Hi guys. This is my first stupid question at this board. Even thou i´m looking for a 50´s style kustom project car,i´m also interested of building a gasser for a race car. I´ve been offered a dirt cheap 1952 Ford Popular body,no chassis or anything,just the body.I would build a custom tubeframe on it by my own. BUT,the only thing i´m concerned is the front axle.I´ve read so many horror stories about solid/straight front axles and how horrible they are and they are all saying:if you drag race a car with solid axle,you will die eventually! I really like the look with the nose up slightly,i dont like the way IFS looks,it may work better/be safer but it still looks ugly. I just sold my ´64 Galaxie,but i still got 460 big block and C6 tranny from it.Best ET was 12,8/107mph so i think that small and ligth Anglia should run atleast high 10´s? So,what parts you´ve been using and how do your cars handle? Tommi
welcome aboard.... you might want to hit that search on gassers on here....also check out www.gassermadness.com .... anyway .....my last anglia was a straight axle car....but had a stock chassis.... i used a tube straight axle from MAS with 37-41 style ford spindles...about 8 degrees of caster......hairpins and a buggy spring..vega cross steering ....the car rode and drove nice....ran a light spring in the rear on the coilovers...thinking it was a 95 pounder.....my other anglia was a tube chassis a arm front 4 link rear with a mild big block chevy ....i guess it all depends on your preferrence...... brandon
Don't worry about the front axle. It's no big deal. All of your dragsters have been running them since day one.
Yeah,use the search function,as the gasser questions have been done to death on here as of late.LOL A well and truly set up straight axle is not going to get anybody killed. To quote Mr. Collins, "Real Men Drive Straight Axles"
i heard some many stories when i was building mine.....such and suchs car was so ill handling he rolled it and went out the back window..... alot of things weren't really checked and studied back then ....it seemed to be a throw it together and see how it goes kinda deal.....usually sideways and all over the place.....things like bumpsteer weren't a concern..... the car in the picture ....was supposed to have been the one the guy went thru the rear window.... and they aren't that big.... brandon
Hi guys and thanks for answers. Good to know that it wont kill me.. This is the first place where i hear positive things about having a solid axle in a drag car. I´m sorry,i´ve should have used search,it´s just that its a pretty much useless function at many sites i go but here it seems to work. Found plenty of stuff about gassers and such,i´ll read them and then i´ll come back and ask more stupid question! Tommi
ifs and straight axle wont make a difference when your front end is in the air going down the track haha
Brandon: That orange "Pretty Penny" Anglia has just the look i´m after. It´s yours? More pictures? Tommi
You have to realize that EVERYONE on this site has straight axle cars. The guys that are scared of them don't understand how to set them up and besides that.....they are pussies.
Yes,i DO understand that. That´s why i asked about them here,because you guys know and understand this stuff. But, I DONT! So,please explain how it should be set up (solid axle,leaf springs and such) so it would work properly? I know they are pussies,but i dont want to be!
Haha....Aint that the F@ck'n Truth! Besides, Most drag strips are "smooth"....Not too much need for front suspension articulation.
LMAO !! ROOTHAWG FOR PRESIDENT!!! I think most of the people who speak negative about them have never had one, or don't like the way they raise a car up, or for some reason or another just plain don't like them. Pussies? Some, probably. Ignorant? Yeah, sadly. Granted, they are not for everybody. However, don't let anybody tell you they are no good , or you are gonna die in one. A guy in my town has had one under his 64 Dodge for 35 yrs. , and he's alive & well ! I will tell you this - my straight axled Falcon w/a 4 spd. is a ball to drive , and it handles fine. Thats my story, and I'm stickn' to it!
The straight axle in this car has worked great for years. Like any drag car if one rear tire gets more traction the car is going to want to rotate. If you've got a good bite and the suspension is aligned correctly you'll be fine. Do an E-Bay search on item 190166627315 (shameless plug) for lots of pics. -Bigchief.
...oh I imagine that statement taken literally is actually true. That can also be said of just about anything. If you work in an office cubicle you WILL die eventually. If you eat broccoli you WILL die eventually. ...basically you WILL die eventually. I've got a tube axle under the front of my '63 Fairlane with 16" from the ground to the rockers. It got out of hand the other day when I misjudged an entrance ramp to the interstate. I had to cut it hard at about 70mph. The car dived to one side and I heard the tires squealing pretty good, but it held right in there. It was a hairy ride for a split second, but it really impressed me with how it handled in that particular cornering situation....or in other words the WORST scenario to be in while driving a jacked up gasser styled axle car.
First you need to decide if you want a transverse leaf (typically Ford) , which basically means across the frame....or if you want parallel leaf springs which run the longways on the frame(Typically Chevy). There are a lot of books out there that will help you with a straight axle suspension. A lot of hot rods run them. The only difference in a race car versus a street car is the amount of tilt you put on the axle. This causes the car to want to track straighter, but if you have too much makes the axle tires want to flop from side to side when steering.
I'm still working on mine so I don't know how its going to handle but I did alot of research and asked alot of question before the build. I found Speedway Motors to be alot of help on my tech question and parts Good Luck
in the first place. anybody that tells you they are unsafe is just not firing on all cylinders. just about all pickup tucks used them until a few years ago, every car until '48 or so used them and just about every T bucket street rod uses them. i had a '65 pontiac lemans i built with a '56 truck i beam front end and it rode honestly better than any car i ever had. i kept the power steering and after about 5 minutes you forgot what it looked like from the outside and how it should ride. i have a henry j now and i have been driving it for about 5 years every day and i have been in every kind of weather and road condition and it has never gave me a problem. just build it and have fun.
Man oh man, you just gotta love that bottom pic in Gary's post. That's just too cool! I'm stealin' that pic. Please don't kick my teeth in.LOL
none of the 55 .....the anglia shot came by way of new jersey or somewhere that way..... nobody in this area must have owned a camera in those days.... brandon
i built the "penny" out of a stocker ...and until i got rid of it , it had never been down the drag strip.... da injun's buddy and my kid's new uncle "jim" owns it now.... as for pics ...i have a bunch of it ....from the first day i got it , shortly after its long nap 62-00 in chicago area....til almost the day i sold it.... not super fast ....but would cruise down the expressway at 100 anytime....even in snow and cold.... even to detriot... one thing not often mentioned , was that a lot of guys were running posi's and stuff in their cars....and if anything ...those things will make anything act goofy on the strip... brandon
I have a Detroit Locker in mine. It acts goofy on the street sometimes....like the few times I've gone through "S curves"! However a locker would do that in any car, I believe. Just the nature of the beast. Otherwise, works great.
if anyone has watched the jackson bros gasser video you can see how goofy these cars get .....throw a little front end issue , poor tracks , marginal tires , and a bunch of motor....it adds up to a interesting time.....seems like there is even a kiwi from here on there...... brandon
Hi guys. It took a while for me to answer. I started to collect more parts for this and I went and bought a narrowed 9" housing,it is 50.75" wide flange to flange.I hope it´s not TOO narrow for little car such as Anglia? Roothawg: Yes,it would be strickly a drag car. And thats the reason why i´m concerned about how it would handle, ecpecially at high speeds,maybe around 120-140mph? What books are you referring to? Any suggestions what book should i get? Tommi
I have that video as well as the fuel altereds video from the Jackson Brothers. I think I know what I will be watching tonight.
Tommi, I have run my Falcon with a straight axle out of Ecnoline van far 5 years now and it handles better with that in the then it did with the stock front control arm front end. It runs high 11's @ 115 and goes nice and straight. I run a Bantam altered that has a straight axle and 97 inch wheel base and runs 10.70's at 130 and that goes straight also. Friends of mine are putting a ecnoline axle under there 65 Comet righ now. Jon
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