Hey guys, I am looking to start my first project with my son. I am wanting to build an old school digger or the likes of. Something like the garage built 100" wheel base low cl*** ( like d/cl*** 310 cubes or smaller) by early to mid 60's standards digger. the ones i see in my old mags from then. I have lots of questions about frames, front axels, rear ends, ect.... and dont know where to start. So this is why i call on you guys, the guys i have always wish to be, the ones building now or building then, the guys i wish i had grown up with. Any advice will help. I just want to have some fun with my boy and keep it nostalgic in the process. Thanks dirt
Do a search on FED (front engine dragsters) and similar items (flathead FED, Hemi FED, zoomies, etc.)
thanks for the help guys i will bring questions back as this moves forward and post some pics too. thanks again
I did a ton of looking at old ch***is over the past year. I wanted a older altered ch***is. If you want to run it in anger go with a new ch***is. King Ch***is looks bad ***, or call Rooman. He builds some very cool stuff. Most of the older stuff out there is going to have problems getting certed. You're going to spend a lot of money updating it. Plus the new stuff is safer and you can have it built to fit you. Jmho
I built this. It was fun to build and even more fun to run. 96 inch wheelbase, slant 6 Dodge with auto. Madeverything possibe including the shifter and steering wheel and front axle. I am adicted to making them now and am working on a Jag powered one currently. I still have this one and intend to have it out april for a run at Shannonville. Tubing at spec mild steel will cost under $400 even at a longer wheelbase. I sublet the bending at $10 per bend to my cardboard patterns. Don
IMHO Do yourself a favor and build it to the rulebook. It will be more work and possibly more challenging up front work, but you'll be ahead later on. It is a difficult task to blend the old look with modern rules, but it CAN be done. Keep it simple - you'll maximize your fun both NOW building it and LATER running it!! I built mine at home on saw horses - it is NHRA approved to run 7.50. I've gone 9.50 with it using a nearly stock motor. It's not the fastest piece, but is awfully fun to run!!!!
Here's mine. Just got it on the ground today. It took about four months to get it to this point from the time I got my Mark Williams blueprint. It has been a lot of "Fun" work and it wasn't easy but it's legal and I am very happy with it. Do a little reserch and do it right the first time, spend your time and money wisely.
sure do miss TI... it was nice to get to and from the track in 15 minutes. neat coupe. to reiterate what has already been mentioned... build it by the book and you will have no regrets, both at the tech line and when the car gets out of shape. for the record... a 100" slingshot can be a handful, even at low speed. my advice is to always build the longest car your garage can handle.
Send $35 to SFI and get the SFI 2.6A ch***is blueprints. Building a 7.50 or slower certifiable car from scratch will be half the fun and you and the boy will be very proud of having done all of it yourself. http://www.sfifoundation.com/ Optionally, you can build a FED good to 10.00 and slower that will not need certification (all cars need to certify at 9.99 and quicker) by using the info in Section 4, General Regulations of the NHRA Rulebook. There is a photo there and a table of materials to use. You don't necessarily need a new book. The spec has been the same for several years. You can build this car from either chromoly or from mild steel. Use a fairly stock small block Chevy and go mid to low tens with it for cheap and have fun without breaking anything. The only personal safety equipment you will need is shoes, socks, long pants, an SFI 3.2A/1 fire jacket, Snell 2000 or 2005 full-face helmet with shield, SFI 3.3 neck collar, SFI 3.3/1 gloves and arm restraints. If you opt to wear a HANS device and no neck collar, you will need to prevent fire from gettin' on your noggin by using a SFI 3.3 head sock or a helmet that has a SFI 3.3 skirt built into it. For those who don't know, the neck collar prevents violent head movement AND prevents fire from getting to your head. Get a rulebook and read it through on the E.T. Handicap and General Regulations sections before you do anything at all. It's an awful experience to have to put a car on the trailer and send it home because the owner didn't read the rules when building the car. alteredpilot has some excellent advice for you.....build the longest wheelbase car you can.
I keep both rule books right on the welder. I want to be sure if i go to track i can run so if the rules say it I do it despite the vintage or old school look. Beside i dont like pain. I want to KNOW if i get in a jam I will be al right. one of the most interesting learning experiences for me was going with a friend to watch his RED get certified. i learned more in that hour about what and why they want it then I had known previously. I am building # 3 now. I work from my own design but follow the rule book to the lettter. The rule book basically deals with the cage and bracing.The inspector told me "We ***ume you will crash for inspection purpoes and we want to gaurantee your survival. " Foot box, cross bracing , helmut bars and tube size and thickness were the big thing . The rule book has all you need right there in black and white. Don
I havn't drag raced in over 40 years. Is DOM mild steel legal for cages? Chrome moly is so hard to weld and heat treat.
In the dragster and altered cl***es DOM is legal for 10 seconds and slower but moly is required to meet any of the 2.x or 10.x specs. Although MIG welding a mild steel frame is OK it is not that hard to TIG and no heat treating is required. Currently DOM is not that much cheaper than 4130 and a moly car has a lot higher resale value. I see a lot of bogus MIG welds where a rookie welder blasts a bunch of wire onto the surface with little to no penetration. Most TIG welders have sufficient experience to get it right, although we quite often see what we call "California" welds where there is a really pretty but too small bead that has insufficient penetration. Mike Boyd's Bakersfield crash in the Winged Express was the result of one of those welds--the left hand king pin boss simply fell off the end of the axle tube. Roo
Are you sure??? I have a SFI 2.6 spec that i got 3 weeks ago and it said either chromoly or mild steel but the minimum accepted wall thickness for the mild steel had to be .118 If you know something different please let me know as i am planning on buying mild steel to build my ch***is in the next few weeks. Thanks
I agree. My understanding of the rules as well. The mild steel cars is heavier but not a lot.(about 140 pounds on a door slammer tube frame ch***is. About half that on a rail or altered. Strength is the same because of the increased wall size (.118 minmum. ) In fact probably the steel car is stronger snce all tubing must be .118 where as Cm can be so thin you could spit through it. Dont tell anyone but I arc weld my kingpin bosses (mild steel)on and i am fanatical about it because I want to be absolutley sure they aint never gonna fall off. I only i used a mig because the rules say I have to. My own personal opinion is migs are for people who cant weld. I now use a tig for my main ch***is work. Don
Exactly right. I tell the racers that I visualize the worst possible scenario when I'm teching the car, and that's flippin' and rollin', on fire, at 170 MPH.
WOW guys thanks so much!! this is why i knew to bring it to the H.A.M.B. I am certain you guys save me from alot of headache and my sons dissappointment. as far as the NHRA certifications do they have stations all over the U.S.? and thanks so much again for all the advice and pictures and inspiration, i am so excited to do this now!!!
Any NHRA certified tech inspector can sign off on your car. Quite often they are available at events and depending on location they also make "house" calls. My guy lives just down the road from me and I just have him come to my shop when a customer wants a car certified. The house call costs extra but saves having to load the car up and take it somewhere. NHRA's National Dragster usually lists specific certification days early in the season (possibly also on their web site too) for each division. Check with your divisional office for any more info. Roo
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