What have I gotten myself into?

I bought my '63 Fairlane drag car because it was a Fairlane, pre-equipped and a screamin' deal. However, I really have no idea about the quality of the install or parts used.

Feel free to let me have it on the picture quality, but it's what I have on Photobucket right now.

Roll cage - You can't tell in this photo, but the roll cage goes through the floor to the tube chassis.


Roll cage and suspension from above-rear


Rear suspension from below


Tube chassis


Someone mentioned in another thread that there was a kit for telling mild steel from CM. Anyone know the cost or availability of such a test?

Hi There,
Welcome to the site. Im in Bancroft,Mi, just about 20 miles East of lansing.
I get down by you ocasionally, and have built three cars. "COLLECTING" parts for my maverick project curently.Could take a peek at it for ya sometime. Be more than happy to help. Best time to call is after 7Pm.
Al 989-494-9746

Not tearing your car apart but from the looks of that pic of the tube in the trunk, it isn't welded all the way around to the plate. It wouldn't pass a chassis cert. If that is the direction you want to go with the car, you may want a reputable chassis guy at least give it a look over and let you know what your looking at. You can never be too cautious, safety first. Post up some more pics of the body, Fairlanes are awesome!!


Boo Boo

buy the pics i see it will not cert but it all can be fixed some more pics of the a piller bar at the floor and the main hoop. If have the money have the bar soinc tested it would suck to do all that work and have it not pass with bars to thin. If you need amy more help just ask Jason.

Al,

I'd love too have someone who knows more than me take a look at it. Let me know next time you're in my neck of the proverbial woods, I don't want you to have to make a special trip. You can call me at (517) 490-7822.

The fruits of my other hobby, homebrewing, will be available for consumption whenever you drop by.

Boo Boo,

You're right about that pipe. Feel free to tear the car apart as viciously as you wish. I'd rather know what's wrong with it before I put any more $ into it, plus, I didn't do any of the work, (yet) so you won't be insulting me! I bought the car because most of what they'd used looked like quality equipment with ok to poor installation that could be fixed easily enough with some elbow grease.

The body isn't much to look at. It's a little rusty with the original Rangoon Red paint showing through the rattlecan black where tarps have been tied over it throughout the years (it's been on that pad behind my house for ~1 year).



There must have been some significant rust damage to the front end. The lower radiator crossmember and the front subframe rails were repaired with sheet metal, square tubing and big, boogery welds. It doesn't look very good so I'll be fixing it up properly, probably from a donor car.


The fenders and quarters are also on the rusty side. The quarters have been stuffed full of bondo, which the PO was upfront about. He was just trying to make a quick, light car for his son and didn't mind if he fixed it by squishing bondo over rust. The fenders will be replaced with glass panels and the quarters will be fixed up with steel (at least more steel).



The interior is stripped and the instrument cluster is MIA. That's a non-issue, though, because an aluminum or fiberglass enclosure will do the same job while being lighter and more accessible.


Jason,

I'll take some better pictures of the joining locations (and everything else) this weekend.

I can measure the wall thickness of the roll cage pipe where it meets the floor pans in the trunk, but it's probably better to have the hoop measured independently and not assume that it was all made from the same material.

LOL had a brain fart it only has a roll bar check to see if the main hoop is 1.750 and pics of the floor where the bars meet it is there a 6x6x.125 plates.

Cool deal Al a good guy we talk all the time.

Are you meaning a roll bar as compared to a roll cage? Ah needs git mahsaylf sum lernin'.

There are plates in the trunk, as pictured, and there are plates (I think they're thinner) where the bars pass through the floor to the tubes.

Yes, pictures, maybe tonight as long as I don't drink too much at the Union.

yea from what i can see it has a 6 point roll bar in it.

Ok, so let me get this straight. You can have a 6 point roll bar and a 6 point roll cage, right? The roll bar is what I have where the hoop is just behind the front seats and the front two points are mounted low on the hoop. The roll cage would have the front two points following the roofline and a-pillars.

only 6 point roll bar the cages start a 8 points to make yours a cage you need the piller bars and the halo bar that the bar that is over your head the main hoop in the bar that behind the seat that runs up and over to the pass. side.

Ok. Would that be possible with what I've got currently or do I need to replace the hoop?

EDIT: I'm assuming it's possible from a geometric standpoint. I'm wondering if there are different material standards.

Yea you can go a few ways hrew,dom,cm each one has different call out on the wall thiness. You didnt do bad maybe just some clean up and check a few things the ET will tell you if you need a cage or just a roll bar.

Northwest outlaw wrote:Yea you can go a few ways hrew,dom,cm each one has different call out on the wall thiness.

Well those terms mean nothing to me. Better start readin' any suggestions?

Alright! Got some photos for ya before I run off to drink with my brewin' buddies.

Driver's Rear

Passenger's Rear

Driver's A-Pillar

Driver's B-Pillar

Passenger's A-Pillar

No photos of passenger's B-Pillar. I couldn't get to it.

Passenger's Side Ladder Bar

Driver's Side Ladder Bar

Useless Lateral Bar

Underbody Forward

Underbody Rearward

Ok i see what they did it is hard to tell from the pics about the welds here is a fast draw i did for you on a roll bar and cage.

Thanks Jason.

So I would get rid of the current forward bars and replace them with A-Pillar supports with window and dash crossmembers for a cage-type frame.

Is it necessary to have the plate on the floorpans? The A and B pillar bars blow through the floor pans and attach to the tube chassis.

Not to be harsh, but that rollbar looks like ass. The welds look like ass on top of rust.

I can't tell you what to do, but unless you're willing to strip that crap out and put in something you can trust, you might as well sell the car.

Greg

A good welder can fix your project. lots of guys are out of work, Got any friends that are pipe welders?

Hell I am an out of work pipe welder, are you in florida?

Charlie

If i had it id cut everything out and start over, the plates on the floor have to be 1/8 inch 6x6 and welded all the way around. Is the main hoop high enough and does the door bars cross between your shoulder and elbow? The car has potential dont be discouraged.

The cool thing about steel is no matter how f'd up it is you can always fix it...............

Before you do anything you need to get the old cage material sonic tested to see if it will even be thick enough to pass cert. No reason to do a bunch of work and then find out the old cage tubing is too thin. I'm guessing it's mild steel cuz the welds don't look to be Tig welded. And 'moly tubing can only be Tig welded and not Mig welded. And if it's all stick welded that's a no-no in drag racing anyway no matter what the tubing material used.

Your also missing a main hoop seat cross bar too. And the "fake" coil over shocks are pretty much useless in a drag car.

Greg's just bustin' my chops in his usual no-bullshit manner. I'll survive.

Charlie,

Unfortunately, no, I'm up in Michigan, but we're heading into winter and if I decide to work on the drag car this winter I'm sure I can get someone in to work on it. I have the TIG welder, just not the skills.

Jason and Dave,

If that's what's got to be done, then I have no problem doing it. I want it fast and cheap (of course) but I'm not interested in fast, cheap and dead!

Should the new cage go through the floor to the tube chassis with the plates on the floor?

Kyle,

Not chop bustin' on ya, bro! But think about it, the purpose of the roll bar is NOT to check off some box at the tech inspector's lane. The purpose of that roll bar is to heep the car from killing you when it ends up on it's lid! Serious business! That's why I had a pro do mine.

Wherever possible, attaching the rollbar to the frame is the stronger way to attach the bar to the car.

Greg

Gearbeer
Your roll bar looks to be mild steel, cause its thick .125? as seen were its not welded out to plate. I would mig weld it. a good man on a mig looks like tig. Lots of grinding to prep (your job) for reweld ! Looks like some floorboard work also.

Thats a nice project, nice budget racecar. a dirt cheap 460/c6 will make it fast enuff.

looks like about 2 days work with torches, mig and a 4 inch grinder. Every thing takes twice as long as it should (4 days)

MIG Advice. Run small wire hot and fast ( gas shield, no flux core crap!)(stay out in front of the puddle) First pass uphill. Toppass downhill (looks nice). With mig you can weld the top of the pipe (at roof)all the way around, never get a tig rig in there

Always wear your safety glasses...Charlie

ps wish you were in Florida, Id rather work on a project than type about it !!!

Very cool looking car, lots of potential, but I think you would be better cutting out the old stuff and putting in new also.

Then you know what is there. I have seen too many roll bars made out of exhaust pipe and crap that wouldn't provide any protection at all. It doesn't look like the builder had much pride or workmanship, so you don't know where the corners were cut. Some of those welds look like you could pull them off by hand.

Like Greg said, your life could depent on it. Not a place to cut corners.

If you look at S/W Racecars or Auto Weld or others, you can get a pre-bendt kit for a few hundred. Best would be a custom bent install.

Good luck.

Bill