drag project.. on the cheap..

[damson devil]

i was thinking that my s14a is becoming more and more for track, the way it is set up.
but i still love drag racing.. and have a habbit of breaking boxes with my hard launches..


my thoughts reverted to last jap show when there was a guy in a xj jag.. completely and totally stripped out with only rear fat tyres added..
then my thoughts were on the top gear series where they run the xjs against super cars.. stripped it out.. it was faster.. alot.. then they NOS ed it.. enough to anialate the competition.. and the engine... remember the episode???


if i was to get a jag.. or large engined car.. with the obligatory rwd..strip it out .. add a little laughing gas and some fat tyes.. it should be in the 12's easilly... and all for the i recon.. 200 for the car.. 300 for the used nos system.. and a few quid for the fat tyres..
i wont be breaking boxes all day .. the auto trans is solid..

quality bit of cheap fun i recon.. plus anyone can have a go and theres not the ( its my pride and joy issue)

just after any feed back on the idea.. possible cars to use etc..

one question i have though is about the trailer i will be needing..
trailers are hard to find.. i thought i might be able to tow it on a frame.. is this a problem if it is not road legal...???? whats the legalities of this...??

[s13silvia]

why not get something with many parts availble? like say an american V8, you could probably source lots of bits to tune up V8's on ebay and the likes! and those things can run stupid 1/4 mile times! spend a bit of cash and wollop on a turbo setup/charger and youd be laughin! i mean you can get some old v8 cars for pennies if you look due to the high fuel prices they require!

[Jeffers_S13]

Me and a mate looked at doing this with a V12 Jag and blatantly copying top gear. It isnt as cheap as it first seems and the old engine isnt gonna last more than a few runs anyhow when you start trying to push it way beyond its limits. Top gear is all about entertainment these days and making out that it cost a few hundred quid makes people think 'I could do that' but in reality, you cant. Fifth gear attempted to build a 200mph Esprit on a budget and failed miserably as an example, they may not have made the best choices to spend their money parts wise, in essence they just nailed some big turbos on and crossed their fingers in much the same way as you'd do if you nailed some nos gear onto an old Jag. If you have £3k+ to waste then do it but if you want a cheap drag car I'd look at buying something already done with a big american V8 that parts can be got for much cheaper. Regards the towing, unless it was fully road legal all the wheels will need to be off the road, so a big trailer and a suitably big tow car are the only option.

[damson devil]

found out that if you are towing on a frame or dolley it is technically classed as a unbreaked trailer.. so it is fine..

on top gear they put a 500 shot of nos thorugh it.. .. humm let me think... thats not gonna last long..

the dude i saw at the pod this year had a 4.2 xj6 stripped out.. with some fat tyres.. thats all.. nothing fancy... and that ran mid to low 13's all day.. thats fun enough.. and that will only cost you a couple hundred. just look at ebay.. for a bit more speed bolt on a 100 shot of nos and that just adds to the fun.. your not gonna break any record but i wont break my manual gear box on the 200.. and 100 shot will barely touch a 4.2.. they were built to take 400bhp with a few tweaks..

the esprit was on a BIG budget IMO.. it was like a 50k budget or something like that.. alot anyway.. thats a different thing though.. top speed..

[s13silvia]

heres another few suggestions you may not have thought of:
rover SD1 with tuning
capri 3.0/ scimitar se6a 3.0 v6 with tuning
rover 600-800/ vitesse turbo with tuning
pug 405/605 turbo with tuning
civic sir/vt with tuning
supra 3.0 turbo with tuning
any old american v8

[damson devil]

a capri or manta would be cool.. but they are rare and cost a few quid for a runner..

amereican is cool too .. but again.. i assume they are dear..

[fry]

one of these, stripped and 200 shot of nos

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1991-BMW-750i-V12-AUTO-BLUE-LPG-CONVERTED_W0QQitemZ230024886456QQihZ013QQcategoryZ 9837QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[skyshack]

found out that if you are towing on a frame or dolley it is technically classed as a unbreaked trailer.. so it is fine..How? Legal limit for an unbraked trailer is 750Kg GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT - that's what it's allowed to weigh when carrying a full load of driver, pasenger(s) and luggage not what you can strip it down to empty.

http://www.ntta.co.uk/faq/default.htm

An A-frame or dolly can only be used to recover a broken down vehicle to a place of safety. Transporting a car is, therefore, illegal.You better have the car being transported "broken down" so as to pass a mechanics inspection and if they suspect you are transporting a race car they will have a police mechanic inspect it.

You will need insurance, tax and MOT for car being towed on dolly or you will be admitting to using an unroadworthy vehicle without insurance or tax - you had to be using it on the road to break down and need recovery.

By yourself, claiming to be recovering a vehicle 100 miles from home they will ask you how you got home to get the recovery car and dolly, better have your train and bus times straight and know of any cancelled, break down delays or late ones at the time you claim to be using it. By the time you get to court they will have videos of you not going though the train station at the time you say you did. Want to try upping the ante to purgery?

If you have a mate with you, then the tow car should be insured for him and then you can say that they came out to get you. Be a whole lot better story if the tow car was in someone elses name and they were driving. This is the 2nd time in 2 months we have found you towing this car within 5 miles of Santa Pod! If you are found out do you have a mate that will take the rap or will he take you down too on conspiring to ... ? IE you knew it was illegal but still did it.

[damson devil]

so all those people transporting a smart car on the back of a motor home are breaking the law?????

[damson devil]

plus if its not registered.. road legal etc.. its not classed as a car.. just a trailer.. ????

[damson devil]

oh.. and you should write a book.. you got a good imagination..

[Aitch]

so all those people transporting a smart car on the back of a motor home are breaking the law?????
No, because the Smart car will weigh less than 750kg ;)

[damson devil]

How? Legal limit for an unbraked trailer is 750Kg GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT - that's what it's allowed to weigh when carrying a full load of driver, pasenger(s) and luggage not what you can strip it down to empty.


but what skyshack says is that trailers have seats.. and even if you can get it to 750kg you have to add passengers into the equation..
the last time i looked it was illegal to carry passengers in a trailer, caravan boat whatever you are towing..

[ian_t]

I dont know how things can be done on the cheap but the americans do this to get a 10s car.

2JZ conversion stock engine and box
600bhp single turbo
emanage
injectors

thats good but wont be cheap your looking at 2-3K of mods (tubby etc)
2-3K for engine
2-3K for converting etc, plastic windows and the likes

[David Reid]

Look at autograss racing.

No one tows a car to an event using a dolly or 2 wheel lift as it is illegal.

Just get yourself a trailor

[damson devil]

ok.. cool.. trailer it is then... too much controversy regarding towing..

now where can i get a cheap trailer.. lol..

also where do you get drag tyres/wheels from?

[David Reid]

For tyres do a search on Hoosier or Micky Thompson

Jag stud pattern is the same as chevy, so you might be able to find some chevy rims with suitable tyres to go on.

[ian_t]

ok.. cool.. trailer it is then... too much controversy regarding towing..

now where can i get a cheap trailer.. lol..

also where do you get drag tyres/wheels from?

http://www.hauserracing.com/

Anything you want ;)

[Roger_Sausage]

also where do you get drag tyres/wheels from?

Try www.laracingparts.com and ask for Lee. (Mickey Thomson dealer) :)

[Jeffers_S13]

IIRC there is only one car that is technically allowed to be towed behind a motor home, cant remember what it is, its naturally something small, nasty and mostly plastic. This has been discussed somewhere before I think and someone provided some sort of proof for it, but of course I cant remember where I was reading it. But essentially all those motorhomes towing cars behind them are breaking the law I think but they just dont get pulled, probably because any bobbies that see them think they are exempt or are unsure themselves on the law regarding it ?