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mike343sharpstick's 69 Javelin project

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  • Want an example?
    Demolition derby! 30 ishy years ago when I started the fancy guys (me too) used all-thread in our radiator supports.
    Now? Custom front end cradles, motor cradles called block savers, distributor protectors, carb protectors, tranny braces, steel bells for trannys, slider driveshafts, and slap shifters just to name some of the stuff..
    The midwest has some of the ridiclously strong cars, big prize $$$ too..

    The days of a weekend build is gone.. Sure they have "80's and newer" class that is supposed to be bare bones builds but guys still do body off builds

    $$$ got into it.. Average guy thinks he can't compete..
    Last edited by Deaf Bob; June 16, 2016, 01:04 PM.

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    • I agree with your assessment. I think if the car owner wants to ‘win’ something that is the situation.
      To me the satisfaction is building a car at home, while working more than full-time, supporting family and kid activities, house junk, and on, and on….. Then taking that car to an event where you test the sh!t out of it, and when it gets back home it’s still functioning properly. To me THAT’S a win, but I suspect that is not the opinion of most others.

      When I raced motorcycles, of course the sponsored racers did better than the regular guy. I worked hard, got some sponsorship and seat time and there I was, top 5 finishes on a regular basis. That was a ton of work. At the time I had no kids, a great wife, and my job responsibilities were nowhere near what they are now.

      Rodney Prouty, who has done some writing for BangShift has done just that as well, and his Camaro is damn fast. With him at the wheel it’s capable of doing top 3 in GTV at any of these events. If that’s what you want to do, it can be done!

      Read about the Beach Cruiser too, it's a killer home-built car as well! http://www.lateral-g.net/forums/show...=16169&page=11

      This is NOT what I’m looking for, my car has almost no aftermarket support, and having sponsors requires the individual sponsored driver to certain time-consuming responsibilities which I don’t think I have time for even if an opportunity popped up. I’m looking for personal satisfaction, not fame or recognition. I guess that’s more unique than I thought.
      Now I think it’s time to sign up for Road America and move ahead on those new upper control arms!
      Last edited by mike343sharpstick; June 16, 2016, 01:59 PM.

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      • To quote Better off Dead "you will find that winning suits you" - I get what you're saying, but what happens next year or the next? shop time is fun, don't get me wrong, but being with like-minded people has some advantages too. When grassroots anything becomes mainstreamed, finding like-minded people in the crowd becomes increasingly more difficult. For that reason I think that Rally racing in the US hopefully never becomes a thing. Don't tell Bryan, but it's one of my favorite sports and something I did a lot of when I healed faster.... watch it? no, go to a competition? oh hell no - add to politics, money, arrogant (for no apparent reason) Euros and you'll quickly see why I don't carry a gun.
        Doing it all wrong since 1966

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        • here I am on the speed-stop, Sure looks good with the front suspension squatted down under braking!
          By the way, that speed-stop challenge is way harder than it looks.
          Click image for larger version

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          Last edited by mike343sharpstick; June 20, 2016, 02:30 PM.

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          • Three words - "Land Speed Racing". Yes, there are guys with tons of money but there's nothing in it for the winners. There's no purse, no trophy, no fame (except among your fellow racers). There's just knowing what you built and what you did. When I had the Camaro I got just as much peer recognition and congrats when I first broke 100 as the guys did who broke 200. Everyone wants to see the other do well and they're sincere. I pick classes where there are no/few other entries because I can't run with the big dogs and I don't wanna stay on the porch and I have just as much fun as anyone else there. It IS fun to see someone go 235 but I know right away that they have more $$ to spend than I do.

            I think it stays humble because there's no money in it. For the most part sponsors stay out of it - if there are sponsor stickers on a car it's usually a company belonging to the racers' family or some such. Sponsors pretty much stay out of it because there' little fame to be had so there's no advertising coming out of it. I have 2 stickers on Mutt - 1 for Dieselmeken (out of thanks, not $$) and 1 for Gearhead Diner, Vic and Terri's new soon-to-be restaurant in Fancy Gap, VA. (they're buddies).

            So that's how I do it. I'm NOT competitive at all and this way I can just do my own thing and basically race to see if I can make my own improvements.

            Dan

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            • LSR is cool, and on the bucket list. For me to do an LSR event and run any kind of speed that I would find interesting I would need a cage, so it's not going to be this car, and likely wouldn't be AMC powered either.
              I have "Next cars" designed in my head just for such shenanigans, just awaiting the time and cash to do them. One of them is my IMSA RS gremlin that just sits there mocking me every day. Could be 2 years, could be 20, who knows. I have lots of distractions.
              Last edited by mike343sharpstick; June 21, 2016, 08:52 AM.

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              • Originally posted by mike343sharpstick View Post
                LSR is cool, and on the bucket list. For me to do an LSR event and run any kind of speed that I would find interesting I would need a cage, so it's not going to be this car, and likely wouldn't be AMC powered either.
                I have "Next cars" designed in my head just for such shenanigans, just awaiting the time and cash to do them. One of them is my IMSA RS gremlin that just sits there mocking me every day. Could be 2 years, could be 20, who knows. I have lots of distractions.
                We've had Gremmies. And why not AMC power? LSR folks LOVE weird stuff and the weirder the better. One thing I haven't seen is a Rambler V8 - that would be cool in a Gremlin! IIRC, yours already has a cage that can probably be made to work.

                One of the greatest part of LSR is the variety of weird combos. An 8N with a flathead running over 100, a Firebird running an OHC 4 banger (I forget where the head was from but it was an obscure racing program), even one idiot with a Mercedes Diesel in an S-10. How about a REAL Mercedes gull wing with a late model Mercedes inline six or a '40 Ford sedan with an early Hemi running Nick Smithberg heads - the list goes on. I hope you'll come down to Ohio and just spend a day walking the staging lanes to see what's there.

                Dan

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                • Why not an AMC? Just down to cost per HP.
                  If'n I did LSR I'd like to knock on the door of 200 mph. Getting an AMC-based V8 to go north of 600 HP reliably is certainly possible, but expensive and time consuming. I would love to build an 8,000+ RPM 401 strocker but I don't think I'd have the resources to get there. A 401 core alone is over a grand these days, aftermarket crank is anywhere from $1,600 to more than $2,500., and on , and on...
                  I have been learning about at Gen 3 Hemi's in recent months. NOT for this Javelin, I love this car just the way it is.

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                  • Nothing wrong with a STABLE of cars..
                    Just don't get too many non runners...

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                    • OOohhhhh - a late model Hemi in a Gremmie - the HemiGremmie or GremmieHemi - either way, mucho coolness!

                      I'll tell you the truth, though. Max fun is finding an obscure class that either hasn't been run or has a soft record and build TO that class. That's Mutt's story and I'm having more fun that lots of guys who battle for 200 MPH. 200 is NOT easy! Depending on the aero of the subject car, you're looking at something like 900 HP. plus all the extra safety stuff ('chutes, and brakes, tires, etc).

                      Dan

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                      • Found this today...
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                        • Cool pic., shows it working!

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                          • Have some work done on the new upper control arms, love doing this stuff.
                            I pulled out the harness bar, and did a family drive this weekend, that was cool. Kids are growing but still fit in the car. So it IS a street car!
                            That said, I'm not sure how much longer I can stand the loud flowmaster-style mufflers, It's loud and sounds great, but I think I want to tone it down a bit.

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                            • why'd they tilt the camera?
                              Doing it all wrong since 1966

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                              • Given the speeds I achieved on the autocross is probably exceedingly difficult to just keep it in frame, much less properly align the horizon!
                                But seriously.... I had a nice conversation with RideTech_Ryan on coil-ever shocks, specific dimensions to build around, spring rate and stuff. Glad to have that moving.
                                Last edited by mike343sharpstick; July 6, 2016, 06:50 AM.

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