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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
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    158

    Default Can an older chassis be competitive?

    Can an older chassis, with updates, say a raised rail and raised cross member be competitive? If the time is taken to engineer the front suspension and a decent set of shocks can you make an older car competitive? Is it worth the time if you don't have the money for a new chassis? We are talking a 10-12 year old chassis!

  2. #2

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    To run Lucas probably not. To run local crate shows absolutely

  3. #3

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    See a ton of blue/ gray rockets and mastersbuilts for sale really cheap. Plenty good cars for weekly local shows and some are not that old

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Batavia, OH
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    13,616

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Cranky View Post
    Can an older chassis, with updates, say a raised rail and raised cross member be competitive? If the time is taken to engineer the front suspension and a decent set of shocks can you make an older car competitive? Is it worth the time if you don't have the money for a new chassis? We are talking a 10-12 year old chassis!
    If you put the pickup points in the right place and valve the shocks right, the car doesn't know it's age.

    If you made it fit a modern car jig and got the shocks right, Davenport could win the world 100 with it.
    Modern Day Wedge Racing
    Florence -1

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
    Posts
    1,363

    Default

    10-12 maybe a little too old not saying it's not possible but i would be in the 4-8 year range mainly because older chassis flexed hence cracked alot more and you can just only fix something so many times. I don't really know masterbilts.14 and 15 rockets were pretty good peices and are going for super fair prices especially with the xr's starting to come down a decent bit this off season

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2007
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    Batavia, OH
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    13,616

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    JKing brings up the one caveat. If it's worn out and welded up everywhere, it's a waste of time. If not, I would advise stiffening the car up too.
    Modern Day Wedge Racing
    Florence -1

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Kansas
    Posts
    1,935

    Default

    And is it straight to start with, before someone starts updating it. Assuming updates are not being done on a jig.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Posts
    158

    Default Thanks

    Thanks for the replies gentlemen, I will be doing the updates myself on a surface plate. As far as I can tell the car is straight currently. To far away to take chassis to the original builder or a dealer (7-10 hours). Im planning to order the raised cross member kit, i'm going to raise the right rail the way some of you had specified in another post with straightening out the bottom bend. Im going to put some of the stiffening bars in the front clip area behind the filler panel, lighten her up as much as possible and let her eat. I appreciate the opinions.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Wisconsin
    Posts
    3,119

    Default

    I like the way you think
    Member of the Luxemburg Speedway Hall of Fame
    Class of 2019

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    662

    Default

    That's what's so fun taking someone else's throwaway and making it work .One thing mentioned and I fully agree stiffen the crap out of an older car.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Posts
    525

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by MasterSbilt_Racer View Post
    JKing brings up the one caveat. If it's worn out and welded up everywhere, it's a waste of time. If not, I would advise stiffening the car up too.
    Sheppard's XR1 house car, ('17 model I think) has been welded up more times than I can count. Torsional stiffness is sometimes over rated.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Batavia, OH
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    Quote Originally Posted by davis2902 View Post
    Sheppard's XR1 house car, ('17 model I think) has been welded up more times than I can count. Torsional stiffness is sometimes over rated.
    It's been damaged and fixed. Have you ever raced a car that cracks in critical places nearly every race? I have. They go to crap. You zip it back up and it's ok until the next time. It's more trouble than it's worth.
    Modern Day Wedge Racing
    Florence -1

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