Home brew cars

[Robert Swartz]

Going forward here. I have a 66 Chevy II, it was last run in 1988. Presently, I'm in the process of refurbishing/updating the old warbeast for an eventual return to racing. When it last ran, it was a 10.90 @ 122 mph car.

My only concern is, at what point do I need to be concerned with the car tech wise? It has been tubbed, old heavy steel tubs at that. Has a 10 pt cage, built over 25 years ago. I will have to acquire new belts, looking at other cars today and the rule books, I'll need to move the crotch strap mount. We are currently, replacing the old ladder bar SU with a new Alston 4-link and a fabbed CE 9" Also, an upgrade to a fuel cell and disc brakes on the front are on the docket as well.

The car never had any problems going straight or doing anything goofy. Don't anticipate any problems this time around. Anything special I should address now? It would be better to fix any potential tech problem now than a year or so down the road when I show up somewhere with the car!

[Bob Verwold]

The best thing to do is keep the rule book handy the whole time your getting the car ready....I do think I would go with disc brakes on all four corners, had drums on the back of my 64 and they seemed to fade after a few passes so went to disc and everything worked fine after that..........Living in Ind you might ck out Moser for the rear end.

[Robert Swartz]

Originally Posted by Bob Verwold

The best thing to do is keep the rule book handy the whole time your getting the car ready....I do think I would go with disc brakes on all four corners, had drums on the back of my 64 and they seemed to fade after a few passes so went to disc and everything worked fine after that..........Living in Ind you might ck out Moser for the rear end.

Bob,

We've considered disc's on the rear. With a 9", could look for factory parts. Did you go with Wilwoods or Aerospace or some such? I already have finished the housing, it's cut and been fitted, all the brackets are welded, except for wheelie bars. When I replace the spool and axles, will go with Moser pieces.

As for the rear drums. It's one of those things, never had any problems with the car stopping in the past. I imagine, this suspension upgrade will liven the car up? I was discussing this with my buddy the other nite. With the old ladder bar SU, which was too short and never really right. When the car was originally assembled, in 1979, the guy that built it for me, had good intentions, his experience was based on the only other car he ever built. Which did hold an IHRA record at the time. The car left hard, went straght and tracked well. Just never reacted like I thought a car should, based solely on what I saw similar cars do.

So, now 20 years later, I'm attempting to fix the "sins of the past".

[Bob Verwold]

I went with the Wilwood and got the drilled rotors. Running S/ST on occasion I use the brakes on the big end (NOT slamming them on but easing to slow down some) As far as the car leaving strong that's just a stout gear away! Good luck

[Bryan Gillespie]

most of the pain in the as@ rules don't start till you hit 135mph.

[sst3447]

be careful of the tubing used for the cage have it checked for thickness , my car was done in the early 80's and the tubing was only 114 thick . the rules state that it nees to be 118 and i had to recage the car to pass certification to run faster than 10sec or 135 mph i would also go with disc brakes on all 4 corners ,i run wilwood it works great and very reliable

[Robert Swartz]

Thanks for the replys guys. Yeah, I've started to ponder the cage for awhile. Mine is even more of boondoggle. It originally started out as a 5 point, old lakewood rollbar, circa 1979. Then in 1983, I had it converted into a full 10 point cage.

As far as times, we have alot of 1/8 mile tracks, So, the 10 flat/9.99 barrier seems to be the point at which one hits the wall rulewise. One of the local tracks told me, once your car runs a 6.39 (1/8 mile), we'll start looking at teching you, until then, you're fine. I do have my barometer.