Messages

1

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: Frame rail height on FED?

« on: November 02, 2020, 09:20:58 AM »

if you put the engine that far back and you have decent power, you're making your life more difficult than it needs to be. Mine is out about 45 inches and i still had to add over 80 lbs to the nose to control the wheelie. my frame rails are at minimum and oil pan is about 1/4" above the bottom of the frame rail. I have a blown SBC with about 800+ hp. 60 ft times are 1.0 with a 10.5w x 33 inch tire. I'm more about the car working good than looking completely authentic. Tires and tracks are a lot better than they were 50+ years ago. Back then they had to set the engines back in order to get any traction. Good luck, whatever you do. Allan

2

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: FED bounce problem.

« on: August 04, 2020, 12:46:43 PM »

You beat me to it...I was going to suggest the same thing.

3

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: new to the page

« on: July 21, 2020, 08:12:20 PM »

I understand that you have the skills and want to build the car but you can actually buy a very nice rolling chassis for less than the cost of the components required to build it. Ask me how I know. Best of luck and welcome, Allan

4

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: Potential FED Build

« on: December 27, 2019, 07:31:45 PM »

Thanks again to everyone for input and suggestions. There are obviously differing opinions like front suspension/no front suspension, 9" Ford/8 3/4" Chrysler, DOM/4130. I'm looking forward to getting started and hope the project cars I have that need to sell first find new owners soon. I'm taking all the suggestions seriously and hope that I make some wise choices as I develop a build plan.           If you have a good deal on the Mopar rear end, get it. I had one with a spool and 35 spline axles. At 4.80s in the eighth it was no problem. Chromoly tubing and a good set of plans to work off, you'll have a car you can sell when the time comes. Longer is better if you decide to add more power later. Good luck and have fun.

I did call the main steel supplier I used for my fabrication business today and got quotes on 3 of the sizes of tube I would need. Based on a rough estimate on the footage I would need of different sizes, it appears DOM would run about $150 to $200 less than 4130. I can pick up 4130 from Wicks Aircraft who is only about 1 1/2 Hr. from where I live. Not really a huge price difference.

Thanks.
 
Lynn

5

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: stage rpm vs stall and wheel speed

« on: December 17, 2019, 03:59:28 PM »

Maybe correct on steering.So far it seems not to have any effect of front wheels,reason I took to extreme when checking it.Plus steering seems to have zero bind in it. Heck I might screwed up and had rod ends in right location to help. If so it was at least 90% luck.Slip in front of motor is about same point as first rod end.

I thought when driving a FED you where always suppose to be on toes and ready to----------What was that thing.Oh yea drive the car.LOL  Sorry had thousand rearend guys tell me I would have to be driving all the way down track in FED vs RED just cruising down.My reply was"xxxx I thought that was what a driver did".

  My car is a home built chassis, built to 6.0 specs. 185" wheelbase, SBC, Powerglide with 1.67 low, 4.30 gear, 9 in converter that flashes to 5,500. MT 33x10.5w tires. Fuel cell, battery and fire bottle out front + about 84 lbs on the nose. It took about 10 test hits adding weight, adding tire pressure and raising the wheelie bar before we figured it out. Best results so far with 8psi. and no wheelie bar, LEAVING OFF IDLE, 1.06 sixty foot, 4.69 @143 shifting at 6,400 and lifting early.  Dead straight down the lane, not much driving involved. You do need to stay on your toes though because if anything goes wrong it will happen quick. I did try leaving off the brake once but it blew the tires off and shifted/hit the rev limiter without even moving so I guess I'll be leaving off idle. All our racing here is 1/8 mile. I'm probably going to change to a 390 gear so I could run a 1/4 mile. That should soften up my launch a little and then I can go with a bigger cam, more ignition timing AND make it through the 1/4 without running out of rpm. 

6

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: Chute weight.

« on: January 12, 2019, 09:54:05 AM »

If it ever starts to bounce you will wish you had the chute. Ask me how I know.

7

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: Spring upgrades....

« on: January 12, 2019, 09:51:11 AM »

Sounds like fun!

     These cars are lightweight and you won't need the cubic inches to go real fast. Personally I'd stay away from the longer stroke. I know there are several ways to do it but when you add the blower you won't need the longer stroke. Big bore/short stroke/long rod is a good way to go and 1000+hp is very VERY easily reached. Also with the blower you wont need to turn a lot of rpm. I only have 370" 10-1 compression with a street blower, no stripping and driven at 1-1 and shifting at 6,400 its running in the mid 4.70's eighth mile which is 7.60 qtr mile. Either way, be safe and have fun.

8

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: don't get and and one thing I like about most everyone here

« on: August 26, 2018, 08:48:40 AM »

I agree that the building/fabrication is 90% of the entertainment value. I got the SFI Spec, and built my chassis, narrowed the rear end, got everything aligned, did the sheet metal work, modified the fiberglass chute pack body, and then painted it. I also re-built the engine, changing over to aluminum rods and building the compression ratio that I wanted. I did have some highly qualified consultant help. Thanks to Foy Gilmore, Rooman. and the tech guys at Enderle who helped with the baseline tune-up. After a half dozen test hits we (my friend Brad Tidwell, aka Mongo) got it going straight and the last 3 passes were textbook straight runs.  4.90, 4,80, and the last one I think I kept my foot down all the way to the stripe LOL,  4.75 @ 146.  All our local racing is 1/8 mile. I don't know what I would do if not for the hobby.

9

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: calming the car down on the starting line

« on: July 19, 2018, 03:37:52 PM »

I have a home built chassis. Its 185", 4.30 gear, 1.69 low in trans, 33x10.5w, 370" Blown SBC, about 900 hp. 9", 5500 converter. We made a couple of test hits on the new chassis last fall and the car wanted to go right. This spring we made about 4 more test hits figuring out what it wanted. First I added 40 lbs to the nose (battery and fuel tank are up front also). Car was still going right at the hit. I raised the bar from 3" to 4.5" and added another 40 lbs to the nose. (the bar is about 66") the last three passes have been 4.90, and 4.80 with 1.09 sixty ft  and 4.75 with 1.08 sixty ft, leaving off idle and shifting at 6200. Oh and 7 psi in the slicks.      It sounds like your car is doing the same as mine did before adding the weight. Dont be afraid to add a weight bar. You've got to keep the front end down and you've got to get it up on the tire. Good luck! PS. Not sure how much faster I want to go...…..

10

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: rear gear choice

« on: July 11, 2018, 04:52:48 PM »

My SBC is making around 950 or so (calculated hp, not dyno)  I just have a few runs on my new homemade chassis, a half dozen launches and 3 almost full 1/8 mile runs.  Naked it weighs 1300 and I had to add #80 to the nose. I weigh 185 suited up...so 1565lbs.total. My converter is at 5500 on the brake. The last 3 runs, leaving off the foot brake, with a 4.30 gear were 4.90, 4.80 and 4.75, with 1.08-1.09 sixty ft. Car is 185".  I said 3 almost full runs because I haven't yet seen the finish line and I was lifting early until the last run LOL. Now I can turn up the timing and start adding boost.

11

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: Cooling system upgrade...

« on: June 16, 2018, 06:30:34 AM »

I've been following your progress, watching from the back of the room so to speak. Congrats on your progress, sounds like you're having fun and doing it the sensible way. I just have 2 things for you to think about.   #1. I'm not sure what temp you're looking for but a warmer engine will burn the fuel better and make more HP.  180 Deg. is just warmed up.  #2. Chromoly tubing used for building chassis and wheelie bars is annealed and will bend and take a set, just not as easily as mild steel and theres nothing wrong with straightening it out and going again. I've done a wheelie in my (other car) and bent the bars like a rocker on a rocking chair, straightened them out and continued on. Anyways...…..have fun and be safe. Allen

12

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: Grow Nostalgia Racing.

« on: November 27, 2017, 09:06:01 AM »

That would be great if everyone could agree on a set of rules for heads up racing. All this Index racing that everyone is doing is really just a bracket race with everyone having the same dial in. Competition it is, Racing it is not.  We nostalgia racers are so spread out that its pretty hard to get together.

13

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: LOVE me some nitro!

« on: November 07, 2017, 07:16:14 AM »

When you go to a blown setup, you won't need the Nitro. I have a very VERY mild blown deal, only 370" @ 10-1 compression and with -10% underdrive went 4.89 the first time I stepped on it. That was shifting at only 6,200 and lifting well before the stripe.   I'm only telling you this, hoping to encourage you to spend your money on a supercharger instead of fuel. With a little overdrive and on a better track I think I should see some 4.40's or better. SOoooo, start looking for a decent 6-71 and you'll really get a kick out of it.  Have fun, be safe.

14

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: fed weight

« on: September 07, 2017, 08:15:16 PM »

1300 lbs is nice and light. Our 225" wb Heritage JF car with an all iron 400 ci SBC weighs 1445 WITH our driver.  No blower. We run 7.0's with a best of 190 mph on pure alky.
So you are happy with your MSD distributer ?  All the Heritage JF teams find they need MSD mag's either 12amp or like us 20 amp, with no problems. We moved up to the 20 amp when we started running more compression and more fuel to keep it from missing.  We run the 20 amp in my SBC and the Gene Adams built Hemi. How big a battery do you need running the dist ? No battery needed with MSD or Mallory mags. Only battery needed in JF is a one pound battery to run the transbrake and RacePak.
Good luck with your new chassis.

   I haven't run the MSD -10 before, only 2 starting line hits and a Sunday drive down the track yesterday.  So I don't have enough experience to say if I like it or not. MSD said "the -10 box is only second in output to our 44 amp mag"  I'm not able to test that claim.   I have a 44 amp mag and a SuperMag 5 but I wanted to keep stuff off the front of this engine just for a clean old school look.  With my engine out 43" I'm thinking I probably can use the weight of the battery way out front.  Plus it looks like I'll have to add weight to the nose anyway (starting at 40 lbs)  (later, I may stretch this car to 210 inches).   Previously I have used a motorcycle battery in a different car and it had plenty of reserve for a MSD-3 and other accessories. Anyways, it looks as if I'll have to make a few hits to get up on the learning curve.  What compression ratio is your hemi and do you run alky or Nitro or a mix? 

15

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: fed weight

« on: September 05, 2017, 03:27:07 PM »

Weighed my new car today and aligned the front end with the help of a friend.  185" car, 370" blown aluminum SBC, and a glide'. I had guessed it would weigh "about 1300". Well how about exactly 1300 without wheelie bar (or front spoiler, which I haven't fabricated yet). I only have one 10lb fire bottle but the MSD-10 box and coil are heavy.  (couldn't believe how much heavier than a -7 box and coil)