I have a 1978 Malibu Wagon that has been converted for drag racing. It is a 2 door "Panel Express" done the "poor mans way" in that I got the body this way as a "roller" about 3-4 years ago and whom ever did the work did a very nice job of it but when you think about it, it should have the longer 2-door doors. The jury is still out on the best way to accomplish that,...start with a 2 door hard top and graft on the wagon *ss clip??? Or, start with a wagon and graft in the 2-door hard top doors??? Won't matter as I have nor the time or skill to do it so be it this is what I am working with. I only paid $1500 for it and it came with an adjustable 9" Ford rear with 3.70 gears and a "spool"...this is all new to me, what is a "spool" anyway? Is that a locking device? Full spool,...1/2 spool,...??? Not even sure just was told it has a "spool" !
Ran the car 3 passes last Summer with a 358 small block / Turb 400 set up and blew the front main transmission seal on the 2nd pass, discovered it on the 3rd!
Now I dropped in a semi-mile 454 with a 3-deuce tunnel ram set up flowing 825 CFM total,... a Powerglide,...(had to have the "Glide"!!! First car I ever drag raced was my parents 65 Impala 283 Glide. I stole it one Saturday night while they were out and took it to Capital Raceway and won a trophy the first round which was a bi-run due to the fact that there was no other car in the 15:99-16-50 class I was in! LOL!) This glide has a trans-brake. I also got a set of 4.76 gears but want to see how much RPM the motor makes at the end of the 1/8th mile before I decide if it not going to be too low of a ratio. The rear tires are 27 inch diameter Hoosier slicks (sticky when hot) road race tires, (not purpose-built expensive drag race tires but trust me, they hook better then ordinary street radials).
I just picked up a straight front axle from good ole craigslist for $30. It was told to me by the seller (a International-Harvester-Navistar freak/guru of sorts that the part came from a 197-72 International 3/4 ton pick up truck. He gave me the model number as 2010 or something like that, anyway, I went on line to research it, and could not find a single picture of that model truck with 5 lug rims,...they all have 8 lugs! This axle set up has 5 lugs on a 5 9/16th (not 5 on 5.5 as I initially was told) bolt circle. So may have trouble finding a pair of narrow light weight front rims for it. Anybody have any ideas,...let me know!
I intend to pay a decent welder anywhere from $200 - $500 for materials and labor (workmanship) to fab up my frame to accommodate this set up. I am not too concerned about it being too heavy or too wide. By my rough calculations, it would change the current front tire footprint to 4 inches wider then what it currently is with the stock set up and 15x4" wide rims / 165-80x15 tires that are there now. Since they look to be set in pretty far, the added 2 inches on each side would be fine by me and probably look cool as well. The drums, are a bit bulky and heavy. They measure around 12 inches in diameter and like 4-5 inches thick. I believe they should stop the car great because they are huge compared to what front drums would be like if the car came from the factory with front drums instead of the disc set up that is on there now which will be coming off if/when I actually find someone to do the changeover. Can I change the drums to something else easily and inexpensively? Here is what the $850 set up looks like:
file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Compaq_Owner/Desktop/STRAIGHT%20FRONT%20AXLE%20WEB%20SITE.htm
So far, I got $30 and $10 in gas invested in this "idea". I am ready to commit, just would like to get some more feedback before doing so so PLEASE YELL BACK! I posted on the WAGON forum but response was mostly "What are you smoking? Why ruin a good ride...?" I tried to explain that handling and ride was not important as I will be basically driving at 5 miles per hour around the pits and only in a straight line when racing, but seems like no one likes it for what it is...
I will attempt to post some pics.
Ran the car 3 passes last Summer with a 358 small block / Turb 400 set up and blew the front main transmission seal on the 2nd pass, discovered it on the 3rd!
Now I dropped in a semi-mile 454 with a 3-deuce tunnel ram set up flowing 825 CFM total,... a Powerglide,...(had to have the "Glide"!!! First car I ever drag raced was my parents 65 Impala 283 Glide. I stole it one Saturday night while they were out and took it to Capital Raceway and won a trophy the first round which was a bi-run due to the fact that there was no other car in the 15:99-16-50 class I was in! LOL!) This glide has a trans-brake. I also got a set of 4.76 gears but want to see how much RPM the motor makes at the end of the 1/8th mile before I decide if it not going to be too low of a ratio. The rear tires are 27 inch diameter Hoosier slicks (sticky when hot) road race tires, (not purpose-built expensive drag race tires but trust me, they hook better then ordinary street radials).
I just picked up a straight front axle from good ole craigslist for $30. It was told to me by the seller (a International-Harvester-Navistar freak/guru of sorts that the part came from a 197-72 International 3/4 ton pick up truck. He gave me the model number as 2010 or something like that, anyway, I went on line to research it, and could not find a single picture of that model truck with 5 lug rims,...they all have 8 lugs! This axle set up has 5 lugs on a 5 9/16th (not 5 on 5.5 as I initially was told) bolt circle. So may have trouble finding a pair of narrow light weight front rims for it. Anybody have any ideas,...let me know!
I intend to pay a decent welder anywhere from $200 - $500 for materials and labor (workmanship) to fab up my frame to accommodate this set up. I am not too concerned about it being too heavy or too wide. By my rough calculations, it would change the current front tire footprint to 4 inches wider then what it currently is with the stock set up and 15x4" wide rims / 165-80x15 tires that are there now. Since they look to be set in pretty far, the added 2 inches on each side would be fine by me and probably look cool as well. The drums, are a bit bulky and heavy. They measure around 12 inches in diameter and like 4-5 inches thick. I believe they should stop the car great because they are huge compared to what front drums would be like if the car came from the factory with front drums instead of the disc set up that is on there now which will be coming off if/when I actually find someone to do the changeover. Can I change the drums to something else easily and inexpensively? Here is what the $850 set up looks like:
file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Compaq_Owner/Desktop/STRAIGHT%20FRONT%20AXLE%20WEB%20SITE.htm
So far, I got $30 and $10 in gas invested in this "idea". I am ready to commit, just would like to get some more feedback before doing so so PLEASE YELL BACK! I posted on the WAGON forum but response was mostly "What are you smoking? Why ruin a good ride...?" I tried to explain that handling and ride was not important as I will be basically driving at 5 miles per hour around the pits and only in a straight line when racing, but seems like no one likes it for what it is...
I will attempt to post some pics.
