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Location: The Circle City. Sometimes NE of Bagdad.
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Originally Posted by rbohm
dont dismiss 1/8th mile racing so easily. it is a great starting point for young/inexperienced racers, and 1/8th mile tracks are easier to insure, and easier to build and place than 1/4 mile tracks. i used to scoff at 1/8th mile racing too years ago. not anymore.
Yeah, I got advice for you, skip the Chevette and the Vega unless you intend on mounting the unibody on a frame. Those cars couldn't hardly hold up the front end with a paltry 4 banger in them. The towers were a known collapse item. Any kind of engine will make it far worse. I'm not sure about a Monza(not Corvair) body from the 70's but you might look at those. If they have a frame, there's yer car. For the 1/8 mile you want an engine with LOTS of RPM and deep gears(5.11's or 5.88s) with wide sticky tires. Figure on gutting the body inside and if you expect to win, yer gonna need to haul it on a trailer. The Powerglide transmission is yer new best friend.
my first question would be, how much experience do you have racing, of any kind? it can be anything, bicycles, go carts, etc. answer that and i can give you better advice.
I would not disagree with that. A more basic question would be how much experience does the OP have actually working on cars? Is he mechanically inclined? Does he have even the most basic of tools? A place to work on a car?
Before dumping any money into a vehicle, I would go to the track and talk to guys and girls who are already racing. Find out what challenges they face in terms of maintenance, reliability, parts availability, tuning (some motors make power more readily than others, dollar for dollar). Naturally aspirated, turbocharged, supercharged, Nitrous Oxide? Check out on-line articles from Car Craft, Hot Rod, and Popular Hot Rodding magazines. I'm not sure what the OP means by "Pro Street" but I would start with something close to stock and build as you go. That way you learn the basics and see the impact of modifications as you add speed equipment.
I'm an Old School gearhead....been racing and building hot cars for almost 40 years. I'm partial to 1/4 racing since I did it for so many years before 1/8 mile racing gained popularity.
I would not disagree with that. A more basic question would be how much experience does the OP have actually working on cars? Is he mechanically inclined? Does he have even the most basic of tools? A place to work on a car?
Before dumping any money into a vehicle, I would go to the track and talk to guys and girls who are already racing. Find out what challenges they face in terms of maintenance, reliability, parts availability, tuning (some motors make power more readily than others, dollar for dollar). Naturally aspirated, turbocharged, supercharged, Nitrous Oxide? Check out on-line articles from Car Craft, Hot Rod, and Popular Hot Rodding magazines. I'm not sure what the OP means by "Pro Street" but I would start with something close to stock and build as you go. That way you learn the basics and see the impact of modifications as you add speed equipment.
I'm an Old School gearhead....been racing and building hot cars for almost 40 years. I'm partial to 1/4 racing since I did it for so many years before 1/8 mile racing gained popularity.
SR i am old school also. i cut my teeth on a B/FA in the late 70s. from my experience, if someone has put time in at the track, chances are they can swing a wrench. perhaps not as good as the crew, but they can swing them just the same.
i would start him out with something like a mid 70s nova clone. let him get some experience running the car down the track, and fixing issues that invariably crop up. he can even start with the six to get his feet wet, and modify the car to go faster as his skill level increases, and his money allows. i would also council him to stay away from chemical supercharging until he is getting a lot of experience swinging wrenches and driving. as you know it takes some sophistication to tune and to recognize when there is a problem with nitrous.
Test n Tune on Friday nights with other Friends who have strip cars , sit around having a couple of brews and lighting the Bar B Q . I would be buying a finished car designed for the 1/8 th, and not building one .
I would personally stay away from a big block Vega as a first car, especially for 1/8 mile racing. If your set on a Vega, I would look at one with a small block with a power glide. That combination has been proven over the years and if built right they are bullet proof and won't break your budget. You can get most parts for a small block GM motor almost anywhere. You will have to learn the rule requirements of IHRA or NHRA in reference to the car you eventually buy. Even if you are not racing a specific class, the modifications made to your car will determine a host of other requirements in order to race. Example: NHRA, if you run nitrous, you have to wear a fire suit. Run 9.99 or better. You need a roll cage etc. Keep it simple to begin with and have fun.
I would personally stay away from a big block Vega as a first car, especially for 1/8 mile racing. If your set on a Vega, I would look at one with a small block with a power glide. That combination has been proven over the years and if built right they are bullet proof and won't break your budget. You can get most parts for a small block GM motor almost anywhere. You will have to learn the rule requirements of IHRA or NHRA in reference to the car you eventually buy. Even if you are not racing a specific class, the modifications made to your car will determine a host of other requirements in order to race. Example: NHRA, if you run nitrous, you have to wear a fire suit. Run 9.99 or better. You need a roll cage etc. Keep it simple to begin with and have fun.
good advice. what the OP needs to do is acquire a rule book, or a few rule books from various sanctioning bodies and local tracks, and study them all and build his car to fit those rules.
Test n Tune on Friday nights with other Friends who have strip cars , sit around having a couple of brews and lighting the Bar B Q . I would be buying a finished car designed for the 1/8 th, and not building one .
Building it is half the fun, if the skills are there to either do it yourself or at least have/learn the knowlege to have someone else do 1,2 and 3, in that order, at your specific request as the build planner, for you. I've done all the work to my ('stage2' sleeper street) car myself, and there's nothing like knowing every little detail of that machine that you're demanding to perform for you on that track. It just feels good. A recent decal comes to mind that I recently saw: "built not bought." But, as I implied, if one does not want to learn the skills necessary to DIY, then buying a built vehicle is the other option; just not as much fun or quite as much pride.
Building it is half the fun, if the skills are there to either do it yourself or at least have/learn the knowlege to have someone else do 1,2 and 3, in that order, at your specific request as the build planner, for you. I've done all the work to my ('stage2' sleeper street) car myself, and there's nothing like knowing every little detail of that machine that you're demanding to perform for you on that track. It just feels good. A recent decal comes to mind that I recently saw: "built not bought." But, as I implied, if one does not want to learn the skills necessary to DIY, then buying a built vehicle is the other option; just not as much fun or quite as much pride.
Building is great and all, especially if you have the knowledge and patience. Years ago I took my daily driver Fox body Mustang and wanted to make a 10 second street car out of it. Not a big deal now but this was in '89. I know that is different then building a class legal certifiable chassis car but in the end I looked back and basically wanted to start over with the build. It's easier to pick apart things when it's completed. I did the same thing re rigging a sport boat to go from a low 60mph boat to over 80. From both of those projects I learned it is much more cost effective to buy something complete, make some changes to it if needed and then just add power.
On Yellowbullet.com there are tons of certed chassis cars, from the small tire outlaw classes to big tired bracket cars. Many deals out there.
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