Projects Beebe Bros, Vinson, & Sixt "Cackle Car"

Robert, I am planning to be there with Soapy Sales/Mr Lucky and Dennis Young and I hatched a plan (in the parking lot on the Friday night of this year's HAMB drags) for him to bring his former Leland Kolb/ Ash Marshall Scorcher as well. The last time those two car were on a strip together was in late 1970 in Australia. Come to think of it your car may have been there too as the race was at Surfers Paradise.

Roo

 

I know that recreating something takes longer than creating, especially if you have no blue prints, limited parts availability, fading memories, ect. And the problem (?) of having to work for a living to pay for it. All tend to to string things out a bit.

My question is how long would it take a professional chassis builder to complete the rolling frame and how much longer for a "turn key" race car?

Also, it is too bad there are no original drivers around to jump in and test the car and say yes it handles just like the original or the car does something different. I can understand how cars would be different from one another, even going so far as same chassis, same design, same jig, same everything. Was chassis modification part of the "tuning" process or just personal preferences?

Great job. Looking forward to the finished car. John

 

Too many variables in the question. It takes as long as it takes. I can probably set up and weld a real jr/fuel chassie only in about 3 days but its all the other crap that takes up all the time.A chassie like that has one third the tubing and welding involved than a car that would be legal to race. If one has unlimited funds things can go quicker, for instance I can get a brand new formed alu clutch can with all the fixn's in about a week, bad part about it is that they are $1700 whereas if you can wait a used one "could" show up for $600. So with that in mind and you have a fat bank account one could have a pro-built real jr fuel car (turn key w/3 gal of nitro) like from the 60's in 8 to 10 weeks for around $38,000 or more.

 

To todays professional chassis builders, are your shops equipped better than yesterdays builders? Dreracecar's shop looks better equipped than most. All the pictures I have seen of "old school" shops were very basic. The quality they put out was amazing. I have seen pictures of Ivo's shop and Fullers work area and they were dark and, might I say, dingy. Maybe it is todays digital photography. Perhaps I should have asked how long did it take the chassis builders from 40 years ago to put out frames? Absolutely no offense to you but I have a feeling that the old builders also put out more product, just cause. Or am I wrong? Does anyone know what the yearly output was for say Kent Fuller? Were any of the frame shops more prodigious? What about the profit margins?
It was and is a business after all.

I appreciate the time and thought given to my questions. John

 

With a crew a shop could push out a car a week, but that was still semi production and all the cars were the same. Then it was off to the body guy--I hear there are still some people waiting for their bodys to get done.Chrome would take a couple days, now it takes weeks(with a lot of screaming)

 

Builders made money, put food on the table, drove nice cars, then when some racer screwed up and crashed and got lawyers involved many of them shut down. Shops today still have the same equip as back then. maybe better in quality (my tig welder is far supieror the those back then) we have DRO's on the lathes and mills (I have CNC controls) and I do my own bodies where back then it was sent out.

 

Some chassis builders have wait times for an easy year now! lol

 

I think that alot of this can be moved over to the dragster frames thread. So we quit hi-jacking Roberts thread. Thread located here.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=230419&page=35&highlight=dragster+frames I hope that I dont come off as one of those "do a search" idiots. But this thread is too good to start any drama here. Thanks

 

Sorry 'bout that. Will do.

 

Great start

 

Just trying to keep this up. While Robert is pickin grapes. Goin' thru the pages and diggin up favorite shots of the car. I love pit shots (or staging lanes in this case). As much as the action shots. NOTE: Could that be his fire suit covering the fuel tank? And is that John wearin the hat. I know he wore hats like that alot?

 

And how about this shot from page 5. Rooman (here on the HAMB and everywhere) took in Australia. At Surfers Paradise of the car. This is un cuckin believeable!!


A guy (Roo) who took snap shots of the car 40 years ago, is on the same (computer) forum. And he took the time to dig thru all his stuff to find them and help with the re-creation!!. This is the beauty of the HAMB and guys like Rooman!! Go back to page 5 and look at a few more pics that Rooman took that day.

 

King Chassis, I concur with your statement and in fact just posted the following on the Holman & Moody thread a couple days ago.

__________________________________________________________________
Re: Holman-moody the history
<hr style="color:#e5e5e5; background-color:#e5e5e5" size="1"> This is what I absolutely love about the internet and HAMB.
Everyone is equal. One IP address, one story.
For the first time in my life I am able to actually exchange conversation and be on the same level as those with the highest notoriety. Exhilarating for some, humbling for others.
Everybody has a story, some famous and some never heard of, but just as entertaining none the less once they are able to be told.
Tom S. in Tn.
__________________
None are so enslaved as those led falsely to believe they are free.
________________________________________________________________
Might have po'd a couple folk, but that's my perspective and this is the internet. The internet has become a fascinating medium even Al Gore couldn't have envisioned. Log on at your own risk.
Tom S. in Tn.

 

Im gonna bring this back up,,,, Robert is out mashing grapes and drinking wine and being merry In the oh so sunny california.. ha ha
Yeah Brian, thats definately Zook in the car. For sure.


TH

 

Hey Guys,

I'm here and alive.... Just really tired.. Harvest has been a real bitch this year! We are almost done and then it will be time to go full speed ahead on the car. I have 1 year to get it done at this point... I have managed to slip away from the winery and will be at the Hot Rod reunion for the weekend!!!! Thanks for the good bumps on the thread. That's Johnny for sure in the seat and that very fire-suit still hangs in my buddy Rod's house. Outstanding !!!

We are close to surfacing a few more parts from down under so fingers crossed that it all pans out...

Cheers,

Robert M

 

The term digger came from Ralph Godall(sp?) in the 1960's and it stuck!!! He wrote some of the best articles of that time.

Derf

 

Hey Robert, any progress going on there? What is happening?

 

Help me out here I thout this FED was in Port Anegles Wash about 5 years ago

 

Hey Bob,

Well now that harvest is all wrapped up I've been trying to get things sorted in the shop after not being out for several months. That's just about done now and we're ready to roll. Good news is that I finally gave up on restoring my Milling machine and just went out and snapped up a cherry Bridgeport. That comes home this week and will get parked in it's dedicated spot. Should have never sold the old machine, but that's a topic for another time....

I have confirmed a bunch of measurements over the past few months and feel 100% confident now in where these tubes are running. A few sanity check measurements with Brian Fox, took a tape measure to the Ed Pink car while at Bakersfield, etc.... With the mill situation solved I will be machining up the motor plate blank and getting that into the JIG and then start stringing the lower rail.

The other really BITCHIN deal is the Mag for the car! Thanks to RiceMan for tip'n me off to this KILLER find... Shit's not cheap, but it's the correct one for the car.

Sure would be a helluva lot easier if it was!!! This car is buried in the dumps in Sydney AUS.

More news soon.....

~Robert M.

 

Thats a neat looking mill Robert and a great looking Maggie, I await further news on your progress. Regards and best wishes with the continued reconstruction.

 

Hey Y'all,

I stopped by to check on my BULLET yesterday and the S&S Boys are doing just dandy. The lower end is all done with the shiny new 4-Bolt caps and the bores are all finished at 0.020" Over. Just needs to get decked and O-Ring'ed and then it's ready for GUTS…. I need to order the rods and pistons, $2K, Gulp…. And then the crank can get finished up and the whole thing can get stuffed together! All the other crap is secured and on the shelf. I'm off this week to pick up my Frankie MAG for the car and will be 100% Proper now with all the little bling bling.

Pictures will come along soon but for now I thought I would just jot a little note….

Cheers,

Robert M.

 

Lower frame rail bend has been calc'ed and bent. Perfect fit! Other side tomorrow night and then we can start tack'n this shit together....

BITCHIN!!!

 

Hmmmm... Time to be careful... Expensive sheet of Alum at risk! Motor plate time!

 

Closer....

 

How you like the spray on die? I've been wanting to try it out one of these days.

Were fighting with much chatter from the fly cutter?

 

Had a Bitchin day and drove up to Yuba City to visit Davey Uyehara and Allen Jaynes. Allen sold me his spare Frankie MAG and we all got the chance to bullshit and hang out for awhile. Totally cool shop with plenty of shit to look at and point. Lots of driving but it was worth it...

Now the MAG is home safe and I'm that much closer to having every detail on this car correct.

Here's some snappies from the day!

 

I love the spray on shit... Works great! Thin coat which is perfect.. And yeah the fly cutter was talking a little bit in the middle due to my lack of clamping. But in the end the plate seems perfect and just needs the perimeter trimming which will happen this week.

Cheers,

Robert M.

 

Yeah, better than an endmill atleast, that would have been going wild haha
Good shit man, keep on truckin!