Tires limit the hook, but someone will figure out how to run a slider and get around a tire rule. I've lived by the saying " If your losing, your not cheating hard enough" while racing fuel for over 40 years. I'm a believer in run what ya brung
I think you all are in the ball park the prob is in the speed not who has the most cubs but SPEED so we may need to think about shorting the track and that will lower the speed say to 600 feet or less I didnt think I would ever say that but less speed will also save motors and lessen the chance of getting hurt which is what the insurance co and track owners want.
You bring up another good point limit tire size so if you have a lot of cubs and HP all you will do is blow the tries off and the lower power car will drive by you while your smoking them. when your smoking the tires you could be looseing the race. boy thats sounds like a broken record. yuk
basically what I wanted to say but you were more direct. I do this for fun if your gonna do it for fun but faster you have to play by the rules. like them or not! as for the rules,brackets & clubs....that takes all the fun out of it. a bunch of you build them then all show up one night and pair up who care who wins. this is my last reply on this subject as it is getting to be a pissing match and I don't want to deter the original poster from building his dream rail. so go build your pipe rack ,good luck and be safe! Paul
I just got around to reading this thread. Kerry, you remember Kurt? I know he pulled to the HAMB drags in 07. He built a dragster similiar to what you are all talking about. 350 chevy, 4bbl. and a powerglide. It ran in the 10's at the HAMB drags. I think that his did pass NHRA tech as he ran it at several different tracks. Several years ago there were several people talking about doing this as a class to progress from the HA/GR's to the dragster class. I hope that you guys will do something with it. It kinda died out a couple of years ago. Robert
You guys know that the King-of-Dragsters, Don Garlits, could provide you some insight to these issues. He has done it all.
put work into desinging and gather parts ( and making them ) I expect to run mine.. Its safer than stuff I see them let down tracks nowadays so I'm in
I bet theres probably a ton more interest than just here. Short cars are fun. Here's one of our escapades.
Very interesting you mention Don. When I was looking for a FED, I spoke to him about the good and bad that I should check out before spending some cash. His advise was to start with new pipe...period. If I were to find an original 60's roller, use the rear, front, steering etc., BUT replace the pipe. Now the car I wound up with has some old pipe, but due to a wheel stand in the recent past, it had new pipe from the motor plate forward, and of course a new roll cage with helmet bars and kidney bars. With all the upgrades, the chassis will now pass NHRA tech, and not split in half due to internally rusted tubing.
I gave up. Too many opinions. If you ever do start a class, make the rules first, then see who wants to sign up and don't waiver.
we can run The Lump every thursday night at our local eight mile...3 inch round water pipe hand built chassis....better then nothing... Anything is possible! Bribe your local track officials!!!
called about pipe today.....rolling my pennys..... might even be ready for the 2010 HAMB DRAGS... maybe....
No maybes. Set your goal and hit it! It's gonna hurt but I WILL have my digger at this years HAMB Drags Look out Carl, here I come!
with no burnouts and water on the tires to get the motor up it was running wheelstanding low eights...so plus three seconds give or take for its 1/4 et it puts it about right....couldnt keep it in one lane only either... T. Hilton
Look at my avitar. I put that car into a cylone/hurricane fence and its head at about 175 mph back in 1962. Ripped the front end off, the body off, left side headers and injectors off. My helmet had some razberry's on it, but I got out of the car, clean out my shorts, had a big drink of cool water and built a new one. Was it fun? Oh hell no. Scary,,,oh hell yeah. But it didn't kill me so it made me a better man. The frame: 3" OD tubing @ 65 wall with lower frame being 1" at 60 wall and 1 3/4" roll bar.
While a flathead/inline org. The Vintage Drag Racing Assn. out of Denver has a pretty active series. Quite a few of the cars are old chassis updated to current specs. http://www.denverflathead.com/
WTF are you talking about? Steve Gibbs started the Reunion and he IS NHRA and always has been! ANRA is not run by NHRA, never has been. They run on an NHRA sactioned tracks and NHRA SAFETY rules. The current ANRA is less the 10 years old. There have been 3 different ANRA association owners. ANRA started originally as NDRA was failing in about 1992 or '93.
So.... I have read thru this post and I get many different takes on the situation at hand... If I want to build a "Cackle Car/Maybe a Pass here or there car" do we need to adhere right to NHRA specs or is there some other grace period/expectance? If I built a car to cackle at the Hot Rod Reunion and then wanted to run half track or more at Mokan what do I need to follow? If I built a new chassis I would of course observe new Rule Guide lines in size and wall thickness but do I need to follow everything to a T..... ??? Are we allowing somewhat period perfect cars to fry tires and have fun? Or do we need things to be dialed in? The KING Chassis Car is off the hook!.... Can I get one of these and play around?? Please advise, Robert
Search on YouTube the words "Zorbas Ghost" and you will see with just 1964 tech in my car I have been alowed to run. Also " Zorba at Sikeston" And thanks for the "off the hook" comment. KING
This is a new car I just finished. It is legal to 7.50. I think it has the 60s look. But with a legal cage. The back wheels are just borrowed rollers. The real ones will fit tighter to the body.