Well, good luck.

 

Thats one of my favorite pictures in the thread so far. So much great craftsmanship in one shot.

Wide rear tires, nice beefy wheelie bars, and best of all that gorgeous rear end housing.

 

Don't forget my triangular 4 link and coil overs hidden in there - SAM

 

Maybe I just don't understand how he is going to do the chute, but IMO the X should be on the lower wheelie bars. The bracket for the chute look should be in the middle of the rear end, so it is as low as possible. Just my two cents. You might enjoy reading this.

 

GrayGhost. Check out Jegs Part # 40027. Upper member X-bar. Also did you notice the bar/tube welded to the axle housing then angled over to the lower half of the axle bracket.

 

So that lower bar under the rear end is the mount for the chute? If so I sure hope it doesn't pick the back of the car up when it deploys. Just because Jegs sells a part doesn't mean it is right for you. I posted a pic of how most are done. Is this guy a big time fabricator for race cars? Again, those wheelie bars are just huge. They don't need to be that big. You are never going to put enough load on them to stress them, especially with as far back as your rear end is. But it's your money, your car and your life. I will refrain. Just want you to be safe.

 

GrayGhost - I really appreciate your input as well as the concerns you have brought up - your experience is invaluable - and I would be foolish not to listen. I only gave you the Jegs part number because I thought maybe the cross bars on the wheelie bars I have were incorrectly made but on the contrary - from what I found out it was a matter of choice - top or bottom neither is wrong nor is either one right - its the application that makes it right or wrong. You are no doubt right - I will never put the stress on these bars that they are capable of handling and they very well maybe be over engineered - but I learn long time ago - better to have the extra measure of safety than try and skimp. And at my age a few extra dollars to go overboard doesn't matter any more. You asked who this fabricator is. The name of the company is Sarmento Racing in Yuba City California. My builder is Snell Family Racing Sandy Utah. Sarmento built the Pro-Mod for Snell some years ago and they are still racing it. - It's a 6 second ride in the 1320
I am sure I will be playing with the adjustment on my wheelie bars until I like the result. As far as the chute goes- I am anxious now to see the final mounting and have you look at it. Tell me what you think and if need be I will talk to my builder and get his input for your thoughts on it. Opinions matter and that to me is extremely important.. Whatever you do - do NOT stop giving me your two cents - everything and every thought matters - talk later. Sam

 

If this guy runs Pro Mod he is a step above me. But when I see things that don't make sense I have to question them. Like the X on the top bars. I noticed you did not use quick release pins to take the bars off. As far as adjustment you have to work on the 4 link first and make the car hook. Just keep the bars up a foot to prevent large wheelstands. Then you can bring them down to control height of the front wheels off the ground (if that happens). I don't know the weight balance of your car. You can probably find someone with some NASCAR scales and find out how much is on each wheel. if nothing else those big ole bars will add some weight back there to help plant the tires. I am guessing that car will come in around 2900 or so. Be sure and send some pics once he gets the chute mounted. I really want to see how he routed the lines.

 

GrayGhost - Questions are always good. I wasn't specific on the wheelie bars and the attachments to the fabricator - I brought it up with my builder - and it didn't get any further than that, but it can always be addressed when the car gets back to Utah. I personally am not speaking to the fabricator only my builder several times a week.
The fabricator and my builder have a business to business relationship that I am not involved with.
In my business (steel), portable scales are used to measure axle weight on trucks that run our highways here in Michigan - and full truck scales and/or individual scales are common place, so getting the weight of my car at the axle or the gross will be an easy task.
And as I mentioned earlier once the chute is done - I will absolutely send you pictures.

 

chute attachment will be on center