I new you would be committed sooner or later ( O were talking about racing). Put an add in the HAMB cars for sale w/pictures and a free ad in Racejunk under drag racing / Nostalgia, good site for racers. Walt & Scott from the NWVD are coming down from OR. to run with us at this weekend Eagle Field run, Walt has a "Solid" slant 6 and I think Scott has a Chevy 261 6, I was hoping that the 300" Ford would be coming with them so I could see one run. Hope you sell the car quick and can move on the motor change. Bet you sell it as a nostalgia open wheel bracket car a lot easier than selling a HAMBster ride. Good Luck.
I understand the not traveling very much bobw. I don't think that there will ever be a large number of our "retro" type of racers. There are several reasons: 1. There aren't very many of us that can still remember "the good old days". Most of the present day racers are not students of hot rod history. 2. The NHRA (who controls many of the strips) has messaged the rules to promote "cookie cutter" bracket and Pro Series cars. They started the process of eliminating unique and limited interest classes back in the '70's. I think that the original intent of the HA/GR was to go back in time to a period when only limited resources were available and your options were restricted by the parts and pieces that could be scrounged up or hand made. The closest anyone came to "slicks" was bald tires. "Back in the day" no one had heard of Speedway or Summit and most of the smaller towns didn't have a speed shop. There wasn't such a thing as a "crate motor". You made many of the parts you needed or found them in a bone yard. Almost everyone had a "better idea". I suspect that the SDRA, and to an extent, the NW Vintage Dragsters are an attempt to get in the game with more readily available (cheaper) components. We are after all a group of "historic re-enactors" trying to be period correct but still have fun. Most of the groups that are interested in similar historic preservation activities only get together with others of like interest a few times a year. A trip to a major gathering (like the recent Gettysburg civil war re-enactment) is a once in a life time thing. As far as the Midwest HA/GR scene goes, hopefully we can meet up at one or two vintage drags a year or arrange a "home and home" match up. Ours is as much a social event as a competition thing. In a prior post I mentioned my belief that we need some loose displacement and vintage classifications or break outs. We could then post our results and compare them with others who we may never meet. This will at least give us a sense of being connected and not alone. It will also give the guys with the 225's a option besides entering the big buck "arms race". I don't think that most of us are really interested in restricting ourselves to the weekly bracket wars.
I received the JW Ultra Bell bellhousing. Nice piece. And, I'll have peace of mind that a flex plate or converter malfunction will be contained. Partially dismantled the engine today . It won't turn as there is corrosion in a cylinder. It's .040 over already so I might have to get another block. RaceRory3, You're right, NHRA doesn't like homebuilt altereds and dragsters. Fortunately, nostalgia meets are popular now so they are letting us play. Here's the way I imagine it working at the Meltdown Drags which is strictly "run for fun". If Bob Huberty is a half second quicker than me with his alcohol flathead, I'll see if he will spot me a car length or two. That might make a race of it. It is an old school method of dial in that was used back in the day at Minnesota Dragways.
There is no such thing as too save bobw. I am planning on running a Lakewood 'shield and a ballistic blanket on the trans. The 'jewels aren't finding much work these days but I am still attached to them. I think that a flatty running alky should spot you at least 4 lengths.
Good looking JW Ultra Bell unit. I ran the same setup with my Alcohol 502" & PG in the roadster and had no problems. I think you will be real happy with that 300"/PG setup. Will post more over on my build thread about Saturday at Eagle field later. I was able to see one of the 300" Fords w/C4 setup with 3 97's and a mild cam make a few runs at the 1/8 mile flag starts. That is a sweet setup and you are going to be real surprised at the performance. This car is out of the Northwest Vintage Dragsters group and they run the Pie Crust slicks.
I'm committed now. Cut the bell housing off the Powerglide with a sawzall. It's amazing how light the stock bell housing is. Disassembled the 300 Ford engine. Unfortunately, water got in one cylinder and there is rust on the cylinder wall. It is .040 over already but I found a set of forged pistons for a 390 Ford that will fit with an additional .020 overbore. Gotta check that those engines can take a .060 total overbore. Current thinking is to build a good short block, since it needs to be bored anyway, and run a stock head next season. That's about all I can afford.
Those stock bells are real light weight and tend to snap & crack around the mounting holes. I went through two cases before I went to the JW unit, never had any problem after that. From all I have read I think .060 over is fine, just no more. I agree on the basic build, just a good solid short block with maybe an RV type cam for just a little kick. Run stock head with that 4bl intake you got and make life easy my running a 500-600cfm single 4bl. You may want to straighten that curve in your driveway for those tests. Will PM you in a few days about my talk with (Dolmetsch) on my new motor.
I trimmed a little too far but it will work just fine. And my feet will feel safe. Got a little work to do on a current project and then the garage stall will be available to swap the 300 Ford/PG in place of the 225 Slant 6/TF. Thanks InLaw Model A, I've followed the story of your Fiat from the beginning. I just heard there will be racing on Friday at the Meltdown Drags. Oops, maybe I'm not supposed to know that yet. Yes Tom, looks like .060 over is safe. I rand a glaze breaker through the worst cylinder and it is almost good enough as is. Thanks for all the enthusiasm and encouragement.
Ya Bob, mine in the roadster was a 1/4-3/8 short on the case cut, worked fine with 1000HP alcohol BBC so I don't think that 300" will cause any trouble. Ball hone those cylinders, reuse the pistons and put a new set of rings in for a low budget cleanup. 10 HP lose on that motor ain't no big deal even if rings don't seat perfect. What kind of HP did the 300" make stock?
Sleeve the 1 bad hole and run it. It should be cheaper to sleeve 1 hole than bore the block and buy pistons.
I'm with (440) on this one Bob, hone it and new rings. Seen a lot of motor cylinders like that, a little extra ball honing with a fresh set new rings will last for years when you only run the car 3-4 times a year. I know what the boys over on RRR would say.
My 2 cents, power hone to a new set of forged pistons. forged requires at least .005 slop. Balance it . Nothing can ruin your season faster than blowing up parts and you can`t go to war without ammo. I`ve tried to cut corners and it ends up more expensive in the long run. ( read that " bit me in the a**)
Finally made room in the garage and ran the dragster in. Pulled the slant 6 and torqueflite. That combination will be going in a future roadster made from some Hupmobile sheet metal. Should get the 300 Ford and Powerglide set in place tomorrow. The engine hop up question will hinge on the size of my tax refund and if a shop will do the machine work fast enough after I get the money. It's really hard doing this work with one arm as my rotator cuff isn't healing well at all. I guess the healing process is slow when you're elderly.
That's the first step, an open hole for that new setup. What machine work are you looking to have done? Have you sold the pickup yet? Keep pictures coming.
The Ford 6 and Powerglide are in the hole. Everything clears just fine. I extended the trans mounting pad a little to reach the PG.
Made motor mounts out of materials that were laying around. Interestingly they will bolt into the same holes in the frame that were used for the slant 6. I cut out the hokey crossmember (see stub) that ran under the slant 6. Will install a proper X member up front. Thinking of getting a small Moon gas tank, or a knock off. Tom, thanks for the response to my PM.
No problem Bob, hope it helped. Well the "rebuild" is on and looking good. With my X-member just forward of the crank balancer & my bolted in trans brace my frame is solid with no flex. I got my repo 2 gal moon look alike from Speedway Motors, they had the best price. Originals are going for 500+ on the bay, for that you should get a written history on the tanks past.
Had to make a new floor because the lumps and bumps are in different places on this set up compared to the torqueflite. The old floor had been modified too many times to undergo another rework.
I like your new floor. I'm building one of these cars and I have been following your build, what gauge metal did you use on the floor? Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Looks really good I had to bolt in reinforcements in mine 1st time I stepped in with one foot I found that the alum was just a little too thin for me
The tired old Geo radiator that was in the car needed to be replaced. I finally remembered a new Mustang unit in my garage attic. A purchase that didn't fit another build. I traded two 292 Chevy 6's and got the electric fan you see in the pic. What a brilliant trader I am! There will be a louvered aluminum panel above the radiator and the Moon-style tank will go above that. My good friend Jim, who gave me the 300 Ford 6 engine also provided the Clifford manifold and 390 Holley carb. This engine might want a little more carb though. Thanks for the kind remarks about the rebuild of the dragster. The floor is 20 ga steel as I don't weld aluminum. If it is too flexible I'll beat a few beads in it (no bead roller). If there is a future weight reduction program, the steel floor could be a pattern for a light weight aluminum replacement.
Hey Bobw, project looking real good!!! We will match race at the Meltdown!!! I'm getting nervous though!!!! LOL Sent from my XT901 using H.A.M.B. mobile app
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