Close the garage door and work in the nude, that'll cut down on the clothes budget. Be careful when you lean up against hot metal. I've got a question about space saver wheels. Can you take 'em to 100-120mph? No idea.
Vec, The space saver wheels look like their made exactly like the full size wheel, just norrower. Ours are 4" wide. Like I said before, we ran 115 & 117 today without problems. Ron
good, great, sweet, job well dune thus far.....but it aint over my friend, the devil is in the details, get her done, there's light at the end of the tunnel, keep at it, we want to see that car where it belongs....racing Cheers, Drewfus
Bob, I don't know how to break this to you, but you have made at terrible mistake. You painted your parts black. Everybody know red is a faster color. I'm going to paint my car red.
Butch, I like red. Red is fast. My little toy only has 145hp, so it will be slow and even faster paint can't change that! But, as they say, wait until next year. I could have a few extra ponies, if I can sell one of my hot rods to finance it. Actually, my car has a lot of silver...like a silver bullet....fast as a speeding silver bullet. Hi Ho Silver! I can think of a black car from Florida. That ole Swamp Rat was pretty quick, eh? Drewfus, You are so right. I just put a full week in on the car doing stuff that never even made the "TO DO" list.
Scoop. My $100 Craigslist engine had 3 different brands of spark plugs in it. Got me a little worried about its condition. I should be able to fire it up by the end of the week.
That is looking very good Bob. The engine was probably "tuned " for wide-range performance. The three different brands of spark plugs were for low speed, medium range and high speed.
The different plugs were probably used to compensate for the different lengths of the runners on the stock intake manifold.
Puke bottle for radiator overflow. My wife & daughter tried sour apple vodka martinis. All I got was the plastic bottle. I bought a set of plugs today. Got all one brand and heat range since all my intake runners are the same length. I'll bet the skinflint owner of the Dart this engine was in didn't waste a dime on it. Probably got a plug at a time from the junkyard.
I tried to start "My Little Dragster" Saturday. It ran extremely ragged and only on #5 & 6 cylinders. Needless to say, I tried all the normal diagnostics and adjustments but nothing worked. Late tonight I stuck a feeler gauge between the manifold and the head. Aha! A gap!. The studs are designed for 1/2" thick cast manifold ears not for the 5/16" thick flange plate you see. Washers were used to take up some space making it possible to pull the manifold to the head. I gained 2 more firing cylinders, but 2 still weren't contributing. My header/intake proved to be untrue, as in warped, as the feeler gauge shows. Searching the 'net, I found an Australian gasket that will make up for minor irregularities. Also, an American made gasket, Remflex, claims to do the same. Monday, I'll order one of each, just to cover my bases.
Upon closer inspection...I found that a few of the exhaust tubes extended slightly through the header plate thereby acting as "standoffs" when bolting the manifold to the head. Only a senior moment can explain why I didn't dress the mating surface of the manifold before bolting to the head. There is about .015" of "bow" to the flange and when tightened, it appears to flatten adequately. Now, all cylinders fire. Still lots of tuning to get it running properly. And, the new, thicker gasket should provide an excellent seal.
Hi Bob, I just sat here and read through your entire build. Like a good book, I couldn't put it down. Extraordinary job on the car. A place for everything and everything in its place. Makes me want to start one (I'm your age and may have another one left in me). I've been a tech inspector since 1958, worked for NHRA, Silver-certified, have been certified to do chassis in the past and have worked as the chief tech inspector for Firebird International Raceway here in Phoenix for the past 19 years. It is from that position that I say again, extraordinary job. Oh and by the way, rear wheel covers are prohibited in all categories. See section 5, Tires and Wheels in General Regulations. Don't forget the Master Electrical Cutoff Switch mounted on the rear-most part of the car. It must kill the motor and all electrical functions. The "off" function must be labeled so that any dummy running up to the car can shut off all the power. Also, steel valve stems in tubeless tires at 11.99 and quicker. All steering connections should be welded or through-bolted and nutted. No set-screws, roll pins, pressed pins, ball-lock pins, etc. Weld the connection or through-bolt it with a nut. Minimum size for the windscreen is 5" high and 12" wide, securely mounted and flame-proof. I'm just hittin' the high spots on some of the things that fail tech on a consistent basis. Again, great job on your car. Kudos. P.S. It makes no sense to spec a standard shift transmission on these cars. SFI clutches and flywheels at 11.49 start to get very expensive, not to mention scattershields. The clutch and flywheel must be replaced every two years. The scattershield must be replaced every two or five years, depending on the spec. Any tech inspector worth his salt will check the dates on these pieces. An alternative would be to allow an automatic with stock converter. (maximum r's against a foot brake, 1500) or whatever. It would be a heck of a lot less money for a hobby car and much safer. When the Bug was built, cars were coming off the assembly line with automatic transmissions, so it's not like you couldn't have built a Bug with an auto. I probably need to touch on the Master Cutoff. If you are running an alternator/generator, shutting off the switch may still allow the alternator to back-feed the wiring and provide juice to the coil, preventing shutoff of the motor. Painless Wiring makes a solenoid kit to circumvent this problem. http://www.painlessperformance.com/webcatalog/largeview.php?SearchField=30204 Some alternators will not excite the field until revs exceed a certain rpm, so a good tech inspector will have the driver fire the motor and bring the revs up to 3000 before shutting off the switch. That way, the field is excited and if the alternator is going to backfeed at all, it will do it then. Now, don't say I told you this, but if your switch won't kill the motor until you get it fixed with the Painless kit, simply disconnect your alternator for tech inspection.
fridaynite, the reason there are no auto's allowed in this class is real simple. There is no way to police stall converters, tranny brakes and several other advantages that can be worked in. This class is strictly no electronic old timey racing machines. This was what was proposed in the beginning. The first year there was an auto running in the HA/GR class and he was running a stall and tranny brake. Therefore the no auto's allowed rule came out the following year. I do not know what NHRA's rule is about the scattershield, but we run a 1/4" steel cover over the bell housing on these cars. Try finding a sfi scatter shield for a slant six tranny of any type. I would probably say the same for the guys running the flat heads. The SDRA sanction does allow automatic trannies. These are HA/GR type cars, but they can run an auto. We do appreciate the follow up on the rules and regs for the guys that want to run at an NHRA track. Although I have found that they differ from track to track. I have run my car at several NHRA tracks with the four point roll cage with a single hoop roll bar. Very few of these cars are running 11:99 or quicker, although there are a few and I suppose as time goes on several more will approach these times. I do agree with you that bob has done one heck of a nice job on his car as have several more that are running at this time.. Robert
Howdy Friday', Bob's sure doing some nice work all right. Do you happen to know if or when NHRA's planning to require "push to kill" standardization on all kill switches. I've been hearing rumers for awhile now but haven't seen it yet. Actually, the manual gearbox (coupled with the 6" bias tires) has held the record for HA/GR cars above 12 seconds just as originally intended, thus eliciting none of the 11.99 and 11.49 increases in equipment and cost. Most are running around 13, at least a second off that target. The current world HA/GR record of 12.10 is held by a manically steroided big Jimmy that few of us will ever approach with a mere slant. The SDRA cars are quicker with the slushpumps of course, and are paying the price of having to confront those very safety requirement increases by pulling back on their capabilities. They'll be eliminating their four barrel and modular carbs next year, something HA/GR already does. The manual gearboxes also maintain the level of driver involvement the class was designed to recapture and promote. Bob, don't sweat gumming up the tires, the tracks themselves put down far more than enough glop these days to cover any bite troubles you're likely to encounter. Most of us have exactly the opposite problem and would love to race on plain old asphalt if we could find some.
Friday.. Thanks for your input. You speak with a voice of reason and a good point of view on this subject. SDRA allows the use of auto's for the very reasons you pointed out. We also looked at the probable condition of the std. trany's that could (would) be used. Next we looked at the cost of bringing them up to a safe racing condition. With this info in hand it became clear that for the same, or less money, an auto could be used with less breakage potential for a far longer time and less $$$ in the long run. It also would mean less work between races and more time for bench racing (read as FUN). My .02$ and our thoughts.
"Do you happen to know if or when NHRA's planning to require "push to kill" standardization on all kill switches. I've been hearing rumers for awhile now but haven't seen it yet. Old6rodder, push off has been in effect for as long as I can remember. I'll re-visit the rule for you. General Regulations, 8:4, Master Cutoff..... "Mandatory when battery is relocated, or as outlined in class requirements. An electrical power cutoff switch (one only) must be installed on the rearmost part of each vehicle and be easily accessible from outside the car body. This cutoff switch must be connected to the positive side of the electrical system and must stop all electrical functions including magneto ignition. The off position must be clearly indicated with the word "OFF" If switch is push-pull type, "PUSH" must be the action for shutting off the electrical system, "pull" to turn it on. Any rods or cables used to activate the switch must be minimum 1/8" diameter. Plastic or keyed switches prohibited. Switches and/or controls must be located behind rear wheels on rear-engine dragsters." Before you mount the switch or push/pull control for the switch, visualize the car upside down and on fire and you're unconscious. Will the first one to get to you be able to see the shutoff....or did you mount it toward the top of the car.....and now that the car is upside down in the mud, you can't see the switch and the electrical system is arcing, keeping the fire going????????
Yep, what CrkInsp said too. Sorry Friday', I didn't clarify my question well. Do they intend to mandate push-pull style exclusively?
General Regulations, 5:1, tires... "Tires will be visually inspected for condition, pressure, etc. and must be considered free of defects by the technical inspector prior to any run. All street tires must have a minimum of 1/16th inch tread depth. Temporary spares, space saver spares, farm implement or trailer tires prohibited. Metal, screw-in valve stems mandatory in tubeless tires, front and rear, on vehicles running 11.99 or quicker." So, while the TIRES are non-players, no such rule specifically prohibits temporary spare or space saver spare WHEELS. (See General Regulations, 5.2, Wheels.)
I haven't heard any scuttlebutt about it, but rule changes are at the whim of the rule makers at NHRA. I can see two sides of the argument. Making all cars the same with a push/pull arrangement would standardize the system and aid in reducing the time required to figure out which system is employed in a panic situation. No question, just push. The other side might argue that it adds unnecessary complexity, weight and cost to the system. (more parts to go wrong). If I were building one of these cars, I'd mount the switch itself with no cable or rod just above the battery box where Bob has mounted his battery. I'd make sure to protect it from damage in event of an endo by surrounding it with a shallow piece of large diameter pipe, securely mounted to the frame structure. I'd spray paint the switch in a neon color and use neon paint to indicate the "ON" and "OFF" positions in letters large enough to be seen by the first guy who gets to me after an incident.
Thanks. I agree that it'd make sense, and I may well upgrade our turn-handle type anyway this year. As you say; "no question, just push". Hell, concievably an endo could do you the favor of pushing it for you, rather like "jamb" valves in the tops of the christmas trees on some steam locos. A bit less likely with a turn-handle style, eh?
Posted by REJ: "I do not know what NHRA's rule is about the scattershield, but we run a 1/4" steel cover over the bell housing on these cars. Try finding a sfi scatter shield for a slant six tranny of any type. I would probably say the same for the guys running the flat heads. The rules allow provision for a fabricated shield.... ".....or must be equipped with a flywheel shield made of 1/4 inch steel plate, securely mounted to the frame of frame structure and completely surrounding the bellhousing 360 degrees. The flywheel shield shall not be bolted either to the bellhousing or engine. The flywheel shield must extend forward to a point at least 1 inch ahead of the flywheel and 1 inch to the rear of the rotating components of the clutch and pressure plate". When teching a car, I try to use a modicum of common sense and visualize how the driver can be protected without going silly. If a car shows up that has a fabricated shield and it is in pieces and bolted together with minimum 3/8 inch Grade 5 or better fasteners, that car is gonna make passes tonight. Although no provision is given in the above rule for a multi-piece shield, it is allowed in front wheel drive and transverse applications. And in my world, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Again, it's just a matter of common sense. When you've been teching as long as I have, you can see with a glance whether or not a particular piece of equipment is gonna protect the driver. The other thing you have to understand about technical inspection is that the inspector is visualizing the car flipping, rolling, doing endos and on fire with the driver unconscious. PROTECT THE DRIVER IN THE WORST CASE SCENARIO. There have been comments on other threads about the complexity of the NHRA rulebook and how the poster feels the rules are excessive. Well, when I started teching in '58, I seem to remember the rulebook was about 16 pages. Today, the pages are approaching 300. The difference has been made up by incidents in which drivers have been injured, maimed or killed. 50 years of personal injury/death will do that to a rulebook. This will give me opportunity to take a shot at builders who are using a fosdick roll cage. I saw a pic of a car making a pass on another thread with the driver's face hanging out past the front tubes. Now, as long as the car stays shiny side up, all will be fine with this arrangement. But the technical inspector who teched that car should have been visualizing the car blowing a tire at 80mph, flipping and rolling and going up over the corner of the wall upside down. What do you think is gonna happen to the driver's face when it comes into contact with the corner of the wall at 80mph??????? The rule says that the helmet must be rearward of the front bar by a minimum of 3 inches. There is a reason for that rule. Somebody lost their face in the last 50 years and we have no intention of repeating it. That particular car would have failed tech in my tech line. I'm not having anybody lose their face on my watch. It's stuff like this face hanging out in the breeze that will kill this whole movement. You guys can build the cars safely or the sanctioning bodies will have to do it for you....either that or kill the whole program. From what I have seen in the build pics, this car that Bob has built would pass my technical inspection EVERY TIME IT SHOWED UP.
Bob's arrangement is perfectly acceptable to my eyes. I doubt if I would look so kindly on a cardboard box.
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