Rebuilding LemonWedge.

[R413]

Question 1) at what ET point does a racecar need a mid plate.
2) do you suppose this car will go 9.99 with the weight reduction and future upgrades.
3) do you want a 9 second car and the different safety requirements.

Build it legal for 9.99 now instead of later.

 

[theman440]

Brain fart . . . you are right, wont work unless you are using the coulmn shifter. I updated mine to the later switch (in trans)

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Question 1) at what ET point does a racecar need a mid plate.
2) do you suppose this car will go 9.99 with the weight reduction and future upgrades.
3) do you want a 9 second car and the different safety requirements.

Build it legal for 9.99 now instead of later.

I haven't had a rule book in hand for what now seems decades. DVW is more up on the BREAKING NEWS when it comes to the rule bible.
Build it better and safer for a goal that may or may not come to fruition. The car may surprise you.

 

[LemonWedge]

I haven't had a rule book in hand for what now seems decades. DVW is more up on the BREAKING NEWS when it comes to the rule bible.
Build it better and safer for a goal that may or may not come to fruition. The car may surprise you.

Dedicated racecar? YES!!!

Faster than 10.00….. meh, not sure I care to go there to be perfectly honest. Things get a lot more complicated and expensive beyond that line. I’ve always felt like bottom 10’s is the sweet spot of fun per dollar. So the big question becomes the cage. Is it worth it to add 50 - 60 lbs when you don’t intend to go fast enough to need it? I know the argument is that someday when the car gets there, you will likely feel different; So build it now. I get that. But the added expense and weight…..

 

[eldubb440]

first I've seen this, damn ........ good luck getting it back together

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Dedicated racecar? YES!!!

Faster than 10.00….. meh, not sure I care to go there to be perfectly honest. Things get a lot more complicated and expensive beyond that line. I’ve always felt like bottom 10’s is the sweet spot of fun per dollar. So the big question becomes the cage. Is it worth it to add 50 - 60 lbs when you don’t intend to go fast enough to need it? I know the argument is that someday when the car gets there, you will likely feel different; So build it now. I get that. But the added expense and weight…..

My build was intended to happily be a mid 10 car, for REAL street fun, but............ with what I presume was a tailwind at one of my favorite tracks, it dipped and blipped a 9.97 time slip. Thereafter, it has loitered in the very low 10's which is realistic and within the militarized or demilitarized zone as you say.
Things get expensive and time consuming maintenance duties get amplified in the 9's. It's great to be in that zone, but at what cost$.

I would safely say, that being that you are basically semi- starting with a clean slate, budget and time is a concern, so perhaps rebuild it to within the range that you already had it arranged for. If it surprises you with a faster clip, then dress accordingly for the occasion.
My friends REAL STREET DRIVEN, RADIO PLAYING AND NO NOS small block (408 ci) Duster was built to be happily in the low 11's, but his car woke him up with a 10.50 blast one day. He's a seasoned Tree killing points chaser and as much as the track officials knew and respected him, they gave him THE LOOK and he had to dial it back to an 11.50 dial just to be safe with no roll bar or cage. I helped lighten it a little, but not much.

Your car will be nice when it comes back.

 

[dvw]

Use the 3 prong neutral safety switch. Connecting the outer 2 pins to power and the reverse lights will activate them. I was all exicited when I built my car. Found a factory push button reverse switch ( it was original a 3 speed manual) and was going to make reverse lights functional. Then realised my bottom option Belvedere wasn't equiped with reverse lights. What I thought were the openings in the body were in fact license plate lights. The only two options I believe it had were a heater and outside rear mirror.
Doug

 

[qkcuda]

As a former drag racer, I was saddened to hear about your accident. I don't have much to add to the discussion but I have been following your progress and I am sure the car will end up better than before.

 

[LemonWedge]

The trailer is quickly becoming a parts storage bin. And among the parts are a barely used set of genuine Direct Connection / Mopar Performance .840 dia. Drag Race Torsion Bars sourced from FBBO member Charger Greg.
That’s some factory race car goodness right there!

 

[Runcharger]

It's going to be faster than it was. That's enough to keep you moving it ahead.

 

[malex]

This is the first that I’m aware of your accident LW. Tough break. Damn. Glad that you walked away and OK. Bad news on LW though but you’ll fix it and it’ll be rocking the real low 10’s. I’m also one for going with a front engine plate at this point. There’s really no cons in my experience. Will keep a close eye on your rebuild thread.

 

[LemonWedge]

I think the motorplate is the direction we’ll be going, Malex. Yeah, this was a bad deal. I pretty much took the entire summer away from the hobby, but I’m excited about where we’re headed.

We made more progress today with the teardown. Following through on the “dedicated racecar” promise, we removed the heater box. Weight: 22.5 lbs. I think I’m just as excited about the extra space under the dash to organize wiring as I am the weight savings.

My body guy says we will make initial pulls to get it as straight as possible prior to cutting. I think we’re real close to making those initial pulls. Although after a good long look at the drivers frame rail today, I’m questioning how much is worth trying to save. I’m going to talk to him about the prospect of pulling the entire frame rail off the floorboard, and replacing it in full all the way back to the torsion bar crossmember with the full donor rail. As shown in the picture, it’s kinked right as it separates from the floor. You can see the pinch welded top of the rail completely bent, what’s not as easy to see is in that same area, the side of the rail has quite a distortion as it bends inboard.

 

[dvw]

During my dealership days I was the suspension guy. Worked very closely with our body shop doing the parts replacement on a lot of wrecks. Though I didn't do the pulling I was involved in more than one that didn't get pulled far enough. Always pull it as close as you can get it before removal. There may be stuff you don't see even further back. Its amazing what straightens out when its pulled in the right direction.
Doug

 

[fullmetaljacket]

I would replace the whole front clip as a fresh start. It may take more time and effort, probably forfeiting at least part of the next season, but it will be straight. A bunch of measuring, re-welding and trial fitting the front fenders and hood awaits you.
The front bumper and its brackets are adaptable and the least of your problems.

I'm surprised you were still carrying that loaded heat box for the ride. Mine was a tad heavier and was donated along with all the connecting ducts and hoses underneath the dash and engine bay, fasteners, switches and sealants. It leaves room to have a party underneath there. Don't be surprised on how much weight is removed just with unnecessary wirings. I removed almost a pound or so of the stuff.

Does your dash have a pad?

 

[ckessel]

The tech's at the shop I managed would always to pulls on a vehicle before un-zipping mangled sections. This would get the inner structures in the general area. Cut or unbolt the damage, hang the new stuff, test the fit with any components in the area before welding/bolting by hanging fenders/doors/hoods/lights/bumpers/glass etc to make sure they lined up. Repair/pull on the inner structures where needed to get the fit right. One thing I learned on a Toyota truck. The printout from the rack showed everything was fine on the frame. Factory spec was +/- 5mm. They would get it to 3mm. Sent the truck to the alignment shop, found out the diff housing was bent. Targets didn't get hung on the diff, just the frame spots as usual. One more thing to check on your car when you get close. Check out the Thrust Angle. Thats the measurement between the front and rear wheel on each side. This also points out potential issues to deal with. You want them perfect or as close as possible.

 

[LemonWedge]

I spent a decent amount of time yesterday laying on my back with a tape measure in my hands looking at measurements from the back of the torsion bars and various spots along the torsion bar crossmember, back to the leaf-spring through-bolts and spring buckets. I’m confident that the car is straight from the crossmember back.

Once we get things pulled, We’ll measure everything possible to assure it’s straight. The guy I’m working with was a high-school buddy that grew up in his dad’s body shop, and has been in the body & paint business his entire life. While his personal life choices may have been questionable at times, I’m confident in his ability to get LemonWedge back in line. (Haha)

I also looked closely at the front suspension. Even though all I’ve done is remove the shocks and brake-lines, I think all components there are just fine. Although I’d love to have some double adjustable shocks, the Calvert 90/10’s appear to move like new. Those will carry over.

 

[LemonWedge]

I would replace the whole front clip as a fresh start. It may take more time and effort, probably forfeiting at least part of the next season, but it will be straight. A bunch of measuring, re-welding and trial fitting the front fenders and hood awaits you.
The front bumper and its brackets are adaptable and the least of your problems.

I'm surprised you were still carrying that loaded heat box for the ride. Mine was a tad heavier and was donated along with all the connecting ducts and hoses underneath the dash and engine bay, fasteners, switches and sealants. It leaves room to have a party underneath there. Don't be surprised on how much weight is removed just with unnecessary wirings. I removed almost a pound or so of the stuff.

Does your dash have a pad?

You’ll recall from earlier I had thought that perhaps the pass. Side frame rail was straight…. Measuring the same points from the donor to the existing rail confirmed it is out by +/- 5/8”. This along with the fact that the existing core support is shot dictates that the entire front clip will be replaced.

Front bumper is currently on order from Larry Augenstein. It’ll be mounted on Lingenfelter aluminum Brackets.

I already have it in my head that next season is a wash. We may end up with opportunity to make passes late in the season, but I’m not going to let haste dictate this process. It will take exactly as long as getting it done correctly takes.

Yes, dash wears its original pad, and it’s in great shape. This car has been garaged its entire life, and was a real cream puff when I got it. Lots of original stuff would appear to be like new.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

You’ll recall from earlier I had thought that perhaps the pass. Side frame rail was straight…. Measuring the same points from the donor to the existing rail confirmed it is out by +/- 5/8”. This along with the fact that the existing core support is shot dictates that the entire front clip will be replaced.

Front bumper is currently on order from Larry Augenstein. It’ll be mounted on Lingenfelter aluminum Brackets.

I already have it in my head that next season is a wash. We may end up with opportunity to make passes late in the season, but I’m not going to let haste dictate this process. It will take exactly as long as getting it done correctly takes.

Yes, dash wears its original pad, and it’s in great shape. This car has been garaged its entire life, and was a real cream puff when I got it. Lots of original stuff would appear to be like new.

Are there any of those 67's that came with a dash pad delete? Is the original dash straight? Don't want to seem like I'm spending your money, but I am thinking lean and mean.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

At least at the end of any season, the mine shaft air is making its way in for good shake down passes followed by a ET present to keep you smiling through the Winter.

 

[qkcuda]

I think doing the whole front clip is a great idea, especially since you already have it.