How Do You Build a Race Car?

You're asking me.... well.... you put a giant motor in it, maybe a 6 speed, new shocks, some good tires and brakes, and let's go racing!
Whoa now Hot Pipes, settle down, a little more to it than that. As I said before, this is the real deal, roll cage, fire systems, racing harnesses. Luckily my pardner Rick has built a few BMW's that raced in Improved Touring B class, or ITB as it's known.
The answer is - I really don't know, I'm just doing as I'm told, and that's to strip the interior and exterior right down to the metal. Everything comes out, door panels, headliner, armrests. That goes for the outside too. All the chrome pieces, door handles, whatever has a screw in it. If you have ever taken everything off the outside of a older car, you might have noticed that they punch a lot of holes in it to attach the moldings, name plates, and whatever. No wonder Detroit had such a huge work force, it must have taken them a week just to attach the insignias. Some of it will reappear later, most of it is history.
Now, what do we find under the rugs.... holes, big rusty holes, something the Flintstones would feel at home with, a clear view to the ground. OK, anything can be fixed, so where do you find floor pan for a Chevelle? I must say, it's kind of surprising that you can call a parts house today an order up an exact replacement for a '64 Chevelle floor pan."When would you like them, tomorrow"? Totally amazing!
These pictures show a little of the floor repair. That's Tom doing the welding. I got to use the plasma cutter, probably as close to a Star Wars light saber as there is today. You can really do some damage with those things. I didn't get to use it for long.
Once the floors are in, welded and caulked, we are ready move on to building the roll cage.

NEXT TIME: How Many Points Does A Roll Cage Have?

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