Puddin Hits the Wall!! **VIDEO**

dayumn...

and b-t-w; i've never raced one, but i vote for the straight axle.

 

Trying to go that quick,
with a known bump steer and alignment problems,
is asking for trouble.

Sounds like you found it.

Glad nobody was hurt,this time.





If you can afford a serious go fast motor,
you can afford proper steering and suspension.

 

Puddin,
Keepin' it off the rail is the ideal situation, and so's winning. Unfortunatly waddin' one up and loosing are a reality that none of us care for but that's racin' bro. Sorry to see it happen and happy as a pig in **** that you bent it and are here to tell about it.

Bein' on this side of the gr*** that's where its at.


Something my old man told me a very long time ago is this "makein' a motor go fast is nuthin', building a car that will go fast now that's an entirely different story."

Any and all of your suspension options are doable. Any and all can be made to stand up and cut a straight line, and that's only doable if you can learn to hang onto it. What you have to do is decide which one you want to do then take the proper steps to make it happen.

I would probably stay with the '55 style of suspension but instead of extending it so far that I couldn't get a proper front end alignment I would move the mounting points so as to keep the suspension closer to normal when sitting still. That's going to take a little research and fabrication. Maybe beyond your skill level or what you believe your skill level is. But that's what I would probably do, if it were me.
Its not gonna do what you want it to do without a little refineing and work.
But that's racin'.

Don't look back bro, you got a good start on it.

Again glad that you are on this side of the gr***.

 

Cool video, thanks for sharing.
If you wanna run in the 9's safley I would go with option 2 and try to keep the same stance.

 

I agree with the wheelie bar option-considering the power you are putting down, it is now a neccecity.

#2-a straight axle will certianly look cool, I think a 9 second p*** over one would be pretty hairy. (especially if you get into another body roll type situation.)

#3-you drove the car well. I have seen more damage to slower cars due to poor driving, so don't beat yourself up. you did a good job.the parts,however did not.

#4. suspension is everything on a race car. a "modernized" version of your fron end is what I would look for. there are mul***udes of very fast tri 5's around, and they did not require m***ive amounts of modification up front.

out back,however is another story. what's it look like out south?

and what are you using for shocks on all 4 corners?
what is the front spring rate, and is there a sway bar up front? (lots of guys pull them off for weight savings, but they are damn nice on a car that wheelstands--every thing lands square.)

is there anything to limit front wheel travel?

is there anything to limit rear wheel travel?

has anything been done to strengthen the frame itself?

and most importantly, are you safe in the car? (rollbar?fire system?switches easy to get to?)

just some thoughts...hit us back.

 

Man that car is quick. I would think twice before using stock front end components with that kind of speed. My old 55 only ran high 12's and it scared the s--t out of me.

 

That definately ****s. Like everyone else has pretty much said though, you escaped unharmed so it was a succesful day. At least the car is rebuildable. Watched a guy at Sac raceway wreck his 60 something fastback mustang that he just did a magazine shoot for and got offered some ungodly amount of cash for just a few days earlier. Pretty much totaled the car.

 

That hurts!

 

I would do more research... Look for other options.. A strong OEM type set up or a MII but with no drop in the spindle and taller spring (5.0 Mustang with no cut coils) to keep the front end up. I know its money (but speed cost), how about a set of custom A Arms to run Mustang II type spindles and modern disk brakes.. charge $100 per ride and you will earn a few thousand really quick....

 

Gettin ready to head to work. Thanks for all the support / suggestions.

I'll post some pics tonite.

--Jim

 

Cool,
You and your car came out reasonably un****hed. I agree w/ Lux Blue, good driving job. Man that thing is obviously making too much power to run anything less than state of the art (mechanically). Especially in a big, heavy, hurtling hulk going low 9's.

Ive had MANY close calls @ 240+ (No-driving clown swerving into my lane @1000 ft., chutes not opening, blown almost sideways by scary wind when clearing bleachers @ Ennis, and on and on.) But, my car fit me like a glove, it was safe, and I had never been hurt in the 10 years I drove TAD's.

There are so many things that can happen that are out of your control (Like the guy from your video that lit both top lights before you ever rolled in- I worry about that) it makes sense to do everything you can to make sure your car is safe first, then really cool (which your car already is!).

The nastiest accidents I have ever seen were big heavy door cars making lots of power.

My 20 Cents,
Dave

 

The car has a complete cage and everything is tied in together. All the bars from the cage go through the floor and to the frame, front to back. Swithces are right overhead.

This is a ladder bar setup from S&W Racecars with a braced Ford 9".

Also in the following pics you can see why I could not fit the factory box.

I truely think the only thing unsafe on the car WAS the front end.

I am really leaning towards a straight front axle. Just like Dave from Roadsters.com posted from Darryl Smith's website. That car is done right and it's FAST.

I know I can slow the car down in the future by taking gear out of it. That 5.14 is making it leave hard. A 4.56 or a 4.88 would probably calm the car down quite a bit.

 

The rack:

 

Steering shaft through the headers:

 

And finally..... the damage:

 

start throwing in adjustable rear suspension pieces so you can launch "flatter" rather than lifting the nose that high...stock components can get you down the track, hell they'll p*** tech inspection...just find the right setup with suspension and clutch that you lift the tires maybe 6 inches or so and forward...there are a ton of "old school" adjustable rear suspension components you can build/buy to keep it traditional, while retaining the stock frontend...straight axle's are nice, but can be a ***** to redo the entire steering system and then tune everything out to ride straight again...honestly my vote says keep stock frontend and work on your launch with suspension and clutch...

 

I just saw the rearend pics, and I'm not liking how far inboard those coilovers are, can they be moved out farther? are the plates they're mounted on adjustable for height? maybe I'm just not familiar with your particular setup, but why are your coilovers mounted vertically? I've never used coilovers before, are they supposed to be mounted like that?...congrats on keeping that beast under control...the damage is minor compared to what could have happened, glad to hear you're ok...

 

grear driving job! glad to see that you and the car didnt sustain any major damage(easy for me to say). the main comment I have is that you said you had too much camber on the left side with all the shims out.on the 55 suspension removing shims will increase camber,adding shims will drop camber. I have seen a lot of quick tri 5 chevys running basicly stock suspension without serious handling problems.I kind of question the compatability of the rack to that suspension,but what the hell do I know,I'm just a dumb front end man.

 

Looking from here I'd say it's time to be thinking about a Chris Alston type ch***is or similar.

Little brother stuck one under his drag racing Henry J several years back.
Car goes straight, handles good and runs 8.13's.

Fwiw, the car runs ladder bars and the Pinto A-Arm front suspension.
Struts - imho - would be better and you'd gain a little room for headers and the like.

Prior to the Alston ch***is he ran an HJ frame and a straight axle.
The car ran high 10's like that and handled ok, but the new ch***is handles a lot better.
I got to drive it in both iterations when it was running high 10's with the stock frame and low 10's with the tube ch***is.
It was easier to handle with the tube ch***is, but the stock frame wasn't bad either.
Even so, running high 10's we felt the stock frame/straight axle/roll bar combo was at the end of the road as far as going faster safely.


I've seen a couple of interesting cars running stock suspension and killer engines.
One, a 57 Ranchero with stroker blown 460 Ford engine.
The guy never did make a full run.
Shifts were gently done and the throttle was rolled in slow.
All of which indicated to me the ch***is was being overpowered.

Similar deal with a 57 Chevy running a blown BBC.
I thought he was gonna turn the car over in the burnout/dry hop area before he even got to the start line.
Once that started, just about everyone in the staging lanes - Famoso - ran up to the front to watch.
He launched, got out of the throttle twice to get straightened up and the car still ran a 10.

I find it's true today that most chase horsepower even when their cars get to the point where ch***is changes will make it go faster.

It's interesting to see very mild motored cars run 10's with a modern tube ch***is/strut setup.
Seems like these are the guys who change oil twice a year, go racing, don't break anything and have a good time....

 

I think what really put this car over the top was the alcohol injection. When I was first planning the engine, it was going to run a gas carb. The engine is really nothing special. It's pretty low buck... factory GM heads, crank, block. The guy who spec'd the cam for me just nailed the combo for the given compression.

It's been 3 days now and I keep thinking straight axle even if I have to slow the car down. Building and racing a COOL nostalgia car is more important than having all the latest technology.

I just need to find a balance of safe, cool, fast, and fun.

 

I know I could sort out the front end without chopping it off. Straight axles are pretty cool too. It all depends on what you want to do.

 

Your side damage looks similar to what i did on my 70 Camaro drag car. Now gone, but I hit the top end guard rail and put a slightly smaller scratch down the side. Locked up trans at speed had me slilding at about 45 degrees and looking at the guard rail. Countersteered and managed to get it straight and only kissed the guard rail, could have been very serious. I put the date it happened in sharpie pen and kept racing. After fixing the trans and rearend damage of course.

It ****s that it happened, glad you are OK and the damage is minor, relatively speaking. I think the stock front end can be made to work, but you need to get the bump steer worked to zero.

 

Sorry to hear about the bent sheet metal, but I am glad to hear you're ok! That car is one of my favorites, for shore!

As far as stock suspension goes... you should give Monty Bernie (SP?) a call... I've seen him up at Sacramento run 200mph... stock frame, stock front suspension... just a back halved car.

Try to figure out what went wrong before you do anything...

That rack set up looks kinda flimsy... but is that the cause?

One thing to look at would be the little rubber bumpers under the upper A-arms. Are they both there? If one is missing, or broken down more than the other, it could cause one wheel to go WHACKY...

Also, jacking the front suspension off the ground to check alignment in the "wheels up" position is a must-do for any car that can lift the front wheels.

But it definately looks like something broke on the Puddin'... I can hear that you kept your foot in it after it touched down, which is good. The first time I pulled the front wheels off the ground, I let off and the car started to occilate! I got back to the pits, **** was with us, and he said to keep my foot in it... so I did on the next run... and all was well! I had to learn the hard way!

So, did you find out what went wrong first? did that rack U-bolt break on touch down?

I like the idea of the solid front axle... but it has to be dead nuts. av8 knows a guy up here with a '65 GTO that runs 8's. I used to see him run at strips around here... anyway, it has a solid front axle and paralell leaf springs. It sits up high enough to clear 14x32 Goodyears on a stock width axle with stock wheel wells!

Talk to guys who have done it... and get back out there and beat on it!

FWIW, if you DO go with a solid axle... stub the front end and run outriggers to the front to triangulate the whole thing.

 

After looking at that video... I'd check your front shocks. Do they happen to be 90/10's?

It looks as though the right front drops down, and the left front stays jacked up.

Are they compressing at the same rate/weight?

The other thing I would check are brakes... did that right front stick or something?

That front end clearly drops further on the right than the left...

Do you have ball joint spacers? Or is there a reason why one A-arm would drop lower that the other on lift off? Check the springs, are they seated in their pockets? Did you have to use a spring compressor to get them in? Or weight of the car? Or, when the front end is extended, are they loose in there?

Sam.

 

I just noticed something else that might cause one side to drop more or less than the other... those braided brake hoses go through eyes on the A-arms.

Check to see if they get tight as the front rises... I would NOT run them through little eyes... or anywhere on top of the upper A-arm. they should drop down and go under the upper A-arm... not over the top of the spindle.

That line has to slide in and out of that loop freely to work right, and there are no guarantees that it will 100% of the time.

Sam.

 

Sam,
Thanks, and lots of good questions.
Some I can answer now and others I'll gave to go through the front end again.

I talked to ELpolako today and he brought some other things to my attention on the rack. It's possible that it was not centered properly and one wheel had a worse bump steer problem than the other. It did turn easier one way than the other.


The front shocks are a 90/10 Lakewoods. I already took them out but didn't think to test them. I kinda ***umed the front right dipped down when the left wheel turned out.

I've jacked the front end up at least a hundred times but didn't think about the brake lines. I will look at them.

The brakes both turn freely.

The springs are both securely in the pockets and I did have to use a spring compressor to get them in. They are tight. No ball joint spacers.

Both sides have bumpers and toe was set with the car up about 1".

The car is going to Darryl Smith Race Cars next week. Darryl and I will discuss different options. He can make the car right with either A arms or a straight axle. Darryl is one of the best BUT he aint cheap.

 

Cool!

Also... do you have a line-lock? If so, is it possible that it held pressure on the one wheel when it came down?

Looking at it, it's like it darts pretty hard...

Keep me posted!

Sam.

 

Yes I have a line lock, but I only use it on the burn out. The car rolled to the line just fine, and from there I just launch it off the foot brake.

BTW - dont you have a 55 project? Thought I remeber seeing it a while back.

 

i like 'shakey' just GET IT FIXED! >>> MORE VIDEOS! BETTER CAMERA PERSON TOO!!!!!! >>>>> i like watching that car!!!

no straight axle, no flimsey R&P, get a nice tough GM box hooked to the big ol stock pitman arm & get it on!!!!!!