Well... Plan is to have seat just above 3rd member pinion and eventually put on a "Modified Body Shell" later. I may be using the wrong slang, but I thought an "Altered" was a type of a Dragster.
It's all kinda confusing, since the term "altered" is used to describe either a class of drag cars that were allowed to deviate quite a bit from a factory car (engine setback, wheelbase, some body mods, as in '50's-mid 60's), and "altered", meaning a chassis very much like a modern Funny Car frame, with the engine setback, but ahead of the driver, and the driver on top of the pinion (late 60's to present). More generally speaking, an altered in the later style, needs to have a body to give it some identity, typically a '23T, Bantam roadster, or Fiat Topolino. That's not to say you couldn't use something else, just not fabricated panels, like a typical dragster has. Your chassis has a serious late 50's-early 60's vibe, so something like a Model T sedan or Nash metro body or a weird British thingy, like a Morris Minor, all gutted out and missing stuff, would be very cool too. I know this sounds all to serious or contrived, but this is what has evolved. I'm a total Altered freak, in case it's not obvious! Good luck, and keep on wrenchin'!
From an historical standpoint, grammatically speaking, it would be considered a Competition Coupe or maybe a Comp Roadster. Check out this thread: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/comp-coupes-all-but-forgotten.1014604/
you could look up class rules, if you want to get a little more serious about building a car that you can put a name to
Competition Coupe and Modified Roadster are the most common descriptions of about the same thing with the variance in body styles.
I was pretty happy to find at a swap meet this winter. Changed bolt pattern to 5 on 4". Shop dog approves... Technical - Help ID'ing this sweet Ford Axle (V8-60) Hubs? | The H.A.M.B.
Understood, I found while reading the rules it kept changing my vision/direction. So, I just decided to build what I want, with parts I have. (that said, I will be referring to occasionally, even plan to get chassis looked at by professional builder before final welding) I wasn't going to post these pics, guessing they will get critiqued possibly down a rabbit hole. Mainly was mocked up for proportions while trying to decide on a wheelbase. Who knows it might help all naming it.
Modified a 16ton HF pipe bender/Die and to used roller dies. a little practice and happy with shoulder hoop bend. edit : Using 1"(.095), 1.5"(.095) and 2"(.120) DOM.
Still needs a little more tweaking, (20" inside wide) The Harbor Freight pusher dies don't fit DOM, I spent alot time making 1, 1&1/5 and 2" O.D. fit perfect.
Been doing more research and learning. Hopefully going to look and picking this up soon. Still can't grasp the A/A Coupe or Comp Class definitions.
Your bending looks great, I can understand you wanting to build a period piece. With just a little design change, you would have a legal chassis, and easily double the value of the car. This one will cert at 7.50, and wouldn't look much different with a Fiat body, (very good choice) by the way.
If I understand your concern a chassis for an Altered will have no more than a 25% engine setback as measured from a king pin to the forward most spark plug. Cars in the Competition Coupe class will have no limitation as to engine placement. If you do choose the Fiat body seen above you could use that on an Altered with the rear axle in the rear wheel openings but it could also become a Competition Coupe body by setting it back and cutting wheel openings in the doors. A lot will depend on the track, rules and events you will be entering. Some may not hold to the 25% setback for an Altered so rigidly if you exceed that a little.
Do you have a non NHRA track to run it in your area? Just asking because they are usually strict on the rules even if it is not an NHRA event. For example a friend had a bolt in roll bar in a slower than 12 second car. They deemed it not up to specs. (12 second car roll bar not required) He could not run the car with it in the car. Take the roll bars out and he could run.
I started similar with my avatar - I had it mocked up and tacked and then thought "this is crazy, I cant run it anywhere" So I went to a legal cage and it still looked "old enough" as I built the lower part of the cage, I would send pics to the NHRA tech inspector for my area - he would then tell me what to add or modify - came out OK
This^^^ My friend added a HANS device for his driver, his daughter, just for extra protection, even though it was not an absolute requirement. NHRA tech pointed out that it was out-of-date and he could not race the car until he removed it, per NHRA policy. I replaced the parachute on my altered with a block of foam rubber, when we switched from quarter mile to 1/8 mile, and no longer could exceed 150 mph. NHRA tech told me to remove the 'chute pack before we could race. That is their policy.
If you actually want to run this thing anywhere, I'd reach out to the actual tech guy that will likely end up blessing it, or send you packing! Better to know now than when you're standing there with your "finished" ride, helmet in hand, wanting to run. I've seen some heartaches in tech!.
Thanks for comments, I am reaching out before going any further on the chassis. Found these 16" Hallcraft wire wheels and just had to get, including the AirHeart Calipers and disc brakes. I'm sure they were on some T-Bucket at some point. Leaning towards a 4-link over hairpins, any thoughts?
Purists will say to use hairpins, but 4-link bars work better at maintaining caster and minimizing bump steer.
I am not what I would call a purist, but do like well packaged cars. For me the big OD lower frame rail and transverse front spring places it a period where the hairpins would have been used. But it's supposed to be a fun car to enjoy and for me part of the enjoyment would be loving the looks of the car so it gives you a smile every time you walk by it in the garage. Also feeling safe driving it. And if putting the 4 bar front on it does that go for it. Plus there is that conversation about what's the appropriate control setup for a tube axle.
Not sure bump steer is much of an issue with a rail? Most cornering is done at slow speeds, and tracks are smooth enough to not really induce any bump steer. Either setup should work fine, and you've got enough kingpin angle to help it want to go straight.
thanks Jim, I do want a fun car. Also know the tube axle with hairpins debate. I'm leaning towards lengthening the hairpins a few inches and considering this mockup (wouldn't require reversing the steering box) but drag link, track bar and bump-steer might be hard to do. Any thoughts?
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