-EDIT- Car is finally back home! See page 11 for some outside pics, see pages 8 & 10 for everything else

Well I've been wanting to do this for a while. Seeing others on the board that have done this go fast without breaking is inspiration enough but my inspiration comes from my own breakage of parts.

Last spring I put the Mcleod Street Twin clutch in. It's an AWESOME clutch. Others who have installed that clutch have had similar breakages to mine, specifically in my case I started breaking wheel spindles the second I went to the track after installing that clutch. It was snapping them like toothpicks. So after missing pretty much the whole racing season because of that I basically said "screw this" and started researching the solid rear. After a good deal of research I decided this was absolutely what I wanted to do, especially in regard to how fast I eventually WANT to go.

So once that decision was made, having ZERO fab skills myself, I had to locate someone to do the project. Much to my surprise, I found out that there was a premier racecar chassis builder about 20 minutes from my house. Steve Matukas of Matukas Motorsports is doing all the work. You can see pics of his work here - make sure to click on "photo gallery":
http://matukasmotorsports.com/index.html

If you go to the photo gallery you'll get a taste for the kind of stuff he's built. He does amazing work so I'm lucky to have him local.

Right now, we are planning on:

Back half the car (as you can see already) and tub
4 link w/ 9" Ford
Afco shocks/springs in rear (I'll probably do coilovers in front eventually for ride height adjustability mostly)
Chromoly roll cage w/ swing out doorbars
New brake lines (completely get rid of ABS system)
Wilwood rear brakes
Line lock
Fuel cell w/ external pump

I'll try to update with pics every Friday afternoon most likely.


Back half starting:







Man that's a big hole! Frame rails are now toast:





Tire/wheel combo being test-fitted for tub mockup and axle measurements:






Newly fabbed rear end:




Roll cage:









Panel work is pretty much done - Tubs are .060 aluminum - everything else will be .040:














Rear end installed:








Here you can see a good shot of where the rear bumper was trimmmed slightly so they could "smooth" the underside with panels, we'll probably dump the exhaust in FRONT of the rear end so all you see from the back is the rear end - you can also see the fuel cell through the license plate opening:






Here's the tranny crossmember and also its mounting system.









Here's some shots of how the dash area has been cleaned up and also the crossbar, I'm having a custom dash built which will be much simpler for serviceability, all my electronics including PCM, ignition, etc. will be mounted up underneath dash once done:

 

Good luck!

What are your goals?

 

Initial goal is to have fun and not come home on a flatbed. Cuz' I wasn't doing that before this project . . . .

Long term is easy 10's w/ fairly consistent 9's to follow, but I'll need quite a bit more power for that.

 

I am interested in your Racetronix pump? Can you pm me a price?

 

I'm going to try and sell the whole tank w/ pump.

From what I have been told, once gas has been in the pump you don't want to let it dry out. So let me see how that goes and then we'll see.

 

Have fun!

 

I'am considering the same thing being the 9 in. rear end, just out of courosity what is the final anticipated cost going to be? And will the fuel cell meet NHRA certifications for mounting? Is he also installing any type of roll cage? and if so will it be certified also? Is he incorporating any provisions for a wheelie bar if your car requires it? Around me, once you break the 10 sec. barrier a lot of the rules change.

 

Thanks, just let me know. No hurries

 

Looks good

 

-Edit- just noticed you are in Indiana so once we get done you should come down and check the car out and check his shop out.

I don't know what the exact cost is but you are probably looking at 7K give or take for just the rear end stuff. Since I'm doing quite a bit more than that it won't be quite that low. I've seen figures of 5-8K here on the forum so it's definitely in the ballpark. If you factor in the sale of your Dana 44 and future breakage the figures start adding up nicely.

The fuel cell will be off the shelf w/ custom mounting. I don't know about all the certification stuff but if you look at his website you'll see plenty of cars that are way faster than mine. I also know he's very familiar with rules/regulations and in certain classes he's considered the "man" based on a few cars he has built.

We are definitely putting in a roll cage and I do know for a fact on the roll cage it will be certified (just haven't heard him say on the fuel cell but we just decided to go fuel cell last week). The roll cage is custom fabbed - again see his metalwork on his website.

No wheelie bars for now and I don't want to ever run them if I can help it. My car has to stay streetable. What's fun for me is just backing out on Saturday night, racing a few hours, and DRIVING back home, not trailering. So that's where I'm headed with the car.

 

I like your style, no f**kin around. Wish I had your monopoly money. Anyone want to buy Park Avenue ??

 

Believe me, I'm not rich. Just been waiting a while for this. I decided if I was going to do it I would do it right and never have to worry about it again.

Frankly, now I'll have more chassis than motor but that's better than the other way around.

 

Good luck with the project...from the 20 Wally's on the shelf it looks like he may know a thing or two about drag racing...lol..

 

LOL - I figured someone would notice that.

He definitely knows his stuff.

 

hey, Is there a weight gain or loss with this little Nip/Tuck?

 

I'm curious as well. Would like to have weighed the car before/after so don't really know.

My guess is a couple of hundred pounds lighter with everything being removed - the roll cage adds some weight back though I don't think much.

 

When I did mine going from a Dana 44 to a 12 bolt I lost some LBS, the reason for that was the fact that my rear was narrowed a lot from the factory length, also along with fuel cell and ABS removal which all helped. Talking to Jesse Ski_dwn_it he thinks he gained some weight. I remember picking up my 12 bolt from the back of the truck and carrying it all the way to back of my garage, I thinks stock length is around 63" my rear was 50" . or it could be the fact that I’m extremely strong ….. lol :lol: :rofl:

 

hey,

also let me know if you plan on using the stock brakes, i can get the same bracket i made for my car made for you and that could save you some $$$ i would say around 500$ for new brakes... let me know

 

I like the photo's! Those are so insightful about the sub structure of these things.

I can't wait to see this progress more! Good luck!!!

 

Why didn't you go with Ski_dwn_it's conversion for the rear, he said his is cheaper and bolts right in?
I have red l98's old D44 and it has served me well .I have run in the 9's all season and haven't broken anything yet.Unless you install a dragster
cage around your head you will only be certified to 8.50 et.I paid $105.00 for Mike Rice div7 head to certify my chassis.
I know the piece of mind will be good for you when you are going down the track.I think of something breaking every time I go down the track
Good luck and looks good so far