Building a chassis from scratch

Explorers have a front and rear IRS chassis with either just a rear 8.8 or both front and rear 8.8's. The frame rails have a long straight section that could easily be shortened to suit. Best thing is some models kill engines and some kill transmissions so there are always plenty sitting cheap on craigslist.

Pick up an old but not too old undamaged dirt track modified.   Go from there.

In reply to Dusterbd13 :

I'm glad you listed your priorities.  But stop thinking about round tube.  

Modern race cars only use round tube for rollcages  it's so much easier to work with thin Wall small diameter square tubing.  One of the hardest things to do is properly fish mouth a round type to weld onto another round tube.  With a lot of experience you can sneak up to it with a paper pattern and then hope you get the lengths and angles right.  Don't be tempted into filling the gap with weld. Much easier to work with Square tube. Fitting is a hundred times faster. Welding is simpler and bracing etc can make the joint far stronger than round tube

In case you thing square tube is weak please look at an XKE. Honest 150 mph car that was properly crash tested.  Passed with flying colors.  Your weak little sister can pick up a bare sub-frame with one hand. Easier than you can pick up her purse That frame holds a 740 pound engine sitting on nothing more than a rubber biscuit 

Or look at the last Trans-Am cars 800+ horsepower V8 really fat sticky set of slicks massive cornering loads. Square tube.  OK the rollcage is round tube because of rules. But it's easier to figure out load paths and prevent flex with square tube than round rube

The dirt track cars start out with a 2x4 for the main rail.

Guy's I have a Killer Frame, I have 0.00 in it I can make it as new for a couple Hundered bucks Has pretty good brakes , Has I R S , Rack And Pinion and was designed to house a BB Ford.  A Burned  E R A Cobra Kit Car.

  so if i were to do the work is that legal For the challenge. I ask this way because it would help decide on a body,Maverick or pinto (not really) but a mav or Comet would be awsome.

In reply to GTXVette : the wider the car the worse your times will be.  In drag racing a wide body will push more air and in case you forget air is drag which will slow a car down  yes even in a drag race

when you are talking about the auto cross portion  the wider the car the further it needs to travel between pylons.  Yes wide allows wider tires and a wider track width helps in transferring weight to the outside tire.  However in an autocross where the pylons are so close together, weight transfer is less important than how far the car has to travel

my point is instead of a sedan body  look at a narrow little sports car body  

GTXVette said:

Guy's I have a Killer Frame, I have 0.00 in it I can make it as new for a couple Hundered bucks Has pretty good brakes , Has I R S , Rack And Pinion and was designed to house a BB Ford.  A Burned  E R A Cobra Kit Car.

  so if i were to do the work is that legal For the challenge. I ask this way because it would help decide on a body,Maverick or pinto (not really) but a mav or Comet would be awsome.

 

Pinto, as long as it looks like this. 

  I dig the pinto,

  Kinda have acess to a Mavrick and looking through CL in the ATL. a man with some comet versions has stuff for sale He say's he's SCCA so he could be on here (GRM),

So Frenchy you think I could do better with another Chassis? the body is kinda irellevent in this case don't you think,  I know a little 'bout Aero .

the Delta Car proved everyone a little bit wrong with wide front track Idea.  I've still got a couple C-4's sitting here.

In reply to GTXVette : A Cobra is a relatively narrow  car ( compared to a Corvette) so I'd imagine the chassis would be as well  

A Pinto cannot be much wider but a Maverick would be.   If the difference is only 2 inches on an auto cross track each time you go between cones you are doing at least 4 more inches further.  How many extra inches do you want to drive?

And on the drag strip it's extra two inches is times the 5 or six feet tall the car is. That could add a square foot to frontal area.  

Try to hold a flat board out the widow at 100 mph and see what I mean   Dragsters tend to be as narrow as possible . 

I'd use GM G-body pieces, simply because you can buy circle track stuff so damn cheap.

Speedway sells heim jointed control arms for less money than it costs to just buy the joints if you tried to build your own.

Then you get a massive selection of shocks, springs and swaybars to work with, all for next to no money.

In reply to Trans_Maro :

I agree with a G.  AND db13 is just dropping a dry Hook In the water........for now.