Building a Drag car? what would you do?

hey guys

i know that sort of a broad question for a subject line so ill take a moment to narrow it down and tell you more of what im really looking for.

my brother is definatly a car guy, always has ben, most likley allways will be. either way as he gets better at welding and fabricating he is starting to finaly after years start to lean towards a "trad" or old school project.
just something pre 70 for sure, hey its a step in the right derection from the big H.

anyways we have ben talking and he wants to build a drag car, ok for those argueing on other threads lets make this a 99% drag strip car but if i realy wanted to be uncomfortable and were some ear plugs i could drive it at the cruise with out having to bring a jug of high octain with us.

right now the base idea is a 55 chevy two door post, a small block and an automatic.

now this project will be alowed a few years to be built so it will be alowed a larger--for us-- budget because time will alow funds to be created. and most if not all work will be done by us. so keep this in mind when giving any advice, the car will running in bracket racing format and we would be preety happy with putting together a mid 11 second car.

now i know there a million aspects into making a car run a number, suspension,tourqe, driving the list seemingly never ends.

but what would you sugest?

a straight axel would be nastey looking but it probably wont afford us much gain for the effort. is the stock front suspension-rebuilt- up to the task? i would think with some tweaking it should be fine, but any ideas?

in a car that weights so much, how much gain would tearing off the front bumper and or switching to a glass front clip realy make? is it worth the expense on a budget? what other weight saving ideas do you have?

running aprx a 10 inch tire do you go with coil overs or some sort of mopar inspired leafspring set up?

solid mounts?

any frame areas that could realy use some help when tuning for the track?

im basicly looking for basic good advice when building a drag car like this, and any aditional information that would be pertinant to the car we would like to use.

and heck if you think that maybe a differnt car would be a better starting point for this type of venture-weather it be muscle or just a differnt body style, speak up

......just trying to help along what two lane blacktop did to a import loving brother

tia
tim

 

Id find a mid 70's Nova - Omega series size car and gut it and build an Olds 455 and drop it in with choice of trans and play with the suspension so it'd hook up, and go racing. Thousand$ cheaper than a '55 Chevy...>!
Like the $2000 one in hotrod this month

 

glad to see others still working up the old 55's

probably would be a good idea to model it somewhat like the "two lane blacktop" car

not sure but have somewhere that the removal of the front suspension and related crossmember, installing new frame horns from the firewall forward with a straight axle will take off around 250 lbs.

loss of the front bumper and brackets is worth perhaps another 50 or so.

get rid of the seats and all the side glass for plexi, and maybe you will gain another 100 to 150 lbs

mini tub the back and move the springs inboard of the frame to get some rubber under it. or maybe coil overs and ladderbars. you will need some sort of traction aid in any event.

probably would use a built th350 to save weight over the th400

anyway my vote is either a "nitro coupe" stance or if you are in a retro frame of mind go with the "gasser" style.

either way it will be a blast.

oh and last but not least ,,, all the power you can afford

bob g

 

If you are sticking with a SBC, find your basic 350 block, some 10.5:1 forged pistons, stock rods w/ ARP bolts. Start with a hydraulic cam that goes about 255/260 @ .050 and about 550"/558" gross valve lift then stick on the BEST cylinder heads you can afford. Somthing with 2.05 intake valves. HUGE gains in cylinder head technlology these days. Top with a single plane high rise of your choice and about 800 cfm worth of carburation.

Back it with a TH350 w/ a 10" 3500 stall, some 4.56:1 gears, and 10 inch slicks. Stick it all in a 3000# car with slapper bars or a bolt on ladder bar and you will be nicely into the 11s.

Good luck, -Abone.

Or, you could just stick a mild PONTIAC in it and whup everybodys ass.....

PS. That Nova that Drj was talking about in Hot Rod is one serious piece. This is a REAL car that does REAL 10 sec 1/4 for a REAL budget of 2000 bucks. Very good example of goin' very fast on the cheap.

 

You are going to need over 500 HP to run that number so we are definitely talking the AFR heads. Someone makes a kit to move th erear springs from outside the frame rails to directly under them which will let you run a decent tire. If yo want to play what if, http://www.maxracesoftware.com/race_car_physics.htm
Click on ETAVBDOS. It's free. Figure 3150#, 29 sq. ft. of frontal area with a drag coefficient of .47 and a 112" wheelbase with 45% of the weight on the rear wheels.

 

great advice thus far everybody keep it comin. last car i built-and holly cow finished- " to go fast" was a 72 nova that ran mid to high twelves so im trying to do something older this time around

thanx

nastey motor, inboard springs, straight axel

tim

 

The only problem with using a 55 two door as the basis of your drag car project would be that they ain't cheap to buy...but there ARE still deals to be had...if you luck onto 'em!

I'd recommend a slightly different approach,

Start with a solid 55-57 two door Chevy, then gut it off all non-essentials. You'll be able to sell off almost all the stuff you remove, so do it without destroying anything. This will lighten up the car and help to channel funds back into the project.

I wouldn't run a straight axle myself...I'd just slip a set of 90/10 shocks up front and add a disc brake swap kit and a dual reservoir master cylinder.

Yank the steel front clip and bumper, and go with fiberglass. Buy solid side mounts for the engine and a poly mount for the trans.

For motorvation, I'd build a 396 punched out to 402 or 408 cubes. Most gearheads want the 427 and 454 rat motors, so 396s are a little cheaper to score, and they'll run damn hard!

Use a 427 steel crank and good rods with aftermarket 7/16" rod bolts. Good forged pistons with healthy compression and the best heads you can afford. Roller rockers in conjunction with a big hydraulic cam and fed by a tunnel ram and two 660cfm Holley center squirters. Fenderwell headers are a natch!

Run a four speed for fun, or a built TH350 with 10" converter for consistency. Back it up with a 4.11 geared nine inch Ford axle with good springs and 50/50 shocks.

Go with a fuel cell, required cage, slicks, racing buckets and harnesses and other safety items, and you'll have a bad ass, fun to run drag car that captures the flavor of the Two Lane Blacktop car, and can still be run through the gears on the street once in a while!

Notice there's nothing exotic or outlandish mentioned in the above outline...it's a very basic formula that would be relatively easy to assemble on a reasonable budget, and will deliver impressive performance in reliable fashion. I didn't nail down too many specifics, such as ignition and cam specs and such, because how you select those items is largely dependant upon your final performance goals and exact major components. You can go milder or wilder and still keep the basic package in tact...just tailored to your needs and tastes!

 

Do you want to go FAST,or be real traditional ?


I would consider a completly tubular chassis,with a Fiberglas body like they run in Pro Mod.
I think you can get a 7/8 scale '57 Chevy.
They also make a kick ass Split Window Vette for Pro Mod.

It would be lighter,so it will be quicker with less HP.And not as hard on parts.
And safe,so when Shit Happens,you can live to tell about it.

If you look in the right places,you could probably get an older Pro Mod roller
for less than the cost of the parts to build one.
That would get you a Certified cage,and be able to handle more HP than you can afford.
The engines mount with motor plates,so it would be easy enough to swap in something else.

Last months Hot Rod had some guy with a 500 cube Caddy,on Nitrous,in a late model Mustang !
Going REAL quick!
And real cheap.

 

Think smaller and lighter than a 55.

A friend of a friend bought an outdated funny car (80's era) and put an altered body (23 T style....tubbed out with narrow turtle deck style).

With a mild, iron head 396 and a "good" powerglide, the thing turns mid 9's.

It looks bad-ass, was relatively cheap, and should run for years without shelling out any big bucks.

 

Mid 11s in a tri five chevy, best be running a big block. Torgue is what ya need for that big car. If not a chevy, get a 500 inch caddy in there.

 

Why not a 2 door post box Nova with a small block? It would prbably be cheaper than a '55 but still be Old enough to be a cool drag car, and they only weigh 2800(instock trim and 6er).
-Jesse

 

get a decent rust free body. then strip it of everything it doesn't need to go fast. install an A-100 or econoline axle. mopar 8-3/4 rear end (lighter and stronger than a stock 9", and uses less power to turn). Big block mopar, we are talking 426 or 440 here. dual quad AFBs. send the chassis up north to get the cage put in it, and race prep the tranny. with a stock rebuild, headers and a good cam in a 440, that car will be in the low 11s. David

 

A friend runs a 55 post with a 406 ,turbo 350 and a chevelle 12 bolt.
Your springs can be swapped side for side and installed on the inside of the frame with the mounts. 9 inch tire is all thats needed to run low 11 high 10's . Rear is ok with slapper bars. This 55 run's high 1.50 and low 1.60 60 foots. and low 11's.
I personally will never run anything but a powerglide ,but I'm sure others will disagree.
Another thing I am fond of is Alcohol. 30 or 40 H.P. and bunchs of torque. Never overheats ,unbelieveable throttle response.
Build a torque engine, gear it high 4;10 or so ,spend the hard money on a convertor $700-$900.,it will make you or break you.If you ever get over this way I'll be glad to show you this 55 and you can get some ideas.I would stay away from the straight axle unless you are going for an image. Best of luck.