Finally went and did it.... wife is not happy
 

Drove a couple hours through snow squalls in Ohio yesterday to buy a d@mn dirt track race car. My wife is not too happy, but the deed is done.

It is some kind of GM metric front clipped car with a running 355 Chevy, a Saginaw trans and a Ford full floater 9" rear end. It came with extra wheels, trans, springs, shocks, distruibutor, gaskets, a set of "3 bar" rear suspension components and some other stuff. Guy was asking $2200.... I got him down to $1700. I have to remind myself that I considered paying more than this for just a roller last summer that was beat up even worse.

This is going to be fun, but knowing myself, this will turn into a major project.... Just have to keep reminding myself that this is going to be raced in the "bomber class" and will get beat up nearly every race. I am doing it just for "fun".

I will need to cut off the tubular upper A-arms and re-install stock stamp GM parts and will have to switch out the aluminum intake for a cast iron unit along with replacing the headers with cast iron exhaust manifolds to stay within my tracks class rules. I may build a new body.... I may not as they get trashed pretty quickly at the start of the season.



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Tim Hancock - the Schumacher of the Midwest.

HaHa... Actually I will be needing to buy some redneck hats and will have to fatten my wife up so she will fit in with the majority of the Saturday night dirt crowd. :D

Cool, we saw this coming with the trailer build! Have fun.:D

Its always easier to ask for forgiveness than permission!

Fun stuff

A neighbor had a similar setup when I was growing up. It was always fun to see the car on the trailer after weekend covered in mud with half the bodywork sort of attached. Looked a like a blast.

Take it to a PCA autocross or concours ;)

Road Racers always look down on Bullring dirt racers, but as I found out, setting up a dirt track oval car is a lot more complicted than one might think. Each corner is different....wedge, rollout , camber (atleast on the front)/brake bias, weightsis different from side, even wheelbase can be changed up to make it turn left.

Looks like a good start for the money. The body will be the least of your concerns.

You'll have a blast!

Stop brushing your teeth immediately or you'll never blend in.

Wish that I was TIM! $1,700! cheaper than buying a damn Kart! Don't spend a dime on making it pretty. Nothing worse than a pretty 10th place car. Nothing better than beating 10 pretty cars with an ugly one!

Now if they made a dirt road course!:cool:

Yep.... with the track surface changing nightly from wet to sticky to rutted to dry/slick.... and with tons of adjustments available from tire pressure to stagger to rear steer to cross weight to camber to lead weights to suspension bar settings to brake bias etc, there is a bunch to mess with.

Much of it has NOTHING to do with my previous knowledge of pavement car handling/setup. An old childhood friend who now has his 17 year old son racing latemodels will likely buy a Bomber too and in our mid 40's we will finally get to realize our childhood dreams of racing against each other in dirt track cars..... It will be a blast.

How many lives do we live? Oh yeah....one. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Whether people understand it or not. Substituting other peoples decisions for you own....causes Man Card expiration. You're going to have a BLAST!

FUN!!!!!!!!!!!! You could part it out for way more than you paid!

Our town has a 1/3 mile dirt track...I'll never knock it like some of the "sporty car" set do. It's 100% entertainment for the spectators...

I am sooo envious. Sounds like a blast!!

Is it proper stock car etiquette to remove one's helmet when 300 pound Billy Bob comes charging up after a race that you just spun him in, or is it OK to let him break his hand by punching your full face helmet? I am really going to have to study this thoroughly. :D

Just bang out the body, you have to do it after almost every race.
Couple of future engine hints, stock RV cam and mill the block not the heads;)

Have fun! SmileWavy

Have fun!

Funny thing is, you'll probably get more in prize money than 99.9% of the Road Racers out there...