here's what we started with. a type 3 notchback dragcar with a type 1 framehead grafted on. the problem was that the front end was solid - no travel at all! this obviously made the car skip all over the road (or track) and was just plain dangerous!
the ideal would be a nice, springy front end, which would help transfer wait to the rear on launch, which would hopefully help the car hook up rather than breaking traction as it had been...
here's the driver/owner - jolly jim warner... and that's about his entire tool collection in his hands! this is why we were there to help!
we started by removing the shocks, fearing they might be too firm or even seized, but that didn't help. so, after removing the spindles, steering etc. we could finally remove the arms - that took some brute force as they were seized solid... clearly our problem!
this beam had been narrowed about 5.5-inches - quite a lot. note also the lack of leaves.. i know that should reduce the spring rate, but it's not going to help the car land smoothly if it does end up pulling the front wheels!
leaves replaced and trimmed, bearings greased and everything freed-up, the car was re-assembled and ready for a test drive. watch out for the upcoming vid clip showing the newfound 'springiness'. new dampers really helped, too. more on that later...
oh, and we'll post a proper video of a 'street' launch as soon as the weather improves. hopefully we'll see some improvements... hopefully!
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