Author Topic: Howdy - prepping for SHRA 2019  (Read 5234 times)

Offline matt b

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 18
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 9:31 1/4
  • Your Engine: 406 / 355 / 632 Chevy's
  • Your Track: Northstar
  • Your Vehicle: 1955 Chevy
  • General Location: Texas
Howdy - prepping for SHRA 2019
« on: July 18, 2018, 08:02:35 AM »
Hi all - long time lurker. Sure appreciate all the contributors - wealth of knowledge here!

Been out of the seat for a few years due to work and family commitments after buying an FED back in 2015. Made a few passes at Northstar, started working on my door car and then life got pretty crazy. All the race cars have been living in their trailers or at Brink Racecraft since then..... my shop is finally 90% finished and work has resumed. I hope to be ready to run a partial SHRA schedule next year.

Thought you guys might like to hear whats happening - and a little history on the cars as I understand it anyway...

Car one is a 2006 Mark Williams - was the Blown Cents owned by Neal Rogers. It's a 406 SBC, Hilborn on alky, powerglide car. Brink did some chassis updating with new pedals, new firewall, new battery, fuel tank and puke tank mounts. Mike at Alkydigger went through the injection and converted it to up nozzles while he was at it - gave me some baselines for jetting / bypasses and pressures. I just finished re-plumbing it, mostly through with wiring and about 50% done with some new levers and little tab stuff. Steering linkage and small parts coming off this weekend for powder coating - with any luck will fire the motor in the next few days. Not sure what the long term plans are for this one - it's a mild steel car (7.50 cert) and may go up for sale to fund the other FED and door car finish. Planning on a few passes this fall either way.

Car two is a 192" Buddy Warren car - Ron Walden ran it in SHRA for a while before I bought it from him in '15. Benny Schiro owned it back in the day - driven and later owned by Roy Rogers - father of Neal who I bought Blown Cents from. Small world! I made some passes in this car before life got in the way - found a few things I wanted to update. Brink Racecraft gave it a 'lower half' as both main lower tubes were worn badly from dragging. They also updated the cage to look more period correct and it was certed to 6.0.
It's coming in the shop this weekend or next - plans are to certainly keep this one. I've got several pics of it from back in day and am planning on spraying the body red / white and blue to match the way it looked back then. The 355 SBC is out and deciding whether to refresh for NE3 or build a little more power for NE2.......

I'll try to figure out how to post pics in the next few days...looking forward to seeing some of y'all at the track!

Matt B

Offline opa1

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 155
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 5:60 1/8
  • Your Engine: 355 Chevy Methanol Injected
  • Your Track: Alamo City Motorplex
  • Your Vehicle: 71 Ed Mabry Jr. Fuel
  • General Location: South Coast
Re: Howdy - prepping for SHRA 2019
« Reply #1 on: July 18, 2018, 08:16:06 AM »
Welcome Matt. Texan here too. :) I'm planning to run SHRA N/3 if my car works out.

Offline THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 360
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 8.28@168 door; 9.00@147 6-cyl alt; 8.53@160 RED
  • Your Engine: 300 Ford six NA w/ crossflow and prod. heads
  • Your Track: Milan, Thompson
  • Your Vehicle: (3) Advanced Chassis altered , The Last Logghe altered, '30 RPU
  • General Location: North Coast
Re: Howdy - prepping for SHRA 2019
« Reply #2 on: July 18, 2018, 04:48:02 PM »
What is SHRA?

Offline opa1

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 155
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 5:60 1/8
  • Your Engine: 355 Chevy Methanol Injected
  • Your Track: Alamo City Motorplex
  • Your Vehicle: 71 Ed Mabry Jr. Fuel
  • General Location: South Coast

Offline matt b

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 18
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 9:31 1/4
  • Your Engine: 406 / 355 / 632 Chevy's
  • Your Track: Northstar
  • Your Vehicle: 1955 Chevy
  • General Location: Texas
Re: Howdy - prepping for SHRA 2019
« Reply #4 on: July 19, 2018, 06:08:36 AM »
Thanks opa1 - see ya out there!

Offline Curly1

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 261
    • View Profile
    • AireTex Compressors
  • Your Best Time: 7.95 @ 167 1/4 mile
  • Your Track: Texas Motorplex
  • Your Vehicle: 125" Altered
Re: Howdy - prepping for SHRA 2019
« Reply #5 on: July 20, 2018, 02:42:54 PM »
Okay MattB and Opa1 how about some pictures? By the way welcome to the SHRA that is a great bunch of people there.

Offline matt b

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 18
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 9:31 1/4
  • Your Engine: 406 / 355 / 632 Chevy's
  • Your Track: Northstar
  • Your Vehicle: 1955 Chevy
  • General Location: Texas
Re: Howdy - prepping for SHRA 2019
« Reply #6 on: July 20, 2018, 04:25:09 PM »
Thanks Curly1

Here're three pics - first two are the Buddy Warren car back in the day since it's still in the trailer - plans are to recreate the red/white/blue scheme. Third is the finally completed pump plumbing on the MW car - waiting on new valve covers that will clear the up nozzles to run the burn down hoses. Wiring, working on new front motor plate, chute lever mount and steering shaft support if I can stand the heat this weekend.

All I had handy - will shoot some more / better pics this weekend of both cars






Offline opa1

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 155
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 5:60 1/8
  • Your Engine: 355 Chevy Methanol Injected
  • Your Track: Alamo City Motorplex
  • Your Vehicle: 71 Ed Mabry Jr. Fuel
  • General Location: South Coast
Re: Howdy - prepping for SHRA 2019
« Reply #7 on: July 20, 2018, 04:48:49 PM »
Alamo Dragway. First place I ever raced. Kinda miss the place. :) If you look in the build section you will see a bunch of photos of my car. I'm just about ready to fly.

Offline tcoupekyle

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 355
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 4.70 1/8
  • Your Track: Houston Motorsport park
  • Your Vehicle: 225" slip joint FED
  • General Location: Houston
Re: Howdy - prepping for SHRA 2019
« Reply #8 on: July 30, 2018, 07:14:30 AM »
Welcome. I run with SHRA in no E bracket right now but am trying to have my digger ready for next season as well.

Offline matt b

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 18
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 9:31 1/4
  • Your Engine: 406 / 355 / 632 Chevy's
  • Your Track: Northstar
  • Your Vehicle: 1955 Chevy
  • General Location: Texas
Re: Howdy - prepping for SHRA 2019
« Reply #9 on: July 30, 2018, 12:34:16 PM »
Thanks tcoupekyle. Hope to run into you out there!

Matt B

Offline matt b

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 18
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 9:31 1/4
  • Your Engine: 406 / 355 / 632 Chevy's
  • Your Track: Northstar
  • Your Vehicle: 1955 Chevy
  • General Location: Texas
Re: Howdy - prepping for SHRA 2019
« Reply #10 on: October 30, 2018, 11:05:59 AM »
Well, finally some progress to report!

Fired up the MW FED - spent some time relearning mechanical injection 101! Engine sounded strong and made great oil pressure. Future for the MW car is uncertain but I'm gonna be strapped into it regardless for a few passes....I decided to go to bare frame / bare block and build it back up. Even assuming I sell it I'll rest easy knowing it's all as good as I can make it. First stop was cert and it passed to 7.50 with no problem.

Next engine came out and down with no issues - pistons were new Mahles, rods are Olivers and crank is a Callies. Wells racing just let me know yesterday that the block is fine, was honed, cam bearings and freeze plugs installed and is ready, heads getting a valve job and new springs / retainers to match the cam, crank should be polished any day.

Frame just got vapor blasted today and paint complete by the end of the week. Wheelie bars and associated small parts headed to the powder coater later today.

Doesn't look like much but finally about to start re-assembly...

Offline THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 360
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 8.28@168 door; 9.00@147 6-cyl alt; 8.53@160 RED
  • Your Engine: 300 Ford six NA w/ crossflow and prod. heads
  • Your Track: Milan, Thompson
  • Your Vehicle: (3) Advanced Chassis altered , The Last Logghe altered, '30 RPU
  • General Location: North Coast
Re: Howdy - prepping for SHRA 2019
« Reply #11 on: November 01, 2018, 08:32:09 AM »
Will you have to take it back to the inspector after paint to get the chassis cert sticker or did he just give it to you and let you apply it to the car later?
Just curious

Offline matt b

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 18
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 9:31 1/4
  • Your Engine: 406 / 355 / 632 Chevy's
  • Your Track: Northstar
  • Your Vehicle: 1955 Chevy
  • General Location: Texas
Re: Howdy - prepping for SHRA 2019
« Reply #12 on: November 01, 2018, 11:16:45 AM »
Same guy that stickered my other two rides.

Inspected and 'passed' it and will drop by to sticker it now that it's painted - we do business together as well so he is here regularly anyway.

Matt

Offline Paul New

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 745
    • View Profile
  • Your Best Time: 6.47 @ 214 MPH SBC
  • Your Engine: 387" SBC
  • Your Track: Woodburn Dragstrip
  • Your Vehicle: 2005 FED
Re: Howdy - prepping for SHRA 2019
« Reply #13 on: November 02, 2018, 06:33:17 PM »
Will you have to take it back to the inspector after paint to get the chassis cert sticker or did he just give it to you and let you apply it to the car later?
Just curious
When I got my car bare metal car certed I asked him the same question he told me to have the painter just tape around the sticker