Like a told (bobw) a while back, I am starting to down size. Sold my 24' enclosed trailer, going to modify this new utility trailer, park it at the house (save $60 month storage fee), need the pit cart to get around at the track, old back ain't as good as it once was. When I get trailer done then it is time to sell my Powerstroke Dually Crew Cab and pickup a 50's or 60's pickup. Not really setting any Bar, just trying to keep costs down on a limited budget.
That wider plenum manifold'll definitely breath better. Should make for a great first outing on it when you get'er on. I noticed that Butch wound up against Barona's Antique Nat's for his Opener. Damn, decisions, decisions.
Glad to see you back in the hunt after a great float year. Ya, I wish they were on different weekends, but I will be going to the ANRA opener. I support any and all tracks that are within 30 min of my house. I am going to make the second Barona race. If I get my new open trailer done and the dragster street tests OK I am going to try making the March 16 race in AZ with the flathead/inliner group. If car runs OK in AZ and I get some ET slips as a base line I will bring car home and install the new intake and run it at Butch's opener.
Tom you got a big year ahead of you it sounds like. Just drop that big stroked hog motor of your in it and the ET's will come. Enjoy it you earned.
Let's hope it all comes together and we can do some racing this season. Only time will tell. May put a friends son who moved out of Jr Dragsters a year ago in the seat for the ANRA races out here in Bakersfield this season so he can run for points in the "Open Wheel" class. I love seeing these young guys & gals getting into the Nostalgia Race Programs. Don't get me wrong, I still want to make some passes, but keeping the sport alive with new young drivers is what it's all about. If you ever have a chance to share your ride with them they will never forget the moment and it will be a special time for you too.
I know the feeling of sending your hard work down the track with someone else at the wheel. It makes a daddy really proud when his little girl wants to drive one like her dad. A great thing you are doing for that young man and for the class as a whole keep it up. You are inspireing to all of us.
That trailer should easily get the job done. Looking forward to seeing it loaded. I've been trying to get my friend's wife to drive mine. She's young enough to get in and out of it without all the grunting & groaning I make. Nice of you to give a young person a chance to run your car. The March Meet isn't that far off. Four days of video streaming on Bangshift for me to watch.
Thanks Bob, I'll post a few more pictures as it moves forward. I watched the March meet last year from my nice recliner on Bangshift. Like they say everyone needs to see the March Meet once in their life, but after 30+ years of fighting the crowd and parking as much as a mile from the track, I enjoy it more at home. It's great if you are racing, but hard on spectators.
Got a little more done on the new trailer this weekend. Most all tubes welded and painted. Top mounted saddle ramps are in place, will weld in place and finish painting tomorrow. Next is to mount winch, battery & control box to front tongue and do a little wiring. Need to get this finished and out of the way so I can get the car out and street tested. Maybe this weekend. It's all good, I enjoy setting the trailer up for this season.
Thanks Bob, got all the welding done on the structure today. I purchased a set of ramps like they use to load MC in pickup beds and they need to be modified and lengthened 24" to reduce the load angle, get to it tomorrow and then layout the front winch, battery, control box mount. Lot more work than just putting dragster & cart in a 24' trailer. Hope to make street test end of next week. Think I have pushed that date 10 or 12 times, but it will get done. How is your winter truck project coming along? That is one LOW/LOW/LOW cab.
Little more work completed on the new trailer. Got the ramp extensions built and in place, the load angle is much better now. Started fabing the platform to hold the winch & battery today. In the picture it shows a roller with a quick connect pin so I can run my cable throw the bottom & up over the two top ones to pull pit cart up top. Then run the cable over the top of bottom roller to pull car on. If I was as fast as old6rodder I would of had this trailer done 3 weeks ago and been street testing. Starting to rain so no more today.They just closed the "Grapevine" between LA and the Central valley, Ice & Snow. You know that snow you see in the mountains during the NHRA Winter Nationals, it will be there next week as usual.
you can send the rain this way i love the rain gives me more time to work in the shop ..... p.s. the trailer is looking good man
No can do, we need all we can get, only had 3.5" for 2012. I know it's not any better over your way. They closed the "Grapevine" at 4pm today from Ice & Snow, will not reopen until late tomorrow morning. Talk about one hell of a traffic mess. Thanks for good word on the trailer.
Just thought I would drop a few words so you new I was alive. Had my annual Heart Chemical Stress Test last week, see the Dr in AM tomorrow for the results. I feel good so I hope the results are positive. I have been going to water therapy to help rebuild the mussels in by lower back. Go three times a week for a 2 hour session and I think it is helping, will see later next month. Been working on the motor tune up this past few days. I purchased a carb synchronizer from Isky to set the idle air flow the same for both 94 carbs. They were way off and the test unit really shows how much the original bored out intake is restricting free air flow. I will defiantly install the modified Clifford 2x4 intake that I have setup with adapters to run the two 94 carbs. But I still want to run the old setup to get a baseline with a full pass. Raining again so I can't street test for next few days, maybe soon. Open trailer is done.
I hope that you get good news at the Dr's. I have been going to water therapy weekly for about three years. It has really helped my balance, strength, and flexability issues. I have MS and have had a total shoulder replacement. The important thing is to keep on keeping on.
RacerRoy3 -- Thanks for the concern. Good news from the Dr was that everything looks the same as last years results and that is a good thing. Still need to lose some weight as we all do, I'm working on that. The water therapy has helped in that I have not had any mussel spasm's where I needed to put on a Latacane patch for over 6 months. I feel a lot better and can work on the car for 3-4 hours without pain, the back just gets tired if I over do it. Still hard to get in/out of the car so I am going to pass on our first ANRA race in April. Will go to plan two and put a former Jr Dragster shoe in the seat for first race. Get a two for one package out of the move, drop 150# weight from the seat and improve reaction by at lease 700% or more.
Glad to hear you are holding your own with the heart situation. And the back pain too. Sounds like you are quite satisfied with the carb sync tool. Is it the same as the Edelbrock one? Summit has the Edelbrock unit for $26.00. How does that compare? Will you be able to video the ANRA runs of your dragster since you're not driving? I hope so.
bobw --Nice to hear from you again. I know your "Outlaw HA/GR" is still in deep freeze as I talked to my grandkids in MI a few days ago and it was 22 deg at 2pm and I complain that it raining today, still 72 deg. As I told Roy, the water therapy is really helping my back so I hope to be able to drive later in the season. Then again I will be back east during the second race in June so I may just leave the car with my buddy and let the youngster run all 4 races this year. I enjoy seeing the young drivers in these HAMBster's. The unit is an Edelbrock, don't know why I put Isky, looks like the heart is OK but memory is slipping a little, aways something. The unit is great and I learned a lot playing with it on the carbs yesterday. The intake air flow is about 30% below what it should be for 2x94's setup. Even so I was able to get the flow indicator at the same location on both carbs. Real handy unit at $26. Ya I will try to get some video at the opener. I don't need to coach the drive as he has been racing Jr Dragsters since he was 8 years old. I think he is 17 now and light years quicker than me.
Hey, at least once we passed 65 we gained an excuse for the memory gaps. You'd better get some video ...... I have a doll & some pins if you don't.
old6 -- I'm trying, ain't that easy when you don't own a video camera and my less than smart phone takes junk video, but we will come up with something. You got that front cage bar (bolted) on that modified yet?
Old6: Master nostalgia dragster builder, award winning parade float constructor, Plays with dolls in his spare time. Old28, you and I must be the only guys around without GoPro video cameras.
Ha bob, it ain't the doll he has, it's those darn pins. I know he sites in the pit and uses it on his next round competition. I thought we were to build like the cars from 50's & 60's. I must have been wrong as very body but us has the latest 2013 version of GoPro hung on there ride. Maybe someone will feel sorry for us and donate there out dated 2012 units. The last thing I want is camera showing how well the car runs and how the driver needs to get his sh** together.
So that is what the big platform on the trailer is for so you can video the race for everybody. Put me down for a copy!!!!! Always thinking of a way to promote these car ain't you Tom.
Well I got out in the shop and tried to get a little done today. Still got to take it easy as my back is a long ways from being OK and to much bending or lifting sets me back a few days. I feel like I have a 200# ball hooked to my feet. Getting old ain't all that great, really should have taken better care of myself when I was younger. The progress I am making with the car and trailer seem small compared to most other on this site, but I do what I can, slow but sure. Got the pit cart winched up on the new trailer today and all worked pretty well, Need to widen The ramps a few inches just to make it safer. Rain called for tonight and Sunday. Hope to get the car out and street test Mon/Tue and try it on the trailer to see how it all fits. bobw, got to say it will look better behind a 50's or 60's pickup. That's after April race. I will get busy getting mine sold.
Old28 If the drag racing thing doesn't work out. looks like you could give Evel Kneivel a run for his money!
Just a few words to let you know I'm still in the game. Me and my Jr Dragster driver missed the race last weekend and are a little bummed out about it. While street testing the car I am still having the same dead spot when hitting the throttle on a leave. Car idles fine and if you gust open the throttle in a normal push the motor runs right up to 6,000RPM with no hesitation. I was under the impression that the two 94's had a good rebuild, but know I am not so sure. I have sent both 94 carbs off the a shop in CO that re-build a lot of 94 & 97 carbs for the flathead motors they build. He is going to pull them back down, rebuild and replace parts as needed and then test the carbs on one of his flathead motors so we know they are right. I have taken off the old bored out original intake and installed the Clifford 2x4 Intake with the 94 adapters. The other problem I have is with the converter when the car is on idle at about 900RPM and with the brake on I pull the stick to drive on the PG the RPM's will drop to 400-450 and the converter act's like it is locked up. I talked to a local shop that builds a lot of race PG and does there own converters and they said that more than likely the converter is way to tight as it was built for a 400 HP v8 and not a 160hp baby 6. I am going to pull the motor/trans/converter out and have then set it up for the smaller motor and still have 2400-2800 stall so I can get the RPM's up while foot brakeing it. He said this is real common that the converter is mismatched for the motor size & output. I will be leaving for a two month trip back East (driving) to see our grandkids in MI in about 3 weeks. Will be off this site until I get back 2nd week of July. So you all have a nice spring and early summer in our parts and good building and racing while I am out. I will get this car running right and making some descent passes. I know, if it was easy ever one would be running one.
We had a little carb trouble we sent it to jet performance in so cal and now it's like night and day better hope we can meet up one week end and have some fun ..... P.s love the trailer idea
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