Dragster length

C

crabbelle

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Dec 22, 2007
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in my searching i see lengths rangin from 205"-240". is it just for stability? or classes? since my dad is rebuilding the elcamino from his wreck, he is putting all kinds of ideas in my head. im looking at one thats 225":tree:
 
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Yup, primarily for stability, although for some classes it also helps to keep them from wheelstanding and it also puts your tires in a better spot on the launch pad (particularly if too many street cars have torn up the pad where short wheelbase cars launch from).

What are you planning to do with the dragster (i.e., what classes)? What kind of powerplant, trans and power levels? I'm no dragster expert, but I do have a lot of friends with them. It seems that most bracket and S/C dragsters these days are 4-link or swing-arm, but there are still some hardtail and slip joint cars out there doing well. Some of the REALLY fast ones in T/D are going away from 4-link and swing arm, I guess I haven't looked closely enough to see if they are complete hard-tail or if they have slip joints. Another issue is front suspension (whether or not to have it).

Back in the early days of S/C it seemed that all the competitive cars were shorter (185" to 210"), presumably because of reaction time on the pro tree. The advances in trans brakes has allowed longer cars to work on the pro tree.

About the only dragster I have any potential interest in is a "shorty". The LandShark is a 185" model that looks pretty cool, and I have heard of people building similar cars as short as 125" wheelbase (where the driver's feet are over the front axle). I guess I'm just a door car guy at heart...
 
my plans are for a 24v. but i have to do more research. i just want to have enough power to go faster than the guy next to me
 
Not sure what all that weight does for how a dragster handles. If I were you I'd PM Scott Bentz (dieseldragster on this forum) and pick his brain. He'd probably have a pretty good idea of what wheelbase and suspension type to use with a Cummins.
 
This a **** ton of work just so you know. And after its all done and you roll up to the water box for the first time...You havent even started.
 
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its not work if your having fun. LOL. i was going to buy the old brentz dragster but i missed my chance
 
It's still a chit ton of work, alot of people jump into the racing scene waist deep and have no idea what they are doing and either get burnt out or thier chit never runs right. I hope you plan on pushing alot of power to beat another diesel dragster next to you.

A lot of long length dragsters will use a rigid front end, the length ends up helping absorb bumps and irregularities in the track. Vice versa the shorter the length you'll want a good suspension up front do help deal with the irregularities and cause you'll probably pull the front end up a little.
 
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TMONEYDIESEL said:
It's still a chit ton of work, alot of people jump into the racing scene waist deep and have no idea what they are doing and either get burnt out or thier chit never runs right. I hope you plan on pushing alot of power to beat another diesel dragster next to you.

A lot of long length dragsters will use a rigid front end, the length ends up helping absorb bumps and irregularities in the track. Vice versa the shorter the length you'll want a good suspension up front do help deal with the irregularities and cause you'll probably pull the front end up a little.
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Also a dragster takes a dedicated team. That thing goes nowhere without help. And i'm not talking about down the track I mean in and out of the shop. In and out of the trailer, almost everything is a 3 man job at least.
 
LOL, good point about the manpower requirements! That's why I've always run low-maintenance doorslammers, I used to always go to the track alone (and even now it's just my 8-year-old daughter and occasionally my girlfriend as "crew"). I've seen some guys race dragsters by themselves, but they obviously have to have good cooling systems and decent ramps for getting out of the trailer.
 
Dont make it more than it is, One man team is sooo doable at whatever level in Racing if you just get out there and get it done. I put 28's on the front of my ridged rather than the normal 24's for oil pan clearance and ease of driving it right up in a trailer. Like Michael said a cooling system makes a lots of diff. also on maint. once at the track along with a good charging system. A dragster is what to do for someone looking to take it to the next level for sure, its a whole nother rodeo for sure but a blast. Point was to say that having a larger team to go help out looks cool and can be a big help but dont kid yourself if you dont think you can go and do it all yourself and have a great time; I did it every other weekend for to many years. I once drove the Altered to the track [ya right up on a major interstate I-175] to Dallas Raceway; made a 5.47 1/8th 8.65 1/4 pass then drove it home; never killed the engine; prob. about a 16-18 mile drive. Just because.
My advise to someone else would be to def. build a sprung car and as long as will fit in your shop LOL. A front engine car should have a wb of ~ 150-175" not 125". On a rear engine car Id say ridged up front and a wish bone style 4 link rear ~240-275".
 
well the way i look at it, theres a few good men paving the way in diesel racing and even if it takes me 2 years to build this car, diesel racing will still be around and probably be better off then what it is now since most of the tweetle dumbs will get weeded out. im in no rush to jump into this im not a very strong swimmer (even though being in the coast gaurd:hehe:) so i tippy toe myself into things. right now im in the planning stages, i rather buy a car thats a rolling chassis thats close to or if not what i need. im just doing this for fun, if i spark people's interest and they want to help out either with money or muscle they im not going to turn them down. if i can get a chance to line up next to Mr. Robinson or the Sheid car than i say ive done a pretty good job until then its all an idea
 
JD Dearden said:
Also a dragster takes a dedicated team. That thing goes nowhere without help. And i'm not talking about down the track I mean in and out of the shop. In and out of the trailer, almost everything is a 3 man job at least.
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The EXACT reason I didn't buy John's Funny Car!!! I thought about it and would have bought it in an instant but having to depend on other people to go racing sucks!! I have lots of friends that can't go to the track half the time they want because their "crew" can't make it.

95% of my racing I do by myself.
 
stock600 said:
Dont make it more than it is, One man team is sooo doable at whatever level in Racing if you just get out there and get it done. I put 28's on the front of my ridged rather than the normal 24's for oil pan clearance and ease of driving it right up in a trailer. Like Michael said a cooling system makes a lots of diff. also on maint. once at the track along with a good charging system. A dragster is what to do for someone looking to take it to the next level for sure, its a whole nother rodeo for sure but a blast. Point was to say that having a larger team to go help out looks cool and can be a big help but dont kid yourself if you dont think you can go and do it all yourself and have a great time; I did it every other weekend for to many years. I once drove the Altered to the track [ya right up on a major interstate I-175] to Dallas Raceway; made a 5.47 1/8th 8.65 1/4 pass then drove it home; never killed the engine; prob. about a 16-18 mile drive. Just because.
My advise to someone else would be to def. build a sprung car and as long as will fit in your shop LOL. A front engine car should have a wb of ~ 150-175" not 125". On a rear engine car Id say ridged up front and a wish bone style 4 link rear ~240-275".
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I'm not saying it isnt doable, I just think it would be a lot to handle.
 
Dockboy said:
The EXACT reason I didn't buy John's Funny Car!!! I thought about it and would have bought it in an instant but having to depend on other people to go racing sucks!! I have lots of friends that can't go to the track half the time they want because their "crew" can't make it.

95% of my racing I do by myself.
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There are a lot of things that need to be done to make passes. I wouldent attempt to do it by myself. Just getting the car loaded into the trailer and securring the chassis would be a pain alone.
 
With John's funny car you need TWO other guys for getting the body on & off. However you can probably get bystanders to help with that. When I first met John I ended up helping with the body a few times ;)

I think there's something about those of us who play with diesels, we're more likely to be the "rugged individualist" type and try not to depend on anyone else.
 
BTW - totally off topic, but JD - is that suppressed AR in your avatar yours? I've been meaning to ask you about it! One time at our local indoor range I got to put a magazine through a suppressed full auto AR in 9mm. It was pretty dang fun! I had just wrapped up teaching a class, and another guy was teaching a small full-auto class and let me "clean out" one of his mags.
 
JD Dearden said:
I'm not saying it isnt doable, I just think it would be a lot to handle.
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It is!!

Stressful is more like it, a top race build is very trying. The trailer, parts, hauler, and garage space is the easy part. Finding good help Is the hardest part of any build, you cant have just any bozzo working on your stuff between rounds.

I could write a book about what i've learned, but i'll keep it simple.......It's harder than you think!
 
Michael said:
BTW - totally off topic, but JD - is that suppressed AR in your avatar yours? I've been meaning to ask you about it! One time at our local indoor range I got to put a magazine through a suppressed full auto AR in 9mm. It was pretty dang fun! I had just wrapped up teaching a class, and another guy was teaching a small full-auto class and let me "clean out" one of his mags.
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Yes it is. I really enjoy it, it sounds exactly like a .22. Depending on what type of round your firing they work good. They really arent very hard to obtain if you really want one.
 
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