Built my driveshaft safety loop!!!

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younggun2.0

younggun2.0

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i got my new 3 1/2 in. drive shaft in the car and was planning on using a universal driveshaft safety loop. well the drive line is pretty tight in the tunnel so i had to make my own from scratch. it fits the contour of the trans tunnel very closely. I have it set up so that the seat bolts will go thru it and be bolted in that way. serves two purposes that way. here it is all mocked up. what do you guys think?

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Make sure you read the rules LOL. I can't remember anymore, the requirements, and they might have changed

For some reason, you can dowload NHRA rules free from Bremerton Raceway

[ame]http://www.bremertonraceway.com/2012_NHRA_RuleBook.pdf[/ame]
 
Rules haven't changed there.Kid,you got skills.I used those awful universal ones,so ugly.
 
67Dart273 said:
Make sure you read the rules LOL. I can't remember anymore, the requirements, and they might have changed

For some reason, you can dowload NHRA rules free from Bremerton Raceway

http://www.bremertonraceway.com/2012_NHRA_RuleBook.pdf
Click to expand...

Rules say that the loop must make a complete circle around the shaft and that it be made of 2" wide flat bar and 1/4" thick. i have all that so im good i think......
 
Something else to consider next time is 5" sch 40 pipe. It's 5" ID and .258 thick so it meets the NHRA requirements. Get it cut 2-2.25" wide and you have your loop housing.

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You could maybe stuff a 6" pipe in there.

Nice job on fabbing up your own.
 
that looks really good. i was just using what i had. i only have about 1" all way around my driveline in the front portion. i only made mine because i needed it to follow the tunnel walls as close as possible. well that and im a cheap *** and i had the metal laying around. its funny you mentioned the 5" pipe. i had an old oxygen tank that i used to heat up my steel and bend around. i could have just cut a ring out of that.
 
Crackedback, I'm asking this question cause I dont know, not being a smart ***, just wanting an answer.......pvc pipe for the loop, would it hold if the driveshaft came apart?, and would you trust it to do the job?
 
5.7 hemi said:
Crackedback, I'm asking this question cause I dont know, not being a smart ***, just wanting an answer.......pvc pipe for the loop, would it hold if the driveshaft came apart?, and would you trust it to do the job?
Click to expand...

no place does he say pvc.....it is steel..
 
I'm mounting Caddy seats in my 69 Dart with square tubing welded in. They must be solid since the seat belts are built into the seat. The outer ones will weld to the rockers. For the inners, I thought about tying them together with a driveshaft loop like youngun built, perhaps a pair of them. Might be tough getting the d-shaft out with a pair so maybe just the upper loop for one of them. I would spot it to the tunnel as well.

Not sure yet about bending 1/4" whether I need heat. Thought I might make a cardboard tunnel profile and have the metal shop bend it, then weld a lower loop on.
 
younggun2.0 said:
Rules say that the loop must make a complete circle around the shaft and that it be made of 2" wide flat bar and 1/4" thick. i have all that so im good i think......
Click to expand...

Isn't there some mention of how far down the shaft it can/ cannot be?

"within 6 inches of the u joint"

A little quote from the 2012 book

2:4 DRIVELINE
.................................. In place of a
crossmember, in the vicinity of the front universal joint, all cars in
competition using open driveshafts must have a retainer loop 360
degrees of enclosure, 1/4-inch minimum thickness and 2 inches
wide, or 7/8-inch x .065-inch welded steel tubing, securely mounted
and located within 6 inches of the front universal joint for support of
the driveshaft in event of U-joint failure. Open drivelines passing
any part of the driver’s body must be completely enclosed in 1/8-
inch minimum thickness steel plate, securely mounted to the frame
or frame structure. Driveshaft loop required on all cars running
13.99 (*8.59) or quicker and utilizing slicks; except vehicles running
11.49 (*7.35) seconds or slower equipped with street tires.
2:5
 

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67Dart273 said:
Isn't there some mention of how far down the shaft it can/ cannot be?

"within 6 inches of the u joint"

A little quote from the 2012 book

2:4 DRIVELINE
.................................. In place of a
crossmember, in the vicinity of the front universal joint, all cars in
competition using open driveshafts must have a retainer loop 360
degrees of enclosure, 1/4-inch minimum thickness and 2 inches
wide, or 7/8-inch x .065-inch welded steel tubing, securely mounted
and located within 6 inches of the front universal joint for support of
the driveshaft in event of U-joint failure. Open drivelines passing
any part of the driver’s body must be completely enclosed in 1/8-
inch minimum thickness steel plate, securely mounted to the frame
or frame structure. Driveshaft loop required on all cars running
13.99 (*8.59) or quicker and utilizing slicks; except vehicles running
11.49 (*7.35) seconds or slower equipped with street tires.
2:5
Click to expand...

that is the exact diagram i found and followed. it looks farther back in the pics. it is only 4 3/4 in back.
 
here it is all done. just need to dress it up a bit and send it out for powder coat. ended up going all way to frame ties and bolting into the frame ties.

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