Front Engine Dragster How To Build One

Pretty fast for a 392

still looking for blueprints 140"or a 180" FED

 

I ran 12's with a flathead powered Chassis Research 120"wb 40 years ago

 

about 9,80 -- 10, 1/4m, stock 400, 300-325hp, 1600 lbs, 456 gear 32"tires pg trans, 120 125 mph 6000rpm if she stays together.

 

theres alot of difference between a 392 and a sbc. call brian at king chassis. he'll hook you up.
bob

 

Could anyone tell me how fast i could go i my 130" slingshot whit a standard 400ci (tunnelram got two 500cfm carbs) on the 1/4 mile
i`m also looking for a bleuprint of a 140"FED


sorry, Should just keep our mouth shout
jr fuel 7.07 187mph

 

Has nobody a blueprint of a 180" FED?

 

I built my Dragmaster after getting some dimensions from a friend who had a similar chassis and spending a lot of time looking at pictures in old Hot Rod mags and scaling to figure out other sizes and dimensions. I never had a blueprint.

If you have to have blueprints I think Mark Williams sells them. http://www.markwilliams.com/

 

That's where I got my start.

 

I really don't think you need blueprints. I've done two of these cars so far (another one in the works for myself), and really they are quite basic. Look at a lot of pictures, decide what style you are going for, and get the SFI spec on whatever ET you're looking to go. Make sure you pay a lot of attention to detail, and keep it original looking.
For myself, I'm a pretty big dude, so I had my shoulder hoops bent on a larger radius than most. I had them done on a continuous radius, no straights in the bend.

 

This is a cool thread!! Do you find specs in the NHRA rulebook? Or better yet anybody have a spec sheet they can post?

 

Hi, I'm new to this,just got the bug while helping my brother bracket race with his nova to build a old style dragster.Others think I'm crazy,but years experiance with winged sprints got me use to sitting on a rear end-behind a engine.
Figure I can go faster, cheaper,with less moving parts(4 link shocks ect).I have a simple LS5 454 begging for a home.Tranny will be a glide.I've been told to build a solid attached front axle.Was told the torsion bar setup will porpose while going down track. At a event I studied several and noticed both ways...My goal is a consistant weekly bracket racer,5.0-5.30 1/8 mile.Must hook consistant, and not be squirrely doing this. My brother says this can't be done as the old FED needed "wheel speed" and as such won't be as consistant as his door slammer or a RED..What suggestions for wheelbase and front end are greatly appreciated?
Thanks!
Riv187

 

Great info!

 

Yes you do need wheel speed but you can make an fed consistent . Don't put too big of a tire on it i use a 12x31 d3 tire and it works very well .My car is deadly consistent with this tire

 

Mine is 96 " I could have built it longer but I have no idea why. My new one is 120" . Looks better i guess. This one is a Slant six runnig 7.60s in 1/8th which I believe is about 11.85 to 11.92 in 1/4. Goal is 10.90.

Don

 

Riv187...torsion bar front ends work well if they are set up correctly. The porpusing you see sometimes has more to do with the stiffness of the front of the chassis and the balance between HP and traction. We used to run the cars really loose in vertical stiffness so the launch would load the rear tires (like a big ladder bar). Only problem was when you were at a really slick track, the car was squirly. The tracks today don't need front suspension so you can fake a torsion with a straight axle and make up arms that look like they are connected to a TB but are really rigid. You could make the arms adjustable so you can change ride height. Make the front end fairly stiff both Verticaly and horizontally. When the upper and lower main rails were "Fished" together, the front will be loose. If the upper rail is left a little higher than normal and makes a 90 degree bend down to the lower main then the front is stiffer. This is a rather modern look that you can hide with a flat front wing.
On cages, I always build them as though I were going to SFI certify. It is worth the money to get the correct spec. I use 2.6 mostly. You can still make a 5 point cage look old school. Good luck.

 

Very good thread Brian!
A friend of mine is very interested in buying one of your chassis.

Br
Kjell

..................................
Taildraggerfenderless

 

long time rule of thumb any digger with less than 200" wheel base gets front suspension , over 200wb , chassis flex handles it.

 

KING CHASSIS...
could you build one of these with a 5 point rollbar?

Subscribing

 

there are some good builders on here just pick one call and see if you can get along with him if do some business. A friend has a 160" fed with no suspension 406" powerglide foot brake has 10.5x33's runs mostly on an rough outlaw with glue only on the starting line most runs straight, low 5's in the 1/8

 

Some day soon this will happen where one of his chassis will be in my garage

 

dig'n this one aside from the headers....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6bg8XRLMZY

 

Never....... I say again never... Get in a race car with intentions to start it and "not " have your safety equipment in use also never fire one up without someone who is compennate behind the wheel.... Always expect the impossible to happen. These cars arnt toys but guided missles... Fyi

 

Yep!

 

G'day guys
Just wanted to say this thread has helped me out so much. Huge fan of king chassis' work and have drawn on it for inspiration for mine. About to start a 225" fed project to run in the australian modified eliminator. Quick question tho I know u all use chrome moly but here down under it's friggin expensive. Arm and a leg expensive ha ha Would I require more bracing on the chassis if it were built using mild steel tubing of the same diameter? I would assume so but never hurts to ask the master

Cheers, dw

 

Been a few months since this thread has been visited....so my turn!!!

Question regarding bottom frame rail....

It would be nice to have one piece bottom rail..but that would be quite interesting bending a 40' long stick of tubing!

So with that being known...when constructing the bottom rail (as well as the upper)..where would you create the joint? My question may be answered in the SFI build specs (ordered last week)..but thought I'd throw the question out here. Thanks!

 

Here's a dum question, What does SFI stand for, or what's there web site.

Thanks

 

Generaly speaking, the lower frame rail is 6 pieces where as you try and limit yourself to 1 bend per lenth of tubing. Spices are done with a split sleave and usualy under an upright where the tubing is the same dia and thickness and for step downs the tubing telescopes together(one slides into the other) and for this you use .058 wall which is standard for chassies. The main reason one does not bend a single piece is that unless you have access to aerospace cnc benders it is impossable to get all the bends and angles going in the same direction, be off one degree or 1 second in rotation and the whole rail is off. Multiple pieces allows you to tune the bends and orientate the clocking to get everything lined up.

 

SFI : SEMA Foundation Inc

Here is the link for SFI rated products:

http://www.sfifoundation.com/manuf.html

 

Also if its not built to sfi spec's it will not get on any track.......

 

chrome moly is expensive here also in the U.S.A. dont try using mild steel for a long wheelbase digger as it wont hold up to chassis flex like CM also it will weigh 4 times as much and wont fit together like CM. JMO
BOB