Register now to get rid of these ads!

Projects Northwest Vintage Dragster Group Build.

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by rottenleonard, Oct 22, 2016.

  1. rottenleonard
    Joined: Nov 7, 2008
    Posts: 1,993

    rottenleonard
    Member

    We are still suckin air, been chasing a lot of other interests this last year so the digger has been just barely on simmer.

    The new engine is back in, got a little scared of the Harley carbs with the high compression motor, didn't want it to go lean so we opted for a holley. Had to modify a Offy intake to get what we wanted.
    20181120_165946.jpg

    Also the engine builder really wanted to see headers with collectors, so we cut up a set of headmans,
    20181120_091828.jpg

    20181120_104404.jpg

    20181120_104411.jpg
    20181120_152739.jpg 20181120_164644.jpg 20181120_165932.jpg 20181120_165938.jpg
     

    Attached Files:

  2. saltflats
    Joined: Aug 14, 2007
    Posts: 12,592

    saltflats
    Member
    from Missouri

    Man, I would like to hear that running. :)
     
    loudbang likes this.
  3. rottenleonard
    Joined: Nov 7, 2008
    Posts: 1,993

    rottenleonard
    Member

    Haha, me too!
     
    saltflats likes this.
  4. CrkInsp
    Joined: Jul 17, 2006
    Posts: 513

    CrkInsp
    Member
    from B.A. OK

    Yes, two left side headers are the basis for a nice setup for the I6 Chevy.
     
    loudbang and chryslerfan55 like this.
  5. CrkInsp
    Joined: Jul 17, 2006
    Posts: 513

    CrkInsp
    Member
    from B.A. OK

    What carb are you using?
     
    loudbang likes this.
  6. rottenleonard
    Joined: Nov 7, 2008
    Posts: 1,993

    rottenleonard
    Member

    Nothing real special, just a vacuum secondary 1850 style Holley, i think it was 600 cfm.
     
    loudbang likes this.
  7. CrkInsp
    Joined: Jul 17, 2006
    Posts: 513

    CrkInsp
    Member
    from B.A. OK

    We have a some what modified 450. Here’s a picture. IMG_1462.JPG
    It’s still being “massaged”. Hope to get a little more out of.


    Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  8. rottenleonard
    Joined: Nov 7, 2008
    Posts: 1,993

    rottenleonard
    Member

    So here is the update, right after the last post we went to pull the cord on the new 6 and was promptly met with water in the number 6 cylinder......:mad:

    So, emergancy tare down to dry it out and then promptly stuffed it back in the trailer to get it out of sight for awhile.

    Finally we got to investigating and it seems the hardened valve seats were installed too deep and they hit water:rolleyes:

    We located another head and yesterday i got it prepped to go to the machine shop.
    This included drilling out the built in pushrod guides, milling out the head bolt bossed from the intake runners and installing the lump ports after tig'n up the old screw holed.

    Few pictures i took
    20190206_080808.jpg 20190206_131919.jpg 20190206_103459.jpg 20190206_102728.jpg 20190206_103547.jpg 20190206_103459.jpg 20190206_131621.jpg
     

    Attached Files:

  9. CrkInsp
    Joined: Jul 17, 2006
    Posts: 513

    CrkInsp
    Member
    from B.A. OK

    Have we made any noise yet?
    How about an update pls.
     
    loudbang and chryslerfan55 like this.
  10. rottenleonard
    Joined: Nov 7, 2008
    Posts: 1,993

    rottenleonard
    Member

    Not a whole lot to report I did get the head back for a few hours this week to pin and Port match the intake and clean up the bowls before he finished up the seats 20190326_105326.jpg 20190326_105314.jpg 20190326_105333.jpg 20190326_090411.jpg 20190326_101928.jpg 20190326_100850.jpg
     
    Dog_Patch, saltflats, NHRANUT and 4 others like this.
  11. rottenleonard
    Joined: Nov 7, 2008
    Posts: 1,993

    rottenleonard
    Member

    Well let's try this again
    20190426_081238.jpg 20190426_090809.jpg
     
  12. rottenleonard
    Joined: Nov 7, 2008
    Posts: 1,993

    rottenleonard
    Member

    It's alive, sounds awesome! Throttle response is amazing, we are going to do a full driveline enclosure and we need to add back in another leaf or two into the front spring but it's looking pretty good. 20190426_132837.jpg 20190426_143200.jpg 20190426_134535.jpg 20190426_154430.jpg
     
    Rand Man, Dog_Patch, NHRANUT and 10 others like this.
  13. CrkInsp
    Joined: Jul 17, 2006
    Posts: 513

    CrkInsp
    Member
    from B.A. OK

    I have been following your build for a while.
    I would like to get a copy of your current rules,please.
    Thank you
    Jr Clark (CrkInsp)
    [email protected]
    918-231-1427

    PS SDRA member
     
    loudbang and chryslerfan55 like this.
  14. Jimbo17
    Joined: Aug 19, 2008
    Posts: 3,959

    Jimbo17
    Member

    The workmanship and engineering is really all very high level stuff for sure.
    The photo's you post show such great detail in everything you make and engineer.
    Short wheelbase makes for a hairy ride for sure.

    Jimbo
     
    chryslerfan55 and loudbang like this.
  15. Casual 6
    Joined: May 25, 2008
    Posts: 290

    Casual 6
    Member
    from Great NW

    chryslerfan55 and loudbang like this.
  16. rottenleonard
    Joined: Nov 7, 2008
    Posts: 1,993

    rottenleonard
    Member



    Since this popped up, we got the tires squared up, took a few wacks. Surprised the fire department didn't show up.
    20191022_102946.jpg 20191022_103144.jpg 20191022_103249.jpg
     
    juan motime, SS327, AmishMike and 5 others like this.
  17. 64 DODGE 440
    Joined: Sep 2, 2006
    Posts: 4,421

    64 DODGE 440
    Member
    from so cal

    Back in the 1960s we used to take them to a local tire shop where they would true them up on a machine. If nothing else, your way looks like a lot more fun.
     
    SS327, chryslerfan55 and loudbang like this.
  18. 1-SHOT
    Joined: Sep 23, 2014
    Posts: 2,693

    1-SHOT
    Member
    from Denton

    Where did you get your fuel tank ? I think its neat.
     
    loudbang likes this.
  19. rottenleonard
    Joined: Nov 7, 2008
    Posts: 1,993

    rottenleonard
    Member

    We used to manufacture a longer 12 gallon version of that tank, I just whipped up a short one for the dragster
     
    chryslerfan55 and loudbang like this.
  20. 18n57
    Joined: Jun 29, 2007
    Posts: 578

    18n57
    Member

    [​IMG]
    Love this thread...the giggling,while “squaring the tires”, speaks volumes. Had a lot of fun with this 292 fed.
    Good luck!



    Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
    SS327, 6inarow, chryslerfan55 and 2 others like this.
  21. 1-SHOT
    Joined: Sep 23, 2014
    Posts: 2,693

    1-SHOT
    Member
    from Denton

    You are having too much fun squaring the tires.
     
    loudbang likes this.
  22. rottenleonard
    Joined: Nov 7, 2008
    Posts: 1,993

    rottenleonard
    Member

    Well we pulled the NW vintage dragster out of mothballs for last race of the season, went out to the trailer hit the button and fired right up , so we spent most of our afternoon before we had to leave cleaning the car and doing essentially unimportant things. Later in the evening decided we better load it in the trailer for The Following morning that's when everything went awry. The battery suddenly seemed to be dead so I stole a battery out of a van project we have herealong with the battery cables and cut out a battery box , I got it all to fit under the seat of a dragster getting rid of the Odyssey Battery we had put in a few years ago as one wouldn't be available on short notice. So once again we tried to fire it up and apparently the low voltage had taken out the pertronix ignitor .... Great. After making a few phone calls a friend dropped off a points distributor and we got the car going again but did not have a ballast resistor. We figure it would be okay to run that way for a day..... Wrong car wouldn't start when we took it back off the trailer and the points were burnt. We ran into Walla Walla and got a resistor coil and another set of points from Napa I got the car going again. The day smoothed out little from there and we made a couple of qualifying passes spinning tires and eating Donuts at the light but eventually got it going pretty good. It was spinning pretty severely at the line still and the points were causing it to shoot ducks most the way down the track and we ran a best of 7.9 seconds at 85 miles an hour. In the eliminations we kept getting lucky and made it clear to the semi-final in our class I got a little greedy cutting the light and red lit by .020 seconds, the guy in the other line broke out so we would have made it to the final if I hadn't red lit but thats drag racing I guess. There were a couple other NW dragsters there so that was cool. All in all had a great time.

    20200925_173009.jpg

    20200926_174528.jpg

    20200926_084559.jpg
    20200926_163107.jpg
    20200926_103646.jpg
    20200926_102917.jpg

    Never thought about running at night so we had to zip tie a flashlight we borrowed to the back ;)
    20200926_191604.jpg
     

    Attached Files:

  23. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Dang, that would have been worth a road trip if they allowed spectators.
     
    loudbang likes this.
  24. rottenleonard
    Joined: Nov 7, 2008
    Posts: 1,993

    rottenleonard
    Member

    I guess we're due for a 2 year update, After last post we were unloading the trailer and found that the flex plate bolt had loosened up. So we just noted it and put it in the trailer until last summer when we got it out to pull the engine to fix that problem problem. Unfortunately we figured out that we had also blown a head gasket the year before and left water inside of a cylinder and had rusted the number one cylinder pretty badly, So the engine was sent back to the machine shop for re ring and hone. We think the radiator that i got at the pomona swap meet was to blame for the head gasket failure as we noticed the lower rad hose sucking flat when reving. I had also purchased a full manual valve body for the transmission as the shifting was pretty erratic. When we pulled the Pan to install it we found all the clutch lining in the bottom of the Pan, So we found a new transmission builder and had it redone also.. Since we were mostly bracket racing the cheater slicks were just killing us consistency wise and so we bought a regular pair of drag slicks also. Another altercation was that the old Ignition was given us fits, it looked cool but was pretty unreliable, so I gave up and stuffed an HEI distributor in it. We finally got everything put back together this summer and made it to the last race of the year at Walla Walla. Let me tell you the car worked better than it ever has and we had A-blast. It's hooking well at the lights and and pretty consistently running 7.20 in the 8th mile. We were a one and done on Saturday as we showed up late and I was pretty scrambled and just screwed up. But on Sunday we went quite a few rounds and had a great time. 20220924_170941.jpg 20220925_085711.jpg 20220925_094322.jpg 20220925_094328.jpg 20220925_094344.jpg 20220925_122455.jpg
     
  25. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Cool beans, we never see anything about when they are going to run downn there here in the valley.
     
  26. 41 GMC K-18
    Joined: Jun 27, 2019
    Posts: 3,561

    41 GMC K-18
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Hey @rottenleonard
    I just ran across this amazing thread about 2 hours ago.
    I had to go back and start at the beginning and read it all.
    Bravo on a great adventure, simply amazing how so many little things went wrong and went right, as the evolution of the dragster made progress.

    Your crew wins a prize, a picture I took of the sign on the door, of I assume, one of your trucks from years past, when I saw it at the Portland Swap-meet, a number of years ago!

    Thanks for posting and sharing this amazing thread, its truly what hot rodding and drag racing is all about.
    I love well built 6 banger's that " KICK ASS " !
    Thanks from Dennis.

    IMG_3493 (2).JPG rotten leonard 1 (3).JPG
     
  27. rottenleonard
    Joined: Nov 7, 2008
    Posts: 1,993

    rottenleonard
    Member

    Thanks for the pictures, i haven't seen that little bobber since it drove away. It was built purely out of leftovers from other projects and worked great like they all belonged together. The cut down box, axles, wheels and tires were from my wifes 56 pickup, the engine was a warrenty from the gmc dealership i used to work for. 3 speed overdrive from an early 50s bel air. Had 50 bucks worth of industrial paint on it. Heaps of fun. Wonder if it is still kicking around out there?
     
    NHRANUT and 41 GMC K-18 like this.
  28. Pardon my curiosity @rottenleonard , but who’s the young lady sitting in your dragster?
     
  29. rottenleonard
    Joined: Nov 7, 2008
    Posts: 1,993

    rottenleonard
    Member

    That's my wife.
     
    chryslerfan55 likes this.
  30. Looks like she’s after the driver’s seat.
     
    SS327 likes this.

Share This Page

Register now to get rid of these ads!

Archive

Copyright © 1995-2021 The Jalopy Journal: Steal our stuff, we'll kick your teeth in. Terms of Service. Privacy Policy.

Atomic Industry
Forum software by XenForo™ ©2010-2014 XenForo Ltd.