Short WB FED's

[Slowride]

Looking to build a short wheelbase FED in the 130-140 range.  What are the disadvantages or advantages of the shorter rails?

Thanks!

[dwrfab]

Wheel stands and bending front ends.

[JrFuel Hayden]

And some bent front wheels too. And extra weight too for the front end ballast to try and keep the wheels on the track. if you can't steer you'll keep hit the cones or the wall. You can't win any races by clicking it early. Back-in-the-day when short cars were being raced it was before VHT and they just smoked the tires to keep the RPM up to where the engine made good power. if you make the wheel base longer you'll have more fun, if you are going to race on any bumpy tracks, the longer more flexable chassis will work better.
Now if your goal is to build a short WB car because you only have a short shop and/or short trailer I know a JrFuel Racer that had a chassis built in two pieces. He just had a clever dolly to load his dragster in his short trailer.
Now if your goal is to build a let 50's early 60's looking like FED, then make sure to put period correct engine, wheels, tires, roll cage so it could be a fine cackle/show car. 

[fuel749]

Interesting replies  so far, but it would be handy to know the rest of your planned combination as well. Planning on building a short wheelbase flathead powered car? Probably be just fine. Same car with a stout injected big block? Could be a handful. Plenty of guys out there running mild small blocks in short-ish cars with no problems. Your ultimate goal will determine what you want and need to do. Want to have fun with a mild combination that won't need much maintenance but will leave you smiling until the next race? You can do that with a mild power short car. Want to be competitive in Jr.Fuel? You might want to rethink your plan.

       

[dreracecar]

Makes no difference at all long or short, how the car works (any car) is up to the owner to figure out what to do. If you are unwilling to do that then start with a longer car. I have 100" wheelbase altereds on fuel running over 200mph  without any issues.

[slingshot383]

The car has to be balanced for the wheelbase, how far the engine is out from rear axle centerline, what kind of weight is up front.  The shorter the dragster, the wider the front end needs to be for stability.

[masracingtd1167]

I prefer a longer car but I also don't see why you could not do it ! Look at how fast a funny car is with a short wheel base ! Your biggest problems will be in the first 300 ft but as some of the other guys have said proper balance and not too big of a tire will help you . Have fun !

[Slowride]

Thanks for the advice guys.  That's why I asked the guys that know.

I'm just a poor enlisted guy that loves FEDs and wants to go racing for fun.  I just plan on running an injected SBF on methanol for starters.  My garage won't hold a 200" WB car and I'll probably just use an open trailer first.

I intended to run an altered, but I've had a hard time finding one that will fit a guy who is 6'4".

[dusterdave173]

I started out like you
Wound up with a 200 inch Cenpen--would have liked it to be a 180 for many reasons like trailer etc but...
It drives like a dream and Trust me SBC on injected alky is all you will ever need--they are Fast!!!
I am 3 years ahead of you and would say get as long as you can fit in your space etc--easier to go fast later with long I think--the guys in my dragster club all say longer is better for rookies anyway.
Yes, a car with engine set way out works but none/ few  are that way--the old school look is cool but makes for sensitive car that can be hairy to launch etc
shop around--take your time now and it will pay off later--The Cen Pens or Worm cars are all approx 21 1/2 at the sholder and fit big boys well with a poured foam seat bottom
Go to any Nostalgia meet and watch--the short cars all look cool but usually never make full hard passes--they are cool / fun but--- the long cars all stage up and rip it
Good Luck!

[JrFuel Hayden]

Of course we don't know your garage story, but maybe you could what Glen, the host of this site did, cut a hole in the garage wall and stick the front end in the patio on the otherside. Or crossways in a two car garage, or share a bigger shop with one or two buddies.
Or you can do what what my partner did that owns the chassis, he built a doghouse deal to extend the shop/garage when we front halfed the car and went from 200'' to 225". The fold-down one piece door just closes over the dog house. It's about 3 feet long. I'll take photos if you are interested.  Just be creative about your shop.
I know of a 180" Cen Pen car not finished for sale for under $4k, just needs body, fuel tank, and plumbing and wiring, and an engine trans of course.

Jon Hansen 

[Zooman]

My injected nitro digger is 200". It has a Gene Adams early hemi tune up, so it starts out with the full load hammer blows - not creeping up on it!...........At times, I sure wished I had an extra 25" wheel base, but we are working with what we have. So far 50 lbs weight have been added up front. Next move is to re-locate the fire bottles from midship to up front.

I've driven lots of cars down the track (even wheelstanders!) but this my first FED and the first few hard hits in the Fossil Fueler felt spooky. Front end was real light - but thats probably just my inexperience with this kind of car.

As mentioned above, you can make it work with any wheelbase if you go about it in a methodical way. Just takes a little time.

[voxnut]

125" Wheelbase:



140" wheelbase



140" wheelbase



It looks like it can be done, it just depends on what you want to do with the car, and how bad you want it.

[gasserx]

I have no clue about how the different length wheelbases behave on the strip as i havent tried yet.... But i do own an 180" wb FED and i had to extend my garage a little bit to make it fit straight in.
I also wanted a shorter wb, but the guys on this forum converted me 

Oh, and talking about short wheelbase - i have an Fiat 600 in the making that will be powered by a turboed flat4 vw engine. It has 78" wb    Should be able to do low 10`s.

[George]

Our 223" car goes straight as a string but as we make more power the more difficult it has become to control . At seasons end we were about 50% in getting the car off the line. Half the time it would 60' below 1.00 sec and the other half it would smoke the tires.  This winter we moved the fuel tank (3 gallons) as far forward as possible. Also installed a 1.69 low gear in place of the 1.80. The 2-20# fire bottles are as far forward as the cables will allow, We have a 40+# battery inside the nose piece. Also we run a 4.10 with a 33" tire.  We have some ballast installed as well. I can't imagine how much weight we would need out front on a shorter car. My goal is to run 4.50 in the 1/8 mile consistently .

[dreracecar]

Go to any Nostalgia meet and watch--the short cars all look cool but usually never make full hard passes--they are cool / fun but--- the long cars all stage up and rip it
Good Luck!

That statment is the biggest load of #### I have ever seen posted!!!

  As a chassie builder, If the car is built correctly, wheelbase is a non issue. I have been working on a 225" chassie (from a well know builder who people worship) that the owner has been fighting for years to get down the track consistantly. Just finnished front halfing it because everything was off