There are still some really cool meets out there that cater to vintage cars - TROG at Flabob, the stuff at Riverdale, Southeast Gassers, the meet at Byron and in Wisconscin, and although it doesn't seem exclusive, and some neat stuff shows up both at Eagle Field and Kingdon but it's more "run whatcha brung" than a vintage deal But this current crop of HAMBsters just doesn't seem to be into it the way that some of the folks who I guess have moved on were back when Ryan was having the HAMB drags.
I wasn't really referring to the "official" stuff like the Heritage Series and ANRA and the "nostalgia" racing stuff. The horse left that barn decades ago when they started running for points and championships in the late 80's/early 90s. There are still some great vintage meets - TROG Flabob airport drags, what used to be called the Billetproof Drags at Riverdale in Washington, and some kind of "vintage adjacent" stuff like Eagle Field and Kingdon, which has some vintage cars show up but is more of a "run what you brung" deal. That stuff just doesn't get talked about as much as it used to, and it doesn't seem like there are many related builds with this current crop of message board purveyors. There used to be a number of folks who were into old drag related stuff and drag car builds have become less and less of a thing here.
Here's last weekend's local event. I did not race but there is a good sampling of older stuff. No "cackle cars" or "exhibition" runs here. These boys and girls came to race and have fun doing so.
Any time I see a toterhome pulling a 48' trailer with a popup and flooring for the pit area to compete for 5 grand or less, it hits the red end of the scale. Maybe that's classism, but it seems like big fish in a little pond, unless a big chunk of the pits are that way. Then it seems like a wiener measuring contest.
Working on forming the body - Because of the paint scheme I've got planned I needed to trim the scoops off the tail section. Plus it will set it apart from the other Brian Fox tail sections running around nowadays. I wanted the tail to sit a bit more forward and to have a finished look around the cockpit so I used a compass and replicated the shoulder hoop radius, and then put a cut out in for the roll cage upright. My friend Eddie and I have been working on the aluminum section. Aluminum sides are roughed. Car is in upholstery right now, but will have it back for next weekend, which is to finish the sides, and then work on creating the cowl. After that it gets blown apart so I can paint the chassis. I'm taking the car in the unfinished stage down to Nitro Revival just so it can take part. The plan is to have the body in primer, and the chassis painted. The actual engine won't be done until sometime in November/December, so a "dummy" 327 will go in for display.
Just putting this up as a final post. Seems like the HAMB audience nowadays really isn't that into vintage style dragsters, but here's where the car is at. Will finish the cowl and then paint it in the spring and have Bruce Gossett letter the car. Took it down to Nitro Revival this weekend to have it on display. Next year it will be making runs.
I think there are many people here that are interested in this build and any other front engine dragsters. I fir one would love to see this thread continue on through the cars completion and beyond. Mick
I'm interested in your build , in this part of the country there is the Spam Drags at Mokan in SW Missouri , the Rumble drags in NW Missouri , the Bootheal drags in SE Missouri, the Battle of midway drags in SE Kansas , all low key Nostalgia races , there is also a nostalgia race in Central Nebraska at Kearney race way ,and next year at Onawa Iowa there will be a nostalgia race.
WHY, you can't go by replies you have had 8000+ VIEWS which means that many times members came in and looked at your posts but didn't reply.
Got the chrome back on mine and just spent a day screwing the front end all back together. Very similar layout to yours though I don't have the chute-pack body. Please keep us in the loop as you start running the FED. Good luck, and hope you don't tilt at too many windmills in Rocinante. Cheers, Harv
Great looking car, hope you bring it to Riverdale, you would get as many runs as you want over the three days.
Hold on a second Bub! Whats this last post nonsense? You can't get that totaly bitchen dragster this close to finished and then just vanish leaving us hanging.
i don't know what threads you are looking at. every drag car pic thread always turns into a dragster thread.
NO,NO,NO, you can't stop. I just got the first pic of my barn find dragster. Back around 1976 I found a little 112" dragster. I think it was a Lyndwood. I built a Dodge 340, and a shorty 727(no longer legal). I took it to get a cert and my wheel studs were not long enough, and did not stick through the nut far enough. Over the winter I bought a Olds powered 37 Cord 810 and sold the digger to my little sisters boy friend. He put a new Moroso body on it and ran it at Capitol, in MD. He said his best time was a 9.6 at 168 MPH. Fast forward to about 2000. A friends little brother decided he wanted a FED, and got a set of S&W plans. He put a Dodge 413 on it and an Ultra Bell/Power Glide. He got it certified and played with it a couple years, then lost interest. It's been sitting in his barn ever since. We decided we can't dig it out of the barn till spring. I need to get rid of 4-5 tractors to make room for it. My friend said the car is about 18' long. I looked at the S&W web sight, the closest plans they had for 18' was a 225" car, give or take. Top pic is the only one I have of the little 112'"car, bottom one is the barn find S&W. I hope to get lots more pics by spring! Please keep this thread going, Joe.
With 8000+ views I think this a pretty popular thread. We are not fartbook and or intsacoffe with a gazillion members. It must be a great build, if you did something wrong or out of the norm believe me members would be posting what they think you should be doing better.
I think this is a very viable thread. A friend likes to quote Plato. He says, "A wise man speaks because he has something to say, a fool speaks because he has to say something." By the number of views, I gather that you have a lot of wise men that are up on a lot rod issues, that are holding their tongues, waiting to see and learn some FED stuff. This will be my second FED, and hopefully I'll get this one on the track. I'm wise enough not to blather foolish stuff on your post. Maybe one day I'll learn something to share, Joe.
I'm always up for reading a thread about vintage drag racing, but you know I'm into that stuff, me on the far left.
Local group of friends, ran pretty active during the 80's - early 2000's, sadly a couple have passed. One still at it but gold car was replaced with another running injected hemi on 80% load
Keep the updates coming voxnut! I like anything about vintage FED's. I got mine "finished" earlier this year and we've had a blast racing it a few times in a local regular bracket program. So far a 6.78 ET and 101 MPH (1/8th mile) is the best it's done with it's almost stock carbureted 305 on 89 octane pump gas and a powerglide running footbrake. My point is it doesn't have to be a super fast car to still be a good way to spend a Saturday night. I look forward to seeing yours as a finished product, so keep posting! Lynn
Looking forward to the progress. I am working on one myself, based loosly on Ricemans drawing of a 1964-1/2 Woody Gilmore. I started a thread on the Front Engine Dragster form, but it seems dead over there.
http://www.frontenginedragsters.org/forum/index.php I had a bit of problem getting registered but eventually got it done. It's not a busy website but if in need of advice it's a great resource. Lynn
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