Author Topic: cockpit necessities  (Read 8554 times)

Offline noslin

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 259
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 0.00
  • Your Engine: none
  • Your Track: none
  • Your Vehicle: none
  • General Location: west coast
cockpit necessities
« on: August 31, 2017, 06:53:03 PM »
i want minimal in the cockpit.  no gauges, just TB button and mag switch.  is that it, what else should i consider?   ill put oil  light and shift light on motor prob so they are in front of me and can see them. but your busy driving and cant look at anything anyways.   i figure vitals is up to the crew chief and as a driver your busy with b/o, stage, launch etc and not gonna be checking things. i never did in my door car, i just did driver duties.   

so, whats simple cockpit.  where would you put the kill switch at for mag.  im driving with left and dealing with brake, tb button etc on right hand.   would you use a big kill button?  gonna run vertex mag.

i want it so if something happens, i can slap the dash and kill engine and whatever else needs to be done.

ty
dean

Offline Draw 3D

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 77
    • View Profile
  • Your Engine: Blown Alky 406 SBC
  • Your Track: Wild Horse Pass
  • Your Vehicle: 1923 T Roadster
  • General Location: Arizona
Re: cockpit necessities
« Reply #1 on: August 31, 2017, 07:30:08 PM »
You're going to need a master power switch as well. On mine, I tried various locations for my switches and ended up on the steering wheel so that I can access all in one place and easy to see.


Here's a picture of mine with the layout being top left (red button) is trans brake, top right (green button) is air shifter, bottom right is starter, middle is main power switch with light below it letting me when power is on and bottom left is mag switch.

Offline JrFuel Hayden

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 600
    • View Profile
    • Hayden Enterprises Speciality Wheels
  • Your Best Time: 6.02, 236 mph, 1/4 in 1973 Div 3 TF Champ
  • Your Engine: SBC, Alky, 403 ci, Best 6.99 @ 190 & 409 Hemi
  • Your Track: Bakersfield
  • Your Vehicle: 225" FED NHRA Heritage Jr Fuel
Re: cockpit necessities
« Reply #2 on: August 31, 2017, 10:49:53 PM »
My only comment is make sure the TB button can't be hit by accident, I know racers that have that problem, sometimes when they get new/bigger gloves.
Draw 3D looks like if you warp your hands around the wheel you could accidently hit the button after you launch or have steer the car out of trouble.
Jon 
Jon C. Hansen

Hayden Wheels

Offline gazgab

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 2
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 8.82 @ 148MPH
  • Your Engine: TWIN TURBO 6.0 LS engine
  • Your Track: CLASTRES (02) FRANCE
  • Your Vehicle: VAUXHALL CHEVETTE FUNNYCAR
  • General Location: EXINCOURT (FRANCE)
Re: cockpit necessities
« Reply #3 on: September 01, 2017, 06:12:59 AM »
red trans brake, green shiftnoïd
switch 12V hot in run and black push: starter.

I can send you the plan because it's drawing myself.
« Last Edit: September 01, 2017, 06:17:09 AM by gazgab »

Offline gazgab

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 2
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 8.82 @ 148MPH
  • Your Engine: TWIN TURBO 6.0 LS engine
  • Your Track: CLASTRES (02) FRANCE
  • Your Vehicle: VAUXHALL CHEVETTE FUNNYCAR
  • General Location: EXINCOURT (FRANCE)
Re: cockpit necessities
« Reply #4 on: September 01, 2017, 06:14:41 AM »
plan

Offline Supercat

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 256
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 6.16 @ 218 1/4
  • Your Track: Bakersfield to Bowling Green to New England dragway
  • Your Vehicle: Buick powered/ 200" Fastech FED
Re: cockpit necessities
« Reply #5 on: September 01, 2017, 06:35:35 AM »
Fuel shut-off?

dreracecar

  • Guest
Re: cockpit necessities
« Reply #6 on: September 01, 2017, 07:21:58 AM »
You want an oil pressure gauge in order to see pressure come up before you lite the engine and a quick glance just before you light the top bulb. A push-pull switch that you have to pull out to kill the mag, that way you can't accidentally hit it and shut the engine off. Do not over think a panic situation, 99.9% ,of the runs will be fine. If you are starting with a blower starter or a remote battery , then a master disconnect is not needed
« Last Edit: September 01, 2017, 10:29:34 AM by dreracecar »

Offline coupemerc

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 307
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 3.86@188 (1/8 Mile), 5.97@233 (1/4 Mile)
Re: cockpit necessities
« Reply #7 on: September 01, 2017, 02:10:27 PM »
I agree with your simple cockpit philosophy. My car has a fire extinguisher push/pull mounted on the left side top rail. A fuel shut off, mag kill and shifter mounted on the top of the rear end housing. An air shift button, air chute button and radio button on the steering wheel. There is a right side hand brake with the trans brake button on top of the hand brake. Chute lever on the right side top rail. There's an oil pressure gauge mounted on the back of the motor and a temporary shift light.
« Last Edit: September 08, 2017, 04:18:49 PM by coupemerc »

Offline Draw 3D

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 77
    • View Profile
  • Your Engine: Blown Alky 406 SBC
  • Your Track: Wild Horse Pass
  • Your Vehicle: 1923 T Roadster
  • General Location: Arizona
Re: cockpit necessities
« Reply #8 on: September 02, 2017, 09:53:20 AM »
My only comment is make sure the TB button can't be hit by accident, I know racers that have that problem, sometimes when they get new/bigger gloves.
Draw 3D looks like if you warp your hands around the wheel you could accidently hit the button after you launch or have steer the car out of trouble.
Jon
Jon; my process is to pre-stage using the handbrake on the right side, where my fuel shut-off is mounted, and when I'm staged, I hit the transbrake with my left hand and let go of the handbrake and place my right hand on the steering wheel and use that to steer with, my left hand lightly holds the steering wheel. After I launch and make the low-to-hi shift is when I use both hands to steer but I have a safety-switch that only energizes the transbrake only low.

The only time I actually steer with my left hand is when backing up and when in hi gear, so far no issues with accidentally hitting the button.

Also, the picture is a bit misleading, the transbrake button is actually a bit below the steering wheel grips so the button is not in the way of holding the steering wheel.

dreracecar

  • Guest
Re: cockpit necessities
« Reply #9 on: September 02, 2017, 11:10:43 AM »
If one leaves off the hand brake only , then there is no button to hit---just saying

Offline retroboy

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 221
    • View Profile
  • Your Track: Whyalla
  • Your Vehicle: FED
Re: cockpit necessities
« Reply #10 on: September 04, 2017, 12:06:08 AM »
If one leaves off the hand brake only , then there is no button to hit---just saying

Where's the "like" button ?
Cheers
Tony

Offline JrFuel Hayden

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 600
    • View Profile
    • Hayden Enterprises Speciality Wheels
  • Your Best Time: 6.02, 236 mph, 1/4 in 1973 Div 3 TF Champ
  • Your Engine: SBC, Alky, 403 ci, Best 6.99 @ 190 & 409 Hemi
  • Your Track: Bakersfield
  • Your Vehicle: 225" FED NHRA Heritage Jr Fuel
Re: cockpit necessities
« Reply #11 on: September 06, 2017, 12:38:52 AM »
The only gauge we run is an oil gauge, well actually two of them, because we had a bad gauge one time, so one facing the driver, and one in front of the engine for the crew chief.
With a two step launch chip, and a shift light no tach is needed, and the RacePak tells me everything else.
Jon
Jon C. Hansen

Hayden Wheels

Offline hemidakota

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 210
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 7.69 @ 173.5mph
  • Your Engine: 510 B1MC Wedge
  • Your Track: sacramento raceway
  • Your Vehicle: 02 200" fed
  • General Location: west coast
Re: cockpit necessities
« Reply #12 on: September 06, 2017, 12:55:56 PM »
I kinda wish the heritage series would do away with all electronics including data systems, ignition controls etc. put a mag in it and let em race heads up. Would be more fun. Just too dam expensive to be competitive almost. I'm sure ill get blasted for this statement...
If it jams force it, if it breaks it needed replaced anyways

Offline H.G. Wells

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 116
    • View Profile
  • Your Engine: Mild 383 SBC or 498 blown BBC
  • Your Track: Currently San Antonio, past Amarillo, Ardmore OK, Noble OK
  • Your Vehicle: late 60's FED of unknown origin
Re: cockpit necessities
« Reply #13 on: September 06, 2017, 01:17:08 PM »
All right, I will chime in. Simple is good. Trans brake and mag kill on the wheel. Oil pressure gauge screwed into the back of the manifold, shift light on the side of the injectors, shifter on the right side of cockpit, parachute lever on left, fire bottle control under the shifter and fuel shut off T handle on top of the rear end center section. I do have a small dry cell alarm type battery to run the trans brake and shift light, and a memory tach under the cowl to check after the run (wise man told me I should not look at it during the run, no time anyway). If I configure it to run a battery to start there is also a cable operated battery shut off on the corner of the parachute pack.
Racecar spelled backwards is racecaR

Offline JrFuel Hayden

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 600
    • View Profile
    • Hayden Enterprises Speciality Wheels
  • Your Best Time: 6.02, 236 mph, 1/4 in 1973 Div 3 TF Champ
  • Your Engine: SBC, Alky, 403 ci, Best 6.99 @ 190 & 409 Hemi
  • Your Track: Bakersfield
  • Your Vehicle: 225" FED NHRA Heritage Jr Fuel
Re: cockpit necessities
« Reply #14 on: September 06, 2017, 07:57:25 PM »
Dakota, it looks like you race Heritage NE-1, [ 7.60] I'm surprized if many NE-1 teams run data systems, or ign controls, just 2 step launch controls.
If you would like to run heads-up, no break-out,  come race JrFuel, no ign controls, but RacePak is OK. I have lined-up sponsors for JrFuelDragster Association, plus website and FB pages.
Call if interested, 805-444-4489
Jon
 
Jon C. Hansen

Hayden Wheels