1/4 Scale Top Fuel Dragster PROJECT!!!!

[Juiced Drag Racing]

Agreed!

Plus the little "repair weight" would be better in the back too!

Well designed cut lines.



Ed

[PaulSongas]

I'd sure rather SHORTEN one than try to lengthen it.

You got that right!!

It looks like I may need to go from the front, as the nose and around the front wing don't quite fit correctly around the front of the chassis. I am going to double and triple check though. I need to weigh every option before I start cutting up a $180 body.

[PaulSongas]

After looking it all over, I just did not see how the front end was going to fit how I wanted it to. The body would need to have an unrealistic front overhang, so I decided to shorten it from the front. I made a template for the front a-arms and steering linkage, and traced it on the body., I also made my cuts for the nose.

First time the body has rested on the chassis!!

[Mike Casey]

looks pretty good. What is the plan now? can you use what you cut off for the front?

[PaulSongas]

Here is a rough mock up of how I am going to approach the front end. At this point, it has been shortened 7.5" and still has some more to go, but it's headed in the right direction.

[PaulSongas]

Nose Update--

I did some final measuring, and final cuts, and in total the body is about 10 inches shorter then when I got it. It is coming along very good, better then I expected so far.





I made fiberglass strips out of some leftover body pieces for the inside, both to bridge the gap in the nose, and to attatch the 2 nose parts to the body itself.




Here is the nose as of now, I need to make an endcap for the nose under the wing, and then bondo up the seams. Then sand, sand, sand.... I also taped on a possible front wing spill plate design just for looks.

[PaulSongas]

I made some good progress on the nose. Shot it with some primer tonight for a better look. Not too bad but still some more work to go.

[K]

She's looking really good

Kevin

[Juiced Drag Racing]

Very nice work.

I will be starting on a bunch of body work soon. I hope it comes out just a good.




Ed

[M.R. Ogle]

I noticed you left enough extra length on the lower sides to reach all the way up and under the front wing for support... nicely done!

Very well thought out!

Are you fiberglassing the sections back together with weave glass cloth and resin? That stuff really stinks (literally), but it makes the re-assembled pieces as strong as the rest of the body.

[Mike Casey]

Very nice work!!! Good info for future guys that buy these.

[PaulSongas]

I did not use cloth and resin, I have zero experience at it and I didn't want to make a mess out of it. I used some epoxy and strips of left over body work.



I worked on a windscreen template today. Now I just need to find as piece of Lexan big enough to make one.

[M.R. Ogle]

Length x width?
I probably have a chunk of Lexan downstairs big enough.

By the way, that car all in white, with the abbreviated nose, looks sooo much like Ashley's A Fuel car looked in testing in 2004. I saw it in the shop later as they were putting the "Toy Store" lettering on it.

[PaulSongas]

Yup Sure does!!

Looks like 16 x 9....Laid flat it looks like a boomerang! I was thinking .010 or .015.

[M.R. Ogle]

I've got .020 downstairs...

How critical is the 16" measurement? The piece I have is 16" (exactly) by 27".