New to the page

[amattsaintx]

I'm new here. My name is Alex. I've been doing a lot of research on front engine dragsters and it led me here. I was in contact with a builder to have a chassis built several years ago and then life got in the way (we got a surprise when we found out the wife was pregnant with our 2nd). We now have 3 which I never would have expected. I switched jobs last year and I'm finally to a point where I have the time and funds to build a dragster. Looking forward to researching ideas here. I have 2 drag strips within 30 min of me. Ohio Valley in Louisville Ky and US60 in Hardinsburg Ky. I've never owned a racecar but have always wanted one. FEDs seem like an affordable(not cheap) way to go fast and they're just a lot cooler than any other racecar. I am very mechanically inclined but do not know much about racing and racecars specifically.. I think it will be a fun adventure for me and the family.

So far ideas for a build are a roller from The Chassis Farm. I spoke to the Davin when I was first going to build a car and he was very helpful. I fully intend to give him my future business. I plan to build what I would consider a "convenient" racecar. As in it will run off pump gas, have a radiator, battery, onboard electric starter, and alternator. As of right now I'm leaning toward a 383 sbc with world motown 220 heads, a Dyers 6-71, carbs, and a powerglide. I don't intend on being super competitive but you never know once you get into it. Mainly looking to have fun and I just really enjoy projects. My oldest daughter is about to turn 4 and watches drag racing with me all the time so I know she will love it.

I'm working a lot of OT until the end of the year so that will give me a good jump start on funds. Looking to probably put the money down on the chassis in Jan/Feb 2021. I'll be researching until then.

I look forward to meeting everyone and learning a lot.

[headslide]

                                                             
ALEX
   looks like we are from the same area i too race at us60 and the valley .i to am just building a fed 200 inch SBC with a glide .looking to have it done in the spring . good to have you on the page 

                                                                                                         Brian Reynolds             

[amattsaintx]

                                                             
ALEX
   looks like we are from the same area i too race at us60 and the valley .i to am just building a fed 200 inch SBC with a glide .looking to have it done in the spring . good to have you on the page 

                                                                                                         Brian Reynolds           

Awesome. Once I get going and have some parts to keep me busy I may try to get together with you. I have a ton of questions. Mainly cockpit layout and a few other things.

[Paul New]

Welcome as far as style there are a lot of thoughts out there of what is right.  First item is how fast do you want to go, how big of a crew do you have, then it comes down to what you want your car to look like such as low, mid, or high seat car.

[Curly1]

I would recommend buying a nice rolling chassis with a good pedigree. There are many cars out there that are not safe or competitive and if you are not careful you could build another.
One of the things I have learned about mine is it takes longer to dial them in. I went through 5 different tire combinations and some major chassis changes to get mine working good. Also what works good on my car may not work as well on others because they are all so different. A Front Engine Dragster has a lot of chassis flex to get it to work good and there is no suspension. That makes tire selection and set up important. I have changed engine angle and then went back later and stiffened chassis. Now it works pretty good. I use weight up in the nose to tune it for wheelies. With 25 Lbs on the nose I can pick tires up 6 inches and carry it out 6 feet. By removing it I can pick up front tires 4 feet and carry it out 80 feet or more. Wheelbase, horsepower, torque converter, chassis stiffness, overall weight and weight distribution, tire size and compound all have to work together. 
these are some of the reasons few are the same.  If you have anyone of those off it may be hard to make it work. Once again I recommend buying a good known working car. If you do talk to them and look at their run logs. If they have a bunch of aborted runs then run don't walk.
With that said a front engine car an Altered or Front Engine Dragster are way more fun to drive than other cars. I have bought a new Altered and will be running it next year. Mainly because the 225 inch dragster is a pain to load and unload and with altered drive it in, strap it down and go and I can use my shorter trailer which is a huge plus where I live. After I get the new one ready my dragster may go up for sale.

[Mikecc6]

Alex welcome to the page.  I have a new, never completed CenPen (the name of Chassis Farm dragsters under prior owner) 180” rolling chassis with chute packer body that I am contemplating selling.  If you are interested let me know. Mike

[dusterdave173]

Alex go look at that deal--I had a Cenpen and it did great--some minor drawbacks but no more than any other and sonce some of us have built one from scratch we can help on a Cenpen a Lot--Mine was a 200 in--would have got a 180 but bought what I got a deal on--My pal has a 180  between us we can help you a lot--a 180 is perfect for hauling, in the shop, and plenty long enough to drive good--with a simple 350 sbc alky injected mid 5's easy as pie, with good heads converter and 20% nitro they will run 4.90 1/8ths easy--Do not underestimate running an FED--You NEED at least one dedicated crew member--that is not the wife--one that can push etc They are almost impossible to run without help--good help that learns with you as you both get the hang of it--

Go look at that car --get it home and we can help you every step of the way

[JrFuel Hayden]

a couple of things [1] a freind of mine bought a used Parks FED JR 225" put a LS motor on race gas, single card, hyd lifters and won 3 Heritage NE-1 [ 760 bracket] Championships . At least one time that I know of he raced with out his Dad crew member, because his Dad was off helping his other son rac a Honda powered altered in Comp at Sonoma . so Dustin just drove his dragster to the staging lanes after driving the rail out of his trailer , raced then drove to the ET booth to get his ET slip , drove back to his pit, drove it back into the trailer all by himself AND won the event . All with a flywheel started and on board batt. Again winning with no crew member.
[2] we have had a Heritage JrFuel racer run with a John Worm , CenPen 180" chassis and a all iron SBC injected alky running in JF "C" [ 7.14[ handi-cap] but his engine sit low in the chassis [ stock SBC oil pan] so he runs 18" front wheels and 33" tall slicks to get more ground clearance.  Another NE-2 racer that raced with a CenPen car , but he had John Worm angle the rear-end so the engine was higher.
Jon, Hayden Wheels 800-624-3803

[THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER]

Jon, does that car have a cooling system?

[Supercat]

I drive mine at the track. After the run I quick pack the chute into the seat hop back in on tip of the chute hit the starter and go get my slip and drive back to my pit.
Low 7  192mph injected alcohol, iron 462 FED.
I like the self reliance as generally it is just my wife and I and sometimes just me.
I have transported many Cen-Pen dragster kits for John.  We even had one (180") for a while. We sold it as we had to many projects at that time.
Good luck with your search

[amattsaintx]

The more research I do, the more it looks like its going to be exponentially cheaper to just buy a complete car.

[THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER]

One with a recent chassis cert is a BIG plus.

[diesel tech]

have one for sale! pro built, 210" 6.0  all certs current. very nice car, best 7.80 . will sell frame to complete operation. 908-406-6601 mike. please leave a message. 

[Curly1]

The more research I do, the more it looks like its going to be exponentially cheaper to just buy a complete car.

ABSOLUTELY! When I built mine it cost a lot. Probably put $30,000 in car not including Engine, Transmission and Data Logger which I already had. I spent thousands on stainless steel hoses and fittings alone, everything adds up and and it is not cheap. Chassis, wheels, wiring, tires paint, rear end, steering box man it gets expensive quick.  Now I did build mine different than most which added a lot to the cost. I have a radiator, water pump, alternator, fan, big transmission cooler, dual remote oil filter, and more so I can bracket race it and hot lap it. That makes it more expensive and heavier than typical FED.

There is a few decent looking cars on Racingjunk right now and mine may be for sale after Christmas. Like I said in other post make sure the car works good as is. No aborted runs and capable of winning races AND SAFE!
I have seen some cars that could not get down the track under full power.
A FED is a total blast to drive but it is a balance of weight, power, Traction, horsepower and must all work together just right.