Part 5 Front Halving a 330 MPH Top Fuel Dragster

This Is part five in the series of building and front having a 330 mile an hour Topfuel Dragster.
This Episode we are building crossmembers, uprights and keeping things straight prepping for the final episode part six. Part six will be fast and to the point so we can move forward and start some more projects. This video explains all the detail it takes and a couple secrets that are thrown in so be sure and watch the entire video. Thanks again for watching! 

[@oldschoolmotorsickle]

Another great video, sir. To my knowledge, this series is the only in-depth look at race chassis building. No NASCAR, no WoO or late model, no IMSA, just one guy with a torch, and that’s you. These videos are super valuable for anyone interested in becoming the next One Guy with a torch. Thank you!

[@oldschoolmotorsickle]

PS, and this might be sacrilege but has anyone ever done this with brazing? The big-name English motorcycle chassis builders used to swear by it.

[@ron-gu8ln]

Great series. Thanks for all the hard work just in camera placement and showing us what we are seeing. That in itself is a job. I’m in the fab/welding business I pick up something from every video. Tks bro 👍🏼

[@brianb5779]

Watching the build saying to myself, man id wish he would show how he measures for his cross braces and then bam, you showed it. I always love seeing how guys like you do it.

[@billclark5943]

I spent most of my career doing drag race stuff then onto aerobatic aircraft and now Aerospace. Make as many videos as you want regarding details. I'm always looking to draw from the experience of other craftsman.

[@DJ-yp4kc]

Nice view outside looks like a purdy spot for a shop.. Oh and great work on the Frame...Luv those turn buckles

[@rescobar8572]

Rob, this was a crazy in depth video! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. 🙏

[@billmiller7138]

I built a few drag chassis in the 60s and 70s, fitting tubes with a bench grinder. I sure do like your common sense approach to jigs and fixturing. Lots of great information here!

[@robwendland]

Sure appreciate that thank you!

[@Matty.Hill_87]

Any cars that we might have heard of? That's so cool that you were building the cars that paved the way for todays cars

[@billmiller7138]

@@Matty.Hill_87 All class racer cars, gas front and rear engine dragsters, altered’s, Also some gas and modified production cars. Most raced in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland area.

[@stanlucas665]

More attention to detail than I’ve seen in a long time. Beautiful work.

[@joesolo9946]

Enjoy seeing quality work in action.. 👍

[@robwendland]

Thank you and thanks for watching!

[@cdnbluesdriver]

Keep the knowledge and insight flooooooowing!!

[@McFingal]

Looks good, your knowledge base makes it look deceptively easy. Anybody with a little welding experience looks and says I can do that. When they know damn right well they can’t. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@robwendland]

Lol I don’t know hell I can stick with these damn things together🤣🤣

[@kh40yr]

God it was hot at the track this past weekend. Frikkin start line melted my shoes. Woodburn Dragstrip had their Night of Fire, with the Nostaliga Altereds and Nostalgia Funny's on Fuel, Jet cars,,the Jelly Belly wheelstander, ect. Back in the day they would hold a Pro Stock Invitational there,, days before the Seattle race,, Since the Woodburn Or track is just 200ft below the Seattle track in elevation. The Pro Stockers loved it for setup, and they made a extra check for small kickbucks on the west coast before the Seattle race. Nice work on the Chassis Rob.

[@bobqzzi]

I am loving this series- don't feel the need to cut it short at all.

[@mikeznel6048]

Man what a dream job! Time flies by doing stuff like this for me.

[@charlesmitchuson9884]

Another great video Rob

[@joannehart9624]

This is just an amazing series! Anyone interested in racing should LOVE these videos.

[@robertprice2108]

Thank you for sharing an God bless you.

[@ScottMorrill27]

Another great vid !!! Thank you!!!

[@vehdynam]

Very informative , thank you !

[@z06doc86]

More fab and tech. Thanks

[@Zen_Modeling]

Rob U sound like a fellow ADHD (squirrel watcher)…😉 I’m 62 yrs old & found that it’s actually a positive thing with me when I’m building these 1:25 size Top Fuel like yours🤓Luv your Educational Videos & I’ve become a Huge Fan of All of them😎 🙏Thanks 🙏 Lee aka: ☯️ZenModeling☯️

[@danielsmith-ze3wy]

Nice clean work

[@ss1320ss]

Another great video Rob, can't wait for #6!

[@robwendland]

Six will be fast and to the point!

[@dmeemd7787]

Man, I'll say this much. Please keep all these different video series on all these different aspects of what you're doing on the car coming out for us. Hell, you could do a 19 part series on just how the clutch cannon works, haha 😋 (being a TAD facetious, but you know what I mean) ...and does anyone else (when they see the word 'tad' in capital letters) see TAD (Top Alcohol Dragster) instead of the word itself? LOL

[@bcbloc02]

It is always cool!

[@mikeznel6048]

Awe man I do that sometimes. I always start at 1 and occasionally I'll forget to subtract that extra inch or in my mind I'll have the number and right off the bat remove the extra inch then when I go to cut it, I subtract another inch and it ends up an inch short.

[@waynegroves6922]

Me, too! I've wasted a few feet of tubing in the ancient past. 😜

[@wadewilliams4887]

I enjoy watching you fabricate. I built road race cars in the early 90s but got away from it and became a Ferrari technician. I miss the fabrication a lot.

[@DodgyBrothersEngineering]

I have no interest in building my own chassis (at least not a TF dragster, maybe my own electric trike chassis) but I am just so captivated by this series I just can't stop watching it.

[@kevinkelly7348]

i love the craftsmanship of all of this!

[@gnmatsu]

Aloha. Lovin' it. Thanks for taking us along with this. So amazing and interesting.

[@BubbaAyers1969]

Nice.. it’s coming along

[@TomChame]

Very neat, thanks.

[@jamesbarisitz4794]

Nice to see a top fuel dragster build by a pro using the same $30 height guage from China I use!✌

[@RandomAuto12]

The little tricks you have are awesome

[@johncholmes643]

You are such a badass! When I was 24, I built a partial 225 WB RED. Had my own 434 factory 400 block I concreted. 15:1, dart heads yada yada. I wish I knew what you've forgotten

[@tomanycooks]

pretty amazing

[@robwendland]

Thank you!

[@428eliminator3]

This has been a great series!

[@bigmuz_pilot]

This is more incredibly interesting stuff, thanks man!

[@mr_steve_g]

I love your videos and I especially love this series! Awesome work

[@TheChad138]

Lmao @ “plumb rob”

[@robwendland]

🤣🤣

[@ITigweld]

Like the Cadillac guage

[@joeestes8114]

I've built so many dirt late model chassis and i seen what Eastwood has for notching pipe but i just can't afford it. But it seems to work nice!

[@masonwatts1202]

I need that tubing notcher

[@hankschrader149]

Great video Rob! Thanks for explaining everything it's great stuff for sure! We've had some major chassis builders up in my neck of the woods Hadman, Swindahl and Art Morrison. Seems like most teams build in house now?

[@robwendland]

Thank you for the kind words and yes a lot of the teams do Lucas fabrications builds a lot of the chassis along with DSR. Smaller teams have a hard time tooling up to build their own chassis as it can get quite expensive plus having someone there that is capable of doing it.

[@JimmyMakingitwork]

Doing this must be very time consuming, but having a plan, fixtures and the proper tools has to be an enormous help and improve the finished product. (Captain obvious) Curious about the hours involved?

[@andyb9767]

May I ask a question, since the lower rail has the arch is the upper rail the same. Thanks again I'm loving these videos.

[@robwendland]

Good question that all of the tubes are arched the same before they are installed. You guys are starting to get pretty sharp out there!

[@andyb9767]

@@robwendland Thanks Rob I love to watch and learn stuff

[@zerstorer1ss]

Makes me wonder how "straight" they get when the power is applied

[@andyb9767]

@@zerstorer1ss how I understand it the upper and lower frame rails are arched during the run if it was flat or down it would more of a tendency to break and would not allow the weight to transfer

[@zerstorer1ss]

@@andyb9767 it's a preload, similar to flatbed trailers. As the load increases (ie, braking at the end of a run) they'll flatten out a bit and the car will get a fraction of an inch longer

[@davidaarons2488]

Coming along nicely Rob. Love that notcher, epically that bit, bet it cuts clean and fast. On that slider part, I take it the upright moves back and forth and does that have a cross pipe that moves with it, top or bottom or both? Jesus Does Save

[@AWSmith1955]

I can remember a time when the SFI specs stopped at the footbox, And then people started to use .049 on their front half's, And then the rule makers had to get involved again. Question Rob, Why are the slip joint stops angled like that? When the tube comes up against that angle cut stop, doesn't it cause a sort of shearing force across the rail? If they were just straight cut would it not just act as a stop?

[@robwendland]

It is symmetrical with the whole tube and the angle cut it’s so that it doesn’t have a straight force sideways which is a smaller diameter by laying it open at a 45 the sheer size of the tube is oblong and larger.

[@AWSmith1955]

@@robwendland Also that fuel line crossmember. That wont snag bumps on the racetrack when decelerating or flat towing it back to the pits? When you were putting the bend in it I had thought you would have inverted it upwards

[@BustedWalletGarage]

Great series. How long does this take in real time ? Trying to guess the total bill on something like this. $7k-$9k ??

[@dmeemd7787]

When the car is decelerating and let's say it's a fairly Bounty track or whatever the scenario might be, and it bounces off the chassis stops, how hard is that on the front half of the car? Or the car has a whole?

[@robwendland]

Great question! It is extremely hard on the chassis. Recently a jack that holds the car up had a failure in Norwalk Ohio and it bent the chassis falling about 2 feet in the air. This is why I build the chassis like I do because they need this kind of support and they should have at least this thickness of tubing

[@peterresetz1960]

How many hours are invested with what is all being done with this chassis ?

[@ANotSoHotRodGarage]

I wish I could work with and learn from you

[@robwendland]

Wish I could afford to have you!

[@ANotSoHotRodGarage]

@@robwendland if I lived closer I would gladly work for the learning alone. Knowledge is worth more than money to me.

[@georgef1176]

Rob what bender is that? Is the ratchet plate on the bender custom?

[@davidmyers6478]

How does one go about getting a job with a race team? I've been watching these amazing machines race for 20 years and I'm ready to get in the Pits and advance my automotive knowledge

[@robwendland]

Get yourself a CDL first. Go to a race and pass out a résumé. You will be hired

[@davidmyers6478]

@@robwendland Thanks for the reply! I'll get right on that!

[@abitoffcenter383]

Ok, I'm not sure how many folks caught this. But it made me laugh anyway. "It's going to be the same as the lower rails..........which are round." Sadly, I'm sure someone out there went. "Oh yeah!! I guess they are round aren't they" (face palm)

[@robertbannon9340]

Don't Some guys vibrate the frame as they run the finish welds ?

[@427bullis]

Rob, whose shop and where is this?

[@kevinblank5585]

Did you actually say plumb Rob? at the beginning?

[@tjs_welding_and_fabrication]

Stealing your turnbuckle design. Thanks.