CK5
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The Willomet Charger
- Thread starter AgDieseler
- Start date
A desecration to Mopar nuts everywhere, this is my protouring, LS-powered, 1970 Dodge Charger; built at my shop, Willomet Motor & Fabrication.
This is about as much as I think I’m going to get out of this model in BendTech. It’s a clunky program, but the gist of the model is there, and I have enough info to order material. It’s all on stock, anyway.
David
David
Are you going to be disappointed if you did decide to go to some event and were turned away because of the cage not being up to spec?
You might want to do the math on the specific tubes that are suppose to be .083 wall vs .065, they are 1.367 and 1.083 lbs per foot respectively. Now, when you step up to regular .120 wall mild steel DOM instead of 4130, then its about 2 lbs per foot, that's a huge difference, the 4130 is worth it where it can be used, its so much stronger it can be thinner and lighter.
It may not be much weight savings, and 10 - 20 lbs isn't worth it when to comes to safety. Now, if I can save that much without sacrificing anything, surely I would do it wherever and whenever possible.
It may not be much weight savings, and 10 - 20 lbs isn't worth it when to comes to safety. Now, if I can save that much without sacrificing anything, surely I would do it wherever and whenever possible.
So......
My 2"x 0.120 A, B and C hoops my be overkill and heavy?
My 2"x 0.120 A, B and C hoops my be overkill and heavy?
Probably not for a 7000 lb truck
Not for score!
That's a real possibility. SCCA is already out of the question. Factory chassis only.
The GTA/SLB rulebook is pretty rigorous, but that's not how I want to use the car anyway. Same for SVRA. Both require full door bars, and that's pretty far beyond how I see enjoying the car. Still, I’m reading through the different sanctioning bodies’ rules for what’s allowed in recreational classes. This is the wrong platform to be truly competitive. Also, I’m far too poor to be truly competitive.
That’s more than reasonable. Interestingly, I think the only body that makes a distinction between required wall thickness for a given material is NHRA. The others I mentioned above simply specified tubing diameter and wall thickness, with the minimum being .095. For my car’s weight, it would end up being in the .120 bracket. Chonky town, USA.
This is brings up the core question. What do I want to use the car for?
If I’m only going to drive it on the street, it’s perfectly safe and stable with the ladder frame. If I desire to participate in a specific class of events, then I’m bound by that rulebook and the added weight is just a bitter pill to swallow.
Truthfully, I don’t think that I would enjoy the charger as a track rat as much as a street car, and that might relieve me from the rulebook concerns, but I have other considerations that are driving me toward using a cage structure of some sort.
What I really want is a bad ass street car that's fun at the occasional track day. The charger is essentially built to be like my old CTS-V, but better looking and a few hundred pounds lighter. Most of my thoughts about the cage so far have been about duplicating the unibody structure from that CTS-V, which is why I immediately went to .065 4130 and favored structural rigidity rather than first considering what is allowed by a particular sanctioning race body. I just didn't think about it that way. Thus, if I build something that's at least as tough and as safe as the old caddy, then I should feel comfortable driving it in about the same way. Enjoy it safely; be rowdy from time to time.
I'm going to take another week to think this through. Candidly, I'll probably order two sicks of .083 just because, but before I settle on what to use, I'm going to make a couple of calls to some builders I know and see what they do for overpowered, street-pounding, track friendly sleds that aren't racing in a particular class, but are just out to have a good time.
And because text doesn't fully translate my tone and intent, I love these conversations with y'all. Building this by myself keeps me in my own head a lot of the time and being forced to declare and clarify my assumptions or mental shortcuts is helpful to a good design process, so thank you.
David
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I always think about my cars as tools, they have a specific job to do just like a set of wrenches in the toolbox. So when I make my decisions on them, its based on the job they're supposed to do.
Took delivery of all the 4130, including two full lengths of .083 1-5/8. I’m calling them the Folk sticks. They’re under cover and waiting until I get to that part of the build, which only has steering and headers ahead of it.
Next is finishing the cowl. I’m tired of it being on the to do list.
Flat front.
Center flange.
That little notch is a nod to the OE panel, which has a huge notch near the wiper motor (which weighed almost 30 lbs).
Working to fix the internal drainage such that water won’t stagnate inside the panel. Also, this makes more interior room for things like air conditioning, ECUs, and eventually people.
Time chewers, but knocking them off the list for good.
David
Next is finishing the cowl. I’m tired of it being on the to do list.
Flat front.
Center flange.
That little notch is a nod to the OE panel, which has a huge notch near the wiper motor (which weighed almost 30 lbs).
Working to fix the internal drainage such that water won’t stagnate inside the panel. Also, this makes more interior room for things like air conditioning, ECUs, and eventually people.
Time chewers, but knocking them off the list for good.
David
Morning shaping sesh’ gives a better look at the revised drainage flow.
David
David
Re: cage stuff
My reverse forward thinking:
If it won’t scca due to the frame, take their suggestions and look at other sanction bodies. Same with GTA, NHRA, et al
The money is where their mouth is in terms of any sanctioning body giving detailed requirements for these cages. Not only Bend tech approved, but someone who signs off on their insurance has looked at them
Mine still has both door bars in it on the street.
My reverse forward thinking:
If it won’t scca due to the frame, take their suggestions and look at other sanction bodies. Same with GTA, NHRA, et al
The money is where their mouth is in terms of any sanctioning body giving detailed requirements for these cages. Not only Bend tech approved, but someone who signs off on their insurance has looked at them
Mine still has both door bars in it on the street.
Quittin’ time.
David
David
I keep marveling, you've got way more patience than I do!
And a fair amount of procrastination too. I’ve put this off for months. It’s more fun to mess with suspension, steering, or whatever.
And because metal is clay, this is my first effort on the lower panel. It’s over worked and I’ll make another, but it’s 50/50 whether these things land somewhere near the final on the first try.
I’ll planish it tomorrow and see if this is salvageable. It’s too late to run the hammer. That things wakes the dead.
David
Are you doing any annealing when you work something?
I’m not. This .035 sheet is very formable “out of the box.” I know annealing is super common for aluminum because it does tend to crack, but mild steel seems to take mistreatment like this in stride before fatiguing.
David
Started over.
David
David
