Picked up a glass 23 T body a couple of months ago and I am wanting to build a what would be a '60s style street strip roadster out of it. I like the looks of these 2, Dirtydan's and the M&V Rolling Rice bowl. Anyone got anything else?
now that is strange. the mv roadster was rebuilt awhile back and before it was rebuilt somebody else built a replica of it. the funny thing was, at one of our anra drag events, they both showed up. they both go about the same speed too.
Thats kind of what I have in mind but with 2 seats and streetable. But I want it to work at the strip as well.
Like the looks of that too. I have seen that cover before. I may have it in my Dad's old stash that my buddy swiped from me a while back need to go steal those back. Can't read the year on it if it's 68-69 I prob do have it.
Nobody has rebuilt the original M&V car, the original body is lost to time and the chassis is up North somewhere... the recreation was done using some original parts and given as a gift to Gray Baskerville... and is currently owned by a guy who runs it at various Nostalgia events... You may have seen our car at the Palmdale event... looks similar, but it's just something we threw together to run at the first HAMB Drags...
Thank you sir and congrats on having a killer car, er truck. LOL Do you have any bare chassis pics, I saw where you said you built it what is it based on if anything?
The three guys in the pic built it, Tim Sage, Terry (38Chevy454) and me... in 7 months, based on the NHRA rulebook and basically what is the layout of a T-bucket frame... Sam.
Didn't realize it was rigid. I supposed I will use ladder bars and coils for some tunablity. And I want to be able to drive it as well so rear suspension is a must. Trying to figure out how to keep it 2 seats and suspended and still look right. I don't plan to channel the body either I need all the room I can get, I am a good size lad. LOL
cool post. if the car will be street driven i would suggest four bars. ladders rid e hard on the street and the drivers position will be pretty close to the rear axle. if you want the chaenneled look and want to avoid the "sitting on vs sitting in the car" situation you could try a sunken floor. your frame would have to closely folow the perimeter of the body. you would then mount the floor to the bottom of the rails. im doing that on my current project . the only problem on a 23 woul be runninf the driveshaft inside the cabin. the cars are narrow and therefore usually end up with flat floors to avoid taking up room in the cabin
My car over the years. Transverse springs front and rear, short four bars on rear. Rides great on street and runs 11.20s at the strip. Make the down tube removable if you want to have a passenger, unless they are a double amputee. Mutt
The replica was built for 'Ol Dad before he died. He`was one of the owners of the original. I have some pictures of the replica from when they gave it to Gray at the CHRR around '98 IIRC. Mutt
why not go for a fuel altered? jack the engine up a smidge and run some spindle mounts on the front and some slotted mags on the rear...
Hey Mutt... first off, I dig the shit out of your T! But... they built Gray's car back in the late 80's... almost 20 years before he died and they gave it to him as a "suprize" at the Nostalgia Nationals at the Fremont Drag Strip here about a half hour from me. As a little inside story... as I understand it from the guys who were really there... it really wasn't a suprize... as Gray happened to go by the shop where they were building it and saw it before it was given to him. Sam.
Well then, maybe someone just re-did it and surprised him at the CHRR. Or perhaps it was the original that had been restored and he was able to make some passes in it. I took this picture there, talked to him, and he was surprised and delighted with the car. I used to have a mag article about it, but have given all of my modern era mags away, so I can't verify either way. Being an old coot, I could be wrong, but I don't think so. However, IIRC that was the year that Conklin had the golf cart race with security (One of the funniest events I have ever seen - you had to be there), and there was a lot of alcohol involved that wasn't being ingested by race cars. So I wouldn't bet either way. Anyway, my point was that the replica was Gray's, and that he also owned the original. And I also admire your roadster, Sam. Mutt
Sounds like its plenty quick for my needs have any pics of the rear 4 bar set up? What are the length of the bars? Thanks for all of the pics Sam.
The bars are about 9 1/2 inches right now, eye to eye. Some pictures. The frame mounts are just angle iron and flat iron butted, welded, and drilled. Mutt
You're welcome.. Yep, the car rides very well on the hiway, and hooks hard at the strip. It also corners quite well. You will have to play with the spring leafs to get the right combo for you, but it's worth it in the long run. I skipped some middle leaves to get the ride I liked. I took the spring apart about 8-9 times to get it right. Also set the hangers correctly with the pinion angle set before welding the hangers on, to prevent binding. A little planning makes life so much easier. Oh, and also double catch the four bars - I peeled the single mounts on the old axle housing at Indy when it hooked well. The single mounts twist rather easily. Mutt
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