After touching, staring at, and taking pictures of the new rear for about an hour, we decided it would look a lot better mounted on the car. This was a time-consuming process. We set our wheelbase, made some final decisions on the design of the leaf-spring mounting brackets and shackles, and measured for the placement of the rear. After sliding, lifting, and taking numerous measurements, the rear was spot-welded into place, followed by more measurements to convince ourselves that we had it right. Pinion angle is also of utmost importance. Once the car is completed and weight adjustments are made, we will set the angle for maximum performance. This will also be discussed in a future article
Before permanently installing the rear, make sure it is squared up with the frontend, or you will have a serious handling problem. Look at it like dropping a modular home on top of a foundation that is not square-not a pretty sight.
A Lesson LearnedDIRT specs mandate a minimum of a 107-inch wheelbase. Plans called for the Warrior car to be more than 107 inches, due largely to the size of the track we will be competing at. Orange County is a large, 51/48-mile track. A shorter wheelbase works best on smaller tracks. We are currently at a 109-inch wheelbase on the car, which will keep the car more stable on the larger track.
When setting the wheelbase, also be aware that some leaf springs vary in size by manufacturer. You may order springs with identical ratings from two manufactures and receive springs in varying lengths. Some may be off by 11/42 inch. We chose AFCO rear leaf springs because of their quality and uniformity of length. For the 2000 season, we'll start with 153-pound springs on the rear.
In the process of installing our rear, we learned a valuable lesson. With the car now sitting on a smaller rolling bench, we dropped in the dummy motor, transmission, and driveshaft before squaring the rear. This is smart, but only if the car is balanced when off the ground. We found out what happens when it's not. That afternoon, as the crew was staring at the good work recently completed on the rear, the entire chassis tilted and crashed to the floor! Why, you ask? Because after installing the rear and dropping in the dummy motor and transmission, we didn't check to see that all this newly added weight was in balance. Nothing was damaged, but a half-days work was wasted because the partially installed rear shifted and had to be realigned and installed again. It was a lesson learned.
With the car now able to support itself, we acquired a set of 10x15-inch lightweight chrome steel wheels from Bassett Racing Wheel. They weigh only 20 pounds! A great feature on the company's 3-inch offset wheel is the location of the valve stem-on the inside of the wheel, where it is protected from contact with other cars. Initially, we'll be using 3- and 4-inch offset wheels. We are mandated by DIRT to run Hoosier tires, and we currently have the largest allowable tire on all four corners. With the body being fitted soon, this will allow us to ensure adequate wheelwell clearance for all permissible tire sizes.
Getting InsideThe interior design is starting to take shape. Following another trip to Behrent's Performance Warehouse in Florida, New York, for sheetmetal, we're starting with the firewall and moving back into the driver's compartment. Front and rear firewalls must extend from fender to fender in as straight a line as possible. No excessive cutouts or tunneling in the front firewall are allowed. The driver's compartment must be sealed off from the trunk area by a full rear steel firewall and rear window shelf. The dash must remain in one even plane across the width of the car, and the steering column must be adequately secured in the stock position. A full floorboard must be installed from front to rear and from side to side. The passenger-side floorboard may be raised to a height even with the driveshaft tunnel to allow for better ground clearance of exhaust pipes and mufflers. No sheet-metal may extend from the passenger-side dash back to the rear deck.
The seat must be securely fastened (bolted or welded) to the rollcage and/or frame in at least six places.
A new Richardson Racing seat has been custom-fitted for Mitch. Richardson does not keep a readily available supply of 15-inch seats, so one had to be made to fit his small rump. The seat (with Mitch in it) and the steering column have been temporarily placed in the car and measurements taken for the final installation. (Mitch doesn't know this, but when he was sitting in the car, with steering wheel in hand, we all heard him making vroooom, vroooom sounds!)
One Step CloserWe've been using a Mittler Bros. Machine & Tool 24-inch bead roller on the sheetmetal as the pieces are fabricated. It not only looks good, but it also gives the sheetmetal panels added strength.
Once the rear shock mounts are installed, the suspension should be almost finished, except for any last-minute changes or tweaks we decide to make. When the car is 100 percent complete, we'll set up the suspension to run at Orange County. For now, our immediate goal has been attained. The car is now off the jig and sitting in the shop supported by a nearly completed suspension, sporting four new Hoosiers, mounted on shiny new Bassett Racing wheels.
We've been delivering parts to our engine builder, Jeff Saaf, at a steady pace. The block is being prepped, and the next installment will be devoted to building the engine.
Meet the CrewDriver/Owner: Mitch FrankLocation: Waldwick, New JerseyAge: 38Occupation: group circulation director, emap usaFamily: wife Jean, sons Kyle Austin and Bradley DaleRacing Affiliation: DIRT Motorsports member since 1997. Orange County FairSpeedway, Middletown, New York-'99 Pure Stock (five wins and second in points), '98 Pure Stock, '97 Enduro driver
Chassis Builder: Keith Koppenal, K-Auto Tech, Fair Oaks, New York
Engine Builder: Jeff Saaf, Saaf Engines; Rowland, Pennsylvania
Crewmembers: Jeff and Brian BaringerCar Number: #7, in memory of Alan Kulwicki
ManufacturersAFCO Racing ProductsDept. CT06P.O. Box 548Boonville, IN 47601812/897-0900www.AFCOracing.com
Bassett Racing WheelDept. CT06P.O. Box 55Bassett, WI 53101414/877-3312www.bassettwheel.com
Bicknell Racing ProductsDept. CT06117-119 Cushman Rd.St. Catharines, Ontario L2M 6S9Canada800/891-0521
Currie EnterprisesDept. CT061480 N. TustinAnaheim, CA 92807714/528-6957www.currieenterprises.com
Fuel Safe USADept. CT0663257 Nels Anderson Rd.Bend, OR 97701541/388-0203www.fuelsafe.com
Mittler Bros. Machine & ToolDept. CT06121 E. Mulberry St.P.O. Box 110Foristell, MO 63348800/467-2464
Pep BoysDept. CT063111 W. Allegheny AvePhiladelphia, PA 19132www.pepboys.com
Richardson Racing Products Inc.Dept. CT061028-B Central Dr.Concord, NC 28027800/282-RACE