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.....--- Tanks, Wheels, Tires, & A Surface Plate ---
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............................( All of the pictures of the tanks were taken by Benny Rhoads in Texas)
Benny found these tanks in SE Texas and we bought them and are in the process of trying to get them to Utah (Feb. 2005). I've resisted the idea of using aircraft tanks in the past as I thought most were too large for the car I was building. These are smaller, probably a little too small in fact. I feel it will be easier to adapt a tank that is a little smaller than a little too large. I'm hoping I can split the tanks and add filler pieces to get the width and or height right. I'll also probably have to lengthen them by adding a middle section to them. I won't know for sure if I'll use them until I have them here in Utah. Hopefully Benny's son-in-law that is a trucker can get them from Texas up to Oklahoma City where they will be stored until I can pick them up in April when I'll be there for the NSRA car show.
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.Looking at the tank on the left you can see they aren't symmetrical side to side. One side is rounder and the other side is more of an oval shape.
I want both tanks as I'll use either the two rounder sides or the two oval shape sides to make the body from. Also there is a possibility I might just use these to help build a mold. One way or another I feel they are going to help in building the car.
I'm glad Benny found them.
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I also like the shape of the nose on these tanks. Viewing them from the side and the top they are pretty close to the shape of the E-Z- Hook Streamliner that I like so much.
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Another view of one of the tanks.
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Marsh Racing Wheels made up the two rear wheels for me. These wheels are 15 X 5 inches and have a 4 bolt pattern to match the Datsun hubs in the back. They are welded all the way around the attachment between the rim and the center section on the inside. That meets the rule requirements. I also replaced the rubber valve stems with metal ones to meet the rule requirements.
They cost about $60.00 each, which I felt was a very fair price. I also got 1" lug nuts from them that are required for all cars over 200 mph (I may as well set my sites high). Brandt, at Marsh Racing Wheels, took his time and helped me with the wheels. Give him a call if you need wheels and tell him I sent you. Hooley also used wheels from them on his 200+mph Stude.
I'll also get them to make the front wheels for me when I get that far. I'm using MoPar disk rotor hubs (I'll cut the rotor part off) on '37-48 Ford spindles on the front. I want to see what my rear track is going to be and also figure out what off-set I want on the front rims before I order them.
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Here are my two rear tires. They are Goodyear EAGLE LAND SPEED tires, that have a maximum speed rating of 300 mph. I got these tires in 2004 when land speed tires where getting scarce. They are 26 X 4.5 - 15's and are part number 2030. They aren't cheap, but I'll feel better with them on the rear of the car as the drive tires vs. the Goodyear Drag Front Runners I'll use on the front.
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The tires mounted to the rims. I've been storing them with just a little pressure in them and inside of black plastic garbage bags. They are in a cool, dark room. This is what was recommended to me by the Goodyear distributor where I purchased them (actually they UPS them to me). Ask for Jerry at:
Carter-Maxwell, Inc.
5925 N.W. 37th
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73122
PHONE: 405/789-8253
FAX: 405/789-9201
They were good people to deal with also. When I get my front rims figured out I'm going to order some Goodyear Eagle Dragway
Special Front Runner's for the front of the car. They will be close in
size to the rear tires.
Another note on the tires. According to Carter-Maxwell you should mount the "rear" tires on the rims so that the serial number ( starts with a 5 and then some letters) is to the driver's right. On the left rear the serial number is on the inside of the wheel/tire and on the right rear the serial number is on the outside of the wheel/tire.
For the "front" tires it is the opposite with the serial number to the driver's left. On the left front the serial number is on the outside of the wheel/tire and on the right front the serial number is on the inside of the wheel/tire.
You follow this procedure for the front and rear tires if they are all "Land Speed tires" and if the fronts are "Drag Front Rrunners" and the back "Land Speed" you follow the same procedure.
Regardless of what I've just said you should check with your tire supplier and mount the tires as per their specifications. I just wanted to mention that Goodyear does have a method that they want you to use.
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Instead of building the car on the ground I decided to make a jig surface plate. This will give me a good surface to build on and get the car a little higher to work on. I spent a couple hours and made this platform out of 2X4's and 5/8" wafer board.
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The 2 X 4's are on 2 foot centers and the wafer board is screwed to them. The platform is 4 foot wide by 16 feet long and is 1 foot off the ground. Not quite a NASCAR metal surface plate, but something that I think will come in handy. I plan on using wooden brackets to mount all of the major parts of the car (rearend, frontend, seat, etc.) at ride height on the platform and then tie them together with the frame, which I'll build piece by piece. It will be easy to make temporary wooden brackets for these parts and just screw the brackets to the platform to hold them where I want them. I guess I'll see how this works in practice. Since I took this picture I snapped a reference line lengthwise down the platform. It will give me a straight center line to reference off of as I build the car.
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