Projects The Drag Rod... MoKan or BUST!!!

Glen, that looks awesome! Where did you get the padding? Is it comfy? I have the seat covers that came with the seats. I'm thinking flat black would look nice. I never thought of having them powder coated... great idea!

BTW, I love your Nova! Any more shake down runs?

Sam

 

He must have been board to try testing a 2x4.

I wood have never have tried it.

He was definitely going out on a limb.

But now his theory is clearly rooted in scientific principles.

Maybe I can branch off and make pine padding.

I would have it made in the shade if I could sell them.

Sam

 

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You can see the gas pedal ( I welded the mount to the tube) brake pedal ($90 from Classic Steet Rod MFG at the Turlock Swap Meet) and the upper firewall mounts that double as radiator support rod bracket mounts!


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Mo' pics... I hope the cage is Kansas City Approved! Once I get the body on, it'll be more clear as to how low it is!


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The fabric is called Carbon X, it is flame retardant SFI approved. I made aluminum panels that fit into those pockets out of very thin aluminum. If you have even a cheap brake it will help as the seats have a lot of angles in them. Glenn Kramer padded the panels and stitched them up with French seams and then riveted the panel from the back side. Rickie Jones/quartermax sells the Carbon X and there are other brands. I bet DJ safety would sell you a yard or two.

Don't forget to put straps over the gas tank.

waiting on cool air to play with the Nova again.

 

Thanks for the tip on the straps! It's those little things they don't tell ya' that will haunt you in the tech line!

Sam

 

ok, one more please, the gas pedal is awesome, just don't forget the dead stop behind it, you will bend that pedal or the carb bits in the heat of the moment.

 

Best line in the thread!!!!

Well from one cheapskate to another my first HAMB build the "Rocket Sled" was modeled loosely after ol Roachy and I buttoned it up for the street initially under $5k and the stock 455 Olds took me to a 12 flat e.t. at 110mph!

I love this build because that is how I determined the path for the "Rocket Sled" but this next one will be a loose clone of the "Rocket Sled" only because my friend BCR (Mike) gave me back the Old's headers and Radiator shell plus I have another dual quad for a 455!

So I'll be watching this thread while gathering inexpensive parts for my next Roadster!

 

Yep! And a toe tab! Thanks Glen! I appreciate all the help I can get!

Sam

 

DO IT!



Sam

 

sam with all the tubing (over head etc.) how fast do you plan to certify this cage. I know its for safety but it seems overkill for a 10 sec car. (maybe the rules require it??)

 

All "open" cars're now required to have full cages for NfHRA.

 

thanks Old6rodder, I was not aware..

 

Ok you got me... 'subscribed'

 

Ken, like Old6rodder said, pretty much anything that hauls ass needs a cage.

The first time I dumped the trans brake on a 10 second roadster, I was sure glad I had a bunch of tubing around me!

The NHRA used to spell out in their rule books cage designs "to 7.50 ET"

Now the basic designs are good to 10.00 ET.

Basic designs being door car, street roadster, rear engine dragster, front engine dragster and funny car.

Then at some point in the past ten years they decided to have the SFI foundation spec the chassis for anything faster than 10.00

Chassis have had to have had "certifications" once they go 9.99 ET for many many years...

But specific spec chassis (2._, 10._ and 25._) for cars 9.99 and quicker is relatively new.

That being said, it is wiser to follow an SFI spec chassis when you build a car.

For one, a car like this with any kind of real motor will run 9's very easily. (I plan on it)

So you don't really want to build something with just a hoop, and then get a new set of heads and cam and need to rebuild the whole car.

Also, it makes the resale much higher if it certifies to an SFI spec.

As far as "all the tubing" goes... each and every tube in this cars' construction is laid out in the SFI spec 10.3 chassis manual ($35 from SFI) that I am following.

I was lucky enough to have Division 7 tech, Ken Gentry come by my house and work with me to come up with a solution to my problem.

I wanted to build a spec chassis that you could squeeze two people into.

At first I wanted to build a "door car" style cage... but he said that the basic door car chassis is only good for cars that originally came with a roof.

So we looked at a street roadster chassis... and they have a lot of tubing in the passengers compartment.

So we settled on the 10.3 funny car cage... and since the spec does not specify a "width" he said that I could build it, just wider to accept two people.

That's my nut shell, and I'm sticking to it.



Sam

 

Tube bending 101...
Measure how long you need the bend to be. In this case, 22 1/2"



Then mark the tube at 22 1/2" with a sharpie.


From the top of the bend to this edge of the bender measures 12 3/8" You can see the little yellow mark in the square piece of steel. That is a random point that I measured to... So I have repeat ability with my bends.



22 1/2" minus 12 3/8" equals 10 1/8" I added an extra 1/8" an marked the tube at 10 1/4" from the end.



I then put that mark even with my known datum point.





Once clamped in the bender, I start bending. Sorry for the odd pics... The camera man didn't want to break his new iPhone by taking a pic of my mug. Instead focusing on my rippling forearms!



I then ratcheted it back taking a new bite on the ladder after each pull.



Once to the end, I had to reset the pin.









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And then ratchet it to the money shot notch.



I marked it so I could do a second bend. It's nice to end on a full ratchet pull... But sometimes you can't (like on a 90 degree bend) and you have to measure the bend and account for spring back.

Then loses the horse shoe clamp and the bend is done!



Here it is after I notched it and tacked it in place. And added a helmet bar... I forgot to take pics...




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I found a battery!


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Sam, thanks for taking the time. I am impressed and subscribed.

BOutlaw

 

Free is good !

 

Thats what im talk n about!! Not alot in live is free

 

Awesome post. Thanks for taking the time and pics to post this up

 

hey SamIam, you can save your buddy some muscle and add a simple bracket and a HF air over hydraulic cylinder. I dont have this setup, but many people I know use it.

I have the Enerpack setup for my JD2 Model 3. I'll eventually convert it over to electric/hydro and longer cylinder so I dont have to re-pin so much.

 

That's a great idea. My friend Jason did the same thing!

Thanks for sharing!

Sam

p.s. I'm the guy flexing to bend the tube...

 

$50 dash that I sectioned... $40 hood... And $40 CalCustom valve covers! Gardenia CA, no less!


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coming along pretty nice... great budget build!

 

Sam-
Real nice build and extremely informative post. Thanks!

 

Very nice build .... How did I miss it till now?