Project Build.....Dragula Style...w/Pics

So there might be rumors online that I have picked up a new (to me) project car....I can say, the rumors are true. I sold the engine out of the Duster, and I am selling the Duster and I bought somthing very different....What is it? Well I might be in a bit too deep on this one as its more than I normally tackle and I may be moving to another state next summer, but I needed somthing to do this winter.....Its just a roller right now, but here is a sneak peek.

That's cool, I like it. Very unique

Looks awesome, what are you thinking about doing for driveline?

Damn, that is cool. I like it alot. That will be a fun project.

That's the fun part....The budget allows for a bunch of room on this one. But I would like to work that out as I go. I was on the phone yesterday with Arrington about the new G3 block coming out, and how far you can take it....There is also a running 605 Hemi and trans sitting here in my 70 Cuda that would look great with a tunnel ram and dual TBI's....Or?

I was also on the phone last week with the The Blower Shop, and 8-71's...So I guess I am open....Wedge, Hemi, G3...And when I say G3, here is what I mean:

https://www.powernationtv.com/episode/HP2012-05/newstalgia-blown-hemi

What part of Arizona is this picture from ?
Or am I wrong on the background and plants?

Sierra Vista....

Looks cool

Did you buy that from Jim? That looks like the "Almost funny" Barracuda he built for Drag Week.

Its definitely someone he knows and its from his home town, but is not Jim's, but it is similar. I actually wanted to buy his as a roller and build my own drive train for Drag Week. I do not believe he wants to sell it just yet. But he did take his other car to Drag Week this year, So I am not sure what is up with it.

more pics please !

I would also like to see more pics- please! Thanks, Bill

WOW !!!! that looks KILLER !!!! love it

Cool car. IIRC there were some photos of it floating around on the web a while back.

Cool project , looks awesome.
My vote is for a Gen3 with gear drive procharger since it looks like you have the room or 605 hemi with a roots since we have lot of room on the budget

Very cool! Congrats and more pics when you get a chance.

Agreed!

Reminds me of the Sox and Martin 66 Barracuda funny car but looks so much better. Especially with the blower hat sticking out!

Cool! Good luck w/ it!

I am open to ideas....Kinda why I started this thread....

ET-3 style rear wheels. the ones with the "D" shaped slots with the rib around the slot. painted to resemble oxidized magnesium.

I say 605 Hemi with Stack inj

Like these?- Wheels

yes !

What I am learning, and I should have read up on it sooner, in the Drag Week rules, the chassis is not legal for A or B Gas based on the front rack conversion and the rear four link..... Kinda sucks. Was looking to maybe run it in one of those classes with this car. Not to mention some of the other rules like 11.25" wide max rear tire and no coil overs. I can tell you I am probably not changing any of that to fit the rules...In fact, I am not seeing a class it does fit. The fire wall is moved back, the front nose is stretched, and the hole in the hood goes right to the base of the window. A lot of these are no no's in the rules. ...funny how that works.

I say Dragula build it and have fun. Yes I know it's easy to say that for someone elses build. I say hemi with a Potvin snout driven 8-71 blower. The lengthened front end gives you plenty of room.

Sounds like they need an old time exhibition class added.

You could run in Unlimited, or Street Machine Eliminator. You could run easy 10.00s in SME, it's much tougher to run at the top of Unlimited. That's a very cool car, but doesn't slot very easily in Drag Week. Still surviving Drag Week is job 1. Good Luck with whatever you decide.

just tell the inspector its a rare factory one of one alter wheel base cars!!! Birdtracker

Dragula, is Dragweek a must? If not, what about the Heads Up Index racing. 1/8 mile 5.50, 6.0, 6.5, and 7.50 seem to be pretty popular, and the rules are pretty open. Sounds like a perfect fit for that very cool car. I, myself am building in that direction with my Lancer as the old style look was the main reason I started this project. Specific class rules in other open classes made them WAY out of my budget. You could keep all the cool stuff ,race and still be competitive.Whatever you decide, you've got a very cool ride that you need to build and enjoy. Good luck, sir! Bill

We will see I guess.

Cool project. Daring to be different?

Definitely...

And for the engine combo, I am thinking a blown 528 Hemi in this deal with an 8-71 on it....Race it on E85, drive it on 93, and have a very mild .690 lift blower cam. This kinda goes back to a discussion I started a while back as there are two ways to do this engine. Large pistons, small stroke, or large stroke, small pistons. I am leaning towards the larger pistons for valve clearance.

So it goes to the chassis shop next week. The goal, get the cage updated so it certs to 8.50 and the addition of inner door panels and inner removable fenders....Already found 2-bars that are illegal in the car and will have to be removed and replaced. I also weighed the car as it sits, what a pig! its 2000lbs completely empty, so fiberglass parts are going to be needed. Obviously, the hood is a big culprit.

I also pulled the low back seats out and put the high back seats from my '70 Cuda in it, and dropped them right to the floor. So now I fit in there better, but the steering column is tool long. I need a seat with neck support if we put as much HP on board as i think we might. Also tried to fit my old radiator from my Cuda in there, and it needs a little persuading. I also put a PPP shifter in there and pulled out a switch panel that was in the trans tunnel. Going with a Leash setup for the whole car.

I will take pics when I get it back from Veto's

Looky what showed up at the shop....

Looks like callies showed up I also got one for christmas

Yes, Callies block. It looks really nice. Been trying to research a stroker kit for it, but so few sights have enough info on them to figure it all out on my own. Was looking for a billet crank 528 with the small 2.2 journals and about 9.5:1 compression pistons for a reasonable price. Seems like all the billet cranks use a 1.031 pin with the large Mopar journals. Not sure if I need to go that way or not at a shade under 1500hp....

Its going to be a bit before I build it. I thought I had my other car sold a number of times, and each time I got ghosted, so I am building a new 512 for that car as well as upgrading the wiring on it and the interior. Going to do a pump gas 512 with lightened crank and the usual Indy heads.

I always feel broke doing this stuff, but I still feel like I am living a dream....Just wish I had more money!!

Just use a 440source crank. I have been extremely fast with one.

[quote=Dragula]Yes, Callies block. It looks really nice. Been trying to research a stroker kit for it, but so few sights have enough info on them to figure it all out on my own. Was looking for a billet crank 528 with the small 2.2 journals and about 9.5:1 compression pistons for a reasonable price. Seems like all the billet cranks use a 1.031 pin with the large Mopar journals. Not sure if I need to go that way or not at a shade under 1500hp....

Its going to be a bit before I build it. I thought I had my other car sold a number of times, and each time I got ghosted, so I am building a new 512 for that car as well as upgrading the wiring on it and the interior. Going to do a pump gas 512 with lightened crank and the usual Indy heads.

I always feel broke doing this stuff, but I still feel like I am living a dream....Just wish I had more money!! /quote]
That block looks a lot like the World iron blocks looked like
Good luck on this build

Should be fun...

It should look nearly identical other than the machine work.
It's cast at the same foundry (Dalton) and from the $ame Chry$ler tooling as in 2008.

Congrats on the block Randy.
I remember talking about it back when they first came out through MP/World.

If you sonic it, I'd love to see the numbers posted, and it might help a few folks decide they want one.

The two I checked were super thick esp considering they were both 4.500 and up, but I never
said anything about that activity, as some people here can be ridiculous.

Its a really clean looking casting. They definitely used some nice tooling when they cast it. The decks look like nearly an inch thick. Machining looks good too, but we have not checked any of it yet. If the money allows, this will become a 528 blown Hemi with an 8-71 on it. I wanted one before they disappear again or the price goes up again.....I would love a wedge version as well, but I have to save what I have for the chassis updates. The guy who welded the cage, is not a chassis guy and it all got cut out. Putting a Moly 8.50 certed cage in it right now.

IMHO you are really going in the right direction, both body and motor👍👍 Trend makes DLC coated . 990 x . 205 wall piston pins, which I would think might be enough? $ 600 for them though. Any clue what this will weigh? Could it run fast brackets , Quick Sixteen?

Well, its funny you ask, because I actually know what it weighs as a roller, and I was shocked....Its already 2000lbs with no drive train! I had it scaled the week I got it. I noticed, after the fact, the rear frame was mandrel bent 2x4 steel instead of the usual 2x3! The damn thing has a Truck sized frame under it!

So my plan is to run this beast on Meth with an 8-71 and make around 1200hp at 12psi or so....So the only things not decided are 528 or 540, and what rotating assembly? Blower will be TBS, and injection will either be Killer Rons or Alky Digger.....With EFI added later.

I just ditched the stock dash and put in a glass one, plus a moly cage....Gonna watch weight where ever I can.

So the new cage is in. Along with the new fiber glass dash. Looks nice. The old one had to be cut out. It was really bad.

Next problem was seated position and leg room....There just isn't any leg room with the fire wall so far back. I made the decision today to just cut all of it out. The fire wall, the trans tunnel, the floors, everything.

We will then set the engine and trans in it and then the seat and determine where the engine has to be and the new fire wall...What a mess.

Can't live with it the way it is. Trans tunnel is way too big and cramps my foot area bad.

There are so many awesome builds out there, this is where you have to get it right, or you end up selling the car because you hate it. And right now I hate the lack of leg room and how tight everything is. This is especially true for street strip car.

Being comfortable in a car is a BIG deal to me. It was the mainreason I sold the Stratus. The new truck most folks cant reach the pedals y Valiant was the same way

Sooooo..No pictures is a bummer....I blame my GF for last week having no pictures as the camera was DOA.....This week, I have picturres, and honestly, there was more car last week, than this week....But I could not live with the interior the way it was, and the cage was a disaster...But we are finally making progress...even though it doesn't look like it.

Few more..

Maybe one or two more...

Cool project. Should run strong

Its a long way from running...

That is gonna be a neat little Hot Rod!

I can imagine the tall injection stacks sticking up through that hood
Are you going to use EFI with the tube type injection?
I would. up:

Randy
That will be a head turner for sure! I know your in the middle of "fixing" it but I notice it doesn't have any horizontal triangulation, do you plan on putting any in?

The bones look pretty good now. Gonna be awesome.

Being the looney I am, I'd be in a real fight over painting the body or just clearing it as-is.

me thinks you may have had something other than taking pictures on your mind with your GF, then just blamed her for no pictures !
JUST KIDDING !

a question if i may, how close to the rear end is the rear driveshaft loop ? TIA !
and i really LIKE that car !

Few more pics....from today.

Sorry, its not much. I think I need a sponsor.....or at least a winning lottery ticket this hobby eats money.

Comes home this week, and becomes a lawn ornament for a while. Might see if I can get the drive train mounted and then headers built next.

i hear ya on the money eating thing !
that's why my forever project humpback and my charger is taking forever to get anything accomplished.
the hospital and docs need their "fair share"............[at least that's how it is in my case]

So the lawn ornament comes home this week....I will see if I can get some updated pics this weekend, but honestly, I need to get my butt in gear and get my Duster running ASAP for the start of the season and I can't do both....But I still want to mount the drive train in it. Anyone got a BB to 727 JW unit? I need one for the trans that is going in the lawn ornament.

Other that that, its as I said I was going to do....I had the cage cut out and put in a moly one, along with the firewall & floor and had some cross braces put in where needed and the frame gusseted. New dash is mounted, and next will be seats and pedals, then either fuel stuff and wiring, or the crazy headers I want to do...

This is the biggest project I have ever taken on, and I feel a little bewildered by it. I mean, there is nothing mounted to this chassis yet. Let alone, paint and body work and trim.....But it should be pretty cool when close to done. Will it fit the nostalgia rules, doubt it, maybe change some stuff in the future depending if its easy enough...Its purpose, is to be a nostalgic blown street & strip car....I can have fun with.

As far as pedals go, what do you guys like? Looking for a nice firewall throttle and brake pedal...

Very cold here this week. Not going to get a break in temp for a while. Tough to work on stuff at these temps...I also forgot to mention the trans tunnel around the bell is removable and the cowl that was cut out for the blower has been filled back in.as the engine has been moved forward cause I needed the foot well room.

So I still need pedals, JW for BBM, and I have a question, can a set of lightening rods work with a RMVB 727?

I looked into lightning rods a couple years ago. There is a place that sells there version that works with RMVB at a reasonable cost
https://www.kilduffmachine.com/
The original Hurst ones are rare and expensive.

I have been looking at those....Weird how it needs a reset....

There was a customer car (mopar) here last spring that had that shifter with RMVB (street car) Seemed to work well although I only drove it around the block.

I have a car that had one of those shifters in it, TH400. Worked fine with RMVB. Not sure exactly what you mean by "reset it" but if you mean down shifting its pretty simple. Can go one at a time or use the large handle, closest to you. You do not have to use the smaller handles to shift either way if you dont want to. The reverse lockout is the only thing thats "clunky"

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1965-barracuda-street-strip-awb.1259212/

I tried to buy his before I bought mine....Love Squirrels car...He is currently doing some upgrades to it..

fair price on it I think

Well, I could sell mine and go the finished car route if anyone is interested....Would have rather had his in the first place.

Well I listed it just in case there is a chance to own Jim's...Won't be for sale for long though...

Priced right i know how much work it takes to get to that point