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Top Fuel Front Engine Dragster Buildup

108K views 205 replies 44 participants last post by  Paul Kane 
#1 ·
This is the buildup of a Nostalgia Top Fuel Front Engine Dragster.

Van has decided to build one or two funny cars for drag racing (NFC). Before building the funny cars, he thought it would be nice to have a car for us to play with while the funny cars are under construction. Ultimately, it was decided to have a front engine dragster for play time.

At first, he acquired a rear engine dragster chassis that appeared to be an old Top Fuel car from the early 1970's that was built by Mike Case. That chassis was to be updated so that we had our "interim toy." Instead, the old Top Fuel chassis got cut up and its engine cradle was retained for a new front engine dragster which will be built up from scratch around the Top Fuel dragster's engine cradle.

So starting from scratch, there's a big pile of chromoly tubing gathered on the floor:



There is also an overwhelming collection of race car hardware (not pictured) in the form of Dana 60's, B&J transmissions, TH400's, etc, etc, etc. Most everything collected is really for the funny car program. So while some of those parts may not be "ideal" for the front engine dragster, they will be used and allow us to have a blast.

The dragster chassis itself is being built around a Mark Willliams blueprint and will receive the highest possible NHRA certification for Nostalgia Top Fuel Dragster.



Based on the above blueprint, slight changes will be made as noted in this thread, including the latest NHRA updates. Also, relative to the blueprint much of the tubing used in this build will be either, A) one diameter larger, or B) one wall thickness greater. This car is being built with safety in mind, and the weight difference is slight enough (in the Front Engine Dragster field) that it is of little-to-no concern and the car will remain as fast as the NHRA allows.

Next is to secure the tube bender to the concrete and start going to town:



Below, the Top Fuel dragster's engine cradle is secured to the chassis jig and the first pieces of tubing are bent and welded to the engine cradle:

 

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#4 ·
How did you aquire the BPs and are they "classified" or readily available.
Like the moderator or Sting says, I'll be watching you!
Thanx Daryl
Daryl,

Mark Williams Enterprises offers the race car blueprints for $50. They are non-transferrable (you must buy them to use them) which is why the image I uploaded is intentionally fuzzy and incomplete. In addition to the chassis kits they sell, they offer the blueprints to construct a Top Fuel Funny Car, Top Fuel Dragster, Front Engine Dragster, Super Comp Dragster, 4-link Dragster. They are in the Chassis Components section of the website (go there, scroll down and select "Browse Chassis Kits and Prints") or you may simply type "blueprint" into the "search" field on the home page.

Paul
 
#8 · (Edited)
Is it gonna be Ford powered??...Chevy??...Chrysler??
Very good Paul. What are you guys going to power it with? This ought to be a fun toy. I'll be watching too.
Rob
Engine: This car is almost done (as everyone will soon see) and that includes the engine plate fabrication. The engine plate has been drilled for three engines: small block chevy; big block chevy; 385 Series Ford. Remember this is the interim car and so when it's time to sell it, the market interest jumps sizably with the SBC/BBC mounting patterns. The engine currently being assembled for this car is your typical 533 cubic inch Ford with a 4-bolted D9TE block, 4.3 stroke forged crankshaft, aluminum rods, forged pistons, brand spanking new A429 heads (ported and 2.300" intake valves), and will run on injected alcohol (hat on a tunnel ram).

(Note: Because of the stockpile of SBC parts all over the engine shop, there is a blown SBC already built for the car. It will probably be used for shakedown runs and also serve as a "training wheels" engine for some of the people who wish to try making a pass in the car...before they drive the BBF. The SBC could also help sell the car if someone wanted a turn-key deal. It has a 4-bolt block, factory forged crank with a lot of work done to it, Arias pistons, Arias aluminum rods, the most wildy ported SBC 202 heads I have ever seen, Crower front cover and a blower with all the goodies. You can see this engine in the background above in the tube bending pic. And hey, if we blow the SBC up we don't give a rats azz.)

Rear diff?
Rear End: Although uncommon in the front engine dragsters of yesteryear, this one will get a narowed full floater Dana 60. (Remember, lots of funny car parts over here for the upcoming program.) A Dana 60 is not something that is normally seen in a front engine dragster; usually you'll see an aftermarket Ford 9. But today those old Nostalgia front engine dragsters of yesteryear are little more than a cackle-fest car and would not pass NHRA spec for competition in today's classes. With that in mind, current rules state that if you want to run blown nitro then you must have a full floater rear end. Needless to say, Van likes to run blown nitro and the Dana 60 gives us that option with this car.

What's the wheel base?
Wheelbase: The wheelbase came out to ~200 inches.

Paul
 
#9 · (Edited)
Milling the front axle for a 26-degree king pin angle:




Solid axle fitted to the front of the chassis. starting to look like a dragster chassis:




Straight ahead photo:



Above photo: Note the clamshell fitment that secures the front axle. This is more of the safety overkill fabrication that this car design does not require but will have. Also note the spread width of the front frame rails. Period-correct nostalgia dragsters have their tubes meet much closer together at the near-center of the front axle and then the chassis must utilize radius rods which extend out from the chassis tubing and attach near the king pins. By spreading the front tubes the radius rods are not required because the kinpins are within 18 inches of the nearset frame rails. Another advantage is that the chassis is stiffened against twist by way of the widened chassis frame rails.


View from the rear:





Paul
 

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#13 · (Edited)
Thanks guys. Van gets the credit. That guy can weld, does sheet metal fab, bodywork, paint, poured blocks at a foundry, is a machinist, has created engine components that did't exist for the Ford, builds thousands of horsepower reliably, etc. In the 7+ years that I've known him I've yet to find anything that guy can't do. :p

The axle is straight/no stagger.

Paul
 
#14 · (Edited)
Dana 60 Fab & Fitment

Keven (driver) cleaning up the bare axle housing which has been shortened and will get rewelded, reconstructed, etc. This is the very early stages of the rear end construction:




More overkill: When it comes to the rear axle housing mounting plates, the blueprints dictate that the mounting plate welded to the chassis be 3/16-inch thick. This car is getting 1/4-inch chromoly plate for the mounts welded to the chassis. This thickness will also be used on the mounting plate which is fitted to the axle housing. Below, Van is machining that mounting plates that will be welded to the axle housing:



In the height of front engine dragsters, these axle housing's mounting plates were supposed to be welded 180 degrees around (halfway around the axle tubing), minimum. As time went on, it was increased to 220 degrees around, and today the requirment is 270 degrees around. But as you can see in the above photo, Van is machining a complete circle to the axle tubing's mounting plates and they will be literally slid over the axle tubes during the rear end housing fabrication and then welded a full 360 degrees all the way around the axle tubing.


Completed axle mocked up in the chassis:



Note in the above picture the axle mounting plates welded 360 degrees around the axle tubes. Also note the aluminum rear cover with bearing cap preloaders. Custom made spindles.

Paul
 

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#15 · (Edited)
Rear Axle Cont'd

If the axle should ever break loose of the welded chassis mounting brackets, the entire third member can spin around backwards and whack you between your legs with the pinion yoke. So the blueprint calls for a few simple braces securing the axle, known as "anti-rotation" braces. As usual, overkill max effort is applied:




Note the front anti-rotation bracket also integrates the drive shaft cover mount (ring):






Paul
 

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#21 ·
Nice piece by piece picture build-up, Paul. The pics do it good justice.



If the axle should ever break loose of the welded chassis mounting brackets, the entire third member can spin around backwards and whack you between your legs with the pinion yoke. So the blueprint calls for a few simple braces securing the axle, known as "anti-rotation" braces. As usual, overkill max effort is applied:
Max overkill should always be applied for items near the family jewels. ;)

:D

Dave
 
#18 ·
Thanks guys.

Here's an intersting one, a chassis update that came about because of J. Force's recent horrific crash.



Note in the above photo the blue circle that I've added. The new rule added this year calls for a second, additional downtube to be welded in that location, so as to create a "K" formation in the interest of structural integrity of the chassis and also for improved driver safety.

Here's how it looks on the chassis (just above the C-clamps in the photo):



That's the latest safety rule from the NHRA for the Fuel classes.

Paul
 

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#19 · (Edited)
Adding the roll bar hoop and fabricating the aluminum seat pan.

Hand-forming the sheet aluminum for the seat pan:



Also note in the above photo the mounting plates for the differential, and also the bolt-in/removable downtubes (just behind the axle) which allow clearance for the rear-end's removal from the chassis.


Welding, blending, forming and fitment of the seat pan coming along very nicely, as is the start of the roll bar hoops:




Keven will be the primary driver of this car, so he needs to make sure the roll bar hoop will clear his helmet:




Van welding up the roll cage:



At this point, the engine mounts have been added, as well as steering rod supports, most of the Zeus tabs, etc, and the chassis is once again fully disassembled and all the tubing (that is mostly tacked up thus far) gets the 100% complete weld. This is a painstaking welding job as the chassis is constantly being flipped around because he will weld one tube on one side of the chassis and then roll the chassis over 180-degrees and weld the opposing (mirrored) tube on the other side of the chassis. Going to such painstaking detail is not a steadfast rule in chassis fabrication, but as usual Van goes the extra mile even with his detailed welding work. :cool:

Paul
 

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#25 · (Edited)
Engine Plate Fitment and Steering

Engine Plate Fitment and Steering.

D0VE-A block used for engine plate fabrication:



Funny story about that D0VE-A block in the above picture. Van's race cars are all named "Nightmare." Since the 1980's, it's been Nightmare Racing, so to speak. And so Van acquires this std bore D0VE block for mock-up and possibly for the racing program...and the date code is 9K31 (October 31, 1969). Haha, this cylinder block was cast on Halloweeen in 1969, and it
may be used in a car named Nightmare. :D (Okay so we actually have a bunch of brand new A460 blocks for the upcoming Funny Cars, but's still a funny story...and it still might get used in the dragster :) )


Below is a pic of the steering mechanism:



Also note in the above picture the rear engine plate doubles as a bulkhead/firewall, and will support the cowl.


Cockpit steering assembly pictured below. For anyone that has not seen Front Engine Dragsters up close, yes, this is how they hang the steering in these cars.




Paul
 

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#27 ·
Looks to me, like there might be a lot of "feel" loss between the butterfly and the spindles.
Solid as can be. This is the most commonly used steering system in these cars, bar none, and the feel is very positive (felt it myself). It's all chromoly tubing as well.

If anything in a build seems inadequate, Van makes it triple-adequate. :) But there was no need whatsoever with the steering system.

Paul
 
#28 · (Edited)
So at this point the chassis is fully welded, the main chassis fabricaton is generally completed, and the race car is basically a stripped down roller:





At pictured above there is a little over 500 man hours of work in the construction of the race car. The car was plumbed out front-to-rear and is straight as can be.

There's still a significant amount of detail work to be done, but the main chassis fab from this point forward is more tedious than it is noticable...such as tiny brackets that will need to be added as components are fitted to the car, things like that.

As pictured above, the chassis may be certified by an NHRA Chassis Tech Inspector. But for now it's time for the car to get tinned, aka form the body work.

Paul
 

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#29 · (Edited)
Tinning the Car

Although this is a current, spec legal, state-of-the-art front engine dragster chassis, it will receive body work that gives a nod to the nostalgia cars of their now-vintage period. Specifically, this car will have body work formed around the cockpit only, and side panels at the engine. The chassis section that is forward of the engine will remain bare, just like the good ol' days. :)

Below pic, left-to-right: Keven, Van, and Casey work on shaping the sheet aluminum to the chassis.



(Side Note: Keven was Van's first-ever driver (among several others that came later), when Van stopped racing and starting focusing on building and tuning at the track. Casey is a racer/driver that holds about half a dozen licenses, from baja trucks to stock cars, to open wheel cars, etc, and hopes to get his NHRA license in the dragster.)


Coming along nicely:




The body work is basically fitted:






The body work will eventually be painted after final tweak-and-fitment. The chassis, on the other hand, remain bare for the first season of racing, since there are always additiional tabs, brackets, etc, that may need to be added as the car is sorted and so the frame gets painted once everyting is worked out.


Paul
 

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#32 ·
I just asked him and it is 3003-050 (the 050 = 0.050" thick). 6000 Series aluminum would be pricey for the body work, but hey if the right deal comes along...
Thanks Paul for this link! Love the build! I will be watching this!
Thanks G.

Paul
 
#34 · (Edited)
BIG NEWS!

Big news: I am very excited to say that the NHRA Tech Inspector has been by to take a look at the chassis for the purposes of certification.

This NHRA inspector had a very keen eye and immediately noticed all the neat stuff Van had done to the chassis (that I reported about earlier in this thread) which went above & beyond current NHRA rules. Further, when he asked about the sleeve lengths inside the butted tubing (3-inch sleeve minimum requirement), Van told him that the sleeves were 9 inches...once again exceeding the Tech requirements.

Obviously, it's all up to the NHRA official to determine if a car is suitable for the application it is intended, up to him how fast of a class he might allow a chassis to participate based on it's overal construction, and/or what further fab work might need to be done to a chassis in order for it to meet current specifications and be certified for a given class.

The coolest words to come out of the Tech Inspector's mouth (paraphrased): "I look at a lot of cars, and I don't want to bad-mouth anybody....so let's just say that I never see workmanship this nice on a home-built car, wow."

And with that, he placed the coveted Red Label, Nostalgia Top Fuel chassis certification onto the chassis! :D It is a 5.0 Second cert and is the highest NHRA certificaton that a Nostalgia Top Fuel car can attain.




BIG congratulations to Van for his top notch workmanship, Keven's dedicated and diligent participation in the construction of the race car, and of course Casey's help as well.

Paul

p.s.: There will still be future pics until the car is fully built up.
 

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