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Bantam Fuel Altered - New pics 1-7


Codi

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Jeff, I build far too slowly to consider making them all.  That's why I'm taking my time before I start drawing up the chassis in the coming days so I can get started. Each car takes me more than 18 months to do.........yup, s-l-o-w!    Plus I'm going to be doing a challenging build of the Falcon alongside this one so I'll be busy on them for quite some time. 

Bob, appreciate it, right now I'm between the funny and the altered.   I'll share soon which it will be.  Whatever it may be, the other one will be on the runway for some time down the road.

Chris, thanks for weighing in too.  You've been very helpful for sure. 

Dave, yeah, ya' know I seem to remember seeing that car.................turned out kinda cool too.  ;)

Ray, yes, yes it is.  Oh to only have to figure this one out right?   Cheers everyone! 

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Hey Brad, sorry to disappoint you but after drawing up a chassis for the funny car, I'm going to pursue that direction.  Have to draw and machine a few axle plates for the rear and I've been experimenting on how to solder the rails up in a better fashion.  Got great results with the test and know what to do now.  It'll be a week or so till I post some pics of what I'm been working on and the results.  Hopefully it will go well.  Thanks for asking though and for following along.  cheers, tim

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Brad, you're going to smile.

Many thanks to you Art for the compliment.  I'm trying.  This one will be even better and FASTER in it's completion. 

Bob, you're going to frown.

Clay, wow, nice to see one of my all time favorite builders visit the thread and post.  Greatly appreciated sir.  Hope you continue to follow along while I move forward.

So, my friend and mentor, Dave and I have been talking about the build.  A mentor is someone that suggests a course of action based upon their experience and observations.  Dave correctly pointed out that an important part of the engine would be hidden in the chassis.  He lobbied for the FED direction but I've decided to make this build a FUEL ALTERED once and for all.  Fortunately there are things I'm not sure how to make and get to visit with Dave to discuss and learn more this Friday.  Additionally (I'll post pics next week) Chris Sobak has provided me with samples of a manifold and blower that he drew up (with Dave's assistance) that were made by TDR.  These parts are stunning.  More on this later, but I wanted to mention the contribution by Chris (I never asked, the dude offered, what more can I say)  Even if I decide to machine the manifold out of aluminum, I want to stress that it wouldn't be even possible without Dave and Chris' contribution.  Many thanks.  So, I posted a few pics of a modified Bantam Blast body.  After more research, I purchased ANOTHER kit and chopped up that bottom.  The changes to this one include a narrowing of the front of the body by 1/8".  I added a 1/8" lip to the cowl and re-configured the rear fenders that just "flow" compared to my 1st attempt.  Lastly, I glassed the inside of the cowl and front of the car for strength.  There is a wee bit more body work that needs to be done to get it to the standard I have for this car but you'll get the idea I think.  Cheers everyone and thanks for you patience while I go back and forth. 

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Through a friend, I got to visit the home garage of Gary Hazen when he had the Panic Altered. It was, obviously, a memorable experience.

I was secretly hoping for something "off the wall", and you have provided. Do we get one wing or two?

The wildest thing you could do would be, one on the roll cage, one on the front, and a pair of canards in front of the slicks.

Finally, I'm certain SOMEBODY could figure out how to make a pair of front wheel fairings, a' la Carl Casper's Cosmic Charger, wide enough to handle 12 spoke wheels with an appropriate width tire.

But, as usual, that's just me basing my opinion on Experience and Observations.

Don't you hate when I do that?

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Great meeting with Dave today and the path I chose for the car should make it a really fun build.  Dave's input and suggestions were most helpful as well.  The car will be an early 70's altered.  There were a lot of changes taking place at that time in the sport and most of the teams and drivers were moving rapidly to the funny car ranks altogether.  The differences in the cars from the mid/late 60's to the early 70's was fairly significant.  Chassis design was truly evolving. The influences of funny car chassis was starting to show itself in the class during the 70's.  At least that's what my research has indicated.  The car pic I'm posting today is of a modern altered, "The Tramp"  but it runs a Donovan, has a great stance, bantam body and many other cues taken from the earlier era of cars.  My chassis will NOT be as long as this as the cars of the period weren't so I'll stay truer to the era. Imagine it about 10" or so inches shorter than this.  It will have the canard wings ahead of the slicks down low. I'll do the bullet tank from the Pure Hell 1 car. The radiator shell I'll fab of brass along with the entire chassis and suspension.  It will have a dropped front axle with twin shocks but they'll be positioned in what I think is a pretty cool setup I stumbled upon during my research.  Dave has offered up the use of shop &  knowledge to teach me how to make wheels for this car.  So even though I've pictured micro nitro wheels earlier for this build, I'll probably offer them up for sale at some point in the future. The fronts will be 12 spoke and the rears will be a cool design from that era that Dave shared from his extensive "library" of drag cars.  I won't be putting the Cosmic Charger covers on as I won't want to cover up the custom 12 spokes, sorry Joe........Thanks everyone for following along and hopefully this change of horses mid-stream won't diminish your interest in the build.  Lastly, I want to thank Dave for his confidence in me regarding my acquired skills and the encouragement he's given to tackle new pieces and techniques.   Cheers, Tim

 

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Thank you guys......Dave, no I don't use Fitz, I'm now using Mothers mag and alum. polish even though I've yet to use it on this engine.  

This week finally got back to the mill and did the gear cover in 2 pieces.  It was time consuming and took some new steps to make the top portion.  The scalloped base took the same amount of effort even though it looks more detailed / complicated.  Between drawing it up, figuring out HOW I was going to machine it and then completing them, about 20 hours all in.  It is not bolted yet to the engine as an fyi.   Cheers, Tim

Here is the base plate on the mill.

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It's about 13mm tall and 10mm wide as an fyi.

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