'84 Dodge Rampage Build Thread

[gkabbt]

Thanks, guys.  Cap'n - what do you think about the 1/4" steel "top cap" idea for spanning between the two bars that run parallel towards the front of the truck (above the helmet area)?

Steve.

Steve, Didn't Neil do something similar on his Manta? I'll see if I can find a pic in his diary.

Gregg

[manta22]

Right, Gregg-- I have three tubes running forward and I attached a sheet of 6Al4V titanium to the top.  in addition to protecting your noggin, it acts as a shear plate and stiffens the structure. Using 1/4" steel would be fine-- just heavier.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[Captthundarr]

What Neil said,  Steve. Amy's camaro has the funny car set up. The plate will add a lot of strength, much like a roadster cage only you can keep it pointed in the right direction. 

[SteveM]

It's pretty much crunch time around here.   I'm in pretty good shape, with all the "major" issues taken care of.  There are still plenty of minor things to do, though.

I'll share a few pics just to show some of the progress...



The engine compartment consists mostly of zip ties and cushioned line clamps.



The rear lexan window is in place, and trimmed out.



Exhaust stack is in place, but will be trimmed down a bit before racing.  It gives a satisfying puff of black smoke when the throttle is blipped.



Gotta share love for the sponsors.  Bauman Oil has been great!  They let me use their shop to paint the truck, and are supplying all the fluids.



Behind the dash, you can see the wiring, and fire system plumbing for the in-cab nozzles.



Hardy's Hot Rods is a local guy who does custom HotWheels models.  He made a replica of my Rampage.  I'll have to post a pic a little later.



NACA duct in the driver's window.



FireFox fire bottle mounted solidly in place.



Dieselmeken AB is my injection pump builder in Sweden.



Techtonics Tuning supplied all the cylinder head hardware (Valves, springs, retainers, guides, and seals).



These are all of the other fine vendors who have contributed to this effort.

[manta22]

Steve;

Aside from the engine being in there sideways  it is looking very fine!!!

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[gkabbt]

Steve,

Looking GREAT and almost complete.....Only a few days left! 
Can't wait to see it on the salt! 

See you in Wendover!

Gregg

Currently in Sioux Falls, SD on our way to WoS!

[Milwaukee Midget]

Steve -

I can't tell from the pic.


You do have 10 lbs of fire suppression, I hope?


The machine is gorgeous!

[SteveM]

Chris - yep, at least 10 lbs of fire suppression. It's a Firefox system, 2 nozzles under hood in the exhaust/turbo/oil pan area, and 2 nozzles under the dash.

[Crackerman]

Steve, in a fair amount of reading other's experiments on dsmlink forums, with using a fresh air intake duct to keep air cool going into turbo, as well as any way to increase pressure and airflow into the compressor inlet will drastically increase compressor efficiency.
A popular mod is to lose a headlight and convert into velocity stack. Or use it to pressurize (at speed) a sealed airbox with a filtered velocity stack feeding turbo with minimal bends and pipe diameter changes.

I dont know what is legal as far as that type of mod goes, or if the little bit of drag gained would be offset by power gained.

Apparently picking up 2-3 mph in the 1/4 while running 3-5 less psi and needing to add fuel to make up the additional airflow is the norm for a decently designed setup.

It is probably too late in the game to switch things around now, but might be food for thought for next year. And could help you push the record even higher. ( we all know you will get the record, how could you not?)

[Seldom Seen Slim]

"... ( we all know you will get the record, how could you not?) ..."

Don't be fooled by those words, Steve.  I can think of many of us that thought a record was in the bag -- and then didn't happen because of this or that.  Confidence is good - wariness is better.

[SteveM]

I can think of about a million things that may prevent me from being competitive against the existing record.  For my own sake, I want to remain confident, but definitely wary.

The simple fact that the current recordholder in this class, as well as the previous recordholder are very well known names in LSR, with a whole bunch of records between them, tells me that it's not going to be easy.

I've put together a package that I think can be competitive, and was "sort of" within my budget.  As I've told a lot of people who have asked me how fast it will go - I tell them that "on paper" it should be able to run the record, but the race isn't run on paper, it's run on the salt.

STeve.

[lsrjunkie]

Excellent reply Steve! I get the same question all the time. On paper, Hank should be very fast. Paper though does not allow for tire slip, corrected altitude, missed shifts, nerves, etc! We would all love to get a record, but in my opinion chasing that record and just seeing how fast our projects will go is fun in itself!

[SteveM]

Thanks, Junkie.

In related news, I took an early lunch today to meet up with my glass installer.  The windshield is now in place, the trim strips are installed, and nothing got broken.  Hooray.

[SteveM]

Remember, folks - a good glass installer doesn't even OWN a screwdriver.

Steve.

[wheelrdealer]

Steve:

Record or no record you are a 1%'er by building your own ride and dragging it to the salt. You built a really nice and cool Rampage in a very short time. It was great to watch it all come together. 

It is the most fun I have ever had racing and I am sure it will be for you too. It's cool just sitting in the car, on the starting line, realizing you can only see about the first 2 miles of the course with another 6 miles to explore if you get there...some guys, not me even get to explore the 1/2 mile or so of mud road after the 8th mile.

BR