Nastycar questions

[9dreizig]

So I'm not a fan, but am curious..
When did "stock cars" stop being stock in other words, when did the frames turn to tubes etc.. ?? 60's ? 70's ? 80's ?

[Dan J]

I'm no expert by any means but I believe that Smokey Yunick built the first tube frame car in the late sixties.For some reason I think it was a 67 Chevelle

[Zeke]

The answer is that they morphed over time. It was really a matter of the roll bar becoming a cage and then a structure within the stock body. Over many seasons the body work became more of a skin. AFIK, the stock floor pan was a must until not that long ago. The so called Car or Tomorrow is a complete custom race car sharing nothing with the assembly line models.

[Dixie]

when did the frames turn to tubes etc.. ?? 60's ? 70's ? 80's ?

The farther back in time, the more purely stock the cars were. 50's cars were off the dealer floor. Late 60s cars were stock bodies and frame, although the cars no longer had functional doors, lights, and such. But I suspect the answer you're after is the late '80s. At this point American sedans with RWD, V8s, and carbs ceased to exist.

For some reason I think it was a 67 Chevelle

Smokey's Chevelle was not tube framed. It used the factory frame, but reinforced, as was customary at the time. It also used longer truck rear control arms. Also typical. Not typical was the reinforcing of the brake shoes (yeah, 60's stock cars used drum brakes.) The Chevelle also pioneered a lot of now common aero tricks. For example, a trimmed, deepened front bumper, flush glass, smaller wheel openings, and a flat floor. But the most artful trick? It was 7/8 scale.

[Jim Bremner]

My Dad wrenched on a low-buck team in the '60's and 70's. I would say around 74-76 if I remember right. They used 57 ford chassis for a long time.

The driver/owner Sam Beeller (sp) didn't like the change from rear- leaf spring to coil spring cars. I remember talks of the way the car handled once in the turn.

Leaf spring sprung cars move the axle a bit when the car leans.