New Guy love FED but clueless and scaried

[Reebs]

Hey I'm new here.
Odd how I found the site, I probably Google FED plans once a week just to see if there are any plans out there and I found this page.
Long story short of my interest in FED. My daughter asked me to draw a race car for her so I drew a FED she said "that's not a car" and I said when I was a kid I drew these all the time. That has given me the bug to build one and it has been with me a few years.
I'm 50 years old and want to build one someday but I have to admit they scare me. I plan to speed time at the track this year paying attention to the few FED around (I do a little bracket racing with my 70 skylark)
I have e-mailed and talk to several of the names one this board about FED, this seems like a nice place to learn.
My ignorance will show with each post and thread.

[wideopen231]

  First off someday is to far away. Take it from 47 yearold time goes by way to xxxx fast. I started mine 2 years ago and due to slow cash flow Im still building. Funny ting we never see how fast life goes by till a lot of it is gone.

  Dude not to be smartbutt.There is no time like the present. Mark Willams sales blue prints if you need them. Lots of guys build FED's.  There is nothing to scared of. These things are lot safer than the old designs of the early sixties. Email me at wydopn2312@yahoo.com if would like to chat some one updated design.

  Come on over to dark side where men drive cars that the little rearengine guys dare to tread near.Besides the more FED's out there the better.

[afaulk]

  Hi and welcome! These FEDs are a lot of fun, very safe and cheaper to build and run than any door car. Since they are such lightweights, it doesn't take much hp to make them go and it doesn't take a big trailer and truck combo to pull one around.  A true 375 hp small block anything, if geared right will put you into the low 9s in the quarter, high 5s in the 1/8 on pump gas. Lots of folks are scared to sit on top of the differential but in reality it's the strongest part of the car. Just climb in one and you're hooked! 

[GlennLever]

A friend of mine showed me a visual of time passing that really brought it home for me.

He pulled out a tape measure and pulled it out to 63 inches and said, Glenn, this is how much time has passed you by at this point. Then he pulled it out to 82 inches and said you will be lucky if you are still as active as you are today at this point. 18 inches compared to the 63 that have passed looked very short to me.

Make the most of the time you got, go for it.

I started racing five years ago in a 78 Firebird and have not looked back.

I have had a huge amount of fun in the FED I have now. My wife is my crew cheif ant that couldn't be better.

In the PM I sent you when you signed up was this message

We have great resources here on Front Engine Dragsters.

We have three gentlemen that have stepped up to host questions in their particular area of expertise.

In the Technical category you will find;

Spuds Miller’s Cave where you can ask questions of and get answers from Spud Miller of Fuel Injection Enterprises (Fuel and Ignition).

Roo Man's Room where you can Ask questions of and get answers from Keith Burgan of Roo Man Motor Sports / Vintage Racing Supply (Steering, Suspension, Chassis, Fabrication, Racing History)

Matt Shaff's Engine Shop where you can ask questions of and get answers from Matt Shaff of Pro-Formance Specialties (Engine)

These are great resources unique to this forum, and free to members of the forum.
If I can help with any forum issues let me know

Glenn R. Lever
autoshop@rochester.rr.com

There are many others here that will help.

Start tonight. start your build thread  here on the forum under "Your Builds / Photo Gallery" we will all watch and help you along the way.

One other thing, as far as being safe, if you build it correctly, and NHRA and IHRA will make sure you do. they are safer that a door car as they are long and want to go straight.

[AF150]

Good to have you aboad...I've been hooked on FEDs about 50 years. There is no better racecar to
me. Plans are available from Mark Williams, S & W, Parks,Tuttle and maybe Rooman and others. They
also sell kits, which is a much safer approach for a newbie. Also, there are always a bunch of good
used units out there...several on racejunk.com every day.

If you buy a roller with a current chassis certification, it will be a pretty good challenge to get an engine, tranny, plumb it, wire it, hook up all the controls and safety stuff, truck, trailer and learn
how to operate & drive it. That should occupy you for a year or two. Then if you decide to build one
from scratch ... you will probably know enough to do a better job. Good people in this sport. They
will help you with any direction you decide to go.         Just my $.02.

[GlennLever]

Good to have you aboad...I've been hooked on FEDs about 50 years. There is no better racecar to
me. Plans are available from Mark Williams, S & W, Parks,Tuttle and maybe Rooman and others. They
also sell kits, which is a much safer approach for a newbie. Also, there are always a bunch of good
used units out there...several on racejunk.com every day.

If you buy a roller with a current chassis certification, it will be a pretty good challenge to get an engine, tranny, plumb it, wire it, hook up all the controls and safety stuff, truck, trailer and learn
how to operate & drive it. That should occupy you for a year or two. Then if you decide to build one
from scratch ... you will probably know enough to do a better job. Good people in this sport. They
will help you with any direction you decide to go.         Just my $.02.

X2

[tylercrawford]

If you buy a roller with a current chassis certification, it will be a pretty good challenge to get an engine, tranny, plumb it, wire it, hook up all the controls and safety stuff, truck, trailer and learn how to operate & drive it. That should occupy you for a year or two. Then if you decide to build one from scratch ... you will probably know enough to do a better job. Good people in this sport. They
will help you with any direction you decide to go.         Just my $.02.

If you don't have much experience than this is definitely the way to go.  Much easier than building a car from scratch . . .

I've been around race cars for a number of years in almost every type of racing and even did the clutch in two nitro funny cars and was still unprepared for everything with the dragster starting from a pile of tubing on the floor.  There's a lot of little stuff that you can skip over if you buy a frame already done or a complete FED ready to go and really if you don't have the time or shop availability to do it then you are better off.

[buickfed]

I passed one up about 10 yrs ago. finally got a roller 2 yrs at age 60. door cars are okay, but when I first tried the fed out in my driveway, it was the right race car for me. just too cool. and I run a buick 350 engine in it that eventually will have a blower on it. loving every minute of it.

[BCCOWANWEELS]

START OFF WITH A SIMPLE LOW MAINT. ENGINE/TRANS COMBO. YOU,LL BE SURPRISED HOW FAST A 10-1 ,350 CHEVY,MILD HYD CAM AND 750 HOLLEY WILL GO. ALSO THE CAR SHPULD BE AS CLOSE TO 225" WHEEL BASE AS POSSIBLE, ITS ALOT EASYIER TO DRIVE AND ALOT SAFER.
BOB IN TN.

[Curly1]

I drive an Altered and it was evil when I got it. An FED is easier to drive. My Altered had issues and problems but I got them sorted out and it is a Blast to drive. A good FED should not be as hard to drive and it does not take much power at all to make them haul.
My car weighs 1675 with me in it and does 8.20's in the 1/4. And my motor is a very mild 434 with less than 650 Hp. Many FED's are lighter than that so it does not take much.  I agree a good flat top 355 would surprise you and you would like it. Nothing quite like sitting over the rear with motor in front of you and making a good pass.
As for being scared I do not think that is the right word, you need to be alert and on your toes and ready to get out of it if needed. If you ever have to get out of it do not jump on it again. Just ease into it and drive on down the track for another day.

On my car I went from single rear brakes to 4 wheel brakes and also added another set of rear brakes with hand brake. I of course have a parachute if needed.

Every now and then a decent FED will pop up on Racingjunk for a decent price and if possible that is what I would do get a complete or as complete as possible On any car much of the cost is the little things, fuel pump, fuel lines, wiring, etc and if you can get one with most of that done it will save you a bunch of time and money.

[wud73]

I've been struggling to get a car together for years and just now am getting close. That's because I  have went about it ALL the wrong way.

To make it short....I would try to buy a done car, at least a roller.  I see cars on the internet that are selling for about 40 cents on the dollar (would be my guess).  What a huge savings!!  Not to mention precious TIME!

I would avoid any old, 1960's car that doesn't have a current chassis sticker on it.  The old cars can have so much incorrect (diameters, placement, heights, etc.) that they can hardly be made to certify....cheaper, cleaner, safer to avoid the whole mess. (ask me how I know)

Also, be aware that different chassis inspectors don't always agree (especially true between different NHRA divisions).  A car with a current or just expired sticker may not satisfy the next official that inspects it.  Then it's back to the drawing board....weld, cut, etc.  (ask me how I know).

If I were buying a car with any doubt, I would try to make the deal contingent on the car passing chassis inspection in my home division....even if I had to pay for the recertification myself.  (yes, ask me how I know).

If you get a car that won't sticker you will be lucky to get a sand-dragger to take it off your hands.  (sadly, ask me how I know).


Finally, I developed the habit of getting on ebay or the drag cites (or going to a swap meet) and buying junk with no real plan (regarding the part).  Yea, got lots of cool old stuff but, geez, what a waste of money.

SO, there's all the brainless mistakes I've made.

If money and time are an issue (when isn't it?)  Have you though about a partnership?  I know a couple guys that split the cost and get twice as much work done.....one weekend John Doe drives and the other crews / next weekend Joe Blow drives, etc.  They have a lot of fun.

What about making an offer on a hometown car?  ...one that you know and the track officials know?  Racers are often dreaming of that next project, higher class, lower ET.....might just get a handshake.  Since you're new, the old owner may be very friendly to the idea of coaching and helping you with his old car.

Well, anyway, please avoid the dumb things I've done and good luck.

[wideopen231]

sounds like your experiance with buying car disproves everyones advice when I started building my FED and for some of the reason I did build. Older cars are cool but they lack some in being stup for best end result. I wanted to incorporate a few things older cars would not have had and wanted to build it.For me the build is as much or more fun then the ride.IMO nothing cooler then winning in car you built and with motor you built.

[Racing6]

friend of mine wanted a FED real bad, looked for a long time. Money being biggest problem finally found an old car sitting in a garage for over 10 years, bought it, I helped him bring it up to racable condition. The engine was worn out the trans was worn out, but all in all a good car. we had an engine (pretty much stock) and we rebuilt the trans (powerglide) Put a radiator on it, and run the xxxx out of it. Mostly a wash and race type car. Enjoyed it so much went out and got me one too. I've been racing all my life (61 years old now) and this has got to be one of the cheapest and most fun experiences I've had the pleasure to do. So do it you will not regret it. This site has people that have the experience and are willing to help   

[Curly1]

Here is a few that I think are interesting. From mild to wild, good luck with your search.
http://www.racingjunk.com/Nostalgia/182132979/FED-for-sale.html
http://www.racingjunk.com/Nostalgia/182125555/1995-Front-Engine-Dragster.html
http://www.racingjunk.com/Nostalgia/182121963/-F.E.D.-.html
http://www.racingjunk.com/Nostalgia/182116219/FED-Front-Engine-Dragster-w-Trailer-.html

[cj92345]

I never even sat in a FED until I was 50....until I bought it...lol, mine's only a 10.0 car.... took about 5 pass's to run it all out the full 1/4, but man it's fun, oh and 70 buick bracket racer here to.