Thread: Another project? Sure, why not!!

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Originally Posted by J. Robinson

Hmmm... Maybe Dave or Tech or one of the other older drag racers can verify this, but if memory serves me, altered class cars still had to run a grille shell... Gassers had fenders, radiators, headlights, and were allowed up to 10% engine setback. Altereds lost the fenders and radiators, but still required a grille shell and had up to 25% engine setback. If you removed the grille shell, that put you in "Competition" class which had no limit on engine setback. Comp was dominated by Bantam and Fiat-bodied rail dragsters... Depending on the size of that engine, your class designation would be A/A or B/A with a grille shell or A/C or B/C without.

As for headlights, you could use some of those projector beam bulbs like Jaguars and Cadillacs use. You would have to make nacelles for them, but they could be mounted in the upper corners of the firewall in fairly small holes and be almost invisible...

Wow, your memory seems better than mine and I yield to it. I can remember one particular Sunday at Dahio. I was driving a modified 51 Merc flathead in a '48 Ford Tudor, so classed myself in F/Gas. A little later, a hotter F/Gas car showed up. I went back to the pits, yanked the back seat and re-classified myself C/A, then went out and soloed for the trophy. HEY, gimme a break. I was 16 and wanted a trophy!!!!

My buddy put a 429 in his Jeep CJ

Since the motor was so huge, there was no room for a radiator up front, he ended up putting a radiator in the between the roll bars in the back (on the 45 degree bars at the rear). In the summer he ran the fans blowing hot air out, in the winter he reversed the fans and blew the hot air in (actually it was too hot, he ran a bikini top all winter, which was pretty funny). It worked well, never overheated. Only two problems, bleeding the air out of the system was difficult and once he had one of the copper pipes let loose inside the body, sprayed hot water all over him...