Need Advice on Low(er) Budget Race Build

-
Slugger8985

Slugger8985

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2009
Messages
152
Reaction score
26
Location
Newalla, OK
The all-too-familiar predicament. Looking to run 10s on a budget. Small block or Big block? Any ideas?
 
make car as light as possible (free.) ive heard every 100 pounds is worth a 10th. could go with a later model 440 (low compression/fairly cheap to buy) and run nitrous. use 4:56 gears sure grip with a well built automatic trans. this might be a good starting point.
 
Budgets about $2k and the car is to the point where I need to start makin measurments for engine mounts and headers. It will be awhile before it is actually up and running but I could really use it right now
 
The safety equipment is going to use up that $2K. Need a dated seat belt, cage or bar, wheel studs, driveshaft loop, SFI flexplate, SFI balancer, plus the usual goodies like the fuel system, slicks, etc. Or is that a seperate part of the budget?
 
Thats a whole different part of the budget thankfully. Right now I'm sticking with the basic components of the engine- block, heads, manifold, tranny, that sort of stuff. Parts that need to be machined would probably be the most ideal for the budget
 
Strangely, I'd put the cash into fiberglass... fenders, hood, bumpers... To have a $2K engine run tens the car better be 2400lbs. Then stick a basically stock running long block 440 with fenderwells in it. Run a cam and springs, new timing set, and HV oil pump, swap meet intake, shift kit and 6 cyl convertor (Trucks came with /6 727 combos)... Dont touch anything else. It might make the tens after it's sorted out but you have to go lighter. Lose the heater box, the wipers, bumper supports, every other fender bolt... gut the cabin. You rally need somewhere around $3500 to make the 440 performance oriented and reliable. So make the car as light as you can, get the safety stuff in it, and start saving for a better powertrain.
 
Good call. I've gotten everything of it and stripped all the way down to bare cab. Bumpers are gone heater core is out and everything that I wasn't going to use again is gone and in a storage unit. That's what I wasn't sure about though was if I really could afford to throw fiberglass on it right off the bat instead of puttin money into the engine setup first
 
I'd still do the glass first. Aluminum hardware or remove every other bolt/clip, remove the crash bar from the doors and pin the windows up to remove the tracks and cranks. Then I'd do the cage and electric and fuel systems. Then find a motor and trans. You may be able to find a package off something like Race Junk for short cash. I'd go engien last.
 
gut the car anyway you can without spending any money. get a decent magnum 5.9 from a junkyard for around 400 bucks. get the knock off chinese intake and a used cheap hollep 650 or 750 dp. looked around for a used cam or buy a good one 300$ get decent steel heads like rhs or iron rams 700$. look around and get a used n20 plate system say 100 shot. 904 trans get it rebuilt and put a low gear in it. mancini racxing sells it for 200$ get a ford 8.8 rear with 4.10 gears from junkyard 200$ that motor with a completly gutted car around 2800 to 2900 lbs should be low 11's or close to high tens
 
that response above is based on what others on here have done. look at lxdart and the other guy with the green dart. both cars are around 3100-3200 and have gone 12.50s and 12.10 all motor. add a lil n20 and your in the ballpark.
 
If you really want to do this for cheap you need to decide weither its an all out dragcar or its gunna be streetable .If its gunna be an all out drag car then your gunna have to get real serious about the weight ,and gutt the crap out of it.My 64 Dart weighs in at 2770 (without me )and its all steel ,with a mild steel 8 point rollbar ,heavy steel traction bars,steel wheels, and welded in sub connectors .It looks all there at first glance except for the front bumper and deleted headlights.I removed the heater ,wipers ,all interior ,door and 1/4 glass and regulators (went with sum used lexan i got for free),cut the bottom of the doors out ,cut the bracing out of the hood and trunk lid ,removed the support rods for the hood and trunk ,headlight buckets ,front bumper and brackets,horns ,parking brake assembly,gauge panel ,int .garnish moldings,moved battery to trunk ,removed any and every unused bracket i could find on the car .Keep in mind that most everything you remove can be sold to help fund stuff you need for it.As said earlier weight reduction is free horse power and my car is running mid 11.40's in the 1/4 and mid 7.20's in the 1/8 with mid 1.5 60 foots with a very mild iron headed small block.I have less than $6500 total investment in it .Once i upgrade the cam and valve springs and do a bit more tuning ,i should be flirting with the 10's for about 7 grand all motor .The key for cheap is the weight ,and weight relocation ,suspension work, etc ,if you dont have big bucks for HP .Good luck with it ...
 
10's for $2k ya right..let me know when you get it done legally and safely..as in the rule book...
 
Ok let me rephrase that. The best START to a low budget build while the pocket says $2000 is the limit FOR NOW haha.
 
I think you're screwed. HAHA!

Its going to be hard to get it completed for $2000.00, much less run 10s. A transmission/converter to run fast is going to cost more than that.

You could go a long way towards 10s in a Fox mustang for $2000.00 (with nitrous), but I don't think you're going to get anywhere close in a Mopar. There are some good things about Mopar, but being able to build ultra-cheap horsepower isn't one of them.

I went hunting for a good budget option and I ended up getting a 5.9 Magnum out of the junkyard. If you can find one that doesn't need rebuilt and the heads aren't cracked (good luck on the last part), you'll have a decent horsepower (but definitely not 10 second capable) motor for between $500-$1000. You'll still have to shell out for cam, gaskets, oil pan, carb, intake, distributor, balancer, etc though. And in all likelihood, you'll be shelling out for some heads sooner or later. The good news is that there are some "cheap" good options available.

A late 80s, early 90s non-magnum 360 *might* be a good bet also, again assuming you can find one that doesn't need rebuilt. I don't think the ring package and reciprocating weight is as good as on a Magnum, and the heads don't have the quench style chamber either.

Again, I don't think you could get either setup complete with a trans in the car and running for $2000.

I suggest these because with your budget, if you set foot in a machine shop you might as well give up right there.

Not trying to be pessimistic, just realistic.

Steve
 
Completely understandable. I think more or less I'm just trying to get some build ideas and options. I know for a fact that the setup that I want to run is going to cost well over 10 grand when its all said and done. And in the future that won't be a problem. Just for the time being I think I was looking more to get some ideas on where I could go to get a good start with $2k. I'm still in the process of cuttin and guttin the car right now. I haven't even gotten it media blasted yet, which is first on the list as far as I'm concerned. Once I get that I'm welding in tubs and new pans and a trunk pan. But like I said, I think I was looking more to get some ideas and options than a low budget build blueprint
 
i built my car with mostly used parts in the beginning , around 2005-06 .

just do a lot of searching -- Ebay , all the mopar sites , etc...

just use new bearings , rings , gaskets of course...
 
You didnt mention what type of "drag racing", just running up and down the track to collect a pile of time slips you might hit 10s with nitrous. If your gonna bracket race/ET handicap/index race $2 grand wont scratch the surface but a one time time slip that says you ran a 10 might could happen with a massive amount of nitrous..........then boom.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top