the second hot rod club of Norway. Bjørn Michelsen was the president of the club, and the club published their own newsletter called Hot Rod Posten. Hot Rod Posten is probably the first hot rod and american car magazine of Norway.

September 2, 1958 board members from Oslo Hot Rod Klubb and The Wildcat Motorclub held a meeting together discussing a cooperation and the forming of different drag racing classes. They knew they were pioneers in the field, being members of the first hot rod clubs in Norway. Together they decided that the different classes should be formed based on:

a. The weight of the cars, minus ballast, gas and the driver.
b. Height from the ground to the highest point of the car, minus antennas, flag-poles and so on.
c. The number of cylinders: 4-6-8. Straight or V-shaped engines competing in the same classes. An additional class was formed for engines with more than 8 cylinders.

The dragstrip was also specified during the meeting. And the members agreed about having a relatively short dragstrip compared to the shutdown area. By having a long shutdown area, the racers could have as fast as speed as possible when you crossed the finish-line. Good acceleration was therefore important if you wanted to win. The long shutdown area was necessary due to the high speed. A short shutdown area could result in damaged parts on the old cars due to hard braking. Two cars could race head on. The length of the dragstrip was set to be about 405 meters. Unfortunately the drag racing dreams never came through for the young boys. Eager for speed, ice and dirt-track racing became their only alternative.

Both Oslo Hot Rod Klubb and The Wildcat Motorclub were short-lived clubs. As the members grew an interest in girls, it became hard to maintain the weekly club nights, and both clubs faded out. The boys kept their cars and used them regularly, but by the early 1960s both clubs were history.

Members

Bjørn Michelsen