Strangebrew Dirt Late Model

[strangebrew]

.......................Decided to build some more cars that actually exist & race today in the 21st century............................
......................These guys race the dirt bull rings from California to Florida............................


I've been working on building one of these guys for 3 or 4 years now & I'm finallly getting closer to one that is fast enough,
easy to set up, drive & is competitive...
Problem I've had is they're kinda big & wide & thus when cast, wind up kind of rigid & hard to get to work well.
Last year I came up with a new resin cast chassis that is easy to put together, is light & (so far) durable.
Just about any motor will fit..............I usually use a Piranha, but this one has a Professor Motor of some kind that is comparable.



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The latest casting I just finished this week is quite a bit lighter....................
I basically just cast the top half & build the rest from styrene.
I plan to use a flat interior piece with a cast driver cockpit which I haven't molded yet.
I cheated on this one, & used a vacuum formed ready made piece I had laying around here.

For the graphics I print the entire side panel as one piece using vinyl in my ink-jet printer.
This way I can use very lightweight side pieces.......This one is from 020 styrene.
The vinyl should help keep it from breaking & cracking.
I might try using some thin Lexan for the next one.
I used the usual Pro-Track wheels & urethane rears, but I put foams on the front for weight reduction.
This entire finished car weighs 110 grams. Previous cars weigh in at 160 grams.
So...........I think I'm getting close to a good performing chassis - body combo here.

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......................This is the mold I'm using now.........................


I'm planning on bringing the fleet along to the Showdown next weekend to see if the guys would like to crash a few as a test.


..............................THE END: Strangebrew..................

[SpeedyNH]

four-bar cars! that's totally excellent. nice work!
many years ago, i raced a limited sportsman on dirt, if you know what that is. ('57 Chevy frame, '39 Plymouth shell, 318's and 10" tires.)

(i've wondered if it would be possible to make a slotcar which had some rear axle steering, just to see what it would do. )

[HomeRacingWorld]

Another masterpiece!

[padirtfan]

Very nice. I was not aware that race cars existed after 1980..

[TuscoTodd]

[Dominick]

Great work! very innovative and creative.