by Jackson Brothers Videos

I got my first Jackson Brothers Video back when VCRs were all the rage. The first tape I bought was the Bad Boy Altereds, their first I believe. Jamie and Sonny were filming the drags from the early 60s. They have quite an extensive film and video library. After reading about these beasts over the years and rarely seeing any except for a few here and there this tape was an eye opener. Living on the east coast, drag racing fans had very few real fuel altereds to see on a regular basis.

The bad Boy Altereds tape had them all from Pure Hell to the famed Winged Express. Each run was a revelation. Smokey burnouts, up in smoke, and guardrail to guardrail runs are all you would see. The only things missing were the sounds and the smell of nitro. I wrote to Jamie about how cool I thought the tape was. Since then I’ve amassed his whole collection and was even a contributor to his Raw Drags Adventure tape.

His most recent release would be part 3 in the Bad Boy Altereds saga. It’s called Return of the Bad Boys! Those Awful Awful Altereds are Back. And he ain’t kidding! It’s all live action from the west coast where these monsters thrive. You see the Rat Trap, Winged Express, Pure Hell, Pure Heaven, Nonook, the Burkholder Brothers Fiat, Panic, Bishop and Beuhl, Bradford Fiat and so many more. Wild burnouts and out of control passes are the rule of the day. Surprisingly, there are actually a few runs where the cars go straight without incident.

Although the DVD is amazing (you will gasp more than a few times as I did) there are a few minor annoyances. First, I think that the musical soundtrack should have been heavier. It’s good, but I have door slammer videos where the music is close to, if not heavy metal. Surely these beasts deserve it! I would have also liked a voice over for identification of the drivers and owners as they appear. You are kept wondering till the end who these people are. Dave Mc Clelland is featured in his Fiat but his name is spelled wrong in the title flashed on the screen. Other than these minor criticisms, it is a 4 star video.

There is a slow motion segment featuring a lot of the incidents that appear throughout the video. There are so many great shots, that it’s impossible to list them all. It wouldn’t be any fun if I did. You have to see it. It looks like a lot of it was shot at the CHRR VII. Man I wish I were there. I’m constantly thinking how I would have shot photos as I’m watching the video. At the end, there is very rare footage from the Hough family archives of the Nonook going through its paces. Also, you will see the Rat Trap give new meaning to “all four off the ground”.

If you are like me, a hard-core drag racing fan, this video as well as all of the Jackson Brothers videos is a must for your collection. It’s best viewed with the volume cranked up and your drag racing buddies sitting around the tube with you.