Potential FED Build

[Don Munyon]

Wow! I didn,t see that one coming. Bye bye

[Roger]

Back in the 70’s I had 2 different FEDs that used drum brakes. One had an 8 3/4 with Chrysler drum brakes with semi-metallic linings that ran 140+ and one had an 8 3/4 with 1962 Pontiac Bonneville drum brakes with semi-metallic linings that ran 150+. Both cars had iron BBC in them and I never had an issue with brake fade or any other brake problems. At the speeds you’d be running with your engines and as long as all the brake components are in good condition, I’d use them. They may be heavier that discs? but they are every bit as effective. And it ain’t got nothing to do with being cheap but more to do with being wise with your funds.

Looking at the parts you have maybe put one of your engines in with a Powerglide, buy a 4000rpm stall convertor and feed it to the 8 ¾ rear with a stock open rear end with original gears. Both my earlier FEDs used stock open carriers with 4.10 gears and the faster car would pull the front end up 10” and carry it for 60 or 70 feet and ran perfectly straight. I put a 300hp 350 in my 1600# altered with a 2100 stall convertor (totally wrong) and ran 6.81 @ 103mph in the 1/8th. It was so consistent that I made money with the car! No reason you can’t do the same and have a good time doing it.

[THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER]

I put a 300hp 350 in my 1600# altered with a 2100 stall convertor (totally wrong) and ran 6.81 @ 103mph in the 1/8th. It was so consistent that I made money with the car! No reason you can’t do the same and have a good time doing it.

Sometimes "totally wrong" is absolutely perfectly right.

Case-In-Point: I use 2.47 (totally wrong) rear end gears in my home built RPU. I wanted a car so easy to drive even a trained monkey could win with it. Hooks in a mudslide.
Two track championships. Nine wins in twelve final rounds before I retired it after proving my point.
Pass the bananas.

[dreracecar]

Back in the 70’s I had 2 different FEDs that used drum brakes. One had an 8 3/4 with Chrysler drum brakes with semi-metallic linings that ran 140+ and one had an 8 3/4 with 1962 Pontiac Bonneville drum brakes with semi-metallic linings that ran 150+. Both cars had iron BBC in them and I never had an issue with brake fade or any other brake problems. At the speeds you’d be running with your engines and as long as all the brake components are in good condition, I’d use them. They may be heavier that discs? but they are every bit as effective. And it ain’t got nothing to do with being cheap but more to do with being wise with your funds.

Looking at the parts you have maybe put one of your engines in with a Powerglide, buy a 4000rpm stall convertor and feed it to the 8 ¾ rear with a stock open rear end with original gears. Both my earlier FEDs used stock open carriers with 4.10 gears and the faster car would pull the front end up 10” and carry it for 60 or 70 feet and ran perfectly straight. I put a 300hp 350 in my 1600# altered with a 2100 stall convertor (totally wrong) and ran 6.81 @ 103mph in the 1/8th. It was so consistent that I made money with the car! No reason you can’t do the same and have a good time doing it.

  News Flash--- the 70's was over 40 years ago, when you could buy quality USA/OEM parts and they sold good racing shoes for drum brakes, Just because the packaging says "Performance" does not make it so. Like it or not my opinion on safety will never change

[Roger]

Hold on there a moment partner, my reply was to your reply that stated “Disc brakes are lighter and lower reciprocal weight than heavy drums that take time and HP to get going” and "Some people are not smart-just cheap". Let me remind you of some words spoken in this forum: “its more like why spend the money for somthing that is not needed.” I agree with that statement as well as you. You wrote it! For the speeds he’ll run in the 1/8 mile I stand by my words as long as all the brake components are in good condition so why spend more money if not needed.

And it’s now you bring up safety??? Safety should never have been an after-thought. Your assumption that quality products must be made in the USA is a personal opinion at best, unless of course you have documentation of such in the area of drum brake components. I checked and there are still both regular and semi-metallic brake shoes available off the shelf and there are several companies that can reline your core shoes with the bonded or riveted linings of your choice. Rest assured, my opinion of doing things safely will never change as well. And this comes from an old guy that actually climbs in and races his car down the track.

[dreracecar]

I have a greater responsibility ,  I load my friend into a car that I built and maintain, I'm the last one to shake his hand and the last person he sees going into the beams, Its that trust that he has in me that I provided the best for him.

  Yes , I have said that certain things are not nessasary , but were all performance enhancers that would offer no clear advantage and make the cost of racing go up.  You cant garentee that a racer given the option of purchasing brake parts will source out the correct type and material and chose by cost alone, even if that means driving across town to save $2.00. That being said, Does the racer have to buy his disc brake setup from M/W or LAMB?  NO, as they are a bit pricey, A set of Willwood's or Strange can be had, saving the racer a chunk of change and are the exact same system using the same materials and construction and one can expect the same life and performance levels

[crider]

Will a set of drum brakes stop a lightweight car at the speed you'll be running? Probably will, but for the few hundred bucks a set of wilwoods cost, do you really want to take that chance? And after buying good shoes, hardware, wheel cylinders and drums, how much will you really save? I can say after just rebuilding stock Mopar brakes on my 69 road runner 8 3/4 rear, that doing drum brakes correctly isn't all that cheap. And after having to spin a funny car out to stop it several years back because of having old Hurst brakes on it, you really do not want to take chances with the braking system. If you do want to save a few bucks, shop around for a good used set of drag racing brakes. Just my 2 cents,

[jeff/21]

i've used wilwood brakes on various projects, and on all my oval track cars with the proper sized master it's like having power brakes.

[lake_harley]

I guess I'm a least one step close to being in a position to start on a FED. I sold the '33 Willys project I had which frees up building space as well as some funds without continuing to dig into our "regular" money. My wife actually gives me pretty much free reign but I try not to abuse it.

I've also had in mind to build another hot rod, so I need to reach a decision on just exactly what I want out of my next project. A FED would be much simpler in terms of not requiring registration and licensing or all of the wiring and extra plumbing a street car would need, but then again I couldn't drive a FED to the convenience store to buy a cigar. 

Decisions, decisions......

Lynn

[225digger]

32 ford roadster {street car} would be what id build....... diggers are neat, but if i had to do it over again, roadster.....

[THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER]

32 ford roadster {street car} would be what id build....... diggers are neat, but if i had to do it over again, roadster.....

Like the Hot Rod mag "Limefire" highboy with a bolt-in roll cage to do both cruisin' and draggin'. 9-second e.t.s on a mild smallblock or 8s w/ more motor - season to taste.

[225digger]

Like the Hot Rod mag "Limefire" highboy with a bolt-in roll cage to do both cruisin' and draggin'. 9-second e.t.s on a mild smallblock or 8s w/ more motor - season to taste.

id go with something more basic, no hood, basic black, nothing super fancy, no fenders,  392 hemi, single 2 barrel, lakes with under body exhuast.... one of those old blanket seats.. some type of rag top... something that looks like its only a local car but you can get in and drive across country. i just dont think id be interested in even taking it down the track. id be more interested in back road driving

[lake_harley]

Well, it's been a bit over a year since my last post to this thread about a potential FED build. I flip-flop all the time about what might be my next project and yesterday a potential FED gained some ground. I was at the Pate Swap Meet at the Texas Motor Speedway and found and bought a pair of Anglia Spindles and a pair of 17" wire wheels that might very well be the spark to start on a ground-up FED build. Some might say that's just a crazy way to start but remember the saying, "From a tiny acorn a mighty oak grows"? I couldn't believe I even found the wheels and spindles among the acres and acres of parts and vendors. Maybe it was just fate? I'll go with that.

Lynn

[THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER]

Why not?
I built a touring tub hot rod from a set of rusty wood framed 1916 Maxwell doors.

[lake_harley]

Interesting sometime what the "seed" might be that gets a project started. In your case, doors...my T roadster started with a steering wheel, and the 1st part of the dragster project will be the front wires that will likely be the "seed".

Just wondering....the wire wheels have a name on the center caps that is a bit hard to make out, but I believe they say Unique Metal Products. In a search I found a company in CA by that name but most of what they do now appears to be off-road stuff, like for VW's. Does anyone know anything about Unique? I didn't see wire wheels as a current product on their website. I know I'll need to replace the bearings but likely those would be off-the-shelf sealed bearings from a good bearing supplier. Also the tires will need to be replaced and they're 2.25 X 17". I've looked a bit through motorcycle tires and found some that are S speed rated for up to 112 MPH I believe. According to the online calculators, the dragster I envision should run right about 100 in the 1/8 Mi.. I'd think the S speed rated tires would be fine but just curious about what others use. Anyone using other than all-out dragster fronts?

Lynn