Drag Racing Discussions > Front Engine Dragsters

Chassis support

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arush:
Thanks Dave.

glofria:
My thought would be an inner-tube. Any opinions on that?

GlennLever:
I am not sure you would get enough support that way.

rooman:

--- Quote from: glofria on December 02, 2016, 05:19:45 PM ---My thought would be an inner-tube. Any opinions on that?

--- End quote ---

Gino,
        the problem with an inner tube is that it does not have enough structural rigidity and will simply bulge somewhere else under load. That is why the commercial support bags are molded out of very thick rubber and shaped the way they are.
 
 With Mark Vaught's car we solved two problems at once. He has a trailer with a fairly severe dovetail and his 225" car will not  make it over the break over angle at ride height. I made a loading dolly pretty much like the ones that I built for some of the big show T/F teams that needed to get a 300" car onto a 180" (or so) lift gate. It is a tubular frame with casters mounted on lengths of 1" Acme thread. To load the car you pin the dolly to the chassis just ahead of the motor, run the casters down with a ratchet or 1/2" drill (much quicker and less work) and roll the car into the trailer. Once the car is in place run the screws back up leaving a little preload on the frame, tie the car down and you are good to go. I am not sure that I have any photos but will try to find some and post them. This deal also has the advantage of being able to turn the car around in its own length (if you are willing to fight the spool).

Roo

AF150:
This is a serious problem. More dragsters are damaged riding in the trailer than racing.
We used the same technique as Dusterdave with the addition of tie-down rings in the trailer floor near the front of the engine. Used ratchet tie-downs from the front engine mounts to the floor on each side. Also air up the slicks to 10-12lbs. This keeps the chassis from flexing even on rough roads. This worked on a 200" FED w/ a blown Chrysler for over 7 years.  Easy chassis dolly can be made from a Harbor Freight trailer dolly (about $65). Sure helps loading & unloading.

Mike

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