I'm Gonna Build A Dragster!

[Bonehead]

Looks great Bob, what are you notching with?

 

[bob w]

I found the Ford Courier master cylinder I took out of my Anglia a few years ago and used a vintage hand brake lever given to me by Tator (on RRR). The dragster will only have a hand operated brake. Works better for staging and launching a sitck shift car.
Bonehead, I used a tubing notcher for notching all the tubing. That sounds redundant! Everyone sells them and they work great. I borrowed Tator's notcher for this project. It uses a hole saw blade without the center drill and clamps in a drill press.

 

[bob w]

This is a 1930-something Chevy truck steering box that was in my International for a while. It is a pretty small Saginaw unit but still weighs quite a bit. Free though. It took a lot of bracketing to make it stable.

 

[bob w]

The unit was made into a center steer by cutting the spline end off the original pitman arm and welding it on the end of a chunk of tubing. The tubing, which was part of my Anglia's original roll bar, is sized so a socket will fit inside to tighten the pitman nut. I made a new pitman arm out of 1/4" flat stock and put in a tapered eye that I got from an old Pacer steering arm. I recently took a Pacer front end out of a neighbor's '40 Ford and installed a Mustang II.

 

[bob w]

The front view shows the lengthened pitman shaft (tubing) and more of the bracing. I'm reaching the point where I can't do much more without an engine and transmission.

 

[35Mastr]

Looking good Bob.When you gettin the motor and trans?

 

[Gastrick]

Man you're working fast. Looks good.

 

[moronthethrottle]

Looks great Bob, what are you notching with?

I think Bonehead is wondering if you are using a "speedy notcher" or something similar? I've used them...kind of quirky, but they get the job done.

 

[bob w]

Not a lot to show. I learned that the battery needs to be in a sealed box because there is no firewall between the driver's compartment and the battery. The battery is going behind the seat. I put two square tube crossmembers in to hold the box and the battery.

 

[bob w]

The bolts on the battery hold down are real long and thread into the tapped holes in the tabs on the two crossmembers. That way it's NHRA legal.

 

[bob w]

My air shear died recently so I cut the 18 ga. sheetmetal with a cutoff wheel in an angle grinder. Then I welded all the pieces together and ground the welds smooth. I don't have a sheetmetal brake so the top was formed the old fashioned way; clamped it to the bench with a piece of bar stock and hammered the lip all around. There are tabs on the box ends to hold the cover tight. It is supposed to be a sealed box with a vent in the bottom. I'll add a rubber strip inside the cover to make a good seal and I need to put two grommeted holes in for the battery cables.

 

[donsrods]

How many hours a day do you have up there in Stillwater??? Every time you post it is like a major step. Very cool Bob.


Don

 

[Thunder1]

It's a really inspiring build Bob! Great job. I really envy your fabrication skills.

Thunder1

 

[bob w]

I have more time than money or talent. I consider myself a hammer mechanic compared to many of the guys posting their builds on RRR. Remember Don, we are much closer to the arctic circle here and have those long winter nights to work on projects.
I should get quite a bit of the finish welding done tomorrow. At least until I run out of shielding gas. Then, it's off to the junkyard to try to motivate the man to get the engine & trans out of the donor truck.

 

[Thunder1]

I also admire your modesty! Well, none the less your doing a great job in piecing it all together. I agree with you that there are some very talented builders on RRR. Several members come to mind immediately. One of those is actually doing some work for me. It was worth every cent for me to ship a large part across the country just so he could modify and adapt it for use on my 51 f-1. Wait until you see the finished product! IT'S GONNA BE COOL!!!

Thunder1

 

[bob w]

When I narrowed a gas tank for Big Dodge, I had this piece left over.

 

[bob w]

I narrowed it 9" to end up with a tank that is 7" by 9" by 12". Started to make the ends but took a break and called the junkyard to see if they had pulled the engine & trans. They said, "Come on down".

 

[bob w]

Here it is: 225 cubic inches of romping stomping slant six. And an OD 4 speed. I anticipate using 3 gears. It's a really long package. It came with a factory Hurst shifter which is forward mounted. Should be just about the right location. Now, I have to figure out when a slant six is level side to side.

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

Take the carb off and put a level on the manifold base. Should work pretty good for your side-to-side...

 

[donsrods]

So they finally drug that thing out of the snow, huh? Years ago I owned a Plymouth Valiant, maybe a 60 or 61. Had the pushbutton Torqueflite and the slant 6. Little bugger would move pretty well and you could hold it in gear as long as you wanted before hitting the next button. I finally killed it when I got stuck in a snowdrift and kept rocking it back and forth until the tranny blew. I liked that little car a lot.

Don