Purpose-Built Autocross Hot Rod ?????

This 32 roadster has won the hot rod (pre 55) division at the GG Nashville Autocross every year for the past 5 years....



Dude wins a new set of BFG tires, EVERY YEAR !

It's fairly quick, good suspension, blown six, but there is very little competition in this division - usually only 3 or 4 cars.

I've ran the autocross in Buckshot...



But a flathead and skinny bias-plies aint gunna win an autocross.



Just bench racing here, but, the blue 32 needs some competition.

Question: What pre 55 could be built relatively cheap to kick ass on the autocross?


Extremely light weight? say 1600 lbs. ??

Extremely low, maybe 2 inch ground clearance ??

Big sticky tires ?? not HAMB friendly

Quick R&P steering ??

Lightweight motor ??

Big brakes ??

 

I had a little bit of road race handling in mind when building this.....
stiff tubular chromolly chassis, motor set way back, center line of crank level with axle centerlines, etc... tried to use all old technology from around 1949....

not sure when it will ever get done....

 

Something like this.



Or one of these...

 

Or these...

 

I love that car.

But the skinny bias plies would be howling on the autocross

That gold T-bucket would have to handle like a go-cart!

That's the type of car that I was thinking about, although the hemi would be overkill

 

Are you aloud to run a tube chassis in this class?
Just channel a vintage Car onto to one?

 

Flat black, red wheels, think they'll notice?

 

You can run anything you want as long as it is registered as a pre 55 and meets the minimum safety requirements.

Tube chassis -hell yeah.

Then just throw a t body on it.

Rich

 

You can get a tube chassis for pretty cheap, then put a early 50's car body on it, CUT everything out you can. Presto Chango you have a killer car!

 

Take one of each that Metalshapes posted and have a real competition. I would start with a T body set it up with a tubular space frame, aluminum v8/transmission, keep it LOW and run disc brakes and wide tires. shouldn't take much to beat the current champ although he must have something going to be a repeat winner. I suspect its more a lack of interest in toppling him than any superior combination he is running.

Frank

 

Easy enough, hang a T bucket body on a Lotus Seven type chassis.

 

I had given that some thought.


Got one?

 

If I had a spare 30K lying around, I'd just build one of these new factory five 33 kits...

 

A buick/rover aluminum V8 would be a good motor choice nice light weight decent power. I think like 318 lbs. I've been thinking about building something like this.

 

Aluminum Super Bell axle.

Aluminum Halibrands.

Aluminum body.

 

I autocrossed my truck last year and actually didnt do to bad even with the Bias plies my biggest problem was the steering was way too slow and if I wouldnt have been smoking the tires for fun I think I could have picked up a full second or more

 

No I don't have one, but the idea isn't new.

 

That looked like a smooth run.

Was that a GG event?

How did the other rod do in comparison?

 

John Callies' old 303 Simca Cinque would be ideal for such events, as would be the Renault 4CV with the Alpine driveline I used to race against in SCCSCC slalom events back in the early '70s.

 

Could always go the Legends route...

Looks like a ton a fun, to boot.

 

I've been to the factory where these are made in Holland, pretty neat. Uses ford zetec or audi motors. Could be awesome.

 

Years ago there was an article in Hot Rod about a little coupe like a Fiat Topolino that was built to run aurocross. IIRC it was a Simca, it had an ULTRA ULTRA rare Pontiac 303 CID engine that had been developed for Trans Am racing in the late 60's. It was all motor and tires, it looked a lot like a Legends car does today only much, much faster.

 

I think for the Goodguys stuff it has to be either an American car, or American powered.

 

Just when I thought I'd had an original idea!!!!!
I've been kicking around the idea of a multi-use little roadster for a while now. Something I could autocross, do "track days" with, and with the right cage and fire stuff, do Bonneville.I tried to keep it HAMB friendly, but drum brakes, solid front axles, and skinny tall rubber was not going to cut it. I even considered going the old Lotus 6 route with a swing arm I-beam front end with coil overs.
Anyway this is my plan. A very strong yet light spaceframe chassis, made out of 16ga 1" square tube with lots of triangulation. An Olds W41 Quad4 putting out around 190bhp. A T5 trans and a 7.5" 10 bolt out of an S-10.I will make make my own tubular A-arms for front suspension, using S-10 spindles and discs. I'll have a 4-link and coilovers at the rear.
Steel wheels are 16 x 7 on the front and 17 x 8 on the rear, with 215/55 16 and 255/50 16 Kumho ecsta tyres.
All of this will be covered with a '25 T body that will attatch with dzus pins.
I've got the main bits, the motor, trans, and rear end. I've got the front spindles and brakes, and I've got the wheels and tyres. I've got lots of rusty T panels(enough to make 2 bodies!). The steel is sat on the shelf waiting!
All of this stuff has been bought "right", in other words cheap or free. Descisions on parts were based on price, suitability, and aesthetics.
The car will be a compromise. It could use lighter wheels, spindles and brakes for lower unsprung wieght. I decided on the tyres after poring over specs. I wanted tall(er) rears coz I'm a hot rodder, the sidewalls had to be in proportion and I had to be able to get cheap wheels for them.
Everything is piled up in the garage waiting. Just got to get my coupe on the road this summer. The roadster will not be HAMB friendly, and I'm OK with that. I will not be putting build pictures up. It is not a traditional hot rod, my coupe is, and I love traditional cars. I also like lots of other types of cars but this forum is not for those.
Enough of my ramblings, to address the opening post, I don't think you can expect a HAMB style car to sucsessfully compete in true autocross. The minute you start to compromise handling and braking for traditional aesthetic you will fail to be competitive. You will be the coolest lookin, just not the fastest!!!
Cheers,
Stewart.

 

it just looks like it has to be entered in a goodguys show and have seat belts to compete in the autocross

http://www.streetchallengeautocross.com/event-info/rules-a-info

 

I see quite a few of us are coming out of the closet on this topic. I have a desire to build a purpose built car, and I was thinking of an autocrosser and a tribute to my brother Steve who autocrossed a bugeye sprite.

I have a glass modified body and have been thinking about a unibody, or birdcage, or space tube frame with an aluminum 215 buick / olds / or range rover with a T5. Ideally it would be independent, but I could see keeping the front end light with a new billet i beam axle, maybe torsion bars, lightweight aluminum hubs, etc. I think you could hit the 1500-1600 lb mark. Could be a blast.

One of my first posts was wondering where Callies 303 Simca went......Anybody know??

 

OK... I'll just have to post pics of my Clubmans Racers again...

This is a Mallock U2 Mk6.

These were used in FJ, F2, Sportscar racing, and their own Clubmans Class.





It has a cut I-beam front suspension and a solid axle rear.

The driveline is offest to the left to compensate for the weight of the driver..

It has a 1600 Cortina engine right now, but it will get a Twincam Lotus.


This is a more modern version of it.

a Jasag, built in Scotland for Clubmans racing.



It has a lot more Aero than the Mallock.
A high downforce nose and a wing on the back

( it will look a lot like this Mallock, when its done )



It also had a 1600 Cortina based engine, but im swapping a 2000cc Pinto into it now.



To me, these are the ultimate evolution of the Front Engined Roadster.


And there would be no reason you couldn't scale it up to use Hot Rod suspension parts and a V8...

 

That was John Callies' Simca Cinque I mentioned earlier. I wonder whatever happened to it?

 

Great collection and totally agree with your assessment of them being the ultimate evolution of a front engined roadster.

Anyone got any pics of Max Balchowski's roadster that he used to run before Ina and he started building the Ol Yaller's?

 

It seems a little "sneaky" to build a trailer queen autocross hot rod to me. Why not build a good handling hot rod that is still a driver? Or, in best case scenario, go 50's "traditional" and build more of an all-purpose "sports rod" like a Curtis, Cunningham, or Allard? Or something like the Ford based cars often seen vintage racing at Laguna, something akin to the amazing Khougaz roadster!!!! My favorites would include a low-boy A on deuce rails or an Eliminator clone, copying Duffy's 184. Gary