Hey, I resemble those remarks.


2017 is going to be different!

Dude, its a hemi. They come stock with like 500hp

Its not a Chevy, Monte.LOL

Not many more low budget than Ray.Does great with what he has.

LOL.....Ray seems to be averse to the fact that while maybe he thinks it's low budget, it takes money to do this.

Lets start from scratch and duplicate Ray's deal. Lets go out and find a decent early A-body. Then cage it, tie the frames, maybe mini-tub it(not sure his is), put a glass hood on it and do enough body work to make it not look like a beater. Install a narrowed Dana with some aftermarket axles. Its got split monos and Cal-Tracks, probably decent rear shocks. What about the brakes, are they drums or Wilwoods? I believe he recently installed a rack and coilovers on the front. Does it have light brakes on the front?

The motor. Solid foundation or not, you don't just drop a late HEMI in an A-body and run 9s. So it's a decent piece. You need a good enough trans to hold that power and the right converter to make it run the number. Doesn't it take some decent ignition stuff to make the late HEMI compatible since you can't put a distributor in it? Got to have a fuel system. Sure your shifter, fans, water pump, gauges and other stuff may be Craigs list or Ebay finds, but the foundation is solid. Might not be a $100,000 purpose built race car, but you can't duplicate it for pocket change and lunch money either.

Lets compare it to Billy's Valiant. Those real early A-bodys are pretty light. It's a solid car with ladder bars and slicks. Healthy small block. Runs mid tens. Ray's deal run 9s on drag radials and probably weighs more. It's no bargain basement junker.........LOL!!!

Monte,
Please refrain from comparing my Valiant to Ray's Black Pearl. I get head-aches and chest pains every time I do it myself!!

I know Ray is very budget conscious, as is Squirrel. It requires more discipline and patience to build a car like that. The other thing it requires is experience, know how, and the gumption to take on parts of the build that force them out of their comfort zone.

I think many of us on here of a certain age take for granted all the knowledge and experience we have gleaned from twenty years of this stuff...and how much money that can save us over a typical checkbook build.

Dale and Boone got stupid when they decided to take the Duster about three months before Drag Week, so there was no time to shop for deals or barter for parts. They dropped 23K in that clapped out shell to make the show...just a point of reference.

Jeremy,
So sorry to hear of your Dad passing, if you had mentioned that earlier, I failed to see it. Seemed both of you enjoyed DW15, and I'm glad for the opportunity to hang out with him at the track.

Even as Dale and Boone were attending the Mopar Race at Tulsa in November of 15, it was clear Boone wanted to move away from the Barnyard Viper, and that made Dale and I nervous. Boone has no qualms about selling stuff when he's ready to move to the next one, but we didn't want to see it leave the family.

As I was contemplating how I was going to make room for the Barnyard in my fleet, my buddy Darryl decided he wanted to sell his 69 Dart. This is a great street car that has completed two Drag Weeks, and has a great fitting chrome moly bar, which wraps around a very nice bench seat interior. Like Boone, when Darryl decides to change directions, it happens fast.
"How much are you wanting for the Dart?" I asked Darryl. His sell it now price was 2k less than I felt the car was worth.
"I'll take it." I told him, with finality.
"You will? What's Holly going to say about that..you've got too many cars already..."
"Leave that to me...can we do that thing where I pay you but don't pick it up right away?"
That brought on serious laughter from Darryl, "Sure, sure, but if she asks me, I'm not lying to her!"

I had already bought tickets to The March Meet in Bakersfield California, mainly as a way to entice Boone to bring the Barnyard out to Phoenix more than anything, and I had told him I wanted the Truck, and we would figure something out when he arrived.
"Your all-aluminum Indy low deck engine for starters..." Boone began negotiations.
"Not. Gonna. Happen!!"

I was dreading the phone call to Boone when I bought the Dart from Darryl, because that greatly depleted the funds set aside for the Barnyard.
"I'll take it", Boone told me with finality.
"You'll take what? The Dart? What are going to do with it?"
"Put a big block in it. Run Nines."
"It's a nice small block car with a bar!"
"What are you going to do with it", he laughed, "I want to be there when you try to explain to your wife that the Barnyard and Darryl's Dart are being added to the three other toys you already have!!"

So do small block Chevy's. At least that's what the owners tell me.

dang, treed by ksj! LOL

Thanks for the story Billy!! Looking forward to more.

I believe Ray ran S/G on the NHRA tour for awhile, hence the statement that his drag week car is low buck!

Great looking Dart, Billy, please carry on.

Dale killed another piston in the 440 at the Tulsa Mopar event in November, and decided to swap in the 547 Mega Block wedge that he had traded for right before we left for DW15.
This is about the 4th or 5th used race engine deal Dale has pulled in the last couple of years, and while the other ones worked out great, he was due to get bit. Upon fire-up, it was clearly on seven cylinders, and a compression check revealed a couple more that were down considerably, so he pushed it into a corner for the long winter.

I had unloaded the Valiant into the back yard, and the Belvedere went under the carport, and became a storage unit.

Boone, Dad and Mom came out to visit for Christmas/New Years, and we took on the huge project of bathroom re-models, and a dumpster to clean up the back yard, so car stuff was secondary, but I did manage to get the Barracuda, and the Valiant on jack stands.

It was surprisingly early in 2016 when the announcement for the dates and tracks were released by Hot Rod for Drag Week. Like Ray, I was intrigued by the opportunity to not only move US131 from my "Tracks I've visited" list to my "Tracks I've raced at list", but also the opportunity to add the two Ohio tracks to that list as well. The downside was the 2000 mile tow to the starting facility, but since I had an early entry, I knew I was going.

I received the early invitation on Feb. 27th, and the announcement was made that registration would open at 9AM. Saturday March 5th, while Boone and I would be at the March meet, as a point of reference, open registration for 2015 wasn't until April 26th, so things were happening quick.

With a week to go before the March Meet, I decided perhaps I should try to figure out why the trans-brake had quit on the Valiant. This was especially important considering I was entered in D Gas, a four tenths pro tree, 10.60 index class, and I certainly wasn't going to hit that tree on the foot brake.

I dropped the pan, and had my son push the button. It didn't take long to figure out that the solenoid wasn't getting power. Once I began investigating the wiring, it became clear that I had lost power to quite a few different areas, so I removed the passenger seat to allow me to look at all my spaghetti wiring under the dash. About an hour in, I discovered the single fuse holder I had used to splice a hot wire from the working race car wiring to the long dead factory wiring. It had previously hung down for easy access, but when Aaron was re-wiring the ignition box in Indy during DW15, he had wire tied it up out of the way. I pulled the cover and found a blown 20 amp fuse, replaced it with a 25, and we had a working trans-brake once again.
"So", my son shook his head, "This car has been sitting in the backyard for five months, two of those on jack stands...because you had a blown fuse?"
"Well, sometimes diagnosing the problem is the biggest hurdle!" I tried to rationalize.

With the change of ownership on the Barnyard, we had to rectify the situation of the "borrowed converter", so Dad and Boone backed the 727 up, and Dad pulled out his JW billet 9", and they slid in an Ultimate 9" that I had picked up in a trade from Dale a few years earlier, so I guess you could say I picked up the Dodge "less converter". I also had to supply green accelerator pumps and blue bowl gaskets for the twin 750s as they were leaking fairly good when Boone fired it up after the converter swap.

We arrived at Bakersfield's Famoso Drag Strip Thursday to get pitted and tech in. Friday morning was our first shot at the track. The chip was at 3600, and the Valiant tossed the front end up fairly high on the leave, the 1.413 was the best 60' for the 428 to date, and the 1/8 mile was 6.582-102 compared to 6.596-103 on our gold standard 10.39 pass at Indy. In short she was on a good pass, I was looking over as we pulled past the big block Dart at 1000' when I heard a noise and saw a flash of white. I looked forward at my naked 950HP holley and hinges, the hood was gone! My reaction was to lift, and coast to a 10.52-114 while I wondered how my steel hood with stock latching mechanism had just left the car!

We really enjoyed the March Meet, hanging out with Jay and Fred, meeting Gary E, and eating all of Chassisman's food, but I had more questions about Drag Week 2016 than I did answers by the time we returned to Arizona.

The family called repeatedly to update us on their attempt to get entered when preregistration opened. Darren, Dale, and James had all got in. John and Opal had not, along with several other friends who have attended in the past. It was tricky to find the link, and quite a few people were disappointed as it filled up in eight minutes.

Mom and Dad loaded up the Dart at Darryl's once we got back, and I began the painful attempts of explaining to my beloved why they had left and the Barnyard was still in Phoenix.

In addition, Boone started pirating my parts locker. That 230 400 block? Yep, those MW ported Indy SR heads with Racer Brown rockers? Gone, Pro-Gram cross bolt caps? You were never going to use them, 1000cfm Demon? Indy low deck intake? 4150 Big Shot plate? Like a dang kid in a candy store!

So Billy, what are the future plans for the Barracuda and the BYV?
I envy you for all of the toys, but would not look forward to all of the future work getting each one ready in that Oven you live in.
Jerry

Billy, is that the same barracuda your brother and Wade had?if so, I came real close to buying it. I missed dw16 as the Ogles trunk monkey. With loosing Jason, they busted their tails getting the two cars back together. I spent dw watching dw live feeds from my wife's hospital room. So this year was biter sweet. If you're interested, I still have a low deck indy tunnel ram collecing dust.

Jerry,
It should be pretty obvious from reading these stories...I'm not really any good at the whole "planning" part!

The Barracuda checks that "I've always wanted a full chassis, strut, 4 link car" Box. It's cosmetically challenged though. I'm having a difficult time moving past that, and just putting it together with all the parts I have, and racing the thing.

I took the Barnyard Viper to the Cruise on Central in April, a couple of car shows, drove it to work, and gave friends rides in it, but I hadn't really planned to take it to DW16, because I wanted to make several upgrades to insure it was solidly in the tens on it's next outing.

Disaster struck in July however, when it was sitting on the street in front of my house and Rachael ran over it in her Ranger! She was taking our dogs to the groomers when the Husky jumped from the back area to her lap.

Bill,
You know how Drag Week is, while I did talk to Dillon and Charley a few times, it wasn't nearly as much as I would have liked. I think Jason would have been proud of the effort they put in! Dillon explained your absence with a painful look on his face, finishing with..."it hasn't been a good year for Team Ogle".

This is a different Barracuda, Dale picked this car up around 2003 as a roller in Texas, for a friend who wanted a S/ST car. I did mange to buy an Indy low deck tunnel ram this year, now I just need to send it to Monte for a couple of foggers.

The body damage to the Barnyard wasn't horrible, but she caught the header with her front wheel. Anything but the headers! She says her insurance will pay, but I didn't even know where to start, so I shoved it in the back and decided to revisit the issue after DW16.

Meanwhile, Boone was using me up like his own personal checkbook: "I want one of those Andy F A-body engine plates" OK. "Have you ordered my 440 Source 512/400 stroker kit yet?" Yes Boone, it's on the way. "You put that Hughes cam on a 110 lobe center right? With lightweight EDM lifters? Yeah, Boone, anything else?

Crazy as it sounds, Late June to early July is typically when the Gebhart Brothers tend to look around and say, "How many spots did we sign up for Drag Week!"
That's when I saw the pictures of the 24 Dodge on Dale's face book page.
"Boone traded his 75 Scamp, and some parts for it", was the answer I got from Dale. I knew as soon as I heard the news, the Dart project for Drag Week was dead...and I had just ordered a set of Hooker fender-well exit headers for him!

Boone has always talked about a 30's Mopar coupe, and this was going to change his focus completely. He called me a week later, "Hey..um...I sold the Dart."
"You what?"
"Yeah, I flipped it, just the way I got it from you."
"You kept the parts, what are you going to do with all the BB-A-body specific stuff?"
"I think Dale and I are going to put his old Duster together for little Billy".
"Why would you get involved with that!" I was exasperated.
"Dale is motivated...he's going to buy all the stuff from me, and all the parts to finish it, I'll just be supplying my motor, and help, then I'll have a ride for DW16!"
"That thing's an absolute pile! Did you make a profit on the Dart?"
He told me how much...It shouldn't bother me but it does, I always trade the stuff I have to my little brothers for exactly what I have in it, and they constantly turn the stuff and pad their pockets.
"You know that 24 is a two or three year project, maybe more right?"
"I know...but this is the one!!"
"For Dale and I's sake, I hope you're right!"