Seen this picture on Facebook this morning and i'm thinking it's just a mock up but did they actually build F.E.D.'s this way?
Yes indeed. There’s an article about them in the January 2018 issue of Hot Rod magazine. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
There were quite a few "legs under" cars (including the Freight Train) but none as extreme as that. Unless the driver's legs were hinged the opposite way to the majority of us there is no way that he would be able to get in and out of a car with that configuration. In most legs under cars the pedals were just ahead of the rear axle housing and only the lower portion of the drivers shins were underneath the rear end. Roo
I have no idea how that man ever got in there.....and if he is the man going to race that car he must not have been too fond of his gonads!( I have seen quick change rears blow and spit parts out through the cover)
No idea how you would get your legs under the rear axle. It's hard enough getting in and out of one with your legs going over the rear end,
It's a wonder there weren't more guys missing legs and other things from a rear end exploding in those old FED's. My thoughts are that since tire science hadn't yet caught up with the horsepower, the tires spinning the whole quarter keep the rears from being stressed too much. Don't think I'd want to straddle a rear end in a FED with a set of today's sticky tires.....
Is that Don Enriquez in the Adams & Enriquez Junior Fuel DeSoto? In any case, I'd say it was a Jr. Fuel car given the Halibrand mag ( ?, they came in aluminum too) center section but it’s not a quick change, live axle and probably only one caliper all selected for light weight and the width of the front hoop looks right too for the A&E car. I agree, it does look odd, but the live axle gives a bit more room to maneuver into the car and Enriquez is a pretty wiry guy.
The driver sits further back behind the rear end, no exploding rear end injuring a driver has ever been reported. That's not Enrique, Denny Milani was killed in crash when during, the floor came off and was pulled out the Bottom
I am fairly sure that the original photo is of an Olds F-85 powered junior fueller that was built by Bud Moorehouse--the steering shaft is the giveaway- and it definitely did not get built as a legs under car. As I said in my earlier post it would be physically impossible for the driver to get in or out of the car in that configuration. Read about the history of Bud's car here: http://www.hotrod.com/articles/resc...ds-lightest-fuel-dragster-back-meet-underdog/ Definitely not the A & E car, Fordors as it had the shoulder hoop a lot higher as seen in this Bob Brown photo, and also it did not have a quick change rear.-- As for bamamav's comment re sticky tires and straddling the rear end, in this day and age there are plenty of guys doing just that and as Bruce notes there have not been any problems with parts coming out of the housing. Remember, real men drive front engine dragsters. Roo
Didn't Frank Huszar of Race Car Specialties build some of that style ? There was at least one of them up here in the Northwest, possibly this car. Anybody recognize the guy working on the injector ?
My Dad ran JR. Fuel cars for several years. I unfortunately witnessed a guy get killed once. The rear never exploded but locked up and the housing broke loose and rotated inside the cockpit.
OK, I see the difference in the shoulder hoop, but somehow that guy got in that chassis for the photo be taken so wouldn’t it have to at least be possible? I guess my sentence construction leaves something to be desired, I was trying to say the photo shows the Halibrand mag ( or aluminum) center section but it is not a q/c, and like the other components was chosen for light weight. For sure, in the time frame that car was built q/c rears had fallen from favor. Schiefer built a q/c in later years for drag cars but that never saw much usage. Wasn’t Rich Guasco injured by a rear end in a slingshot? Was that gear failure or a housing that came loose from the chassis?
Scheifer/Eaton rear end weighed a ton and was the era of rear engine dragsters. As tires got better playing around with gear ratios fell out of favor and the 9" had more options with just a R&P. A number of drivers were injured by the housing rotating. Really no aftermarket parts to replace the differentials and hard street gears. The diff would come apart and lock the rear. Weight was a consideration and 4 3/8" bolts were lighter than the 8 7/16" bolts we have now along with the anti rotation plate/mount.
The picture i posted just looks like it would be impossible to get out of quickly like in a fire, that's why i was wondering if it was a mock up.
Although I love Front Engine Dragsters and have had a chance to make many passes in them, the thought of a “Leg Under” Chassis freaks me right out! I would NOT drive one if the opportunity were given.
This is inside the restored 1964 Roland Leong A/D dragster. The red axle covers were a Drag Master factory option
That stock steering wheel looks so strange. Was butterfly invented later or was it just builders option to choose what he prefers? FEDs rule, like Roo said real men drive 'em.
If I could afford to it's all I'd do. I'd have 2 or 3 cars, a cackler, a certified running jr. fueler and certified exhibition car. The latter meaning one that passes tech but is used for more "sincere" FED vintage comp use.
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