rd martin's dragster build

Rich asked me to post some pics of his dragster/comp coupe he's building , Rich buildt the chassis , I'll let Rich tell you the rest , here's the pics, Great looking Car Rich, and Great looking Truck,,,, Tim Jones

 

That Crossely body is gonna look great on there, Tim

 

thanks for putting these pics up tim, its been a work in progress for quite awhile. been collecting parts for quite awhile. injected 327, i decided to put a glide in it to start i want to run it some when shes done. hoping to get it to the hamb drags. 83/4 chrysler rear with a spool, picked up the 48 crosley body awhile back. friend of mine wants to channel the body over the frame and shorten it up some. so thats the plan. a good friend of mine dave crane from battle creek mi got me started with this project a few years back. i have had some bumps in the road along the way, but hope to get it together in the near future. its either no time or no money, tim knows about that! i have been watching all you guys doing builds and restorations for quite awhile, it is inspiring. we will get it done.

 

Glad you posted some info Rich,, Nitro Madness Magazine did a story on Dave Crane's Drag racing museum, Looks like a great place, Gotta get up there sometime to see it,, Tim Jones

 

What speed can you run with that chassis? I'm looking at it from an NHRA cert point of view. I love that style. Thanks for sharing.

 

stevie thanks for the comment, this car will not be nhra legal. it is built from 1958 plans. i wanted an original car when i built it.not planning to run it at the time, but after watching the hamb i see where some of the non nhra tracks, are letting these cars run. mostly 1/8th mile. i have a track near me that i think will let me make some passes. thats all im looking for. never drove one before, but i did race for a few years with a few diff door cars. i always wanted to drive one, never had the chance. if you want to run an early style car like this, i would suggest king chassis here on the hamb. there are a bunch of great builders here, but king is building some legal cars. i wanted an original look.it really limits you to where you can run, if at all. this car is .120 wall tube, last i looked that was nhra legal for mild steel. but this car does not meet there safety standards for the cage. being style and enuff bars for there safety specs. i think with my motor, if i can get it to hook up, the car should run into the high 9s in a 1/4 mile. we will see. just because im getting older does not mean im getting smarter! anyway i had to build one, these guys on here are having to much fun!

 

Great choice on the Crosley.
Grew up watching them run at the local track-comps and altereds.
Nice to see the build is from 50's era.
I feel just like you do with the racing of door cars over the years but always had a desire to run a FED or Comp coupe.
Best of luck.

 

thanks, planning on getting it running and together, then mounting body. i will try and post pic of the drawing we did on the finished product. i think it looks good. havent seen alot of good looking crosley comp coupes in the past, other than the batto car. so were going to try hard to pull something off.

 

Look's like a great build !!! Congrat's.

 

thanks for the complement, going to run a shorty glide in the car, anybody have any pics of there chassis research style cars with a short glide. deciding on motor and trans mounts now. not wanting to run motor and trans plates. any body got anything? thanks

 

Since you threw Dave's name out there, here's one of his cars.

 

dave is a very close friend of mine. that car has run in the 9s back in the day. ive rubbed on that car alot. hes quite the guy. the altered in the back ground is a neat car. blown 354 ready to race. been going there for years and never get tired of looking.

 

I've talked to him a few times on the telephone. Bought his TE440 plans too. He's a cool cat!!

 

Fantastic!

 

thanks kerry, you and i have talked about this a few times. motor in it, working on mounts. had some surgery awhile back taking along time to heal. son has been over to lend a hand. shes starting to come together. got some mount pictures, thanks guys. just looking around for some engine mounting ideas. shorty glide with no rear trans mount. lots to do but its nice to see the drivetrain sitting in it.

 

Here's a drawing Rich sent of what the crossley will look like when it's done,, All I can say is BAD ASS,,, Tim Jones

 

Damn!!!

 

thanks justin,friend of mine drew the chassis and body, took measurements and put them to scale. so it will take a channel and some shortening, but i think we can pull it off.got to make it look right.

 

Whoa.........that looks incredible, hope you can get it to look like the drawing.
Ray

 

dam 9sec, i like that austin p/up! really kool! thanks for the comment, i have a friend , mike abraham, that does custom paint and restoration. hes been on me about this for quite awhile. he did the drawings. i had some surgery and it slowed me down. but hopefully things can progress. i have always had a soft spot for these ugly old crosleys. alot of guys raced them as comp coupes back in the day.were going to see what we can do with this ugly duck! there been alot of neat builds on here over the years. alot of cars , dragsters, that i cant even come close to. as a kid, i always loved the old slingshots. and putting a body on them really gave them chracter. i spoke with some of the original beanbandits at bakersfield a few years back, and there storys are amazing. anyway we will see what happens. thanks, give us some info on that pickup!

 

cool subscribed.......

 

carl how ya doing, i haved talked to you awhile back, been following your build, you are not afraid to jump in there! great work on your car! you and tim keep me going! anxious for your blower testing carl.

 

Thanks, I've had the truck for years, current motor is a434 Shafiroff small block runs 10.0/9.90 on a good day. Tube frame, steel body, glass front.
I've got a comp coupe too, heres a pic, don't want to hijack your thread though.
Love Crosleys, it's good to be different.

 

Mike is not the only one thats been on u. I so glad to see another of your cars coming together. I talked to Mike today and he told me about the rendering so I had to look it up. I dont know if I ever told u that my old Chassis Research, with a 352CI and one 4 brl. ran 8.98 @ 165 So get in, shut up, and hang on! Your are in for one hell of a ride! Nice work Rich if u need any help give me a shout. GEORGE

 

Thanks for posting all the great shot's of one very cool project for sure.

Short wheel base cars can be a handful to drive.

Jimbo