Project: Mentally Dusterbed

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dusterbing the peace

dusterbing the peace

FABO pyrite member
Joined
Nov 20, 2019
Messages
434
Reaction score
630
Location
Bandimere, CO
Well, I was able to pull down a track championship back in 2019 in Street ET (RIP Bandimere). I set my sights on competing in Pro ET so began amassing parts and making modifications to go faster, aiming for mid to low 10’s. Seems that life felt I needed additional motivation to get there in one step, rather than one step at a time…slow and steady only wins bracket races.

Here’s where I was able to get with the car in April of ‘22 (11.5’s up here where correction factor is usually 1.25-1.35):
1700447936186.jpeg


1700448036511.jpeg


Then at the end of May ‘22 I butted a ring in #1, fracturing the piston, which let the rod slap around and beat a hole in the block and oil pan, dumping all the vital fluids under the rear tires at about 1150’ and 108mph. The car got sideways rather quickly, but I managed to keep it in the lane and only graze the wall rather than spear it. I was fortunate to be in time trials against a fast dragster who was long gone when it happened. I’m still counting my blessings that the other driver wasn’t involved, and I was unharmed (physically).
1700448701162.jpeg


Got the car home and peeled off all the grille work and fender…more good news, no frame damage.
1700448855422.jpeg


1700448888932.jpeg

Been working on it over the past year and will throw some progress photos up as time allows. Thanks for any and all interest!!!
 
You are very fortunate! I'll bet the underwear didn't survive, maybe you should have bought a lottery ticket. LOL
 
dusterbing the peace said:
Got the car home and peeled off all the grille work and fender…more good news, no frame damage.
Click to expand...
Did the radiator support get pushed back and put a kink on the inner fender support?
When I punched my 67 fastback in the drivers fender nose it did.
 
fishmens67 said:
Did the radiator support get pushed back and put a kink on the inner fender support?
When I punched my 67 fastback in the drivers fender nose it did.
Click to expand...
No sir, got lucky there too. Just the front corner where the fender mounts on the inner fender; hammered it back into shape (that bolt hole just has a little more room to slide the J clip around now).
 
dusterbing the peace said:
Well, I was able to pull down a track championship back in 2019 in Street ET (RIP Bandimere). I set my sights on competing in Pro ET so began amassing parts and making modifications to go faster, aiming for mid to low 10’s. Seems that life felt I needed additional motivation to get there in one step, rather than one step at a time…slow and steady only wins bracket races.

Here’s where I was able to get with the car in April of ‘22 (11.5’s up here where correction factor is usually 1.25-1.35):
View attachment 1716168577

View attachment 1716168578

Then at the end of May ‘22 I butted a ring in #1, fracturing the piston, which let the rod slap around and beat a hole in the block and oil pan, dumping all the vital fluids under the rear tires at about 1150’ and 108mph. The car got sideways rather quickly, but I managed to keep it in the lane and only graze the wall rather than spear it. I was fortunate to be in time trials against a fast dragster who was long gone when it happened. I’m still counting my blessings that the other driver wasn’t involved, and I was unharmed (physically).
View attachment 1716168585

Got the car home and peeled off all the grille work and fender…more good news, no frame damage.
View attachment 1716168586

View attachment 1716168588
Been working on it over the past year and will throw some progress photos up as time allows. Thanks for any and all interest!!!
Click to expand...
Ouch, looks like your very capable of getting her back perty again though.
Very cool car by the way.
I'll be following along!!
 
The picture of your car on the trailer just reminded me of what I think my face looks like leaving the dentist lol
 
First big change after the wreck was to get some safety accoutrements. I had finally gotten down to mid elevens, so was borderline in need of a roll bar. With lofty goals of low tens (up here) for the next motor, I went with an 8.50 cage. Chromoly meant the extra bars would be like a mild steel roll bar weight-wise…or thereabouts. I can melt metal together enough to call it a weld, but I wouldn’t trust my own life with it. More importantly, it wouldn’t pass tech. So I took it to the guys at Kennedy Race Cars here in Denver. Shawn has been racing and building race cars for decades. I’ve seen plenty of his work at the track, so it was an easy decision.

Swing out on my side. Look close and you can also see the subframes they put in and a floor patch since the Flintstone thing is from before my time:
1700528514059.jpeg


Also had a steering column added with removable wheel, because racecar:
1700528703232.jpeg


Another shot inside:
1700528745935.jpeg


And one more of the column:
1700528804019.jpeg


Last shot is just the back bars and rear firewall:
1700529070643.jpeg

Also had J bars added, don’t have a good pick at the moment. The new setup added so much rigidity that I can jack up the front from either LCA, or the rear from either spring perch. Stoked with how it came out…and accomplished the goal of feeling safer. Fiberglass doors and lexan are going in to offset the weight of all that new steel. Car was 2,830 on the line before, should be 2,750 or so when done.
 
dusterbing the peace said:
First big change after the wreck was to get some safety accoutrements. I had finally gotten down to mid elevens, so was borderline in need of a roll bar. With lofty goals of low tens (up here) for the next motor, I went with an 8.50 cage. Chromoly meant the extra bars would be like a mild steel roll bar weight-wise…or thereabouts. I can melt metal together enough to call it a weld, but I wouldn’t trust my own life with it. More importantly, it wouldn’t pass tech. So I took it to the guys at Kennedy Race Cars here in Denver. Shawn has been racing and building race cars for decades. I’ve seen plenty of his work at the track, so it was an easy decision.

Swing out on my side. Look close and you can also see the subframes they put in and a floor patch since the Flintstone thing is from before my time:
View attachment 1716168872

Also had a steering column added with removable wheel, because racecar:
View attachment 1716168876

Another shot inside:
View attachment 1716168877

And one more of the column:
View attachment 1716168878

Last shot is just the back bars and rear firewall:
View attachment 1716168880
Also had J bars added, don’t have a good pick at the moment. The new setup added so much rigidity that I can jack up the front from either LCA, or the rear from either spring perch. Stoked with how it came out…and accomplished the goal of feeling safer. Fiberglass doors and lexan are going in to offset the weight of all that new steel. Car was 2,830 on the line before, should be 2,750 or so when done.
Click to expand...
That's a pretty nice job on the cage. Where do your j-bars end up in the trunk, are they above your shock mounts or frame rails ? Looks like frame to me.
I'm definitely going to add the swing out on my side. I'm not putting a passenger seat in my garbage atleast not yet .
Damn, that sucker is going to be light !!!!
Good recipe for speed
 
Steering column, where'd you get it ? I'm looking to get a light one fairly soon.
 
dusterbing the peace said:
First big change after the wreck was to get some safety accoutrements. I had finally gotten down to mid elevens, so was borderline in need of a roll bar. With lofty goals of low tens (up here) for the next motor, I went with an 8.50 cage. Chromoly meant the extra bars would be like a mild steel roll bar weight-wise…or thereabouts. I can melt metal together enough to call it a weld, but I wouldn’t trust my own life with it. More importantly, it wouldn’t pass tech. So I took it to the guys at Kennedy Race Cars here in Denver. Shawn has been racing and building race cars for decades. I’ve seen plenty of his work at the track, so it was an easy decision.

Swing out on my side. Look close and you can also see the subframes they put in and a floor patch since the Flintstone thing is from before my time:
View attachment 1716168872

Also had a steering column added with removable wheel, because racecar:
View attachment 1716168876

Another shot inside:
View attachment 1716168877

And one more of the column:
View attachment 1716168878

Last shot is just the back bars and rear firewall:
View attachment 1716168880
Also had J bars added, don’t have a good pick at the moment. The new setup added so much rigidity that I can jack up the front from either LCA, or the rear from either spring perch. Stoked with how it came out…and accomplished the goal of feeling safer. Fiberglass doors and lexan are going in to offset the weight of all that new steel. Car was 2,830 on the line before, should be 2,750 or so when done.
Click to expand...

If you made the car more rigid (and you did do that) you‘ll want to pay some attention to your spring rates. I say that because a car that flexes will tolerate stiffer spring rates because the car is acting like a spring.

So you may have to go to less spring rate, probably on both ends. Now that the car is flexing less, it will most likely want less spring.
 
MOPARMAGA said:
That's a pretty nice job on the cage. Where do your j-bars end up in the trunk, are they above your shock mounts or frame rails ? Looks like frame to me.
I'm definitely going to add the swing out on my side. I'm not putting a passenger seat in my garbage atleast not yet .
Damn, that sucker is going to be light !!!!
Good recipe for speed
Click to expand...
Here’s a decent shot from the mini-tub in progress. You can see where the bar ends up, about even with the shock mounts on the frame.
1700535549962.jpeg
 
Newbomb Turk said:
If you made the car more rigid (and you did do that) you‘ll want to pay some attention to your spring rates. I say that because a car that flexes will tolerate stiffer spring rates because the car is acting like a spring.

So you may have to go to less spring rate, probably on both ends. Now that the car is flexing less, it will most likely want less spring.
Click to expand...
Good tips!
 
dusterbing the peace said:
Here’s a decent shot from the mini-tub in progress. You can see where the bar ends up, about even with the shock mounts on the frame.
View attachment 1716168938
Click to expand...
Cool, my bars come down there pretty close.
I think I better weld mine in before I finish my tubs now that I see how close they are to the tubs.
What is your plan for trunk floor ?
 
MOPARMAGA said:
Cool, my bars come down there pretty close.
I think I better weld mine in before I finish my tubs now that I see how close they are to the tubs.
What is your plan for trunk floor ?
Click to expand...
Piece of 20 ga…rolled in some stiffening ribs to try and match the new trunk drops (won’t look so bad once it’s painted black). Will cut a hole in the middle for the 5 gal cell.
1700539251341.jpeg
 
dusterbing the peace said:
Piece of 20 ga…rolled in some stiffening ribs to try and match the new trunk drops (won’t look so bad once it’s painted black). Will cut a hole in the middle for the 5 gal cell.
View attachment 1716168960
Click to expand...
Nice job, it doesn't look bad now.
Thanks, that's a great idea. I guess I'll have to figure out a way to build a bead roller someday
 
MOPARMAGA said:
Nice job, it doesn't look bad now.
Thanks, that's a great idea. I guess I'll have to figure out a way to build a bead roller someday
Click to expand...
Maybe you end up meeting someone who has one. A lot of the work I’m/we’re doing now is with a guy I used to work with. Him and his dad ran a body and paint shop for a long time. Unfortunately his dad passed a number of years ago (RIP) so he shut down the shop and is now a drafter/designer. He does all the actual body work to make it look nice, I do as much of the grunt work as I can. Learning a lot along the way!
 
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