camaro91boy

o.k so i will be getting a 1977 camaro for basically free. me and my buddies and there dads are going to make a drag car out of it. we will stuff one of my friends dads 502 drag motor that came out of one of his drag cars add a blower to it and put in a 400 turbo tranny basically with all that power i want to know where to strengthen the body the most and how. and if you have any suggestions on rear ends. im thinking of going with a ford 9in rear but not sure what gear ratio. and im pretty sure ill need a roll cage for more support. but like i said this is my first drag car and we have everything to put it together but i don't want to step on the throttle and spin the doghouse over (bit of an exadgeration) so any help would be appreciated because my buddies are getting mad at me for not letting them start on it. thanks

yevgenievich

iTrader: (4)

i don't know about second gen but subframe connectors would help

gordo420

iTrader: (1)

well you said it first a cage would stiffen it some, as well as some subframe connectors. as far as the rear ratio goes it is up to you, if you are doing 1/4 mile runs go with lower gears 373-456's, if you are looking for top end go with higher gears like 273's or 308's, I'd prefer the top end gears also I would stiffen the leaf springs (2nd gen right?)

jimdutro

iTrader: (1)

You might want to figure out if this is something you want to do just for fun or to make some money and travel a little from time to time. I jumped in head-first in drag racing in the late `60`s and wasted a bunch of money because I did not realize there were different classes in NHRA which means your car has to be built to certain specs. After you get a ton of money in your car it might be nice to get some of it back by winning some races at sanctioned events. I`m not saying you are ignorant and don`t know what you are doing, your post just reminded me of my costly mistake. I did have a lot of fun but I also ended up losing about $75k when all was said and done. Speed costs, how fast do you want to go?

camaro91boy

no you were perfectly right to call me ignorant that is why i slowed down and asked people with experiance first realy the car is free and all the parts are too so right this moment it will be for fun. being only 17 i don't think i could travle around to win $ i just want as much info as possible because i started out by helping my dad rebuild his 1970 chevelle ss but since i got my 1991 camaro i became a computer nut. yes they may both be camaros but im going to turn the 77 into a torque monster completely two differant things.compared to my dads car mine feels alot like a supped up rice burner. my 1991 is all get up and go very little torque. so the 1977 camaro is going to be as close to street leagal as possible so we can take it to car shows but we also want to go to the local drag strip pay the $25 entry fee and be a decent competitor then if we suceed then we will dig in more and do it for $ but for now its more of a trial and eeror. i do appreciate all of the addvice so far this is probably the most help i've gotten out of this site so far.

jimdutro

iTrader: (1)

Camaro91boy, I think the way you want to go with the `77 makes sense. I got into drag racing when I was also 17 and by the time I was 19 I had dropped over $50k out of pocket. There were 3 local drag strips within 50 miles of my shop so I had my choice, a year later there was only 1 left. My fatal mistake was when I decided to go "pro" instead of staying in it just for fun. It sounds like you have your head screwed on right. Best of luck, you will do well.

camaro91boy

thanks for all the advice i think i will go get the car next week do you know if i can get a new title that is the only reason i don't have it yet. it was a parts car then some one preped it as a drag car but the owner has it leagaly but dose not have a title. any advice on this situation.

duckmanquacker

see if the owner can apply for a lost title and offer to pay the fees.

WheelsUp84z

iTrader: (2)

wow $50k in 2 years out of pocket, you must have one hell of a job and not even 20 years old yet, you'd have to gross about 40-50k a year to do that...

jimdutro

iTrader: (1)

WheelsUp84z, yes I did have "one hell of a job". I quit school at 14 and went to work full time, 2 and 3 jobs at a time because I wanted things and they cost money. My average work day was 18-20 hours x 7 days a week adds up $$ quick. I never took any time off until I started racing and got my shop, 2000 sq. ft. for $150 a month, about the same as a 2 bedroom apt at the time. I was 18 when I got my first chefs job and settled down to just under 80 hrs. a week with Sat. & Sun off. If I could go back and do it over I would still get into drag racing but only for fun. I would like to have done what a lot of guys on this site do, race their daily driver on weekends. I was emancipated at 16, considered by the courts as an adult.

irockid86

any pictures of the car as it sits now. title or not, it would still be nice to see the starting point of your first drag car.

jimdutro

iTrader: (1)

Camaro91boy, you could not have a better first car to do what you want to do. If the seller does not have the title, go online to your DMV and print a copy of a bill of sale and fill it out with the seller. Make several copies and make sure to get all the paperwork this guy has that goes with the car. If you have the current registration and a bill of sale you should be good to go. If the seller did not keep the car registered, you may have to pay some penalty fees and get the registration even if it is expired, the more paperwork the better, the gov likes it.

camaro91boy

no not yet but wendsday i plan on going to the little town that it is stashed in and talk to the owner then i will take pics with my phone now that im more interested in it. i will post them on my cardomain site since i don't know how here. to see my other cars just type in my user name in the search bar and check out my cars. i will leave a post here to let you know when i will.

but as a quick description, the sub frame and body are supprisingly good condition being older than i am and a camaro. the only bad thing is it has a hole in the floor where the window was left open for 10 years under your feet if you were driving. but he has a new floor pan in the trunk. the body has been at one point stripped and then redone. kit looks as if the whole rear part behind the doors has been re done. the doors sag and don't line up with the rocker pannels,but we figure that it being a camaro it is most likely door hinges.the dog house and hood are all origonal and still the original red(now faded to a darker pink) no motor no trans and interior is stripped leaving 4 dashes that will fit. a grant steering wheel, what looks to be somesort of racing seats and a centercouncle. other than that i don't remember. this was just a car i passed every time i went shooting with dad. so i got curious and stopped by one day. then the gears started turning. and one of my friends brought up the idea of putting one of his dads many drag motors and soon a new drag team was formed.

camaro91boy

wow that easy i might be bring it home wendsday then thanks you just made my day alot better. and easier.how much are we talking in penalty fees though, he was using parts off of it to help his 1984 drag camaro.so im sure that the last 10 years i watched it rot away he never registered it he menchioned taking it to a scap yard because the town was getting on his case.
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wow this is scary how alike we actually are. my only day off is wendsday. but i still go to school aqnd don't get off work until 11:30 at night. but i get paid well for working in a furniture stores warehouse. oh and i just got laid off as a cook in a resturaunt/ pizza parler for going out of buissness. wow what a small world this actually is.

camaro91boy

pics of car as it sits now are now posted on my car domain page look up camaro91boy in the search bar and check out ground pounder.

brad_26

BAH your location had me like yeahhhhh he lives right near me then i read the IN part CRAP im still going to be bored lol

as far as the frame/body goessssss

1:fix any rust or structural damage make sure frame is still good
2:subframe connectors!!!
3:traction bars
4:slicks or drag radials
5:roll cage to nhra or equilivant specs
6:good set of adjustable shocks
7:9 inch rear would be fine for gears maybe 3 somethings? high 3s or low 4s idk
8:drag brakes if you want or regular ones
9:solid motor mounts

blah i could keep going for a wile but i gotta leave

then the first time you deside to floor it hold the hell on to somthing cuz its going to be insane i know a guy wth a 406 camaro running 9.52s ... LOL and i have driven a 502 chevelle it was insane and it was just stock 502

camaro91boy

to any of those who have seen the pics do you think this car is worth all of the time and efort i'm having second thoughts on this particular car. if not then ill just yank out a second gen camaro from my buddies junk yard and restore it with the same guts.

jimdutro

iTrader: (1)

Camaro91boy, I just checked out your `77 Camaro on your domain page and I would say that any car this vintage, especially one that has been sitting outside should have a frame off restoration. That is the best way to know for sure that the frame is not rusted through in places you can`t get to with the body on. You don`t really want something critical breaking while you are running 180-200 mph. If you have the space and access to tools it is not hard just time consuming. When I was racing in the late `60`s/early `70`s, the cars I used were near new so there was no rust/rot issues. All my cars were clean enough that you wanted to take a shower before you worked on them so you did`nt get the car dirty. I sprayed the entire under-carriage on my cars gloss black, then rubbed it out and waxed and polished the paint. Every square inch of the cars were"****". You sound a lot smarter than I was at your age so I have no doubts that you will do well. I miss the days/nights of seeing the first set of staging lights light up while I have my right foot on the throttle connected to 800+ hp and a 4 speed gear shift **** in my right hand waiting for the second set of lights along with the sounds and smells.

camaro91boy

well i don't think smart is the word just extremely cautious.i just don't want to put in all of this time money and efort just to watch it break or twist. and how exactly do you do a frame off restoration on a subframe? just unbolt the front roll it out and start patching up holes? the frame rails are solid i climbed under it but couldn't get enough light for my cell phone to take pics. but if you look carefully you can see the edge of the big gaping hole in front of the drivers seat in the pic with the stearing wheel. but still i just need some experts oppinion if i should do this car or just drag one out of my buddies junk yard there are 3 to choose from one is a firebird though so some body parts are differant. my biggest problem is still the title work. the more i talk to this guy the more i don't like it. a friend of a friend of a friend gave me this car for parts. no title no bill of sale nothing but someones word. any advice? i know i can get a title out of the junkyard though it is mandatory if you take a car there.

jimdutro

iTrader: (1)

I would agree with you that having a title is the most important thing to have. I had a 2 year old `70 Dodge Dart, 440 six pack, C-stock automatic car I had just finished when California passed a new law that required all off-road, race cars etc. to have titles. Prior to that you did not need any paper work or proof of ownership for a race car. My car was hot, I did not know it when I bought it but I should have known that you don`t buy a 2 year old car for $300. I did. A cop friend happened to stop by my shop and got to looking at my car and then went back to his car and checked some paperwork, came back to me and said that my car was on the "hot sheet", stolen from Lyons Drag Strip. Any way, my car was done and I had to strip it and took it to a scrap yard that crushed cars. I spent a lot of time and money on this car and shortly after I got burnt out on racing and quit, I gave everything I had away for nothing, I just walked away in disgust. Back to frame-off, it is a lot of time and labor. You are right, basically you disconnect and remove everything and support the body so it can`t twist or bend, roll out the frame and start cleaning. If you can get other cars for cheap or free, you might pick the one that needs the least amount of work and go for it. Most cars that vintage will need new floors so that is no big deal, the big thing is that the frame is not rusted through and you should be able to see enough by doing what you have already done, carefully look it over with a light, poke around and check for any rotted areas. I have seen cars break going down the track because of rotted frames but that was many years ago and the inspection procedures at the tracks now should be a lot better than the old days. I used to give the tech a case of Bud so I always passed inspection. If you can get the paper work/title for the `77 it looks ok to use, if no paper work/title, pass on it and get another.

87Formula391S/C

iTrader: (1)

I done the same thing when I was 26 depending how fast you want to go’ I built a 77 Trans/Am Drag car that ran 12.0’s to 12.34 at my local tracks in the ¼ mile.

Powered by..
Motor----406 pontiac
Trans-----Turbo 350
Rear------9lnch Ford Strange Spool An Axles
Weld Wheels & Tires
Rears 14 X 32 X 15's GoodYear's On 15x15 Draglites
Fronts 3 X 28 X 15's GoodYear's On 3 X 15's Draglites


You can see pic’s of it on my page at http://www.rickettsglennpa.com/Drag_Car.htm it was a blast to drive still is as you can see it needed another lexan windshield when pics were taken oh and now its blue.