Make it handle

[ItsRandy]

Originally Posted by robnolimit

thanks Dude, these Big-10 chassis are much wider than stockers, even though the stock body fits right on. This design change allows us to plan the placent of each component to maximize performance.

Hey Rob, are you selling the rear sway bar like the one on your shop truck. I stopped by your shop when you were out of town and (I can't remember his name...hell I can't remember my own name anymore) your guy in the shop let me check out the shop truck. He said the sway bar was not in production yet...I sure would like one, please.

[robnolimit]

50,000 views!!!!! thanks for all the interest. We've got some cool stuff coming up, I excited to get a few new projects started.

[SCOTI]

The rear of that chassis looks familiar. Silver Bullet-ish....

[robnolimit]

Scoti yep, all big 10 chassis share the same suspension front & rear. The 'bullit was/is used as a test bed for chassis development, spring and shock testing, ... so that our results can be duplicated on every chassis that goes out. It's the whole "we race - you win" thing, and it's good for everybody. We will always be willing to share our results, good or bad to help out.
ItsRandy Yes, that swaybar will be avail soon. I'd say mid August. I'll keep you all posted.

[amodedude1]

I just noticed this/ Whats up with the WHOLE rotor being painted braking surface and all, did they come like that or are they some special material or something? jw

[robnolimit]

HA HA, you'd have to ask Wilwood that one. About a year ago, they went to the new 'black face' rotor. The used to be silver zink coated. The black is some kind of industrial ink, and yes, it wipes off with a few good stops, just like the zink did. I'm not sure which looks better, but neither the black ink, or the zink, seam to clog the pads, so brake performance is not bothered. Personally, I think it was a cost+ vs. marketing decision. - but, who knows for sure.

[SCOTI]

Upkeep as well as it's much easier to hide brake dust on a dark surface vs. a light color surface. Rob, you can bring back that old advertising slogan from the late 60's/early 70's for the Big-10 chassis.....

Race to win on Sunday . . ..... Sell on Monday!

[33shooter]

Are you guys going to make a big 10 chassis for the 67-72 c10 guys? Specifically a long bed? That would save me a BUNCH of work, and I think the price wouldn't be too bad actually.

[robnolimit]

Originally Posted by 33shooter

Are you guys going to make a big 10 chassis for the 67-72 c10 guys? Specifically a long bed? That would save me a BUNCH of work, and I think the price wouldn't be too bad actually.

We Do Make a Chassis for that vehicle, follow this youtube link to check it out. And here are a few pictures

‪1967-72 CHASSIS‬‏ -...

[BigDan3131]

Rob, could you explain why the rearend is in a boxed area with no way to remove it except by taking all the brake parts off and sliding sideways out? It doesn't seem very practical especially for something that sees road time. Sure we don't expect to bend an axle tube but stranger things have happened.

[robnolimit]

33shooter We do make a chassis for the 63-72 C-10 arleady. It isn't a Big-10 style, there isn't room for that under those trucks. It's a 2 x 6 x .188 wall formed tube chassis, using our Wide-Ride IFS, and Fatbar 4-bar. I'll put up some picts.

[robnolimit]

BigDan3131 Well, while i see your concern, I don't consider it to be much of an issue. You see, I'm a numbers guy, and I know that in everything you do in life, there is a trade off. By using an 'underslung' frame rail design, the Big-10 chassis stays very strong all the way to the end of the rail. To match that in conventional construction, we would need to use 2x7x.120 wall tubing (not avail, so we would step up to 2x8) and form it, or fab a kick section. Both of these would be bulky and heavy, but the axle would drop out. Also, the bed floor would be even higher. there is the trade off. With an underslung or caged rear rail design, the rail is light and strong. We can also run fuel lines and battery cables through the lower rail tube. But, as you point out, to remove the rear end, you must pull off at least one brake assembly, and pull it out sideways. All of the other suspension would be unbolted anyway, and the third member fits through the rail opening. With this info in hand, make a fair comparison. *** Traditional construction - Heavy, bulky, higher bed floor, + easier to get the rear axle out. *** Underslung design, + light, strong, - must pull the rear axle out sideways. Before you make a quick desision, add this info in. 1. We use Currie thick wall H.D. 9" Ford housings and axles in all of our chassis. 2. How many axles have you pulled out of a built car/truck? or a driver for that matter? Anyway, everyone has the right to their own opinion, and therefor build style. We're after performance and ride quality first, hope that helps your decision.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by robnolimit

BigDan3131 Well, while i see your concern, I don't consider it to be much of an issue. You see, I'm a numbers guy, and I know that in everything you do in life, there is a trade off. By using an 'underslung' frame rail design, the Big-10 chassis stays very strong all the way to the end of the rail. To match that in conventional construction, we would need to use 2x7x.120 wall tubing (not avail, so we would step up to 2x8) and form it, or fab a kick section. Both of these would be bulky and heavy, but the axle would drop out. Also, the bed floor would be even higher. there is the trade off. With an underslung or caged rear rail design, the rail is light and strong. We can also run fuel lines and battery cables through the lower rail tube. But, as you point out, to remove the rear end, you must pull off at least one brake assembly, and pull it out sideways. All of the other suspension would be unbolted anyway, and the third member fits through the rail opening. With this info in hand, make a fair comparison. *** Traditional construction - Heavy, bulky, higher bed floor, + easier to get the rear axle out. *** Underslung design, + light, strong, - must pull the rear axle out sideways. Before you make a quick desision, add this info in. 1. We use Currie thick wall H.D. 9" Ford housings and axles in all of our chassis. 2. How many axles have you pulled out of a built car/truck? or a driver for that matter? Anyway, everyone has the right to their own opinion, and therefor build style. We're after performance and ride quality first, hope that helps your decision.

I understand the 'why' of the 'underslung' design. Couldn't the opening/s be built to accommodate pulling the rear end w/o removing brake parts?

[andrewmp6]

You going to the street rod nationals in Louisville this week rob?

[robnolimit]

Originally Posted by andrewmp6

You going to the street rod nationals in Louisville this week rob?

I would like to, but we are a bit too busy, need the time here at the shop.

[robnolimit]

yes, all of the drop details are coming up in StreetTrucks. We're about to swap the rear to air ride, watch the build thread for updates. Also there is an upcoming story on the new Painless Wiring trans controler. This is a stand-alone controler for L460, L480, L465 trans, you can tune lock-up, shift points, OD shift........ also you can hold two seporate set-ups, and go from 'mild' to 'performance' with the flip of a switch. It's really a cool deal for trans swaps. Now you can use an electronic shift trans behind a carb smallblock.

[robnolimit]

If you have an idea, sooner or later you need to test it out to see if it works. Otherwise, it's just a guess of somekind. My Silver Bullit effie (don't hate on it) looses a bit of traction into and out of the corners, and thats something I've been working on. So, I had this idea. The panhard rod is a typical one. Urathane adjuster on one end, and a rod end on the other. Needless to say, it doesn't give much. I can fell the weight shift going into the corners and right as the wieght fully shifts over, the tires loose a bit of traction. So I started to think of ways to load the tire softly. I see these 'bisquit' torque rods that the dirt oval guys run, typically on the top link of a three link, to ease in the torque load on acceleration. Hmmm, could I use this on the panhard rod? Here is the Speedway torque rod next to my panhard rod.

[robnolimit]

As you can see, it's too short, and it has the wrong mount on one side. But the mechanics are there. The bisquit bushings allow the rod to get longer or shorter when pushed or pulled, softening the load. First I replaced the rod end next the bisquit housing with a urathane adjuster. This gave me the same mount style as the Panhard rod.

[robnolimit]

Last step, I used some tubing and inserts to make a rod that will match the panhard rod length and angles. Will this help? I'm not sure. This weekend I'm going to bolt it in and make sure it fits oK, then I'll put the panhrd rod back in. We are planning an outing next tuesday night to go to A.M.P. (our local track) and try it out. I'll run the first session with the panhard rod as usual, then swap to the bisquit rod and see what happens. Each session gets you six timed laps. I'll post all the times up for all to see. One things for sure, it'll either be faster, or it won't. Only time will tell. - get it? time? as in lap time?

[JNJchev77]

Makes sense...Seems like it could be a great idea! Worth a shot I think!

[Custom 68]

Rob this is amazing to watch you work with all this. Just reading your posts is like we are all there sort of bench racing. It makes me feel like part of the learning curve. Great work. Keep it up.
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[robnolimit]

Thanks a bunch. We're having a great time with this. After Columbus we are now hungrier than ever to go faster. You see, GoodGuys autocross is dominated by the Pro-touring croud, and, truck guys don't get much respect, - until you start beating them. In Columbus, the nations fastest showed up lookin for a fight, and they all wanted to win the top trophy. We won our class, but more impressive, we ran 9th fastest overall. The really fast cars are now within reach. here are some of them. Mary Pozzi, 10+ time national auto-x champ, ran a 32.595, 72 LS Camaro. Mark Stielow, last years Optima Invitational winner, ran 33.081, 69 LS Camaro. Brandy Morrow, 70 LS Camaro, Spectra Performance, ran 32.622 to win the vendor class. Jimmy Day, in the Optima Batteries 'One Lap' Camaro, LS 67 Camaro, ran 32.844, and Ryan Mathews, the weekends fastest from Detroit Speed, ran 32.955 in thier LS 63 Nova.
Our fast lap was 33.704. We have never been so close to the top tier. So, my goal, is to shave 1 full second. The typical GoodGuys coarse has 8 to 9 corners, and 9 to 10 straight sections. We are way under powered compared to the 'A' list cars, our 330 @ the tire to their 450+ average. We're working on that, with a new style injection. More tuning and tricks with the chassis will help in the corners. My goal, is to gain .05 seconds in each section, corners and straights. And, and this is the big one, not make any driver errors. ( lots of go-cart practice) .05 sec. over 18 sections, would gain .9 seconds, and would have placed us with a 32.805 lap, and 4th over all. Also, this would have scared the heck out of the Pro Touring crowd, and been a huge move for Truck lovers. The October GoodGuys in Texas is the next time we run against the 'A' listers, and we really hope to have a good showing. Thanks for the interest.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by robnolimit

Thanks a bunch. We're having a great time with this. After Columbus we are now hungrier than ever to go faster. You see, GoodGuys autocross is dominated by the Pro-touring croud, and, truck guys don't get much respect, - until you start beating them. In Columbus, the nations fastest showed up lookin for a fight, and they all wanted to win the top trophy. We won our class, but more impressive, we ran 9th fastest overall. The really fast cars are now within reach. here are some of them. Mary Pozzi, 10+ time national auto-x champ, ran a 32.595, 72 LS Camaro. Mark Stielow, last years Optima Invitational winner, ran 33.081, 69 LS Camaro. Brandy Morrow, 70 LS Camaro, Spectra Performance, ran 32.622 to win the vendor class. Jimmy Day, in the Optima Batteries 'One Lap' Camaro, LS 67 Camaro, ran 32.844, and Ryan Mathews, the weekends fastest from Detroit Speed, ran 32.955 in thier LS 63 Nova.
Our fast lap was 33.704. We have never been so close to the top tier. So, my goal, is to shave 1 full second. The typical GoodGuys coarse has 8 to 9 corners, and 9 to 10 straight sections. We are way under powered compared to the 'A' list cars, our 330 @ the tire to their 450+ average. We're working on that, with a new style injection. More tuning and tricks with the chassis will help in the corners. My goal, is to gain .05 seconds in each section, corners and straights. And, and this is the big one, not make any driver errors. ( lots of go-cart practice) .05 sec. over 18 sections, would gain .9 seconds, and would have placed us with a 32.805 lap, and 4th over all. Also, this would have scared the heck out of the Pro Touring crowd, and been a huge move for Truck lovers. The October GoodGuys in Texas is the next time we run against the 'A' listers, and we really hope to have a good showing. Thanks for the interest.

I missed your runs last year but enjoyed talking w/you after the show Sat night. I do not plan to miss them this year. Watching the Bullet in action is my priority!

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

I do not plan to miss them this year. Watching the Bullet in action is my priority!

x2

[SBTork]

Originally Posted by robnolimit

We have never been so close to the top tier. So, my goal, is to shave 1 full second. The typical GoodGuys coarse has 8 to 9 corners, and 9 to 10 straight sections. We are way under powered compared to the 'A' list cars, our 330 @ the tire to their 450+ average. We're working on that, with a new style injection. More tuning and tricks with the chassis will help in the corners. The October GoodGuys in Texas is the next time we run against the 'A' listers, and we really hope to have a good showing. Thanks for the interest.

I think that should be VERY do-able with a little more under the (transparent) hood. Can't wait to see where you guys wind up.