rebuilding after the crash

Reading the whole thread will give you greater insite as to whats going on. Im not saying that as a smart ass either. You can see how this car came to be. Able to pull a loaded down trailer on the street yet still go in the sixes at 190 mph. Its been a long hard road to this point.

 

If this isnt a real nitro car then neither is a blowerless A- fuel car.
This car is built to go as fast as possible on nitro yet be able to drive back and fourth to the track to make it all happen. I dont see where the confusion is.

 

Maybe some of the readers don't understand drag week, and that this car is built for competition in drag week among other things. At drag week you race your car at a different track everyday for 5 days in a row, but also every day you have to drive the car that you race to the next track 250 or 300 mi away without any outside support.
The fastest cars in drag week are running in the sixes. Quarter mile, not 1/8th!

 

It's pretty funny the people that think they understand drag week but haven't actually seen it. Just try to come up with a 6 second road worthy car, that you can trust to get you home 5 states away. Good luck, it ain't easy!

 

@DaveyJonez may have just went to the last page, which I’ve done on old long threads. He did offer his explanation about his response

 

I really enjoy watching Drag week .... I could never participate myself.

My personal opinion years ago when we could watch the greats back in the 1970's .... I would go to Seattle international speedway or a little place in Puyallup to watch the races as a 17 year old kid.

Lets be honest ..... I think Racing kinda died back then when we could run such great cars against each other ..... it was all about who had the biggest piggy bank.

Drag week is something new to me.
I find it extremely exciting to find a owner/builder that can build a car that can drive on the street, yet use nitro on the track.
While this also cost money to play ..... I just love watching the other contestants on Drag week & the challenges they meet & overcome ..... To me Drag week is bringing back the sport & interest in Racing.

Cha Cha Modowney, Don Garlits .... All of these players made it boring back then .....

Today it is the players like @racer-x @squirrel that make any sort of racing exciting again. & all the others I missed. ...... You better believe I'm watching that @hemi joeI character .... he has too many carburetors ..... I love watching Drag Week!

 

I dont know if he was being sarcastic with the i thought we were talking nitro racing comment. Like this thread isnt about nitro. Thats why i responded with read the whole thread to see what this is all about.
Back to the thread. I plan on driving the car to union grove for their big event this saturday. I wont be racing just spe tating. The following week is my daughters wedding. The next week is the fall out drags. I will be racing there. The last weekend in september is the swap meet in jefferson. Its a busy september. October starts with a vintage car/camper show. If the weather holds we will hit the grove a few more times.

 

My Brother and I have attended Rocky Mountain Race Week for the last two years as competitors in the 11.00 Index class. Prior to that, I never really paid attention to Drag & Drive events. I crewed with Brian on a fuel car years ago, and that has always been where my love and attention have been. But I'm telling you what, D&D events are no joke. What makes RMRW unique in the D&D world, is the two East/West drive days. If you have zero problems, it still takes over 13 hours to drive between tracks. I believe it was 550 miles, and it's all on two lane 55mph roads. You are required to drive a certain route, and you have multiple checkpoints along the way. In 2021, it was 113* outdoors for our drive from Morrison, Colorado to Kearney, Nebraska. It took some racers 40 hours to make that trip. It was BRUTAL!!!

Anywho, back to the NITRO...

 

My friend Howard Kaye came over and took some measurements so he can make some struts. Who better to do the work than a guy that worked at R+B Chassis from 68-72 building some of the most famous cars ever. At the fall out i plan on making a pass with the 1.67 ratio. Then a pass on the 1.33 ratio. I will then put the struts in for a pass. It will be interesting to compare time slips. If all goes well the can will be tipped and the mag will be given a twist after the testing is done.

 

View attachment 5500871 The deed is done. Howard dropped them off. He even painted them. We will see what happens.

 

If Howard made them I know they are strong enough. Probably 1/4” wall tubing.

 

He used .125 tubing. Plenty strong. They look very nice. I'm very fortunate to have friends like this. It's cool to have a connection to R+B from the past. The place was legendary.

 

You going to swap slicks when you use the struts? Different slicks like different suspensions.

 

Jerry K worked there also. When I was still employed I spent quite a bit of time in Kenosha, periodically I would stop at R&B to see what Dennis was up to. I saw some very interesting builds including the famous “rivet car” and the street altered with the trailer that hauled fuel. ( it never was completed)
Jim

 

Racer-X,
You might want to tell the folks who R&B was.
Lil' John worked with my old boss at Snap-on, before my time. The boss didn't know him beyond Snap-on.

 

I don't have multiple sets of slicks laying around so I will use what I have. That being the spec tire used on all nhra legal front engine dragster. Ita a M+H 16x12.5x31. It's a soft forgiving tire. I run a inner tube to stiffen the side wall because my car is heavier than a dragster. Until I run it I won't have a direction on what the car needs. After some passes a evaluation will happen.

 

Lil’ John ?,,,,,,,as in Buttera ?,,,,,,if that’s the “B”,,,,,in R&B,,,,,,that’s impressive !

Tommy

 

Yes, the “B” in R&B was John Buttera. The “R” was Dennis Rolaine. I found it interesting that the two of them were together but each of them had a different outlook on car building. John’s fabrication was not only functional but extremely good looking, Dennis’s builds were complicated and busy. John once said: “Dennis could build a ten piece hammer”
When John moved to “the coast” is when his hot rod building was discovered, but he also continued with drag cars and even an Indy car for a while. When we visited California for the roadster shows we would stop in to “lil John’s Place” to see what he was working on. That is the only time in my life I have seen a floor jack and a torch cart made from billet. (John’s creations)
Jim

 

My old fuzzy brain seems to remember from my Bantam days that when I switched from sprung to solid I needed different slicks. Something about the compound, maybe?

 

In three weeks I will have answers. Now if someone could just send me a you tube video on how to do a nitro street strip car i would be golden.

 

Solid rear. But on the street? Not so much. LOL

 

Maybe talk to some pro stock guys.

 

I would think that with the solid struts the slicks the Brian runs will be just fine he might possibly have to adjust pressure a bit but without testing who knows. they are the spec tire for nostalgia dragsters so I would think they will be just fine

 

I don't plan on running the struts on the street. I would like to keep my fillings.
Pro stock tires use a very soft sidewall. Those tires won't work.

 

No I meant talk to some big shot pro stock guys to help set the suspension up maybe. Your in uncharted waters with your car. I think it needs to be more like this on a pass.

 

Kabinenroller ,

Man,,,,I wish I could have met Lil’ John,,,,what a talent for high performance hot rod stuff .
If I remember correctly he was a very good fuel chassis builder .
I remember his Indy car work,,and his sons Camaro with port injection,,,,,worked great .
He was kind of a Picasso,,,,Rembrandt,,,,,,Michelangelo,,,,of racing endeavors .
Those kind only come around once in a while !

Tommy

 

Lippy ,
The Winged Express was a bad dude,,,,,,but that is probably why he was sideways in the lights,,,,,LoL .
I’m sure I’m wrong,,,,but I believe Brian running Nitro is a harder hit than the pro stock guys experience .
Because Brian doesn’t really have any top aerodynamics,,,,,and doesn’t have the added downforce from large spoilers much .

Tommy

 

I don't run a big wing that's true. What I do have that the others don't have is a roof. That's a lot of area angled down. I also have my zoomies angled in a way to produce downforce and thrust forward. Pro teams have several sets of zoomies at different angles of layback. They are used as a tuning aid. If the track is slick they angle them up for more down force. If the track sticks they angle them back for more thrust. My wheelbase is 125 inches. The same as a modern funny car. There's a lot more going on here than most guys see.

 

Did you two apply some sort educated guess algorithm for the length on this first try? Do they emulate regular ride height or something along the ideal squat upon launch and not that over compressing car gets all crazy stuff. Or… do the shock mounts on the axle and possibly chassis allow enough adjustment positions if not fine tuning?
If that .125 wall chromoly bends then you’ll know it is making even more big power!
Have fun Brian, be you, be safe.

 

The strut length is the same as the ride height with the shocks in place.
All the new power pulls hard on the converter. I have lowered the Bruno pressure down to the safest limit that being 150 lbs. At Brunos suggestion a stator change to soften the converter was done. Having a bolt together converter makes easy work of this. I have a few stators that allow more slip. When it comes to converters you get what you pay for. Welded converters require more time and money along with finding someone to cut it apart and reweld it. That takes special equipment most trans shops don't have. The number of fins and the angle of the fins on the stator change how the converter acts. The pump also plays a part. I changed my converter to slip a extra 350 -500 rpm at idle. My left leg will appreciate that. Between the lenco gear change and stator change these are big moves. The nuclear option remains on the table with the solid struts. At Rock Falls in two weeks something is going to happen. Stay tuned in for the results. View attachment 5507298