Drag Racing Discussions > Front Engine Dragsters

Budget rail

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SaltandPepper:
As a newbie myself here I don't have much to offer but I can chime in a little. Sounds to me you are looking for something very similar to what I have....165" FED with a 327 and 9 inch rear. When I took mine to have the chassis inspected the fella did tell me it was constructed of mild steel. This car was built in the 90s with very little upgrades till I got it and it has been a fun car to start with. I don't know what length you are considering but at 165" it fits in a 24' trailer very neatly with plenty of extra room for gear. I currently have the 9 inch out of it replacing gaskets, o rings, ect…and found that it is manufactured by Strange with 4.56 gearing. This size and setup of this FED has been very consistant and affordable to me. They are right about the size of the rear. Is not a lot of wiggle room and the 9 inch is very comfortable to me when in the seat....any bigger and I could see problems getting in and out of the car. As a beginner to this type of racing I have been pleased to get down to mid 9s my first year....most people dream of a 10 second car. Good luck with the build and post some pics of it. This forum has proved extremely valuable to me for info. I think the first words some of these guys uttered as a child was......horsepower.

rooman:
Apart from the weight factor the biggest advantage to using 4130 is the ability to step the frame rail diameter down in 1/8" increments. If you use  anything apart from DOM mild steel the wall thickness requirements preclude the ability to slip one tube inside the next size up unless you bore the larger tube and that is as much work as using 4130.

Roo

wideopen231:
IMO noway would I build with mild steel. Molly is lighter,easier to step down as Rooman pointed out. As one builder said steel is for tractors and molly for race cars. At half the weight its cheap performance gain and when you decide to get rid of it you will be able to sale and get little of your money back. Plus the moly for my car was around 1100 bucks and with me riding in it thats cheap IMO.

Kentucky Mark:
I appreciate everyone's input while I'm researching I only want to do this the right way

dreracecar:
Mild steel is a pain to use and has low resale value. Its heavy, some wall thickness does not meet spec, takes longer to fit. Legal CM telescopes together so it can be sleeved and step down in size. The only real disadvantage of Moly to the home builder is that it must be Tig welded and not wire feed so your fitment must be exelint and not just close. Mild also moves around a bunch when welding, if you dont understand the welding sequince , it will be bent before you put the car together and in a dragster the motor to rear end aliginmet MUST be dead on;
 You want a budget car, buy used, its around .35 on the dollar spent. Its gets you out there quickly and you will discover likes and dis-likes to help you plan on your next build. Two things to remember--- Get fully suited up and see if you fit (minor adjustments if needed) and make sure there is an SFI tag on it, the tag can be out of date which is fine because you know it still can be tagged

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