B
Buzzz Miller
I did not want to railroad the top stories of 07' post, so here it is. (In answer to nunzio's questions about the new proposed certification of funny-car spec.)
1) the current chassis spec is .058 frame-rails with .049 thickness uprights. Around the welds on the .049 crack pretty quickly, so to step up, you use .058 wall.
2) The next step up is to larger diameter tubing. Helps out a ton. If you go hog wild, you go with a larger diameter, .065 wall tubing. (The next step up in thickness of general production tubing.) The man who built Murf McKinneys first race car spoke with me in detail. He says building a car out of .065 rather than .058 will make a funny-car last three to four times as long. Same diameters, just thicker to .065. *I don't remember exact numbers, but something like total weight change in the entire chassis, is something like 6-7 pounds.* When you slip a tube into another tube, an .065 gets a little tight with the next step down. But do-able without problems. *Quick example; Worshams cars that hold up spectacularly are an .065 wall bottom frame rail.*
3) You pass a few other steps of really heavy wall tubing before you get into the 90's. .083 is used quite often. They stated .093, but the next standard tubing diameter is .095. So now we are going to the metal manufacturers to make a specific tubing size? My guess is they will see this error and change the spec to .095 for just that reason. Now the tubing is so much thicker, you cannot step down to the next size tubing and slide it inside. So now you are stepping two and maybe three sizes in diameter down. Taking a 1 1/2 in tube and step down to 1 1/4 is a huge step down in size, and strength. Here is your new weak point.
4) Bracket altereds, match race alcohol, top alcohol, aafa, nostalgia, and top fuel are the same SFI spec. Chage the spec and no car on the planet can re-cert. Not one. Including the new one Scelzi has on the jig. Every car funny-car style car that wants to cert quicker than 7.50 seconds is dead. Nostalgia funnies are dead. CIFCA is dead. Northwest IHRA 7.50 class is dead. Altereds that run top dragster, top comp, Q/16 are dead. Top alcohol is dead. Fuel match races and AA/FA are dead. These framerails cannot be simply altered. We are talking new cars around the horn. We cannot afford that. Some of the fuel teams cannot afford that.
Again. Knee jerk reactions that kill our sport. Larry Morgan looks smarter by the day.
Watch this:
All chassis manufactured after 7/1/08 must have lower frame rail of 1 1/4", .065" wall tubing. (Or if you go CRAZY with the rules and want it ultra strong, 1 1/2", .065".)
Or tell everyone that as of 1/1/2009 there will be two certs. 10.1.e for everyone else, remaining the same. And 10.2.f for cars running fuel funny-car at a national event, of the above stated rule. (Give everyone time to get up to speed.)
I guess I am just a little upset about this deal. I am getting ready to build a new funny-car and now have to be on hold for this CRAP!
1) the current chassis spec is .058 frame-rails with .049 thickness uprights. Around the welds on the .049 crack pretty quickly, so to step up, you use .058 wall.
2) The next step up is to larger diameter tubing. Helps out a ton. If you go hog wild, you go with a larger diameter, .065 wall tubing. (The next step up in thickness of general production tubing.) The man who built Murf McKinneys first race car spoke with me in detail. He says building a car out of .065 rather than .058 will make a funny-car last three to four times as long. Same diameters, just thicker to .065. *I don't remember exact numbers, but something like total weight change in the entire chassis, is something like 6-7 pounds.* When you slip a tube into another tube, an .065 gets a little tight with the next step down. But do-able without problems. *Quick example; Worshams cars that hold up spectacularly are an .065 wall bottom frame rail.*
3) You pass a few other steps of really heavy wall tubing before you get into the 90's. .083 is used quite often. They stated .093, but the next standard tubing diameter is .095. So now we are going to the metal manufacturers to make a specific tubing size? My guess is they will see this error and change the spec to .095 for just that reason. Now the tubing is so much thicker, you cannot step down to the next size tubing and slide it inside. So now you are stepping two and maybe three sizes in diameter down. Taking a 1 1/2 in tube and step down to 1 1/4 is a huge step down in size, and strength. Here is your new weak point.
4) Bracket altereds, match race alcohol, top alcohol, aafa, nostalgia, and top fuel are the same SFI spec. Chage the spec and no car on the planet can re-cert. Not one. Including the new one Scelzi has on the jig. Every car funny-car style car that wants to cert quicker than 7.50 seconds is dead. Nostalgia funnies are dead. CIFCA is dead. Northwest IHRA 7.50 class is dead. Altereds that run top dragster, top comp, Q/16 are dead. Top alcohol is dead. Fuel match races and AA/FA are dead. These framerails cannot be simply altered. We are talking new cars around the horn. We cannot afford that. Some of the fuel teams cannot afford that.
Again. Knee jerk reactions that kill our sport. Larry Morgan looks smarter by the day.
Watch this:
All chassis manufactured after 7/1/08 must have lower frame rail of 1 1/4", .065" wall tubing. (Or if you go CRAZY with the rules and want it ultra strong, 1 1/2", .065".)
Or tell everyone that as of 1/1/2009 there will be two certs. 10.1.e for everyone else, remaining the same. And 10.2.f for cars running fuel funny-car at a national event, of the above stated rule. (Give everyone time to get up to speed.)
I guess I am just a little upset about this deal. I am getting ready to build a new funny-car and now have to be on hold for this CRAP!
