BUILDING A RACE CAR

Ever want to take your car or buy a fixer and turn it in to a race car! Like myself, you have thought about: money, time and where to start. These are important things to consider when thinking about starting a race car project.

Jim helps us tell you what to expect while following some major steps from start to finish on how he built his dragster.

Jim originally bought this totaled Charger in 1988 from a friend for $200 "to make it a street racer but decided to make it a full race machine" and his final cost to build his Super Gas NHRA racer was approximately $30,000.

If you are one of the people who's mouth dropped like mine did; Yes there is still hope in building a race car. It will probably take about half that for a racer with less options that Jim decided for his dragster.

These options are shown throughout his article.

First, and most important, plan out a budgeted amount that you plan on spending. This will help decide what type of race car to build as well as help you determine how long it might take to build (average is 6 months).

Second is the car of choice. Whether it's your current car or to start from complete scratch, it is something you are going to need. This part can cost a lot or a little and there are different ways to get this part.

There are many places to look for great deal on used vehicles (i.e., Craigs List, Yahoo, Ebay, AZRIDEZ, etc.). Look over the budget and check to see which option is going to help you achieve your goal.

Jim decided on the 1983 Dodge Charger body for the size. "...the smaller and lighter the car, the better your chances of a faster Estimated Time (ET) and mile an hour."

Third, now that the car has been decided on, time to build the race car.

Since Jim decided on Super Gas NHRA he needs a chassis for his racer. Haven't decided on a racer a this point, well...it's time to pick.

Now that the body is welded to the chassis its's time to start on the engine. For drag racing "...ideally a stroked big block hemi would be great", "... but the wedge engine works well; since there are so many in bone yards."

A stock Dodge 400 low deck block is what Jim started with. This powerful engine has a 4.385 bore (diameter of the cylinders) with a 4.250 stroke (distance the pistons move up and down in the cylinders), and a strong 4130 steel crank from a 440 source. The total cubic inch of this 800 plus horsepower engine is 513. This is where the cost of building a race car will hit you.

When selecting your engine power make sure to research transmissions that can handle the horse power.

When all the components are in their specific locations it's time to make it turn some heads.

Fourth, time to give the racer it's look.

If a paint job is in the budget, and depending on that budget is how creative you can get. Custom painting can range in price. So, when he decision of the vehicle's look is made; call some custom shops and tell them what you are looking for and they should be able to give you a quote.