Projects Almost Funny - AWB Barracuda Funny Car Build

here's a thought. what about just making the shell in fiberglass too. when it comes to the front, it's a lot easier to cut and move the wheel wells on the glass part than to do all the steel mods. you can just make the molds for the front as is. make a part, then just keep making the section behind the front wheel to the cowl and glass it to the part. this is how i am going to make the parts for my '66 dart awb drag car i will be building.

 

If I were going to make the shell fiberglass, I'd go ahead and build a flopper. That's a bit much for me. This is going to be a transition car...half way between the FX type, and the FC type cars of the mid-late 60s.

There are things I want to do with this car, that are not quite right from either a period correct perspective, or a going fast perspective. That's just the way it is, you all will have to get used to it

 

I personally really like this as a model for Jim's new car. Blower, bug catcher injection, weed burner headers ... it has everything. Only thing i would change is move that rear axle forward 12 - 18 inches.

 

It'll smoke the tires all the way down the quarter mile, too! With an early Hemi on nitro.

 

hope you install one of these

 

"That's just the way it is, you all will have to get used to it"
WELL I never! A little snip are we!???
Harumph ! Next.......fake spindle mounts!
If FalconGeorge were still here he'd put his foot down!
JUST KIDDING YOU KNOW.

 

^^^^^ Denial?

 

You could reinforce the roof and quarters with conduit, shaped to fit.

 

I thought about reinforcing the roof as needed, but probably with mild steel tube, not conduit. I don't like welding zinc.

Don't mind my snippiness, it's just an internet thing.

 

Jim....ask yourself this.
If you don't build it the way we tell you to. how the heck do you think we can live vicariously through your car?
EVER think of that?Jeeeez man! Don't I count for anything?
Seriously, you are the guy with the skill and knowledge, I know nothing. well, a LITTLE, but not much.
Are you going to have a sheet aluminum air "plow" on the front under the bumper? That would be cool.
Last word, no car had 4 links in 66, yet some went low 8's. Even the Comets did not. Coil overs yes, 4 links no.
Seriously, many MoPars DID have leafs on the rear.Fast cars too, even with crummy 1966 tires.
PLEASE stick with the 727! PLEASE!

 

If I remember right, this car was just about a stock Barracuda thar Sullivan just dropped his fuel motor into.
stock chassis and all.Lots of these cars were pretty stock.Mcewen says the Hemi Cuda had the stock headliner in it.
Goodnight......and don't be a snip!

 

Yup, leafs are the way to go! Look how it hooks, even with the spring all wrapped up.

We'll see... I'm planning on doing a different chassis on this car, a bit modern, it probably should have ladder bars.



I met a guy not long ago, who's friend has the replacement car for the one that McEwen took flight in.

 

Hole saws are handy for weight reduction too.

 

I like it better when you just post pictures

 

Jim,
Awhile ago, I saw a car under construction that had the roll cage tied into the B pillar right at the door latch. He actually used the door striker as the mounting point. I thought this was pretty clever and the doors opened and shut like a brand new Toyota. The car had no floor at the time and I don't remember how the rest was of the body was mounted. But, I put that in the 'Things to remember if you ever want to do something like this' file.

 

Experience quantified.

 

That little dusting of rosin probably didn't hurt, either.

 

Yup, things were done quite differently...they had to figure out how to get those stiff tires to hook up, and the extremes they went to were part of what made the racing so exciting.

This is a fun project, there are a bunch of conflicting requirements bouncing around in my head, and I'm trying to figure out how to satisfy most of them, mostly. If I can figure out how to make it work with old stuff, that's the way I want to go. I just don't know if I can pull it off.

 

Being from Michigan that old metal is amazing to see!

 

The Hurst Barracuda actually sat on the frame of his Willys Gasser

 

I'd do ladder bars and keep it simple. 4 links are nice if you have time to dink with them and make them work properly. They probably will not ride as nice on the street, but you'll have some fat tires to help.

As far as the driveline behind the Hemi goes, stick with what you are comfortable with. Turbo400, GV and 9" Ford all seem to in your wheelhouse. 727's are ok, but if they are used improperly, they can become a time bomb. Nobody wants to see that happen.

 

I'm getting a pretty good understanding of the issues with the 727, so I think I can deal with it.

I've been messing with Chevys for years, for various reasons that don't have a lot to do with brand loyalty. I've also messed with Mopars for years, again not because of any brand loyalty. So I think thoughts like " it would be a shame to screw up a perfectly good Plymouth by putting Chevy parts in it" and also at the same time, "it would be a shame to waste a perfectly good Chevy part on an old Plymouth"



I'm not too picky, but I'd rather use a Torqueflite in this one. It will be expensive, but it should work ok. HIgh gear burnouts only. Valve body set up to apply the low band whenever it's in Low. Strong drum. Good sprag, etc.

 

Hey Jim, thanks again for taking us all along for the ride, always interesting and educational. I assume you have a plasma machine somewhere in the arsenal and if so, how about putting the substructure of the body on a diet by mimicking airframe type methods, i.e. lots of triangulated, round cornered holes but maintaining pinch welds, perimeter flanges and linear bends where ever possible? With a handful or templates it could be quicker than "remove and replace" and with well maintained consumables in the torch post cut cleanup can be minimal.

 

I don't have a plasma cutter, although I've been thinking about buying one...

then again, the "period correct" in me says that a cutting torch will work just fine!

I like the idea of doing it like an aircraft, right up to the point that I think about how much work that will be. One thing about trying to replicate an early funny car...things were moving fast back then, and they mostly didn't have time to do things 100% perfect.

 

Once you go plazma you'll never go back, and good machines are getting pretty reasonably priced. One of those tools you will never regret having! Easily twice as fast as O/A in this application.

 

When I was building Plan II, a friend visited me for a month, and brought his plasma cutter. We used it quite a bit that month. It's a wonderful machine! It would indeed make things so much better.

But good stuff comes with a cost. I have to decide if it's worth it.

 

Found your shifter Jim, but I think the guy must be high on something, check out the price.



https://www.ebay.com/itm/1960s-B-M-...ash=item5d54a7fcd9:g:9YkAAOSwm8VUsAf0&vxp=mtr

I had one in my race car in the 70's, love those things.
If I remember right; you built the one in your Chevy II, you may want to build another one, that's crazy money.

 

Oh, I'd have to do something else for a shifter....

1965 was an interesting year for torqueflites. The pushbutton transmissions used through 1964 had a cable for shifting, and another cable for Park (which was a separate lever, next to the pushbuttons). I think there was a law passed which required all cars to use similar shifters in 1965 model cars. So instead of redesigning the transmission to use linkage like all the other carmakers had, Chrysler designed new shifters, both for the column, and for the floor. My car came with the double cable floor shifter. Quite a neat mechanism. then in 1966 they redesigned the transmission, making it "normal".

I'd love to use the original shifter...that would require modifying the gate to make it shift reliably, and adding a reverse lockout. I have a little experience with this stuff, having built the shifter for Plan II.