BUILDING THE BEAST

RACE DAY IS RAPIDLY APPROACHING.  JULY 19TH IS THE DAY THE CAR WILL MEET IT'S FATE.  WILL IT GO TO CAR HEAVIN IN A BLAZE OF GLORY OR WILL IT GO PEACEFULLY?  WE RECENTLY MOVED WHICH TOOK SOME PREP TIME AWAY FROM ME.  BUT, NOW I HAVE A SHOP!  HERE'S WHAT I'VE DONE IN BUILDING THE CAR.

STEP 1-DRIVER PROTECTION

The doors are welded shut and a brace is added behind the seat to keep the passenger's door over  where it belongs instead of in my lap!  The gas now rides in a 4  gallon snowmobile tank behind my seat.  The battery is also re-located behind the seat..  On race day, they will be bolted down tight  and covered with rubber.  A bar has been welded in the window opening to keep my hood and other cars from joining me in my cockpit.  Additional angle iron has been added to the driver's door for a little extra protection in case someone accidentally hits my door.

In this picture, you can see the window bar and also the chain which keeps the seatback where it belongs.  You can also see my seatbelt set-up and my switches

STEP 2 - MAKING IT RUN AGAIN

Since all the wiring and hoses were removed when the car was stripped, new ones needed to be added.  Only 2 wires are needed to make this car run but, I've added an alternator to keep my battery charged which only added 1 extra switch and a couple extra wires.  I'm also running a dumbie light to tell when my car is running.  I won't be using stacks through the hood so, I probably won't be able to tell if the car is running or not.  After all the wiring was done and the fuel line was run, it ran great! Maybe better than before! The stock fan has been removed and a plastic one has taken it's place just in case the radiator gets pushed into it.  Figuring out where to run the wires was the hardest part.

In this picture, you can see some of the wiring and the dumbie light.  You can also see the home-made shifter which is hooked directly to the tranny to avoid being put out by broken linkage.  All the wiring was soldered and taped and covered with duct tape anywhere it went through the firewall.  Also notice the keys left in the ignition to keep the steering column from locking up.

STEP 3 ODDS AND ENDS AND PAINT!

There are a few odds and ends left to wrap up.  The fenders will get trimmed and re-welded, oil change for both the engine and tranny and the spider gears will be welded.  Then it will get a nice coat of napa blue and a flame job!  Will I have enough time?  Keep checkin back to see!

UPDATE!!!

As you can tell, I did have enough time to complete the car.  I did everything I planned except for welding the spider gears.  Here's the flame job. (these  pictures were actually taken after the derby)

RACE DAY