AWB chasis question

[noname]

Hey everyone. I had started an altered wheel base 66 GTO a while ago and just recently broke the box out again.  I'm not sure how the chassis would typically be built for this.  I didn't want to make a flip up body or anything like that. I like the thoughts of a mostly steel body.  I was wondering if the whole frame would have been rebuilt with square tube and a new floor constructed or if they would have maybe rebuilt the front and back end working around the factory chassis/ floor pan?  Thanks

[Deuces]

You might find something on Google about awb Chevelles..... I believe they shared the same frame....

[TarheelRick]

In the earlier days of the AWB cars the frame and floorpan were simply sectioned the same amount as the rear wheelbase change.  In other words if the rear wheels were moved forward 12 inches, then a 12 inch section of the frame and floorpan (usually under the rear seat area) was removed and welded back together. The six-point roll cage then provided some rigidity to the modified chassis. 

[nitro norman]

Jungle Jim built his own chassis for his 66 Nova. Some did it this way ,others modified the stock chassis as TarheelRick said. I believe 1967 was the year the Logghe chassis and flopper era began. This time period was a time of experimentation and a lot of wild cars were on the track.

[iBorg]

One of the best examples of fabricated frames was the Doug Thorley Chevy 2 Much. See: http://rods-classics.com/content/1964-chevrolet-nova-chev-two-much-ii-afx

Many others were cut and sliced framed as Tarheel Rick discusses. Some but not all of the cut and sliced frames had reinforcements added between subframes. If I were to build it, I'd add that as extra reinforcement if good especially if your cuts are not exactly exact, if you know what I mean.

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, nitro norman said:

I believe 1967 was the year the Logghe chassis and flopper era began. This time period was a time of experimentation and a lot of wild cars were on the track.

It actually started in 1966 with the factory Comets of Nicholson, Chrisman, et al. I think a couple more cars were built that way by the end of the year but the tube-chassis floppers really started to take off in '67. By '68, the AWB cars with steel bodies and anything like a factory frame were pretty much gone, or at least no longer competitive in the top ranks of "funny car." Some soldiered on as Altereds; others as "Ultra Stocks" (which eventually became Pro Stock), and I've heard a few eventually turned up as bracket racers. 

[Chuck Most]

2 hours ago, Snake45 said:

It actually started in 1966 with the factory Comets of Nicholson, Chrisman, et al. I think a couple more cars were built that way by the end of the year but the tube-chassis floppers really started to take off in '67. By '68, the AWB cars with steel bodies and anything like a factory frame were pretty much gone, or at least no longer competitive in the top ranks of "funny car." Some soldiered on as Altereds; others as "Ultra Stocks" (which eventually became Pro Stock), and I've heard a few eventually turned up as bracket racers. 

If you want to split hairs, you could say that the early Super Stock Mopars started it. They had leaf springs that placed the axle forward of the standard location... by a whole whopping inch.  Things sort of escalated from there. 

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, Chuck Most said:

If you want to split hairs, you could say that the early Super Stock Mopars started it. They had leaf springs that placed the axle forward of the standard location... by a whole whopping inch.  Things sort of escalated from there. 

The "it" under discussion was the tube-chassis, one-piece fiberglass body era of funny cars, not the birth of funny cars in general. 

[Daddyfink]

I know it is a Mopar, but, is should get you going in the right direction...

http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/taylorb63.html

 

[larry ray]

Hot Rod mag had a article on how to do a altered wheel base 65 gto. But I do not remember what year or month it was in.

[nitro norman]

I'll use Jungle Jim as an example again. Between '66 and '68 he went from a square tube chassis , long nose Nova to a shorter Logghe chassis  Nova which was a half fiberglass half steel flopper. I don't know exact dates that this and that happened. Point I was making is that things were in a state of transition with a lot of creative interesting innovations happening.

[GaryR]

Snake is  100% right. By 66, stock frames were mostly gone. I say mostly because there are always exceptions to every rule.

I'd build a square tube frame. It also depends on what KIND (or class) of funny car.

S/XS was for blown or set back more than 33% engines.

A/XS was injected, no more than 33%. Nitro allowed.

B/XS Same

C/XS, carbed gas burners,

ALL these depended ( as always on weight by cubic inches), obviously this is vastly simplified.

Simple Googling will tell you a lot, 66 was the "transition era", when they ( funny cars ) went from semi steel, semi stockers into full purpose built race cars.

I remember this era clearly, it was a time of super rapid advances in builds and ET's and speeds.

[noname]

Thanks for the comments guys.  I had built a couple of AWB cars before.  But they were earlier Dodges (one not finished) and of course the Chevy II that was an AWB kit (Rat Packer I think?).  But something told me in 1966 things were more complicated than just hacking up a stock chassis as the above comments demonstrate.  I was thinking of something like Don Gay's 66 GTO. Which I don't think is a flip top.  Something more like the above Doug Thorley Chevy II is what I pictured.

Does anybody know what would be a typical frame for one of these?    Anybody know of a similar build thread?  Any help would be appreciated.  I've never built a whole chassis from scratch before.  I suppose I should go off of the stock chassis?  I already used the stock floor pan and built a front and rear frame but it doesn't look right. I think I need to start over from scratch with a square tube and "aluminum" floor pan etc.

[Muncie]

something like Bruce Larson's 1966 USA-1 Chevelle funny car - fiberglass (not tilt) body on a rectangular tube (not Logghe) chassis - there are some images and information on Google.  As already mentioned, 1996 was a big transition in funny car technology.

Edited September 24, 2018 by Muncie

[Muncie]

this might work...

The Novas were unibody from the factory and most received a new frame when they became funny cars.  GTO's and Chevelles were full frame construction from the factory which could be altered or replaced with a lighter and stronger tube frame.

 

Edited September 24, 2018 by Muncie

[noname]

Thanks for that Muncie. I'll have a look at these.