Projects DRAG SNAKE "Vintage Terror!"

Crow Enterprizes will recertify their belts up to 6 years old.

http://www.crowenterprizes.com/

 

I will try to get a picture of my neighbor's 60 Starliner Gasser with a Crossram FE, it has all kinds of hokey shit on it, including VW Bug seats sheet metal screwed to the floor. I will have to look and see if it actually has seat-belts in it or not. I hope you find an easy solution so you can stop adding to y our seat-belt collection.

 

Back in the mid 70's a buddy of mine built a 4 point roll bar for his 68 GTX out of exhaust tubing with some mandrel bent 45's he came up with and gas welded them together , sanded smooth and painted black. Ran it that way for 3 or 4 years at the Grove and the tech guys never said a thing. Then one day a tech guy actually tap it with his finger and looked right at Jim and said, You went through all that work and didn't at least use the right gauge tubing! lol The car only ran mid 12's but the look on the tech guys face was priceless. Larry

 

So a little levity for Friday morning. My favorite experience with hard nosed NHRA tech officials was at the Meltdown Drags. We had just finished or refinished the car I should say. We made a couple of quick sub 6 second 1/8 mile runs to shake it down a bit and we were off for Byron. I am not sure if I shared this way back on the Dragnasty thread or not but it still makes me laugh today.

Everyone told me these guys take the tech very serious (as well they should). I think Jackson even recommended I not go up there with the car, just send Dad with it. He knows me pretty well. He said if you start goofing around with these guys they will just pull the plug and send you home. He said if I do go with the car. Just stand there, don't say anything, don't volunteer anything and only talk to them if they ask a question, and for crying out loud don't be a smart ass! Easier said than done.

So it is getting fairly late on Thursday when we rolled up to an empty tech lane. They guy comes out and starts going over the car. About the only thing he pointed out was he would like to see the metal ring on fuel cell grounded. Then we walked back to the front and he stops and looks at this thing...


He says well before I can sign off on it, I have a couple of questions. He said I don't suppose this thing has a chassis certification? I said no. He said and I don't suppose you have at least an NHRA Sportsman's License? I said no. He said well then how fast are you planning to run this weekend? Without missing a beat I looked him straight in the eyes and said well we are hoping for the mid eleven second range. But I am going to toss the chute at 60'.

He never broke eye contact with me for what seemed like at least 10 seconds. I am thinking holy mackerel, I just got us sent home. Then he sighed and looked down at his clipboard, shook his head and smiled. He said well, you're the first honest racer I have talked to all day! ....and he punched our card!

 

Randall,

Thank you for the story! It's been a while since I laughed this hard...

 

...and then we promptly went out and ran 9.50 at 151 mph! We hid the rest of the day.

 

Hey, what's 2 seconds out of a 24 hour day?

 

I was hiding right along with you guys after the big wheel stand I pulled in my dragster that day the crowd loved it but the tech folks sure didn’t lol ahhh the good ol days lol anyway time to make some new memories speaking of is this thing ready to make a pass yet I’m goin to the kan next Friday with the afx are you gonna make it

 

Well we are getting close but like always one step forward and two steps back...




...more to come.

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What the.............

 

Are you kidding me!?!
How many times are you going to paint that thing?


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Drag Snake found in a barn pantina look????

 

Sorry for the delay, we were in the middle of things when I answered Jackson this morning. So as you may have seen we had a small issue. It started when I was removing the graphics. They all came off as expected, no issue until I got to the driver's side door. Apparently we had issue there of which we were not aware. A small piece of the paint came up with the vinyl. But after looking closely, there was an area about 5" x 5" that was loose. And it was not just the paint, the entire area popped up, filler and all right down to the orignal gel coat of the door. After a rigerous inspection of the entire car, this is the only spot that had the issue.


At the same time, this door had opened too far and its edge had damaged the front fender area just in front of the door opening. We have known we had an issue there for some time but the addition of filler and paint seemed to make it worse. We had a strap from the hinge to the rollcage in the area to keep the door from opening too far and making contact. But the strap loosened and we accidentally damaged the area as well as the door edge.


Even though we really did not want to do it, we decided it would be an easier fix if we removed the door. Besides with its opening range being limited by the strap, having it off and out of the way would make it easier to reach the pedals and install the neutral safety switch not to mention the Duramat in the area.


The crazy part is the passenger door has no such issue. It opens cleanly and its edge is no where near the area in front of the opening. In fact, when fully opened there is no way for it to make the same contact. So with the stupid driver's side off and getting worked over again, I decided to investigate the situation.

We took the hinges with hinge plates off the door and bolted them back in place on the car. You would have to go way back in the build to find it, but originally we mounted them to what we called the cowl bar that came from Shell Valley Cobra. It is the only portion of the chassis that we did not fabricate ourselves. The reason for it at the time was it fit the original shape of the Cobra cowl with mounting points for the dash and the windshield which also came from them.

Now this is absoletely crazy because the bar is perfectly straight behind the dash from left to right but after putting a tape measure on it, there was nearly an inch difference in the hinge mounting points on the down legs relative to the doors. So while Dad worked at the refinishing the door itself I figured out how to move the hing mounting point an inch deeper.


It's really hard to see, but since the down leg of the cowl hoop was 1" square tubing it was easy. I simply cut away the area where the hinge had been mounted. I replaced it with a piece of angle iron and welded it all solid. This would allow the hinge to now basically mount a inch deeper or near where the back side of the 1'' square tubing used to be. I marked and drilled the mouning holes and then used a few 1/4" washers to adust its final placement to match that of the passenger side door. The only thing we had to do then was notch the other side of the angle iron so that when the hinges came in or (the door closed) they would not hit.


I sat the door in place and pushed the hinges and plates until they touched the door. Obvioulsy they were about an inch from bolting back in place. That should have been no surprise...LOL.


I took the hinge system off, put it in the vice and carefully cut the door mount plates off the hinges. We cleaned both the hinge ends and the plates up as best we could. I was worried after putting them back on the doors, we might not have enough area to weld them back together. So as you can see above, I cut a big washer, the same thickness as the plates in half and welded them on.

Next I installed the hinge aparatus back in place and bolted the plates back on the doors. Then Dad and I held the door in place, stuffing rags in and around it to keep it level and the gaps correct. When we felt we were good, I pushed the hinges back around until they touched the door plates, reached in and tacked them in place. We removed the rags and stuff, crossed our fingers and opened the door.


It opened perfectly. Just like the passenger side, it now opens wide with no chance to touch area in front of it. As you can see above the hinges actually bottom out on the door jam area before the door edge gets any where near the body. Exactly the same as the passnger side.


After all is said and done I think this was a pretty happy accident. The door opens and closes exactly as it should and believe it or not, with out any adjustments, simply us holding it in place while I welded it, the gaps are pretty damn good. At least as good as they were before! LOL

 

RANDALL ,RANDALL , RANDALL! Did Dad at least slap you ?? !! That's why they call it the mock up stage! If one door fits and the does not THATS when you measure and make adjustments! lol No matter how many cars you build ,something or in my case somethings always want to bite you in the ass! you didn't want to drive it this year anyhow! Larry

 

Oh we are going to drive it. Trust me. SPAM DRAGS...big circle on the calendar! It is going. Lol

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But you are right. I should have delt with it a long time ago. But honestly since the hinges were both bolted to the same down legs in the exact same places: I figured it was a body issue. And that was simply something I didn't want to even think about how to fix. Both doors were on, they worked, they looked good, don't F#@$ with it! LOL



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We actually got quite a bot accomplished yesterday. I know the whole door thing looked pretty intense but after finally seeing what was responsible I made quick work of the solution.



AND not having the door on the car did make it easier to install the clutch pedal activated neutral safety switch. Although it was still a pain in the backside to reach.

I remember after the AustIn was complete I told Dad the next car was going to he a 60 Cadillac. I was totally done with small cars and tiny work spaces that you had to be a contortionist to work in.......and just look what we want and did! Lol



I wired it into the starter button in the dash and that is it for the switch panel. We went ahead and screwed it in place.





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Another issue we addressed yesterday was the line lock button. I think I mentioned last week or so that having the momentary switch in the steering wheel was not going to work. Because the wheel is so close to the dash board the cord gets really bunched up even just making a half turn or so.

The bad part is I modified the steering wheel spoke for the button. After thinking about it for a bit, I decided I would just cut the wires from it and leave the button in place. At least for now. Dad said maybe install one of those trucker style steering knobs in the hole. I did not appreciate his sence of humor! Lol

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Can't you wire it through the horn contact ring?

 

We also wired up the brake lights for the first time. If you remember, a few weeks ago we reinstalled the inline pressure switch after discovering a leak in the line running to it.



Speaking of tight spaces, do not ask me how I managed that photo. Lol. We ran the wires from the switch to the tail lights and spliced them into the signal lines etc.

Now some of you may already know the results of this brain fart moment but for the rest of you just stick around. We bundled the wires all nice and clean in mesh conduit and zip tied them up out of the way. You know, this will likely be the last time we ever touch the harness back there. LMAO



So Dad flips the battery switch on and I turn the on the key. I hit the momentary toggle switch left and Zoe reports the front signal is working...same for the right.

Dad reports the same from the rear but when Zoe gets back there she points out they are actually both flashing at the same time. I check it out and sure enough.



Now we are using one of these cool little boxes from Signal Dynamics. It controls everything, including cancelling the signal after 7 flashes. AND it worked just fine before I hooked up the brakes.

It came with very detailed installation instructions which I kept. It was a sheet of paper about the size of a gum wrapper with a diagram on it (must be a paper shortage in China).

White with purple to FL.Signal, purple with white to RL.Signal. White with brown to FR.Signal, brown with white RR.Signal, Red with blue to brakes, blue with red to hazards, black to ground. Simple right?

I double checked and and sure enough, the blue with red to hazards was not hooked up. So we tested the brake lights and they dld not work. So we have signals on the front, hazards on the rear and no brake lights. But according to my bubble gum wrapper we are wired correctly.

Fortunately, we decided to take a break. And as you saw above I installed the neutral safety switch. While I am down there I keep fighting with two wires that are taped together and ziptied hanging right where I am trying to work. I finally cut the tie and pull them back out of the way.

After I finished I needed to tuck them up some where and out of the way so I looked at the tape on them and it said brakes. I looked at the wires and they were marked from the harness manufacturer as Brake pwr and brake sw. I had ran those things down there probably more than a year ago when we thought we would be using a brake pedal mounted switch.



Like a brick to the head it hit me. No way is the little box wired correctly if the wires it needs are all here tapped up in the foot box area. I was like holly hell Dad the reason the brake lights don't work is because the power and switch wires are laying right here. AND the reason the rear signals are flashing both lights is because the brake light wire I spliced in has basically daisy wired the rear lights together! Stupidity.

So I cut down all my neatly finished rear harness and pulled back the mesh covering. I told Zoe to hit the left turn signal. Dad reports they are still both flashing. I cut the brake wire and poof: Left signals only and then right signals.

I ran a second wire down to the brake switch from the dash area and wired it in. I took the original wire running down there (that had been hooked to the box) and hooked it to the brake power wire I found. I hooked the new wire now coming back from the brake switch to the brake switch wire. Then I hooked it to the little box's red with blue brake line. Lol

I tested the brakes and poof, both lights worked perfectly. And the box took care of both brakes and signals when both were activated just as it is supposed to. So all is well, just minus a few freak'n brain cells!


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My stupid racing column is solid and does not have any opportunity to run wires in it. If I would have had my brain firing when I ordered it I could have gotten one that did along with a GM signal switch and cam etc. And that last post would have been totally mute. Next Cobra I will get it right!

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Finished sealing the rear wheel tubs to the cockpit areas. Just waiting for the sealer to dry so we can shoot the area with rubberized undercoat.

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We have been at it pretty hard this weekend, the knock out list is getting shorter and shorter. Dad was looking through the junk drawers for some rivets and instead found a handle that was perfect for the glove compartment door. I am afraid we got a bit distracted after that...

It didn't take very long but it is one of the last things on the list before reinstalling the dash for good. It really looks nice. While we were sitting there playing with it, I decided to take care of the door panels as well.


It took a bit of final trimming to make it fit perfectly. This included notching it around the hinges etc. After it was in place I took a quick look at those hinge plates. I have had several thoughts about covering these things. On a normal Cobra interior they would probably have just been covered with whatever material was on the rest of the door panel.

After looking at the situation for a bit I had an idea. I snagged some poster board and started working on a pattern. After a couple of quick edits, I traced the pattern on some scrap aluminum and cut it out.


Since this piece will have to cover not only the hinge plates but the mounting nuts as well, I put it in my vice between two pieces of angle iron (make shift brake). And with a body hammer I put a bent angle on the end that can be seen. This will allow it to drop from the height of the mounting nuts to the flat door panel etc.


I used one of the top and bottom bolt holes in the mounts to install the cover. I put a nut under the cover, with the bolt running thought it to level the aluminum sheet and also to apply the same pressue as it originally did in holding the hinge to the door etc. I was really happy with the first attempt.


What a difference!


Now all I have to do is figure out how to finish the cover. I am going to re-wrap the door panel in the exact same design but more of a gold tone to the finish that matches the glove box door. I may just wrap the cover as well. I could wrap it in the same gold metallic as the stripes or just paint Wimbledon white like the rest of the car. Eitherway, I am pretty happy with the finished look, it is very clean.


Before we attach the door panel and cover for real, we will install the same black trim C-channel from the glove compartment door around its edges to give it a nice clean finish.

 

By the time you stop adding all these bits an piece the car will be too heavy to race!!

Always thinking, you are a new Action Hero!

 

I would rap it in the cheapest vinyl that was available back in the day, heck I would do that today.

 

Another thing we did this weekend was to remove the line lock cord from the button in the steering wheel. As I said before it was really going to impede the steering wheel movement and that is never a good idea. I know the plan is to go straight but we might need to turn someday. LOL

I only use this system in the burnout box. We could just go up there and let it rip but it is nice to be able to hold it in place for a bit and also not go flying past the startline and have to back up and waste everyone's time. Believe me, I have been burning up in a car waiting my turn enough to try and respect the folks behind me.

So I sat in the car for a while yesterday and went through my normal routine. With the button on the wheel I would have rolled through the water, kicked it in neutral, pumped up the brakes, held down the button, depressed the clutched, slid it into first, check the steering wheel tape (wheels are straight), rev the engine a couple of blips, release the clutch and run through about 5 grand, shift to 2nd, do the same, shift to third, hold a second or two, release the button and keep it straight as she rolls forward, after we are out of the box area, let off, kick it in neutral and let it roll a bit but not too close to the lights. Then creep to the start etc. etc.

Now, I do not want a button on the shifter. I know a lot of guys use them but to be honest with gloves and shifting gears there is a lot of opportunity to lose contact with it. So what I decided was a standard toggle switch. Actually one of the racing style ones that you have to lift the red safety handle to engage but you can just give a slap to or at the red handle to turn it off. I played around in the cockpit shifting first, second and third and then looking for a position to mount the switch that was sort of in a natural range of motion but not somewhere where I could accidentally hit it during shifting etc.

We ended up deciding to place it just to right of the shifter but just a bit in front of it. This allows for a first to second gear pull, a second to third gear push and a pull or brush back over the switch to release the line lock etc. I went through it several times with the harness pulled tight. I think we are good to go. We will find out this weekend as we plan to take it to the shop in Springfield and do a few launches in the parking lot.

I know it may sound crazy to be so concerned with such a small issue, just go up there and let it rip, right? But there is plenty to do in a drag car, especially one you have to shift. The more things that are set to a strict routine and muscle memory, the more thinking power you can apply to important things, like watching gauges and actually driving the car. LMAO!

 

Posted by Jeepster on the Vintage Tread...

 

I have to ask, why shift on your burnout? When I do burnouts with my 4 speed Valiant I just do it in 3rd gear.

 

Practise. I see alot of guys shift. I used to just start in second gear and let it go to about 4k rpm..

 

He has to start in first gear because his ford doesn’t have enough power to spin the slicks in water unlike our mopars lmao