Anyone here ever but a chassis kit froma builder? I am about at my wits end looking for a nice tube car. We went to LA this weekend to look at another one. I think the 7th one over the last 2+ years I have looked at. Once again I did not fit and not sure it is an economically wise decision to try and fix it so I would. This car my shoudlers were wedged between the funny car cage, my head hit the cage and the pedals would need some serious surgery. Nothing major but we figure a few grand to change it as well as the mid and motor plates and build some headers. This car was set up for a BB Chevy. So once again I had another 1100 mile day that was not worht the fuel money to ge there...Thankfully I had other business sort of in the area, so not a total waste.

So we are now thinking, my son and I, that maybe we just need to buy a kit and do the finish work ourselves. We are both good fabricators but dont feel like we are qualified to build an entire chassis. So I was thinking maybe a welded chassis from someone like RJ racecars would be a better way to go. I am not huge by any means but it seems most cars are built for guys no more than 6' tall. BTW my son(6' 200lbs)fit perfectly in this car we looked at, a point which he continues to make abundantly clear to me So anyone had any experience with doing this? While the thought of building a car makes me cringe it is becoming very clear that it is the only way I am going to get what I want and fit in. Any thoughts?

how about Chris Alston..arent they out your way?..Im quite sure theres a few others that custom build in Ca..let yo fingers do the walking on the internet...

good luck on your search Al..

Woody no way no how on Alston....But yes they are local. I have poked around for cars long enough I think. I will continue to do so as for now our plans are somewhat in the air. We may be moving again in the summer of 2011. Not sure yet where but have an idea.

Alston and Morrison won't build complete race cars as of earlier this year per them They both have shops that they recommend to put ther kits together. Al, contact Bill Hickox, he has built several complete cars for Doug Sikora and others in PSCA The last one I heard of last year was a twin turbo 2010 Mustang for a really big boy,he makes me and you look small

Looking to go 6.0 cert, double frame rail deal? A bit out of my range of experience, but I can sympathize about not fitting in cars.

Al,
I feel your pain!! First problem 4 me seems to be moving the old car! Can't give it away, so may just have to keep improving on it. Saw either Bickel or RJ offering a welded chassis for like 8500?? But never called, I just figured by the time it arrived out here, and then all the other work you'd end up doing to it, would it prove cost prohibitive??

I like my car, but I look at it and want to front half it, new headers, new firewall, new lexan, new paint, and I'll have another 8-10K in a 2750lb 7.50 cert ladder bar car..just can't wrap my head around that!!

I was thinking a stage one type deal from RJ. Just a basic welded chassis and we could finish it up from there. I actually enjoy fab work so I think it would be fun and theraputic as well for me. Plus I will get what I want. I have looked at a number of cars the past couple of yers. Best fit so far was a new Stratus but I will not be able to pull that trigger due to the cost. Dont really want to sell the Cuda and to make this happen I would have to.

Billy did not know you were wanting to sell yours. Would make a great car for my kid, tell me more. Shoot me an email, b1valiant@sbcglobal.net Getting ready to head out for a family RV vacation..Hope I survive

I think you would be steps ahead of the game getting the pipe done by a pro. It's alot of work and it's very time consuming. I'd even think about addin peddles tranny and motor mounts and some of the basic features all cars need. Then you can do the rest of the little things that make this sport fun.
Good luck. If you want to talk just give me a shout.

Maybe shooting myself in the foot here! But cost wise it is always much cheaper to buy a completed car over building one. Even if you can do alot of the work yourself,the hard part is finding a good one! X2 if you are a large person. The main chassis is the easy part, with a good plan you can assemble one in a couple of days. It's all the rest of the stuff that takes forever.The stuff you dont think about,Doing lexan right now on 70 duster, have 3 days in it right now still not finished. The good deals are out there right now. My advice is to keep looking, and never buy one without seeing in person.Or make a trip to AZ, and i'll build you whatever you want,we have some experience building for the larger driver,Billy does'nt qualify anymore as he lost to much weight in the past couple of years! Do a double take every time I see him nowdays.

JMO....keep looking Al, you will find it and for $.25 on the dollar these days, even if it needs some adjustments and upgrades your waaaay ahead in the $$$$ department

I priced out building a new car from the ground up and even in this economy

Rickster

Good luck on the hunt for a new ride. Maybe throwing out some "wanted" adds will help. Guys that answer are already motivated to sell!

You are just not going to find what you want in the used market Al. Just buy a welded chassis from one of the top builders. I know a welded chassis from Haas is $6500, can't beat that. I asked John (DeFlorian, shop foreman) if that was just one of their main stream cars, or anything. He said, "bring any body you want, and we will build a welded chassis for it, for $6500". As you know, I used to build cars myself and I will never build another ground up car myself, I will buy the chassis.

Monte

Sorry to ask this, but how much harder is it to put awelded chassis in compared to a welded back half? Backhalf wasnt that hard once we found all the centerlines. John

Maybe the car you just looked at, but there is an avenger on the PSCA site 6.00 cert fits large driver in Cal.Posted today!