since I have not been a participant in dragracing since 62, and since the 57 hasnt raced since 82.....think both of us need updating. for instance, the roll bar in the 57 is a 3 point bar,is this still legal, or..seat belts of what material...sure there is a rulebook that is available for the shoot out or something like that. any help would be appreciated.

If you’re a NHRA member, you can download the rule book at the www.nhra.com  website.  Without looking at the rule book, I would think that for running in the twelves or slower, your current roll cage would pass tech.  The current cage may even be okay for running in the elevens but checking with a technical inspector at the track or getting a copy of the rule book would be the prudent thing to do before actually trying the vehicle out at the track.

 

You’ll still need to go over the whole car to insure that all the other areas are up to snuff in regards to fitting the rules and the car is essentially safe to race.  I know this all sounds vague but the tech inspector at the track will have the final say.  The car looking presentable and ready to race goes a long way in passing tech.  Barn finds with the obvious decay that happens over time and not being corrected is going to have the tech inspectors scrutinizing the car with a fine tooth comb.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Deuce:

The rules for the Y block shootout are very strict.  Has to be Y block powered.  Period!  (We have been known to allow other orphan Ford engines, like the 430 MEL and the V12 Lincoln.  Our main goal is FUN!)

However, the car will have to meet certain safety regulations to pass tech.  As Ted says, check a rule book and talk to a local tech man if possible.  In a nutshell, if you run quicker than 13.99 you'll need an approved helmet, seat belt, positive battery hold down, radiator overflow catch can, good glass, good tires, if you run slicks you'll need a front driveshaft loop.  If your seat is not stock, you'll have to have a 5 point seat belt that is less than 2 years old.  The roll bar may dictate a 5 point belt, I'm not sure.  My car has the stock seat and a 40 year old 2" lap belt.  At least one working tail light for racing after dark.  No more than 12" of rubber fuel hose total.  These things will likely get you in, if they see anything else they will probably tell you to fix it before you bring it back.

I hadn't looked at a rule book for several years, recently got a copy of last year's, very little is changed.  I did have a plastic line to the oil pressure gauge, that's a no-no.  I changed it to copper.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

thanks ted,john. appreciate the info especially the "strict" y/block shootout rules! do have a stock seat, seat belts, just replaced all fuel lines with high pressure hydraulic hose, do you suppose that is acceptable? all new brakes, not brake lights cause no brake switch[original owner really carried this light thing alittle too far, maybe? new wheel cylinders, master cylinder , shoes, so it should stop, now off to find a rule book. thanks again

They can be sticky about cracked glass. Make sure you put some sort of a overflow on your radiator tank. I've seen beer cans work! Tires should have no weather cracks etc. You can get a simple paddle switch at the parts store to rig a stop light. If the old ones are gone a simple light in the rear window will work. (not sure if you really have to have the stop light anyway). While you are underneath check the areas around the A-Frames and frame connection points for cracks. I doubt if you'll find any but better safe than scrub! Chuck in NH

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

thanks moonshadow. appreciate the all the info. have one rear side glass cracked, so better get to replacing that. underside appears to be solid.

Deuce:

Stop light not required.  Only one working tail light required.  If the glass has a single crack, they would probably let it go, maybe suggest you replace it before you run again there next year, but they won't document that, may not remember it.  I have a small crack in my 1/4 window, nothing has been said.  A couple years ago at Columbus, the tech man had just had a conversation with a racer with several cracked windows, and he was perturbed.  I was next in line.  I thought "oh-oh, this is going to be a tough inspection."  When he saw under my hood, he got excited.  Said he liked supercharged engines, had already seen one that day (Pegleg's).  Gordon Payne was in line behind me with my Bird, I told the guy he was about to see another one.  When I told him the Bird was also supercharged, he immediately went back to it.  He may have seen the catch can when he looked under my hood, maybe not.  He passed Gordon, then came back to me and passed me, and put my class designation right over the crack in the winidow.  I told Gordon, "see how easy tech is when they like your car".  Moonshadow's beer can observation is correct, but according to the rules the catch can has to be at least 16 ounce capacity.  Your hydraulic hose is certainly better than fuel hose, they would probably accept it.  If there is no more than a foot total, there is no question it's legal.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

John is so right about the  inspectors liking you car.  I have a little more than a foot of rubber fuel line between the metal line from the tank and the carb and the inspector mentioned it but said I could race "this year"  I first ran the car in 2000 with the exact same hoses. It will be interesting to see what happens next year!

Doug T

The Highlands, Louisville, Ky.

thanks guys, appreciate all the info. certainly no big deal to replace a quarter window being as it is straight glass, and a new glass most likely will not deter from its originality, so unless this gets put to the bottom of the list of things to do,will get a new glass in before spring. the original owner made his own supercharger bracket setup and took awhile to figure how it bolted on. and was concerned about the condition of the paxton because of it tightness until hoosier relieved my mind. does turn easier with a wrench john and feels silky smooth, so spent the morning bolting that up. now another challenge. the twin 4 barrel bonnet has a fitting in it that looks like some kind of vacuum line would attach to it, but the last piece in the bow is an old filter bowl wrapped in aluminum foil with a copper line attached to that looks like it pertains to fuel, but there is no manual pump on this engine, that is blocked off. running only an electric pump at the rear with a on/off switch on the dash. any ideas or conjectures apppreciated.

Deuce:

That nipple could be a connection for a pressure gauge.  It could also be a reference for fuel pressure.  Let me try to clarify.  On the factory blown cars, fuel pressure had to rise with air pressure, otherwise when air pressure exceeded fuel pressure, no more fuel would flow into the carb.  What they did was to take an air pressure reference (maybe that's what is on your bonnet) and hook it to a fitting on the fuel pump to pressurize the back side of the diaphragm, making the air pressure "help" the fuel pump spring.  So with each pound of air pressure, fuel pressure would rise one pound.  You have no mechanical pump, so I don't know how the car was set up.  You probably have an electric pump capable of about 15 psi and a regulator that can be boost referenced.  The difference with a system like this is that the regulator reduces fuel pressure to about 6 psi when there is no boost, then "allows" more pressure in proportion to air pressure.  Hope this make sense to you.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"