B.R.E.Demon
Well-Known Member
No real progress on the car the last couple days been sick, but I did manage to paint and cure the blow sheild while taking it easy at home
Bostonian 71 demon
- Thread starter B.R.E.Demon
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B.R.E.Demon
Well-Known Member
Well the mail call was good and the bell housing is done plus a birthday give from the folks over at Mooneyes for my wife.
I definitely love the scoop , I have the same one going on my dart.
I understand you are trying to recreate an appearance of a certain era, but there are some things on your cage I would have modified for a safer and more robust design.
One area is the rear strut tubes. I would have tied them in closer to the bend on the main hoop to tie in with the halo and angled them at a 45* to create more stable triangulation.
The engine bay tubes intersecting the joining interior tube in the middle of a long run with no other triangulation to support them is also concerning. I would have mounted them up higher to intersect with the bend in the front tube and then tied in a dash bar across the width of the cage and an additional door bar to X the uprights together.
I know NHRA doesn't specifically call out these as requirements in advanced E.T. categories, but these items are pretty standard features built into most cages these days. These design details are called out by other, non-drag race sanctioning bodies as a standard design principle. Not sure an NHRA inspector would call you out on them but it would really suck to get one telling you to change these after construction is complete. You might consider sharing a picture with an inspector before you finish just to get their take on it.
One area is the rear strut tubes. I would have tied them in closer to the bend on the main hoop to tie in with the halo and angled them at a 45* to create more stable triangulation.
The engine bay tubes intersecting the joining interior tube in the middle of a long run with no other triangulation to support them is also concerning. I would have mounted them up higher to intersect with the bend in the front tube and then tied in a dash bar across the width of the cage and an additional door bar to X the uprights together.
I know NHRA doesn't specifically call out these as requirements in advanced E.T. categories, but these items are pretty standard features built into most cages these days. These design details are called out by other, non-drag race sanctioning bodies as a standard design principle. Not sure an NHRA inspector would call you out on them but it would really suck to get one telling you to change these after construction is complete. You might consider sharing a picture with an inspector before you finish just to get their take on it.
B.R.E.Demon
Well-Known Member
So the rear half of the cage is completely being redone the front I still have to put the triangulation bars upward to the strut supports, but I’m not doing those until the dashboard is back in temporarily to figure out my exact spacing
Gotcha, that makes sense.
B.R.E.Demon
Well-Known Member
Yeah, there’s still a ton of work to do right now. It’s just a basic structure and then they’ll be some more supports added as I go, but right now it’s just getting the foundation set
B.R.E.Demon
Well-Known Member
Now that being sick is done (thank god) im back after the car fresh floor pan is in bound driving some point next week. Tonight the plan is to go to town on the rear taillight panel valance with a spot weld cuter and get that prepped to the cross bar. Also my buddy sent me a set of these vintage spark plug wire labels from the day.
B.R.E.Demon
Well-Known Member
The four-speed is back from Liberty Gears , fully refreshed and ready to handle the power of a Pro Stock Hemi. The internals have been gone through, a couple of new gears to replace the old ones, and fresh faceplating with all the tricks to ensure durability. Unfortunately, I couldn’t use the original magnesium case due to a crack (likely why it was never used), a guy from Pa bought it quick but this build features a NOS Direct Connection aluminum case that's been bushed with the magnesium A-body tail shaft. The shifter will run in an H-pattern, so it should make for a fun and nostalgic driving experience. Time to channel my inner “Mr. 4-Speed” or Ronnie Sox! Plus got a lead on a dream car hauler to chase down.
Awesome, that makes me want a 4 speed again lol.
B.R.E.Demon
Well-Known Member
I've got one along with a v-gate I'm just starting with an h pattern to give it a shot (pay my dues) and feel out the car.
Oh, universal dzus rails, lol I didn't even know those existed.
B.R.E.Demon
Well-Known Member
So on that note about the hauler I strongly considered purchasing the old Sox and Martin, Brooklyn Heavy, and Reid Whisnant hauler. Unfortunately, the numbers didn’t align with what we felt comfortable investing, especially given the amount of work required to transform it into a reliable cross-country hauler for full-time racing.
Yeah that would have been awesome but I bet would've cost a lot to get reliable
B.R.E.Demon
Well-Known Member
Finally back in the shop. I picked up some spot weld cutters from Amazon, and they work like a charm! Perfect timing, too, as the AMD pan just arrived. Now, I’m starting to plan out how to fit the new gas tank to it. Downside the new SCS pedal burnt up the welder and I've since been in hell trying to get my replacement welder here, but fortunately there's an end in sight.
B.R.E.Demon
Well-Known Member
I worked on the removable section of the transmission crossmember today and managed to get it roughed out for now. The tank and pan were dropped into the chassis, with their final location carefully set to emulate the placement in Dick Landy's Dart Sport.
B.R.E.Demon
Well-Known Member
Thankfully, today marks the end of this cold snap, and working in an uninsulated garage has been slow going. Despite the challenges, I managed to make some progress. I'm looking forward to doubling down on work for the rest of the week. A last-minute adjustment for the HEMI and Pro Stock project led to ordering an expadited billet crank from Bryant Racing—an exciting step forward!
B.R.E.Demon
Well-Known Member
Mail call was phenomenal today! I scored a vintage tunnel ram off eBay, and to my surprise, it came with Sox and Martin linkage and brackets. I'm planning to fully restore the linkage and brackets before sending them over to my dad to install on the motor at the machine shop. The tunnel ram itself is quite the find—it's a magnesium piece with a lot of character. While the exterior looks rough due to someone overspraying it with Plasti Dip, the original craftsmanship and machining hint at its storied history.
After a few hours of cleaning, it’s starting to show its potential, though I still need to polish the large bracket. I’ve also got some ideas to put it on a little bit of a diet, so stay tuned!
After a few hours of cleaning, it’s starting to show its potential, though I still need to polish the large bracket. I’ve also got some ideas to put it on a little bit of a diet, so stay tuned!
B.R.E.Demon
Well-Known Member
after a bit of cleaning
MASSIVE SCORE on the TR and linkage! Very cool.
I was going to say the same thing but the boss man asked me to work lol
B.R.E.Demon
Well-Known Member
Friday I got a bunch of loose ends prepped on the car for the weekend. Also went ahead and finished up the brackets to get them sent out to pops to install all the tunnel ram.
B.R.E.Demon
Well-Known Member
Saturday I kicked the C10 out of the shop to focus on making progress with the car. The shop was cold, but it’s worth remembering that I originally built this car in a tent—so this feels like a luxury in comparison! Ended up making a couple support bars and making a filler panel for the upper trunk pan (later cut out next post will dive into that) plus installed some threaded slugs to the inside of the frame rail to relocate the rotisserie mounts
B.R.E.Demon
Well-Known Member
Got some solid time in the shop on Sunday with punk rock cranked up to keep the energy high. The pan is now in place, and I fully welded the tail panel for added strength instead of relying on spot welds. Installed the rear down bar plates, cleaned up unnecessary stampings around the taillight mounts, and filled the lock hole. I also tackled some rust repair under the rear window.
Decided to cut out the upper section of the pan to replace it with a removable aluminum panel for easy access to the fuel pumps. Next steps include fabricating the frame for the pump section and tying up a few loose ends. The goal is to have the down bars finished and the rear remounted on the rotisserie by the end of the week.
Decided to cut out the upper section of the pan to replace it with a removable aluminum panel for easy access to the fuel pumps. Next steps include fabricating the frame for the pump section and tying up a few loose ends. The goal is to have the down bars finished and the rear remounted on the rotisserie by the end of the week.
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