"Baja Ranchero" NORRA Class 6 Tribute Build Thread

I agree, not vintage at all but the concept behind it screams NORRA. If you're not going to restore an old race car you need to build something like this that makes a statement, I'd LOVE to do something like this one of these days. Kudos Alan, that thing is legit. One question, does it turn with those front fenders?!?!? jajaja
 
Rory said:
I agree, not vintage at all but the concept behind it screams NORRA. If you're not going to restore an old race car you need to build something like this that makes a statement, I'd LOVE to do something like this one of these days. Kudos Alan, that thing is legit. One question, does it turn with those front fenders?!?!? jajaja
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Thanks Rory,

I get it on the "not vintage" comments, believe me. For me, it was about building my dream car without worrying about what class it was going to end up in. I wanted to have something that looked different, was a blast to drive, hard to break, had reliable V8 power, and fit in the back of a toy hauler.

This thing is actually getting full windows and A/C so I can drive it on the street and enjoy it. Its got a low compression 347 and should have a great power to weight ratio with over 400 horses and being under 4,000 pounds.It should run a long time without too much fuss. It's got a 10" TT ring gear with 40 spline axles which is total overkill for how short they are. Rod ends are TT size, Trans is a 4L80 so it will keep the RPM down on road trips.

I would have loved to build a period correct Class 6, but I am old enough to remember how much they beat the crap out of you, and my old back couldn't take it for long,...... and I wanted to go faster than that.

As far as turning:

It turns pretty good actually, there is decent overhang. It definitely has troubles at full bump and lock, but I have driven worse without rubbing. I think that under "normal" racing, it will clear. I would rather try it and see than start cutting it up right away because I really like the lines of the car the way they are. We put a lot of camber change into the near bump travel so it tucks in pretty well.

If I am at full bump and wheel lock, I will probably have a lot more to worry about than a fender rubbing! ;)

Allen
 
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Here's a pic that show's how small this thing really is.

Its about the size of an old school M/T stadium truck.

This pic is of the truck shows it bumped out metal on metal.

There is no rocker panel on the car right now and it will go down to just above the bottom chassis tube.

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Like Rory, I don't see how that front end can reach bump when wheels are turned. I know this is a bit beyond what full bump will be, but do wonder if old Falcon fenders are readily available, 'cuz it sure seems like a tire lug could take a good bite and ...

But OA, one of the coolest builds since Hemet ruled Class 6!
 
Wow! I would love to see this at NORRA! At first glance it looks like an Evolution Unlimited. That class is mostly TT's and class 1. It does have a class 1 chassis with a VW bug in that class.


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Alan, that thing is so Cool.
I loved the 63 and 64 Falcon Sprints 260v8 4speed it was my first car.
They were a blast to drive we would go back road driving east side of
Of Denver out to Falcon Colorado and back to the CO Springs chasing
Lighting storms. Brings back good memory’s and fun times from the 1970


Keep up the good work!
 
Here is how much turning radius it gets at full bump when it starts to hit the fender. We will see if it's enough. It will take a heck of a hit to push past the 4" bump stops while the wheel is cranked and if I am turned in more than this when I hit hit full bump, it will probably not be landing on its wheels ;). Fenders are cheap and we will see what we need to do. I can cut them all the way to the top of the fender if I need to but want to get away with whatever i can to keep the look I am trying to achieve. I can get lock to lock steering when 1" up into the bump stops without hitting the fenders.
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Picked up the 347 today from Greg at Total Performance. Really stoked on Greg's knowledge and willingness to share.

Its a late roller 302 block with a stroker kit. Heads are AFR 205's CNC ported as delivered and then ported to match the Edelbrock Performer Air Gap RPM. Hydraulic roller cam and stainless rockers, bug springs and retainers. MSD dual pickup distributor and a custom Total Performance off road build 650 double pumper. Compression is purposely low for mexican gas at around 8.5:1.

Next it's off to Rick Snell and then to the Dyno. Looking for a good reliable and torquey motor with around 400hp and a RPM limit of around 5,500 to keep the heat down, and be able to run Mexican gas. This should give us a great power to weight ratio with the fully loaded car with 50 gallons of fuel coming in at under 4,000 lbs if we have it figured right.

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Here's an idea for the front fenders if push comes to shove....

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Or this.....

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Jeff Furrier said:
I love it Alan, cant wait to see it!

Its a Retro-Mod, which is about as complicated as you can get. Keeping it old, but making it new. This is way cooler than putting a bug body on a modern class 1.
Click to expand...


Thanks Jeff,

It has been a fun build..... the goal has been to make it look as vintage as possible from a hundred feet, but to work as good as possible within those limitations..... for example, I have lost a few inches of up travel because the tires want to go through the top of the hood and bedsides at full bump. We leaned the rear shocks forward a bit in order to keep them hidden. We painstakingly widened the body rather than flared the fenders and bedsides. I am going with an old pushrod motor and carb rather than fuel injection as a retro tribute as well. The shocks..... well that's a different story ;) ....that's where I drew the line and said function before form... I want to go fast and be comfortable and so the swinging bits are as modern as they come within the packaging limitations I have given myself.

One of the biggest challenges has been the sheer size of the car. A stock Ranchero was only 67 inches wide to the outside of the tires! Pushing the motor back far enough to get the shocks and inner pivots in front of the motor, put it way back inside the cab.... not to mention fitting a ginormous 4L80 trans behind it. There isn't much room in the cab for anything... and trying to equip it with A/C, Heater/Defrost, is like building a ship in a bottle!

It has been interesting to hear the response from all angles. Some Vintage "Purists" think I am trying to "cheat" or am wasting my time.... saying why spend all the money to build something there isn't a class to be competitive in.... Others have praised it for the challenges it has presented and the fact that I am happy to just build my dream truck and not worry about what anybody else thinks or what class it is going to be legal in. I don't care if I have to race in TT, as long as they let me go down the course once and a while and take a rear start, I will be stoked ;) This will be driven for fun a lot more than it will be raced. Racing it is really just a way for me to prove to myself that it's well built and see if I still have what it takes to finish a race in my old aging body.

I have build many "resto mod" street cars in my day and even have a "pro touring" type Falcon coming along (check out the "Angry Bird" on facebook) ...... I really love driving a vintage car that has all the modern go fast goodies...... So when it came to this build I decided I wanted to do the same type of thing... and built a "Resto Runner" so to speak. I have also always enjoyed trying to stay outside the box and do something different.

Now we just need a new class based on my car!..... I am sure there are hundreds of people out there who want to build something like it LOL..... Here are the rules:

Class Name

Since Class 6 is now something else, it will need a new name.

Something Like:

Resto-Mini
Mini-Trophy
Resto-Tribute
Tribute-Pro
Tribute-Production
Trophy Sedan ( I kinda like this one)
Mini-Tribute
What else?

Body: Must be based on and resemble a 1975 or earlier production car or mini truck (pre smog vehicle) and have a VIN and be registered.
Must run a windshield and have functioning doors and stock steel roof.
Chassis and Drivetrain- Unlimited
35" tire
9:1 compression ratio
76" wide

Who's with me?
 
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I love this Resto-mod and can't wait for every update. I admit I look at and wonder what class it can run in. NORRA has classes for updated vintage vehicles. maybe they can regroup them and you into Vintage Resto-Mod Unlimited.


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I totally dig it! I will be curious to see what it weighs though when you are all said and done. I think that getting it under 4000 pounds with 300 pounds of fuel and A/C and heat will be a challenge, but with that stroker motor it should scoot regardless of what it ends up weighing.
 
I loved this build. My very first car was a 1962 Ford Falcon 2 door with a 170 motor and 3 on the tree. Wish I still had it locked up somewhere....

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Thanks for sharing the build !!! Great fab work !!! Looks like it will be a great ride !!! Love to see it when it ready for a desert run .


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