I had an early (1964) FED, 120" wheelbase car. Had worn out disc brakes, and they needed more work than they were worth, so I back dated to drum brakes. The rear end was 57' Pont with a 4.10:1 open carrier. SBC with a 4500 stall converter and transbrake. 9.23 @ 146 MPH at Bremerton Raceway, and I NEVER pulled the chute except once, the tech people wanted to make sure it worked. It was a small crossform. I also never used the chute at Seattle International Raceway ( Now, once again, Pacific Raceways). Both those strips have long shutdowns. The biggest thing I learned ,was to NOT throw the car into neutral when braking, let the motor take some work off the brakes; the rear end with those low pressures in the slicks made it start to bouce, and each bouce got bigger. The tires would actually leave the strip surface, come down, and load the tires for another bounce. Scary first full on license p***. Secondly, you drive into the chute, then brake; you want the chute to deploy under acceleration, not braking. If I could find someone locally who would build me a replica of that car, only with a 5 or 6 point cage, I would probably do it again. I stepped up to a rear motored Super Comp car car, and sold the FED. Never finished the RED, got tired of the weekly NHRA rule changes, and got back into cl***ic Chevrolets. You can build a high 9, low 10 second car for actually very little money, if you can do most of the work yourself. The required certifications of the ch***is, and safety requirements and equipment is what you can't get around. Buy a lot of engine/trans/rearend parts used, and it saves a lot. I still have my firesuit, although it no longer fits, and a brand new Simpson chute pack. Also, I still have the same basic engine from the FED, and the converter. Butch/56sedandelivery.
Get a chute, just in case. had a jr fueler about 15 yr's ago. was a top gas blown chrysler in 63. 136" wb. the chute is not that hard to pack. our car was a 283, sbc, fuel inj on alcohol. 8.80 @ 169. powerglide was a pain in a car that never had a trans. no room. must have aftermarket axles. we are building a ha/gr for HAMB drags. good luck back in 64 when i was 15 i ran with a little crosley powered dragster at San Fernando raceway. ran 60 mph at 18 sec or so. would pop the chute for the fun of it and it would just drop out and drag on the ground. we picked the car up and put in back of q pick up. also helped out on Tony Nancys' 22 JR then.
With modern chute you DO NOT NEED DRIVE INTO THE CHUTES!!! Chute can be opened under acceleration or braking, but if you wait to feel the chutes before you let off the gas your itching for trouble. Also make sure that you get the right chute for your car, diameter and lead length are important. Heres the formula, courtesy of Stroud:<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR height=298><TD vAlign=top width=389 height=298> <LI cl***=SectionText>Drag chutes only understand two things: weight and speed. <LI cl***=SectionText>Body styles do enter into the picture. You can figure out how much canopy you need and match it to your cl*** by using the formula below. Remember, this is only a guide. ((Weight of car, in pounds) X (Speed, in mph)) ÷ 1,000 For example: (1,600 X 150) ÷ 1,000 = 240 This is the MAX limit for S/C. If you have a higher number than this, you require a stronger chute. <TABLE cl***=SectionText cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=408 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=118 bgColor=#c4daf2>S/C</TD><TD width=110 bgColor=#c4daf2>240 or less</TD><TD width=162 bgColor=#c4daf2></TD></TR><TR><TD width=118>S/G</TD><TD width=110>330 or less</TD><TD width=162></TD></TR><TR><TD width=118 bgColor=#c4daf2>C/E</TD><TD width=110 bgColor=#c4daf2>400 or less</TD><TD width=162 bgColor=#c4daf2></TD></TR><TR><TD width=118>P/S</TD><TD width=110>460 or less</TD><TD width=162></TD></TR><TR><TD width=118 bgColor=#c4daf2>Alcohol / Fuel Rail</TD><TD width=110 bgColor=#c4daf2>Must use 2 chutes</TD><TD width=162 bgColor=#c4daf2> / </TD></TR><TR><TD width=118>Alcohol / Fuel Funny</TD><TD width=110>Must use 2 chutes</TD><TD width=162> / </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Drag Chute Pricing <TABLE cl***=SectionText cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=402 border=0><TBODY><TR height=25><TD width=92 bgColor=#0059a9 height=25>Model Number</TD><TD width=220 bgColor=#0059a9 height=25>Description</TD><TD align=right width=72 bgColor=#0059a9 height=25>Price</TD></TR><TR height=25><TD width=92 height=25></TD><TD width=220 height=25>Super Comp</TD><TD align=right width=72 height=25>up to $270</TD></TR><TR height=25><TD width=92 bgColor=#c4daf2 height=25></TD><TD width=220 bgColor=#c4daf2 height=25>Mini Dragster</TD><TD align=right width=72 bgColor=#c4daf2 height=25>up to $125</TD></TR><TR height=25><TD width=92 height=25></TD><TD width=220 height=25>Boat Chute</TD><TD align=right width=72 height=25>up to $385</TD></TR><TR height=25><TD width=92 bgColor=#ccdff4 height=25></TD><TD width=220 bgColor=#ccdff4 height=25>Boat Chute Fire Proof</TD><TD align=right width=72 bgColor=#ccdff4 height=25>up to $415</TD></TR><TR height=25><TD width=92 bgColor=white height=25></TD><TD width=220 bgColor=white height=25>Super Gas</TD><TD align=right width=72 bgColor=white height=25>up to $300</TD></TR><TR height=25><TD width=92 bgColor=#ccdff4 height=25></TD><TD width=220 bgColor=#ccdff4 height=25>Comp Eliminator</TD><TD align=right width=72 bgColor=#ccdff4 height=25>up to $330</TD></TR><TR height=25><TD width=92 bgColor=white height=25></TD><TD width=220 bgColor=white height=25>Pro Stock</TD><TD align=right width=72 bgColor=white height=25>up to $365</TD></TR><TR height=25><TD width=92 bgColor=#ccdff4 height=25></TD><TD width=220 bgColor=#ccdff4 height=25>Fuel / Alcohol Dragster</TD><TD align=right width=72 bgColor=#ccdff4 height=25>up to $445</TD></TR><TR height=25><TD width=92 bgColor=white height=25></TD><TD width=220 bgColor=white height=25>Fuel / Alcohol Funny</TD><TD align=right width=72 bgColor=white height=25>up to $465</TD></TR><TR height=25><TD width=396 colSpan=3 height=25>The chutes listed above may be upgraded with with either an air or spring launcher for an additional $310 now. </TD></TR><TR height=25><TD width=92 bgColor=white height=25></TD><TD width=220 bgColor=white height=25>Carbon Fiber Air Launcher</TD><TD align=right width=72 bgColor=white height=25>up to $450</TD></TR><TR height=25><TD width=92 bgColor=#c4daf2 height=25></TD><TD width=220 bgColor=#c4daf2 height=25>Launcher Upgrade with Air or Spring</TD><TD align=right width=72 bgColor=#c4daf2 height=25>up to $370</TD></TR><TR height=25><TD width=92 bgColor=white height=25></TD><TD width=220 bgColor=white height=25>Launcher Upgrade with Air or Spring</TD><TD align=right width=72 bgColor=white height=25>up to $365</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> </TD><TD vAlign=top align=middle width=228 height=298> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Make sure that the anchor is properly located as well, if its too low it will pull up on the rear of the car and unload the brakes.
Packing a chute takes very little time. Recovery from injuries, from not having a chute could take a long time! Relying on brakes only is not a good idea, cars have a tendency to bounce on braking, and can be a handful depending on track conditions. (went off end of track once, not recomended!!)
The Jalopy Journal
