Drag Racing Discussions > Front Engine Dragsters

Potential FED Build

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lake_harley:
My first post here on the FED forum will serve 2 purposes.....

First, a brief intro. I'm 67 years young and have been around cars and motorcycles most of my adult life. I did a little bit of drag racing when I was in my late teens, got more interested in hot rods and a few British sports cars, eventually came back to dirt circle track racing with a street stock and a UMP modified, and have recently been smitten with hot rods again; specifically a T roadster and a '31 Model A coupe. But....there's been a hankering in the back of my mind for a FED ever since I bought my first Hot Rod magazine at age 12 in 1964 that had a very in-depth article on Don Gartlit's dragster. All of that brings me to today....considering ground-up building a mild (short by today's standards) FED for bracket racing at a local 1/8th mile track.

So, with that, the second part is asking some questions that I have in my mind going into a possible build.

I'm currently thinking a car with a 125" to 132" wheelbase to mimic the look of what a lower class dragster would have been when I was in my teens in the 60's and into the early 70's. I currently have a mild 350 SBC as well as a mild 327 SBC in my shop. Either might be in the 275-300 HP range on a dyno....I'd hope. I also have two Powerglides, one from a running, driving car that was being resto-modded, and another as a core.

I'm torn between building with chrome moly tubing vs DOM. I'm a competent fabricator and welder, having had a steel fabrication business for about 15 years prior to "mostly" retiring. I know a chrome moly car will be about 50 to 60# lighter, but there's a trade off on cost (slight, really) and having to TIG everything. I do TIG weld, and pretty nicely if I say so myself.

Budget would be a consideration, not that I couldn't spend a fair amount on the car, but realistically it will probably only be raced 6-8 times a year at the local 1/8th mile track at Sikeston MO.

I've seen some discussion about solid mounted front axles vs torsion suspended front ends and wondered if it would be a HUGE mistake to keep the front end simple and just go solid?

I'd likely go with a 9" Ford, that I could narrow the housing and have axles re-splined, or I already have a couple 8" Fords that would likely be plenty strong for a 300 HP, light car. With the 8" Ford rearend, I'd have to buy short aftermarket axles, likely from Moser. Some reading I've done has talked about setting up a "tight" rearend by shimming the spiders really tight rather than using a posi or running a spool. Is that a viable option?

I'm also wondering about smaller things, one example for now.....foot brake the car or run a trans brake? Current thinking is foot brake would just keep the car a bit simpler.

I would likely buy the appropriate SFI construction guildlines that apply to FED's, and although my car wouldn't likely be fast enough (thinking maybe low to mid 7's in the 1/8 Mi.) to need to be certified I might choose to build per guidelines to make the car: A) safe, and B) more re-sellable someday after I've had some fun.

Quite honestly, I don't have strong desire to even drive the car, but always have taken pleasure from the build itself, and would enjoy just seeing the car compete. Heck, I built an airplane that a friend test-piloted a couple times but I've never flown it, and I'm happy enough that I reached my goal of building an airplane. ;D

So, I'll wrap it up at that for now. I'd appreciate input and opinions about some of the questions I have currently. I'm sure there will be more.

I appreciate being approved for the forum and look forward to being an active part of it.

Lynn

crider:
Welcome aboard, these cars are a blast to drive. Here's my personal take on it, I would build the chassis from molly and to the sfi spec, just for the sake of being able to sell it later on down the road. If it were for sale the first question 90% of potential buys will ask is, is the chassis certified. It will be a hard sell for very little money if it won't pass. As for the rear end, I would stick with a 9" for several reasons, number one being parts availability. It's also easy to make the anti rotation mount and to mount up a cover for the trans coupler. As for the question of trans brake or not, in my area at least they don't allow center steer cars in the foot brake classes, so that is something to consider. I'm sure some guys with more knowledge than me will chime in soon. And most of all have fun and enjoy the build

lake_harley:
Thanks, crider.  I openly admit to being out of touch, so thanks for the info on center steer cars (dragster?altered/funny car?) not being allowed to compete in foot brake classes. I take it that pretty much mandates a trans brake, or is a hand/handle operated brake allowed? I'm guessing not?

Lynn

jeff/21:
Hi!
I don' know if it's still the same but it use to be that dragsters with a 120"wheel base or less had to have suspension, ours 130" no suspension
i've found that short cars wide front axle makes car stable even on temp strips set-up at airports or streets
 9" ford all kinds of parts
powerglide use a input shaft made to use a turbo 350 torque greater choice used and off the shelf
build it to SFI specs

best of luck and Merry Christmas

THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER:
My opinion:

132" or greater

327 for the purists. With the right converter you won't miss the extra 23 ci of a 350 and the 327 will rev higher.

4130 chassis to SFI cert specs.

I like torsion F.E. (The first time you stand it up in the air on the line you'll appreciate it.)

9" w/ spool

Hand AND foot brake levers. Foot allows 2 hands on the wheel; hand allows precision staging.

trans brake; you can always disconnect it.

I know I probably just added another grand or two to the build but it will be fun to drive, more competitive, and have a higher resale value so you will recoup some of the up-front investment.

Good luck and Merry Christmas.

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