Projects Nance Super/Sprint Car. Spirit of 76

Well here goes........Got a visit the other day from the doctor.......no not the family doctor but the racing doc Dr. **** Berggren...asking if I'd like to restore another of his cars. It was time to say yes which I did. First we went off to take a look at what we had to work with and also to check out a "barn find" a car that remained in a barn untouched for 20 plus years. I'll add a few pics of it at the end. Glad to say there was a lot of parts and pieces left in the Nance supermod.......thanks to a good friend Peter Von Sneidern. It's been awhile since I've posted on the HAMB so I will try to leave some start of the project pictures.......To all that like these posts leave me a note.....Jim

 

Here is a few pics of the barn find.....

 

You have some damn fine barns. the coupe looks like it ready now. Keep us posted on both..Just to add I always liked all that Dr Berrigan said. My fave of him was when he talked about his hospital stay after being burned. The next race I was in I had gloves and a better fire suit with a collar. Yes his drug advise was taken very seriously by me. Tell Dr B thank You.

 

Lovin that bumper!

 

Those Nance supers are one of my favorites designs. I hope you'll post a zillion pix. Sub'd. Gary

 

Initial piece together.....see what we have..see what we are missing....

 

Well,true to form restoration can lead to a lot of hills and valleys. Thanks to some HAMBers I got the hubs off the rear axle w/o hurting anything. I had never seen a rear axle with a key way like that. Goal in the next couple weeks is to get frt. axle and rear end squared up in the ch***is. Sounds easy but who knows what bump is in the road.......

 

Bunch more pics to start the initial put together.....trying to figure out what someone else was thinking can be a chore.....it's being fun tho.....any questions feel free to ask..

 

thought I would post some progress pics.....although I have done rebuild stories on a few other cars on HAMB this time I'm not getting any posts on this rebuild...trying to decide if it's worth the effort .......a note or two sure keeps the fires going. This past week we have got the front ends roughed together.....same with the rear suspension ......still have a long way to go before any finishing off takes place.....next in line is the front motor plate and in/out box set in place.....should be fun! Jim

 

Well, I'm rooting for ya! Gary

 

Me too. Keep posting.....

 

YES!

 

Well here are a few on the ground pics......this will let us set the wheelbase...take some measuring of the radius rods needed etc. also see where we go with the engine plate old one or the new one....I am looking for a rear section of a CAE in/out box......got a couple replys nothing set in stone yet tho

 

Well this time we have pieced together some more parts ......see if you can tell what has been added and subtracted.....??????

 

I might not post a lot but I'm always lurking, keep posting the progress!

I'd be interested in seeing the method you use for aligning the front, rear ends, and ch***is to each other. Any tips and tricks you use either in the shop or at the track?

Ed

 

A lot depends on if the car is a driver or a non driver just how close we get the wheel base etc. If it's a driver and has a 4 post cage I've found the 2 front bars in the cage is a good centering spot to set the front wheelbase using T-squares ect. In The last two cars we did that I posted in this project the crown 7 is a non-driver and the #8 is a driver......Hope to see these cars in the museum soon to be built in Louden NH.......

 

Lookin' good Jim.. I really like the looks of the Crown 7. Is or was that one of skip's cars??? Jay

 

Yes ...

 

Like the jalonie on the right rear. Haven't seen one of those in years.

Out of curiosity what is the car in your avatar?

 

Lurker checking in.

 

I will ask Skip ,next time I see him. It was built by a indy area builder who's name I can't remember......the coca cola sprint got us a lot of exposure tho.....

 

Sitting in the modified T formation teach' ... front row and center. May not say much, but I do raise my hand if I have questions. Have shiny apples too ... freshly store bought. Post away please. Apt pupil. Vrrroom, vrroom !

 

Looks great, I finished my last race car (chevy II midget) 3 years ago and now I'm starting to get the itch to start another one. Post like yours gets me all excited to go out and start bending some tubing!

Thanks

 

Your effort is appreciated. Makes me want to drag out the 85 Kinser Gambler I've got and do something with that. Keep on keepin on!

 

Well here's some pictures taken after Scotty has been working super hard getting rid of things that weren't on a original Nance car.........things are looking a little better.......our next project is to fit the body pieces as best we can and make a decision! Once that gets done we will take it completely apart and prepare everything. Part by part.....piece by piece.....

 

Looking Great!!

 

Been a long time since last post......got most of the parts mocked up and now we are down to bare ch***is.......heading for sandblasting......will post some pics...

 

Remember going to the speed shop in the 60s

 

Very cool stuff! When I was a kid we used to ride our bikes a mile or so over to his shop to see if there were any supermods or dragsters on trailers or in the shop. We could look in the doors, too. I don't think we ever had the guts to go in the front door....