My Studebaker Challenger V8 Wheel Stand

[cowboy204]

Sweat. That's how it's done

[warrlaw1]

Absolutely top shelf. Congrats, Richard.

[63larkr1]

I have a set of slicks she can use!
Richard

[t1003nl]

Richard, I showed your video to Robin and she was worried that the front wheels might come off the ground on OUR car when she runs it at Bean Blossom. I told her not to worry since it wasn't likely to happen!

[63larkr1]

I hope you enjoy this video. This would be the last two runs at Muncie last year. It was this video that showed the tire skip that I repaired over the winter. The second run shows a bog at the launch but gives you a good look and sound of a Studebaker wide open at 118.63MPH.
Thanks,
Richard

https://youtu.be/DTc3VmFsQk4

[63larkr1]

"I guess that wets our appetite to come to the races next year to see this spectacle in person."

Good, it worked! The race is May 27th 2017, just a few weeks away.
Richard

[Buzzard]

Thanks for posting Richard. And a very hearty "Congratulations" on your continued success. It is absolutely amazing how well sorted out you have your car as most would never be able to hook up like that. I guess that wets our appetite to come to the races next year to see this spectacle in person.
Cheers, Bill

[Studevair]

Thank you for the pictures

[62champ]

I have not scaled the car, so I don't know. I did take a tape measure and plum bob and squared up the rear end. This helped a lot with traction. The suspension is stock except for the bars, and drum brakes all around.
Richard

Great job - when my dad and Uncle prepped a '51 Starlight coupe to race, they wanted any excess weight gone. My Uncle got under the car with a can of gas and a scrapper and removed all the undercoating he could get to - my dad said it was probably half a five gallon bucket or so...

[63larkr1]

I have not scaled the car, so I don't know. I did take a tape measure and plum bob and squared up the rear end. This helped a lot with traction. The suspension is stock except for the bars, and drum brakes all around.
Richard

[HOXXOH]

Looking really good there, with nice weight transfer to keep the tire patch long while the front settled. The front location for traction bars appears to be almost exactly the same as what worked well for me years ago. What's the weight distribution and total?

[junior]

... Others like Tom Covington use a similar bar setup, but his are shorter, and it hooks real well, with no hop. Don't be surprised if people tell you they won't work. ...

I'm thinking the results speak for themselves...well done and very impressive! I'm surprised the cal-trac design didn't work for you... from what I've read they are the go-to traction bar system for relatively 'stock' chassis strip cars. Just wondering if the track surface was prepped? cheers, junior

[63larkr1]

Thanks for all the nice comments, driving this car is a lot of fun. I pulled the car out of the garage and got it out to the track for the first time with a plan. The rear axle housing was out of alignment. I worked on it over the winter to get it to hook better and it worked. I had 5 passes and all but the first one were 60' times in the 1.5 seconds, with the best of 1.536. As Bob said the engine is not just heavy but in the stock location. Most racers move the engine back so the front end is much lighter and it will transfer weight. To have the left front wheel not touch the ground for over 20 feet just shows how much torque an old Studebaker engine has. Imagine if it was 200lbs lighter like an SBC! I'm using 3 year old 9" slicks, about the same width as my Ford Edge! I also have an aluminum flywheel.
Patrick,
This is the short version.
I had home made caltrac bars and no matter what I did I could not get them to work, so I went to the hardware store and got some pipe and conduit cut them off and welded the conduit over the pipe with tie rod ends for adjustment. Made some adjustable brackets and bolted them on. This was temporary fix five years ago, they are still there! The location of the bars and the springs should, if extended out past the mounting points would cross at what I guessed would be the CG of the car. The pictures are deceiving. This keeps the car hooked up on the skinny tires. Others like Tom Covington use a similar bar setup, but his are shorter, and it hooks real well, with no hop. Don't be surprised if people tell you they won't work.
I really appreciate all the nice comments, see you at the track.
Richard

[am not r2]

wow! just wow!

[David]

That's hot!