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The FED flunked tech

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Doc., Jan 30, 2007.

  1. Thirdyfivepickup
    Joined: Nov 5, 2002
    Posts: 6,093

    Thirdyfivepickup
    Member


    ...and unsafe cars are exactly what kill drivers... it goes both ways.

    The safety guidelines err on the safe side for sure. Is it for better insurance rates? Yes... but nobody wants to see anyone die or ball up a nice car.

    Sure Doc's rail might be safe for some 9 second runs... but it may also be a catastrophe waiting to happen. Is that a coin he wants to flip?

    I'd suggest getting it looked over by an unbiased chassis guy or tech guy and ask them how fast they'd run in it. Get it updated to the point of not spoiling the looks. Make it safe first... then fun.

    Doc, I'd love to see you run that thing wide open and make people cheer... I'd just hate to see something happen to get you hurt.
     
  2. oldcarfart
    Joined: Apr 12, 2005
    Posts: 1,436

    oldcarfart
    Member

    what about nostalgia drags and exibition runs?
     
  3. afan
    Joined: Jan 1, 2006
    Posts: 283

    afan
    Member
    from michigan

    that pipe is at least 49 years OLD!!!!!!!!!do you really want to take that chance?? clean it up and bring it to columbus or to bakersfield and be part of the show that way and have fun. the hotrod reunions are alot of fun. just another opinon
     
  4. Yo Baby
    Joined: Jul 11, 2004
    Posts: 2,811

    Yo Baby
    Member

    Yeah.That was a bad picnic.
    Coincedentaly Johhny and I were just talkin' about that a few days ago.
     
  5. 56sedandelivery
    Joined: Nov 21, 2006
    Posts: 6,695

    56sedandelivery
    Member Emeritus

    That's why I quit drag racing. My first rail, a FED, was a 1964 120" w. b. former fuel car. I was running it in brackets and it's fastest e.t. was 9.23 at 146 mph. Probably not too far off a 1964 et but a whole lot slower mph wise. I updated it to legal status but N.H.R.A. (NO HOT RODS ALLOWED) kept making almost weekly equipment changes. That is what finally killed it for me. Now diapers! N.H.R.A. is what needs the diaper as they're full of s**t. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. BUTCH. P.S.- studleyscustomfabrication.com; he has an old rail chassis he told me he uses as a pattern for making "old" legal cars. Basic same Chassis Research/Scotty Fenn design.
     
  6. HOTTRODZZ
    Joined: Aug 21, 2006
    Posts: 335

    HOTTRODZZ
    Member

    Leave the original alone - its really to old to be going fast in anyway - build a clone copy out of all new tube - built to spec .

    The original preserves history & you can have some fun with the ( new one ).
     
  7. Or leave it in the living room


    s.
     
  8. Judd
    Joined: Feb 26, 2003
    Posts: 1,894

    Judd
    Member

    What would a currently legal FED look like?
     
  9. Crease
    Joined: May 7, 2002
    Posts: 2,878

    Crease
    Member

    Sorry to hear about this. I would leave it just like it is and keep your speed where you feel comfortable. Between the HAMB drags, Day of the Drags and other events, you should be able to keep busy. I agree that cutting it up would be a waste. I would build another car before going that route. Sounds like NHRA isn't too big on nostalgia?
     
  10. DaveyJonez
    Joined: Feb 20, 2006
    Posts: 518

    DaveyJonez
    Member
    from Houston

    I'm w/ ya:

    Ive seen too many people hurt or killed in state of the art, current cars, let alone, outdated and ill-prepared cars. Anything a sanctioning body does to protect me, and just as importantly, the guy in the other lane, spectators, etc., has always been something I have accepted as part of racing.

    That bein' said, your car sounds like a neat old piece!

    Just My 2 Cents,
    Dave
     
  11. wsdad
    Joined: Dec 31, 2005
    Posts: 1,259

    wsdad
    Member

    Here's how I see the options:

    Option 1: Build a car that looks exactly like the cars in the NHRA rulebook and all the other cars. Kiss the official's ass. Agree with him and give him compliments. After making you change a couple of things so he can feel important and in control, he'll leave you alone in order to keep the ass kissings and compliments coming.
    Option 2: Make the car the way you want it. Change the world to think like you. (2a) Publish your opinion about how the rules should be. Get enough people to agree with you and that are passionate enough about it that the public pressure becomes so great, they have to admit their error and change the rules to accommodate you and your minion. (2b) Or, you could change the official's mind about the rules by means of your superior intellect and reasoning. Make him slap his forehead and say, "Why didn't I think of that? You are so right." (2c) Or, you could make their lives miserable by being destructive until they succumb to your will.
    Option 3: Find a track where there are already like-minded people.
    Option 4: Create a track where enough like-minded people will pay you enough to keep it open and insured. There may even be a small possibly of profit.
    Option 5: Become lawless. (5a) Tell them the car won't get under 9.99 seconds. Run it pedal to the metal. Get thrown out of the track, laughing. (5b) After using up all the tracks within driving distance, run it on the street until you get caught.
    Option 6: Don't race it. Just look at it admiringly. Rev the engine and imagine how fun it would be.
    Option 7: Build a private strip. Buy some land, pave it. Don't let anyone else use it that might sue you if they wreck. Make sure none of their family will sue you either, if they die.

    Have I left anything out?

    If I were you, I'd go for, in order of preference, Option 3, Option 7, and Option 4. I'd stay away from Option 5 and 2c.

    Personally, I've decided to do something a little weird. I'm building a streetable TE-448 with a T-bucket body stuck on the back of it. I hope to find a non-NHRA track that likes T-buckets and will let me run occasionally, or at least once. The rest of the time, I'll enjoy driving it on the street, revving the engine and imagining what could be if I really punched it. I'll try to keep a low profile and not do anything to get myself noticed in such a weird car. There's T-bucket clubs in the area. I think you're probably not as scary or vulnerable if there's others around you that are like you.

    I'm not saying you should do the same as me, but the similar obstacles and challenges in our endeavors have pricked my interest in you and your car.

    Good luck with your car. Please let us know if you have some success.
     
  12. dreracecar
    Joined: Aug 27, 2009
    Posts: 3,476

    dreracecar
    Member
    from so-cal

    Do you realise that this topic is dated 2007
     
  13. 49ratfink
    Joined: Feb 8, 2004
    Posts: 18,829

    49ratfink
    Member
    from California

    wonder what happened to the car.
     
  14. that's one of the problems with the new format harder to see date of orig post JMHO...........
    of course since this is 2014 he or someone with like persuasion can always come to Eagle Field twice a year and have a blast in an old car!!!!
     
  15. fortynut
    Joined: Jul 16, 2008
    Posts: 1,038

    fortynut
    Member

    All of us are in a similar dilemma and aren't aware of it yet. Instead of sanctioning bodies the next hurdle we're going to face will be laws that decide if what we call Hot Rods are safe enough to co-exist on the highways with other tightly regulated vehicles. Because they don't have computers some legislators will claim they can't be tracked for a 'by the mile tax'; others will claim they produce to many harmful gases. The nanny regulations created by sanctioning bodies are minor compared to those being considered to bridle all forms of automotive enthusiasm. If I had an older front engine dragster that is now considered unsafe, I'd build a house with a fireplace and put a mantle over it big enough to put that sucker on it in full battle dress. The problem is that a lot of guys conform and they think, rightly enough, that if you want to go fast along with those who are willing to bite the bullet and pass tech, either get with the program or take your toy and go home. I know there are other places to perform death defying feats but face the facts, your piece has been found wanting. There is a good reason they require thicker wall tubing. And, here's the kicker, if what you own is worth two cents you can bet it has been raced to the limit, and raced a lot. That means metal fatigue. I don't have to remind you that there are people, suffering from various forms of paralysis who, in retrospect, would have druther not have been damaged for life because they were braver than they were smart --- at the time. I suspect those who say go where there's no life-guard aren't real swimmers.
     
  16. 49ratfink
    Joined: Feb 8, 2004
    Posts: 18,829

    49ratfink
    Member
    from California

    it is exactly the opposite of that. the post date is right there , you can see it before you even click on the thread.
     
  17. wsdad
    Joined: Dec 31, 2005
    Posts: 1,259

    wsdad
    Member

    Yes, but the reply is dated 2014.

    Averaged together, that makes 2010.

    In 2010, Tony Schumacher went
    320.43 mph in 3.83 sec in Dallas.

    383's are my favorite Chrysler engine but I like Ford's 300 straight six better because 6 cylinders have smoother, overlapping torque than V8's.

    Since Fords are clearly better than Chryslers, you can afFORD to read an old thread brought back to life, for CHRYSler's sake.

    I hope that set you straight and you don't make that mistake again. We forgive you.
     
    Last edited: Jun 24, 2014
  18. wsdad
    Joined: Dec 31, 2005
    Posts: 1,259

    wsdad
    Member

    An excellent suggestion!!!
     
  19. wsdad
    Joined: Dec 31, 2005
    Posts: 1,259

    wsdad
    Member

    (1) I worry about that and it spurs me on to finish building my car a little quicker.

    (2) It's safe to swim where there are no life-guards if you take other precautions, such as bringing someone with you. This opens up plenty of beautiful lakes and rivers to enjoy that the "real swimmer," who only swims where there are lifeguards and sure-grip traction tape on concrete steps, would miss out on. My round-about point is, some people think the only safe place to race is NHRA. There is the possibility of safety elsewhere. Safety is not exclusive to the NHRA.

    I think anyone who puts the gas pedal to the floor and accelerates as hard as he can is taking more risk than the person who putts about slowly. I think it's hard for either person to understand the other but that's OK. They're both good people. They just have different objectives and preferences.
     
  20. paintcan54
    Joined: Oct 27, 2007
    Posts: 1,101

    paintcan54
    Member

    I know the thread is '07, I still have my K-88. When NHRA told me we was not wanted anymore I took my car home and parked it, and said I would never go to a NHRA track ever again! The we got into hot rods, after 25 years of hot rodding we are now back to drag racing. We run the K-88 at 1/8 mile tracks around Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio at special events, had to slow it down a little and update the tires but you'll never know it the thrill is still there. Last year my oldest son drove it for the first time, he's hooked wants to run it every weekend. I also traded my T-Bucket off for a non HAMB drag car over the winter, a mid to low 10s car in the 1/4. I let my wife run it and now she wants to race it all the time! Anyway if you want to run at NHRA events build a new car and be safe, or find some outlaw tracks and run 1/8 mile, that what we do and it's still a rush. Race safe.
     
  21. falcongeorge
    Joined: Aug 26, 2010
    Posts: 18,341

    falcongeorge
    Member
    from BC

    Seems pretty simple to me. If you build a truly "period" N/A motor, it'll be hard-pressed to run low tens anyway. Put an injected 283 or olds in it and have fun.
     
  22. falcongeorge
    Joined: Aug 26, 2010
    Posts: 18,341

    falcongeorge
    Member
    from BC

    Yup. If you dont have your reading glasses on, you cant read the date at all.
     

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