Projects Two gun guys build a front engine dragster

Looking great man!

 

Looks good Tyler, Glad to see your still at it, also glad to see your keeping a sense of humor, Tim Jones

 

Works For Me! Love & Peace man..

 

Not a hater, that would imply that I am jelous of something for which I am not. I am however someone that is willing to spend my time to point you in the correct direction.
Now on to todays disscusion. Motor plate mounting tab. I am interested on hearing your theory on the tab being in front of the plate instead of behind. As of now you are asking the bolt to do two jobs , one is to hold the plate in and to limit the travel towards the rear under acceleration. Moving it behind the plate makes the tab a buck/stop to limit the travel and the bolt is used just for location, in fact one could reduce the bolt size down to 5/16 using this method. The way it is done now, over time the tab will "S" bend between the bolt and the weld ,and the weld will crack. I also find it eaiser to install the engine by pushing it back into the the mounts then dropping straight down.
On your next build try and get the R/E housing closer to the upright, (that would entail notching the plate and spreading the bolt pattern). If the rear is mounted too far back in the way you have done, you might get some rear end walk at the hit. Should not be too bad with a low HP deal, but you start putting big HP at it, it will go into shake.
What I dont see right now is a steering crossmember that ties the upper frame rail together behind the motorplate. Most chassie builders combind this tube with the steering box mount. As of now you will have to add an 1" x .049 min tube and 4 mounting tabs to make this removable(tab in front of motorplate deal) whereas if you were to make this crossmember out of 1.25 x .058 AND mount the steering to it, you fullfil all requirments with one piece of tubing.

OK heres me being a prick again-- Did you ever purchase a SFI 2.6 spec book?

 

All good info !..........Littleman

 

Everyones a race car builder... Just ask them.

 

Evidently its possible to build a dragster and not take a certain individual's "advice" on here . . . who knew?!?

Passed NHRA tech . . . certified to run up 6.00 in the 1/4

 

If thats the case then I dare you to cut out the upright in the tranny bay, wont affect the tag cert one bit.

Glad you have a tag on it and can start putting it together, but a tag only means that tubing wall & dia meets spec. poor engineering is still poor engineering and the tech people are human and miss things because they are not builders (NHRA does not want them to be) evedenced by something he missed during his inspection. You built it and you are going to drive it, so you are ultimetly responsable for your actions. I as a builder have to know better because it is my responsability.

Season has started ,now get to work and put it together.

 

Tyler,
don't shoot the messenger--Bruce was trying to stop you from stepping on your dick on the build. The tech guys are usually not engineers, they have their little picture book of SFI specs and if your car's tubing sizes match the specs you are good to go. I have seen some truly awful cars with NHRA cert stickers because they had the right size tubes in the right places. I went through an episode last year with a street roadster super gas car where the first tech guy wanted the owner to cut some tubes out of the car (major structural elements) and put them in a different place so that it exactly matched the drawing in the spec. I added three tubes and it complied with both the letter and intent of the spec.
Even in this photo I can see something that I would change if the tube/tab on the top rail is for the radius rod mount. Right now you are relying on a tab with a short base to locate the front axle--either welding that tube to the top rail (a bit difficult as it sits too far off the rail and will pull if you try to fill the gap) or adding another tab on the inboard side would be a good idea. A better way (too late now) is to run the bush through the rail itself or use one of the readily available three sided brackets which puts the bolt in double shear (always a good idea).

Roo

 

Roo, I blew up the picture and the tube is welded to the frame, My concern is that the foward rollcage hoop is welded directly on top of the foward seat upright and no evedence of an inner sleeve to help support that area weather required or not. Second--- cant really tell if thats the mount for the chute tow line on that upright in back---a little low for me.

 

No one is arguing that.

I posted up because you are a troll plain and simple. You think everyone is entitled to your opinion and I knew you couldn't possibly resist posting in this thread regardless if I said your name or not. I would say don't bother posting in MY thread, but you know you can't resist . . .

3 other members on here have messaged me privately said almost the exact same thing: you come across as arrogant and a tool to just about everyone you "critique".

There is a perpendicular tab to the piece of rod that is threaded for the bolt holding that heim on. It is "outboard" of the rail to prevent the threaded tube from flexing. Threaded tube is welded to the frame and vertical tab and vice versa

Bushing is that high so the radius rod is parallel with the ground when its together.

 

Tyler,

Firstly, very cool build, I am jealous of both your project and your courage you display diving in and "having a go".

That said, you did come on here stating you lacked experience in the subject and asked for advice.

You have been given advice by people you acknowledge have greater experince than yourself.

It seems you biggest issue is HOW some of that advice has been given rather than the quality of it.

Don't get yourself hurt or killed for not distinquishing the difference.

BTW we don't own the threads we start (that would by Ryan- this is his house, show him the respect that you yourself expect).

Good luck with your build, it is truly inspiring.

Kind regards,

- Pete.

 

I happen to see this build in person & meet Tyler. Jam up young man. I know Mike as I have worked for him in the past. Very talented man & a very impressive resume. This is NOT his first chassis build.

I was goofing and asked if Stevie Wonder SFI tagged the chassis when he arrived (after knowing him for all of 5 minutes) and we all laughed. He didn't get pissey or in a tis. Straight forward good guy from my first impressions. I'll get to see this completed first hand ... impressive to say the least.

Good luck at the strip.

PACO

 

Tyler, car is looking great, and trust me you took a lot less of a hazing than I did for building one out of (gasp!) mild steel. I've designed and built literally hundreds of cars over the years, but never done a FED before.

You have to understand that there is SO much crap built out there today; the guys who really understand what is going on with these things don't always have a lot of patience for people who don't want to listen.

We had an NHRA tech guy out west (I won't use his name because he is probably still around) who was a great guy but an engine builder, not a chassis guy. If he liked you, he would take 5min with a tape measure and his book of drawings and you had your tag. If you pissed him off, he WOULD find some reason to fail the chassis. Fair???

I teach race car chassis fabrication, and I couldn't find fault with any of the things Bruce or Keith suggested on your build (or mine). That advice came from guys who have to think about putting someone ELSE in one of their creations... Waving that cert tag in someone's face doesn't mean there isn't still a safer way to do things.

 

And I have no problem with that . . . just the way its been handled by bruce.

He feels compelled to make asinine statements in pretty much every dragster build if he doesn't get his way. Its literally like watching a child whine and complain when I read his first comment in my thread and some of the other threads he craps in.

If he conducted himself with any semblance of class I can't imagine anyone would have a problem with him. The problem is he has to display that he knows way more than you do and insult you at the same time for not being up to his level. Which I have to tell the board, is an awful way of trying to "carry on the legacy". You have "young" guys spending money building traditional type cars/dragsters that are now no longer interested in posting on the very forum that probably inspired them in the first place. That is sad to me.

Keith has been more than helpful and I do trust his advice, I don't agree on the tabs for the radius rods and either does my builder but thats little stuff.

But at any rate, I have zero desire to post anything else in here picture wise and since the car is very close to being finished it doesn't bother me at all. Trying to make a car show this month and two nostalgia races in May amongst other things I can leave the drama on here.

 

you can't stop posting, I and others want to see the results and how it runs. you will need wheelie bars a friend ran his 160" car for 2yrs the wheels coming up 6" carrying them 20-30' then I built a stronger motor and stood it right up scrapping the pavement then he installed wheelie bars, sbc with a carb no blower

 

"Keith has been more than helpful and I do trust his advice, I don't agree on the tabs for the radius rods and either does my builder but thats little stuff."

Tyler,
after Bruce posted about the radius rod mount I did the same as him and blew the picture up (probably should have done that the first time) and saw what you guys did so I stand corrected.

Roo

 

Hey Tyler - be as the duck ... let that BS roll off your back & ignore the haters.

I'd have a lot of confidence in a guy that Mario Andretti let fab & weld on his race cars!! Says something about Mike.

Keep posting for us regular guys.

 

Great car, great engineering, great backbone!!

 

Avoiding the no update policy for this one.

Mike's sheet metal work is fantastic and it has been a great experience to watch someone that can actually fabricate instead of just buying something and modifying it. I felt like I would be doing him a disservice to not post it

Might have been cheaper and faster to start with a pre-made deal but not near as rewarding of course. All started as this GIANT sheet of .060" aluminum.

Seat:







Hood:

 

Great build. Makes me wish I had my 170" car back. Have fun.

 

Looking good.

 

thanks man . . . excited to finally see it with color next week. Dropped off the body work at Jaguar in Lawrenceville today. Frame/rear is going next week to Miller's in lilburn.

Not too much left . . . water neck, fuel return lines, brake lines, welding up one of the heads in an intake port for the pushrod guide.

Other than some little fabricating its about done.

 

You racing @ commerce in may at the old style drags??

 

Will try to make it . . . planning on the gear jam race and the steel in motion race the following weekend.

Trying to get it wrapped up for a test and tune deal before, don't want to sort the car out in front of a bunch of people if I can help it

 

Wow Tyler - That's great. You've come a long way. Can't wait to see it. Josh

 

Damn, that's inspiring! Can't wait to see it!

-Brad

 

Your chassis and tinwork look good Tyler, after makeing the body for mine I have a whole new respect for guys that do the tinwork on race cars , Not quite as easy as you would think, Tim Jones

 

Its every bit as involved as I thought it would be and then some.

Mike has been doing sheet metal a long time though, in both automobile and motorcycle fabrication. He still has some indy car parts hanging on the wall from the 80s back when he was working at Patrick Racing.

Got a wing either off of Mario's car or Johncock's car that he made which was wrecked and a bunch of little odd and end fabricated parts.

 

Have fun - be safe. I can relate to the desire to make shakedwon passes without a big crowd looking over your shoulder.