Return-path: <ARDUNDOUG@aol.com>
From: ARDUNDOUG@aol.com
Full-name: ARDUN DOUG
Message-ID: <36.15ac1c2b.282a0c29@aol.com>
Date: Tue, 8 May 2001 22:57:45 EDT
Subject: Re: Another newbie signing on to the "list"
To: riveroak@cncnet.com
MIME-Version: 1.0
X-Mailer: AOL 6.0 for Windows US sub 10520
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative by demime 0.97c
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
In a message dated 5/8/2001 5:44:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
riveroak@cncnet.com writes:
> Hi list,
>
> My name is Allen Young and I live in Oroville Ca. I'm retired and a
> recent resident of California. Just in time to get whacked in the side
> of the head by the electric utility problem. I've been reading the list
> for a couple of weeks and love it! I didn't sign on for a couple of
> days and had over 400 emails to read! I've corresponded a couple of
> times with Tom Bryant in Redding (almost a neighbor) about my
> "project". He is encouraging me to keep going and at this point I
> will. I have a '60's front engine dragster that I'm considering
> turning into a Lakester. I plan to put a GMC 270 inline six into it,
> hooked to a powerglide tranny. I plan to take it to El Mirage for a
> tech inspection just to see if it might be a feasible project. If it
> is, I hope to have it running next year. I plan to journey to
> Bonneville this summer/fall to just soak it up and learn all I can.
> Also do the photography thing when I can.
>
> Any comments or suggestions about my proposed project would be greatly
> appreciated. If the dragster isn't feasible, I have a cherry 1977
> Camero that might be a candidate for the salt??
>
> Thanks for letting me tune in and hope to meet many of you one of these
> days.
>
> Allen --- Oroville CA. -- LSR # 717
>
> Allen,
> Welcome to the List. As Jim Dincau pointed out, getting a NHRA chassis
> through SCTA Tech can be challenging.
> If the chassis is made of .049" or .062" chrome-moly you might have to
> do some changing.
Also, the "A" frame rigid front ends are frowned on. If it's a long
wheelbase you might have some weight distribution concerns. Many of the
retired dragsters have rack & pinion steering, pretty fast in some instances
for the salt.
In the late 80's I had a 150"wb rear engine lakester/nostalgia
dragster constructed to NHRA specs and NHRA certified. The idea was to have a
dual-purpose car. Unfortunately it was a compromise on both ends. For the
drags it was too heavy and didn't look nostalgic. For LSR it was too short
and somewhat ill-handling due to the quick steering.
Things went OK for several years with the Ardun-Flatty for power,
until we put a "B" motor gas SBC into the chassis for 1996 Speed Week. This
was about the time SCTA started the "Big-Top" Tech inspection, which replaced
the officials coming to the individual pits. It was at that point that Tech
discovered the chrome-moly cage material was "oh-too-thin" and
"oh-too-small". To replace the cage was too much of a project so we turned
the car into a suspended garage decoration.
Don't get me wrong, the "Big-Top" Tech inspection was the best idea
SCTA had come up with in quite a while. I fully support it. My point is that
just because it's NHRA spec doesn't guarantee approval at
SCTA..............Ardun Doug King
///
/// land-speed@autox.team.net mailing list
/// To unsubscribe send a plain text message to majordomo@autox.team.net
/// with nothing in it but
///
/// unsubscribe land-speed
///
///
|