Projects Austin Somerset Gasser Build (DragNasty)

So while sitting there in the garage marveling over how good the motor looks sitting in the car it didn't take long for us to decide we really need to set the front clip on to get an idea of what the final product would be.



All of the front sheet metal was hanging from the ceiling of the shop and would require a bit of doing to get it down. But Dad and I were both like a couple of kids with a model car. We just had to piece it together and see what it looked like.



The nose attitude is much better now and the wheel well spacing is just about perfect. We just walked around it the rest of the afternoon snapping photos and checking out different angles.

 

I like it a lot. Will be a handfull for sure.

Sent from my ADR6350 using H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Great stuff.i had an a40 Devon with a blown 355.Fun Fun Fun..

 

Something kind of cool. There are a few holes in the firewall that are going to have to be filled etc. I was sitting there looking at the original hubcaps hanging on the wall and I got an idea. Since they are not anything to look at and have basically no value, why not cut the centers out of them, with the Austin logo, and use them to finish out the firewall later. So I grabbed the Plasma Cutter and wham, little metal Austin circles!



However, on the way over to the firewall to see how it would look, I discovered something even cooler...Check this out!

 

So do you have two more to fill the other holes? I like it personally! The flying tire logo always gets people looking to try and figure out what it is! I have people all the time asking me what the emblem is on my Austin A10.

 

I may have missed it somewhere, but are you planning on making the front sheet metal tilt? I love these kind of builds, subscribed.

 

Definitely! We have a bit of engineering to do though and I will post what we come up with. The issue is the front end can not just tip forward because the the back area of the front clip (between the hood hole and the cowl) will not clear the carbs etc. So we are going to have to engineer a tilt system that lifts first (about 5 inches) and then tilts forward.

 

You could just open up the back edge so it clears the rear of the scoop. That's what I did on my steel tilt for my Falcon gasser. I also made a pivot point at the hinge so it moves the whole frontend forward 5" before it tilts. Just a simple toggle link that flops over and rests on the frame, then tilts forward on the link. I did have to make my hood opening slightly wider so it cleared the scoop. One thing I forgot at first was the shape of this style scoop being wedge shaped, so as the rear narrower section tilts up it can interfere with the wider front portion of the scoop. Recut mine about 1" wider at the back of the opening to clear. I also edged the opening with metal to form a lip around it, and give it more rigidity and strength.

 

Man, that thing is gonna be one wild and scary ride!

 

I need to get started posting about the Ladder Bar build but some of you have already seen some of it if you saw an early Ladder Bar Thread I started. Anyway, that is what I should be doing but I got distracted, it doesn't take much!

The Doug Nash has 3.36 first gear so I am running a 3.50 out back in the narrowed 9 inch. This combination will actually be a bit lower (final drive) in first then a 400 turbo and 4.56. So we are hoping to be wheels up when we launch it. All that to show you this.



As you can see the Austin has two glove boxes. I assume since it could have just as easily been a left or right hand drive car. Anyway I discovered the compartment doors were made of steel so I decided I would leave them and probably use the one on the driver's side for a dash cluster.

Anyway, being a wheels up car (hopefully) and since it is most certainly going to "FLY", I had an idea that somewhere in the cluster it would be really funny to have a cockpit instrument of some kind. What better gauge than an artificial horizon? I found an airplane salvage yard and purchased a non-working unit for the Austin. When it came in, I just had to stop what I was doing and mess around with it.



I decided to just put it by itself on the glove box cover, it will be right over the steering column and appear to folks checking out the car that it is the only gauge needed...LOL! I am going to ad the red line and text to finish off the joke.

 

LOVE IT!! Very cool, go with it!!

 

Alright...The Ladder Bars. For me, when I think about ladder bars, I see square tubing. I spent quite a bit of time just laying under the car looking at the axle housing mount points and seeing what kind of clearance issues we had etc. Then I sat down and drew what I thought they should look like.



Now I knew this design was not going to leave us any adjustment for the pinion angle but clearance issues of the narrowed rear frame arches really dictated the mounting angles. We decided to preset with the pinion angle with the bars and just go for it.

 

So for material we went with 1.25" and 1" square tubing both 11 gauge.



The 1" will just about slide inside the larger and that gave me an idea of how to build some very strong mounting points. Now I know it could be done a 100 different ways but this how I decided to do it. I took 4" long, fine thread, grade 8 bolts and cut a length of 1" tubing just long enough to cover the shank of the bolt (with out threads).



I then took thin washers and used them to square up the bolts in the tubing. Then a few quick welds on the washer side and it was solid. I hit the head of the bolt a bit as well and now what I have is a very solid plug that will take a heavy duty Heims end later.



So the plan for the plug is drive it in to the end of the 1.25" tubing. Before that happens I decided to add a one more piece of "over" engineering. I drilled a .5" hole in the larger tubing where the plug should stop.



Then I inserted a .5" steel rod in the hole, cut it to fit, welded it solid and then ground it all smooth. No one will even know it is there, again probably over engineered.

 

So now I have the plug and the lower ladder bar arm ready to go together.



It took a bit of careful grinding but the plug is ready, still a nice snug fit but it will drive in. But first I took the plasma cutter and cut out two notches on two sides of the lower arm all the way up to the .5" steel rod.



Then I put a sacrificial nut on the bolt to protect the threads and drove it in until it made solid contact with the .5" steel rod.



Then I welded it solid throughout both notches.



Some quick grinding and we are ready to move to the other side. Only the rear lower mounts will receive the .5" steel rod reinforcement. My thought is this is the mounting pointing doing most of the work upon launch and it is all pushing on that plug...

 

So with the lower Ladder Bar arm rear mounts complete and the shorter upper arms finished as well with the plug system, I am ready to lay them out. We set our pinion angle and then mounted the arms the way they will be on the car.





With upper arms cut to fit and ready for welding, I tacked them in place and then cut .25" plate to reinforce the joint and really give this bar some strength.

 

Truly an entertaining thread. Great pictures!

 

So up front on these bars I decided to put Heims ends as well. I had some really heavy duty chrome molly male ends. Even though I didn't manage to get many photos of the construction, the basic premise was to take a new but unused 24" drag link and cut it in half, plasma cut the bottom of the lower arm and weld the entire 12" lengths into the arms. I was very proud of myself...





I still had another support bar to ad in the middle but for the most part I was done and ready to move on when unknowingly, I nearly destroyed both bars in one shot. I had just finished some touch up welding and grinding on the front mount areas and the bars were just sitting there cooling.

I unscrewed the standard ends I had in there to protect the threads etc. I took them out and started to screw in the chrome molly ends. The first one went in about halfway and then kind of galled up a bit. I thought there must be something in the threads after-all. I just grabbed the other one and started to put it in...same result, it only went about halfway in.

I decided I was going to have to run the threads etc. So I started to unscrew them and they would not turn. I didn't want to damage them so I put a steel bar about 20" long through the Heim End and was going to just go ahead and unscrew it. But no dice. I put a piece of pipe on one end of the steel bar and decided to "make" it come out. Before I was done, I ripped the stupid ball right out of that heavy duty end.

I put a big pipe wrench on what was left of the head and before that thing would release and unscrew, I broke it in half. I don't know what combination of 8th grade physical science questions caused this craziness but the only answer I had was cut the stupid ends off and start again.

 

Well since I had it to do all over again and had several H.A.M.B.ers worried about the Heim Ends up front anyway, I decided to make a change. We decided to put a steel bushing up there and change the chassis mount to accept it.



So now we have zero adjustments and that is not going to work. It was obvious the upper rear mount needed to be parallel with the lower (should have always been that way). So I cut the upper arms just aft of the plugs and went about repositioning them.



As you can see, I had to add a few inches to the upper arm. To make sure it was still strong, I ground down an 8" piece of the left over 1" tubing and drove it into the upper arm. I placed the new 1.25" tube extension over the 3" of the 1" still sticking out of the lower arm. Then welded it solid. It should be even stronger then it was before I cut.

 

So they are on the car and I am really happy with the look (which is honestly the bottom line anyway). I am going to wait until the coil overs and tires etc. are on before we make any further decisions on clearance etc. We may have to notch the frame rails just above the top rear mounts but maybe not. We will cross that bridge like all the others, when we get there.



Just a quick look at them on the car...





Up next, the center section is installed and Axles measured and ordered and an experiment with the rear coil overs........

 

Okay lets talk about the rear end choice. Now I bought this killer narrowed and reinforced housing from a guy I know. It came out of a wheel standing, full-bodied, 10 second 1960 Biscayne. It should have a pretty easy life from here on out pushing the 2000 lb. Somerset. He tossed in a cool set of wheelie bars as well.




I am using Mosier Axles and installing a Yukon Nodular center section with Yukon Gear and Pinion, 31 spline Detroit Locker, Aluminum Daytona Carrier and Billet Steel 1350 Yoke.



When it came to choosing the gear ratio I went with a 3.50. I know what you are going to say, in the world of drag racing that is a very high gear. Here is my thinking. Since I am using the Doug Nash, its gear ratio is 3.27, 2.13, 1.57, 1.24 and 1.00. My other choice would be a 400 turbo with a stall converter however its gear ratio is 2.48, 1.48 and 1.00.

If you do the math, running the Doug Nash with a 3.50 gear gives a final drive ratio in first of 11.44. Running a 400 Turbo with a 4.56 gear makes a final drive ratio in first of 11.31. So think about this, a car that launches like its running a 4.56 gear but with the top end of a "Freakin Lambo!" Okay maybe that is an exaggeration!

Either way, my opinion is the crazy little Austin has a license to fly!

 

Really cool. I'm a big fan of these Austins.

 

Thanks, I loved it the second I saw it. My thought on them is not very many were imported (at least not as many as its predecessor the Dorsett and Devon). I mean as far as I can tell (Google-wise) the only other Somerset Drag Car in history was ran in England by a guy named, Marek Czwordon back in the day.


As you can see, he did a two door conversion of his own, opting for more of a coupe look. The only thing I can not figure out though is this: Why do all that body work on the roof and deck area and then leave the rear door crack on the fenders?




I feel like I have little better looking stance on mine, LOL! But his is the only one I can find.

 

So I just spent 30 minutes typing a "Rant" on Speedway Motors, but after all of that decided to just let it go. It was about them not honoring an advertised price on their website for a set of AFCO coil over shocks.

Suffice to say I was angry enough about it that I decided to go look elsewhere for the coil overs. Check out what I found on Ebay.



I logged onto Ebay Motors just to see what was out there. I just typed in coil over shocks and of course got 20 pages of them. However the third one down were these brand new, made in the USA, Monroe SensaTracks for a Grand Caravan.

Now something clicked in my head because I thought those Caravans had leaf springs. So I got online and sure enough. So why would someone be putting coil over shocks on a vehicle with leaf springs?

After reading a bit further about the coil over, I discovered they are an aftermarket direct fit to replace the standard shocks and give the mini van 1200 pounds of extra assist (overload). So guess what spring rate I was looking for on the Austin? You guessed it: 1200 lbs.

These are brand new, came with Free shipping and get this: COST $45 each! I am going to give them a shot on the Austin. I figure if they are not enough for some reason, I will double them up and still be well under half price of a new set on Speedway.

 

Love this build! Nice work.

 

Thank you.

 

I hope those overload shocks work out. I've tried using overload shocks in a coilover situation before, and they were way too soft. I'd be surprised if they hold up a car with 1200 lbs. of rear axle weight.
I just replaced the coilovers on the rear of my Austin. I had originally purchased a pair of used coilovers from a late 70's Jaguar XJ6 sedan for $50 a pair and used them in my build, but they were pretty firm. I was going to get lighter coils for them, but it turns out they are an odd ID coil, and an oddball length too. Plus they weren't adjustable coil preload, so I decided to fork out the price and get something decent.
Speedway had a pair of QA1's in their garage sale items for $130 ea., and garage sale chrome springs for $25 ea., so I got them.
The QA1's are a huge improvement, and I dropped the rear of the car 1.5" with the shorter shocks, plus have all sorts of gas and spring adjustment to tune the ride.

 

I am thinking the same things but for $45 a piece I can't really go wrong. If they are too light I will drop them on the roadster project up next. The shocks are really very stiff though and the springs are easily changeable. I am going to play around with them tomorrow...still tossing around the idea of a transverse spring. Lots of options back there since I am basically fabricating the whole thing.

 

really love this build, great work and it is nice to see something different

 

Cool build... I like the direction this is going. That Nash 5 speed should be entertaining.