Projects Almost Funny - AWB Barracuda Funny Car Build

Never heard of them, guess I need to do some research


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heh....someone might be pulling someone's leg?

I thought I saw a coil spring above the axle, too

Anyways, I'm not going to build that suspension, so it doesn't matter too much...

 

They all were.
VERY FEW had solid mounted rears.That was a dragster thing then, funny cars had suspension.
GREAT!
Now I have to look through 87,000 magazines and photos! WHY, it's not about this project!
To quote the guy Dirty Harry is aiming his .357 at, "I gots to know".

 

Do you have to launch in reverse?

 

Plymouth did a horrible job of welding on some of those cars. What you saw was the lead filler cracking.

 

Think about that. The rear end would wrap the other way if that was done and the shackles would be useless. Do you know why Mopar products of that era had such short leafs forward of the centering pin and so much length behind it? Ever so those factory cars using traction bars?

 

AND giant snubbers that basically created a solid rear end.

 

Stops, sure. Solid as in won't rotate?

 

As Jim said he's not doing that rear end set up.
But looks like the leaf is part of the wheelie bar and it has coil spring and trailing arms.

Jim if you will be setting far back in the chassis the 4 bar may be your best bet for more room.
Once its set you may only play with the shocks and springs then.

 

What about truck arms? I've run them before, and have installed them in my 48 coupe. Never had wheel hop or spring wrap in my ol' 63 chevy truck and it hooked hard and tracked true.

 

I was thinking about truck arms tonight when I was eating dinner....the neat thing is I could make them look kind of like old style ladder bars. The basic shape is an I beam, but it's flimsy enough that it can twist, but still has strong flanges (they are wide and thin metal) to take the bending load. The web need not be solid. The truck arms are attached close together at the front, and apart at the axle, so it will let the axle twist, which makes street driving more better.

 

I guess caltracs are out of the question

 

Not entirely, but probably. I have them on my Chevy (home made), they work great.

 

Just saw this, figured I'd share


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I took apart a door, the bare empty steel shell weighs 35 lbs. That's kind of heavy...

 

A clutch flite would be really neat...but I think I'm not going there. Too much driving to do! But that looks like a fantastic find

 

I have all the stuff for a clutch flight except the input shaft and I've been looking for on for 10 years so as much as I would like that in this car that would probly not be the best deal in case something broke on the road however I do know a&a trans makes a cable shift setup for the later style 727 so you can use a push button shifter


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I think on the right track now. I have done this system a few times and really like it. NASCAR still uses this basic system so there has to be something right about it. That is also the plan when I get back on this project.

 

I use truck arms on my willys pickup with quarter leaf springs it hooks real good it will pull the front wheels up just a bit but the truck just moves out real good I have gotten a 1.5 60 foot time it is a four speed and. That is side stepping the clutch at 4 grand when I launch it If I were gonna do it all again I would probly use some coil overs instead of the quarter leafs as it took a good long while to get the correct leaf stack needed to be able to not only drag race it but to drive it on the street as well however I don't have a big inch monster horsepower hemi in it either just a measly ol blown sbc Jim you might ought to call and chat with racerx as he has real world experience with rear suspension in a afx situation with a blown nitro hemi and I know it had ran in the 8's


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Brian is kind of busy right now at PRI

but yeah, I intend to talk rear suspensions with him some more. He wants me to put leafs in it...but he's running a 4 link in his street fuel coupe

 

Yeah Jim I know he is but that entire chassis in his coupe is designed for it and if you choose to do that I know you will make all of your car work together that is how a entire car works You gotta make it all work together a good combo is better than lots of power you know that you have proved that time and time again i personally think some superstock springs and a adjustable pinion snubber is hard to beat or even caltracs for that matter but I am here along for the ride to learn my friend good luck to you and keep on keeping on


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This chassis was built by Chuck Finders around 1965, the front suspension was re-worked by Steve Plueger in '67 . The simple coil spring and rectangle tube lift bars with coil springs, has always worked great. Built in the era you are working around, and still running. As a matter of fact, it ran 8.04 @ 168 a month or so ago. Good luck with your endeavor !

 

Man, 5 pages since I signed off late last night! I'm going to have to quit working so I can keep up with this thread.

I'd like to go back and visit the body structure and the leaf springs again.
How big of a fuel tank are you going to want, and where will you put it in the car? My guess is the tank will be located behind the rear axle, which would require enough frame structure to hold the weight of the fuel. Depending on the size of the tank, that could give to enough strength to support the leaf springs on such a light car.

Years ago I built a 73 Duster to use as a dirt track racer. Like this project, it was a very solid platform to start with, and like you, I removed nearly all the original floor pan and most of the sheet metal inner structure. I retained the original rear unibody "frame rails" and we ran a VW bug 13 gal gas tank behind the rear axle and between the rear rails. I added an X brace roll bar tubing from the back of the cage to the rear frame rails above the rear spring shackles, and a couple down bars from the center of the X to the top of the shock mounts. We ran 12" wide dirt track tires and the rear chassis survived over 4 seasons.

The body was attached at the rear panel above the back bumper, and we added mounting tabs off the cage to attach to the roof above the rear window. Our rules required retaining the "passenger compartment" floor pan, but everything behind the package tray was removed. We had no rear wheel wells. I should point out that the front spring mounts were braced to the main hoop of the roll cage. I kept the original sheet metal structure around the perimeter of the roof and the rear window and the curved edges around the trunk lid. I did remove the structure under the trunk lid (which made it too weak) and the lid was pinned to the body. Without structure there, the roof will sag between the mounting tabs on the cage (and we had no glass). I also kept the sheet metal structure at the door post because it stiffened the body side. The door post was attached to the cage with tabs just below the window line, and at the bottom of the post. Our cage door bars extended into the door area, so our doors were just the outer skins bolted to tabs on the door bars. I left the front firewall, windshield support, and door hinge posts intact. We did not run a windshield, but I made a framework to support the windshield screen. I could have removed the inner section of the doors and bolted them to the body and made them function. From the firewall forward our car had a lot more structure then you are going to need, so that would be wasted typing.
The Duster started life as a 3400 lbs 340 auto trans car. We raced with a big block Mopar, had a very robust roll cage, we had a minimum weight we had to maintain of 3,000 lbs, and I remember adding a a couple hundred lbs of weight to reach the minimum. Inside the car it sounded like a rattle trap on that rough dirt track from the brace removed sheet metal flopping around. Be careful how much body support you remove. Gene

 

thanks for the pics, Marty! I wonder how that setup would work on the street? It sure works well on the strip!

Keep the ideas coming. I will have to figure out sometime what a planned frame and floor would weigh. And the drivetrain parts. And suspension stuff, etc.

I plan to put the fuel tank in front...I don't have those details worked out, either.

I took a pic of one of the cracks next to the rear window, there is indeed a leaded seam here. I'm not too worried about the body cracking a little bit with use, as long as I can catch them before parts fall off.

I played with doors a little bit today. I removed the guts from the passenger side door, and the empty door shell weighs 35 lbs. There are a couple reinforcing pieces where the hinges bolt to the door, it's about an eighth inch thick up there! I doubt I could take more than 10 lbs out of it by removing the inner part of the inner panel. I'll probably call up the fiberglass supplier that makes doors, and ask what they weigh.

 

Like Gene, I have some dirt car wrenching experience, and I am wondering if S/S leafs and a torque arm with a fifth coil would work. I am going to try one on my truck, but won't be able to report the results for a while.

 

one other thing I haven't talked about, is the trunk. I plan to run slicks on the car, and change them for street tires every day during Drag Week. I don't want to pull a trailer. That means I have to put the tires somewhere. So...I am planning to leave the rear trunk area, and under the back glass, as open and large as I can. I did the same thing on my Chevy, and I can fit everything inside. This car will have larger slicks, and they'll be a tight squeeze. I'm trying to make the rear floor as low and flat as possible.

The slicks could be as large as 33" diameter, and 16" section width.

 

I originally had leaf springs with ladder bars and floaters in the 65. With a 727 and the hemi on alcohol it went 7.99 at 170mph. The mounts started to rip out as the springs would wind up. The trans mounts suffered to. It was also very heavy. When we changed the car to a four link we removed 150 lbs. Bill mavericks early super stocks did use backward traction bars until nhra out lawed them.

 

I sure liked the set up we ended up with on the Austin. 60" ladder bars, Posie quarter elliptic Springs and shocks. The entire suspension minus tightly tucked in shocks was in front of the axel. It ran crazy straight even with such a short wheel base.

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If you find that lost coffee can full of $100 bills buried in the back yard you can buy a Ramcharger magnesium Dana 60 and save some more weight.