Just want to know how many others have one in the back corners of their "mental engineering". I know.......I have too much thinking time and not enough funding for the current build so there is a lot of time left to dream...sort of like Toymaker and his twin engined FED plans. Ours would be a Scotty Fenn, Chassis Research style altered chassis with a Bantam roadster body and a Mopar flathead six in front of a three speed manual with early Hurst linkage to move the gears. Tall twelve spoke American Mag spindle mounts up front and six inch wide Halibrand solids on the rear. Not really a lot of difference from our current build...just a lot more "expensive parts". I know Old6rodder has some plans for "the next build". How about the rest of y'all.
Mine would be something mid engined, with the engine offset beside the driver. Power would come from a high winding four cylinder, and the whole thing would weigh around 800 pounds. Something kinda like the "Midnight Oil" dragster, only with the engine further rearward. I'd lay the engine over about 20 degrees, and run the intake runners straight up to the carbs, and have the exhaust stacks run down and out the other side , "weed burner" fashion. The top of the roll bar would be around 40 inches off the ground, and the wheel base around 90 inches. American slots on the rear, and motorcyle wires up front.....
I'm building mine. Right now just some basic mockup. But alas, tiz not really HAMB Dragster friendly. You see my avatar. I'm building a /6 version of the Speed Sport Special. I'm using a rear out of an old '60's funny car I got from a friend, a dragster front axle I bought cheap (original axle off the Northwind dragster of Ed MC Collough) 7 inch slicks and (GASP) a 904 tourque flite. I know, I'm a real bastard. Was going to go cheap and just use mild steel, but couldn't bring myself to have such a heavy chassis, so I'm going chrome moly. So, not HAMB; I guess a step or two beyond that. But I wanted to run the /6 challenge races and have something fun for my granddaughter to learn to drive in, and to let my friends have some fun in too. Going with a bone stock 170 the first season, or at least part of it. I have a complete race ready .100 over 12.5:1 /6 that's balanced, blueprinted, ported, etc once we get it set up. No elctronics of any kind. No front brakes, no line lock, no rev limited, no MSD, trans brake or any of that modern trash...
Very much not a HA/GR. I picked up a narrowed 9" rear at a swap meet this summer. There's a borrowed JD2 bender in the corner. My fiberglass Fiat body has been languishing under the pine trees out back for way too long. So...bend, bend, weld,weld. It's so much fun. Another dragster build would be a mid-late 50's replica, except NHRA legal. 302 Jimmy, or a Hudson. 6" slicks. Would like to copy a K-88 frame if I could make it legal without destroying the appearance.
storm king, I'm afraid it would jar these 69 year old bones too much on the street if there was no rear suspension. I'm hoping this thing will corner well besides accelerating hard.
Well, duh! If it was a drag car it wouldn't have rear suspension! Maybe when you're 69 you'll be able to figure things like that out. My slant 6 powered HAMB-style dragster doesn't have rear suspension...
I have already stated on the chassis for the next one. Scotty Fenn type dragster, 106" wheelbase, 273 mopar with a 904 behind it. Starting off with two two barrel Carter's, maybe end up with a 471 blower(which is hiding in the corner) on gas. Speaking of which, does anyone know if there is a short version of the 904 tranny. I need to cut about 6"-8" off the length of the motor and tranny. I realize this is not an HA/GR, but it is my next project. Robert
REJ, are you ever in luck! To answer your question, no there is no one currently making, nor has there ever been, a short tailshaft 904. Which is exactly why I am just beginning to produce them! I am still in the early stages, but decided a long time ago I wanted to do this, so my first run will be 6 complete sets of short tailshaft with bearing and seal, and new mainshaft sets. PM me and I'll keep you posted!
I have a recurring brainstorm about a short stroke 270 (bored out 248 GMC block with the 228 crank in it) front engine ala the Silver bullet, or perhaps 2B's ride. No, it's not that immaginative, but I thought the shorter stroke would possibly allow some traction at launch. I was figuring on a 302 "H" head (mythical "large port" 302 head, same port layout, just bigger) with some mods discussed earlier in this forum with 3 of the large strombergs (LZ? designation escapes me at the moment ). As much compression as I could manage and cammed apropriately (for a drag car). I keep hearing about 3 speed toploaders being the thing to have, if I find one I might be obligated to build the car just to find out.
Hey Rocky...did you ever follow up on this idea? Perhaps two 200s hooked up side by side? You could turn the one on the left end for end so the intakes and exhaust would be on the outside. "It would be easier with Lots of motors, not lots of motor"...
I second the Midnight Oil themed idea, I've had that stuck in my craw since I first saw the car. Somewhere around here I have several different work-ups for it stashed. Most recent ones are utilizing a slant for some reason.
check out 6 cylinder chevy dragster on main board it is on page 2 right now looks like ha/gr car to me even if it is a 57 modle
I LIKE it! However......we've discussed this before, and the general concensus was that direct drive woudn't work with a six cylinder engine of moderate power. Yet this car appears to be direct drive.....Somebody got some 'splaining to do here! LOL!
Here's the fuller version of that photo, and another of'em pushing it. And here's another car rather like it, that I know nothing else about.
I believe in the early days of Drag Racing the tracks had very little traction and cars could spin the tires unlike todays "Flypaper" stick-em tracks where even a 6" bias gets traction. I remember one HAMB builder telling us their car was awesome in the parking lot (High Gear Only) but bogged at the track.
Perhaps the solution would be...LESS TIRE! Some nice 4" treaded early style Firestones? Might not be as fast, but sure would be fun to run full length smoke passes.
Yep, you called it. Still works the same today, you have to pedal our car at Eagle Field and race the clutch at The Grove.
What sort of tire pressures are you running at each track Dick? What other effects does high/low tire pressure have on your car? Handling etc ?
We run 12-14 lbs at Famoso where they really paint the strip, and could probably run more with no trouble. We've been running 9-10 lbs on the bare asphalt at Eagle field but last race last year rocky put down some glue. It was the same race we changed to the Coker hides so I don't know which had more effect, the glue or the rubber. Whichever it was, or the combo, we had almost perfect bite that time. Of course I can still pedal'em loose at will on the well worn, bare asphalt street at my house. For my money, I prefer bare asphalt. It's harder to make it all work but that's the way it was in the period we're emulating. Handling per se is not noticably different until I brake after the traps. There the "all forward" weight transfer set-up of a middie howls the hides pretty good if you're in a hurry to stop (wanting the first turn-off) as I usually am. The lower the pressure, the more howl. The saving grace of our car is its near perfect lateral weight balance, we run an open diff and typically leave stripe lengths within two feet of each other. We did have to learn to drive'er REAL SLOW on the various lumpy assed return roads though. The lower pressures help there but I still bounce a glove, glasses, arm strap, or the occasional oil cap off the car on the dirt parts.
( Sound of palm slapping forehead ) Of course....the concrete pads and VHT Track Bite! I knew that! Geez.....sometimes I behave as if I were a bit THICK.....
Built it, got it rejected so ran it in modified eliminator Six bangers & got runner up. See my album "Strip Tripper", The other one now runs low 12's much to the dismay of the rule instigators. Drag racing I always taught was to go as fast as you can not set rules to slow us down. I like the new class of 12.5 slicks makes it a bit of an equalizer. Six inch slicks on HA/GR bring it on. That is the only reason we are caped at 13.5 secs here in Oz. Got a 326Cu" Studibaker President straight eight but too heavy.
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