Saturday Night Buildup - Build An Entry Level Stock Car

And so our story begins. Patrick Manzi was not a racer. He is a big guy at 6 feet, 2 inches tall and an ex-Marine. At 30 years old he is no stranger to hard work, yet his job in marketing for Stock Car Racing requires him to spend a lot of time behind a desk. The appendage growing on the right side of his face is commonly known as a telephone.

Patrick wanted more. His visit to a short track brought with it the intimacy of man and machine. He could feel the close competition, and could even see the drivers' eyes from only a few feet away. Sitting or standing on the front row of bleachers at Auburndale (Florida) Speedway, he knew he had to do this. Patrick began planning his transformation into a racer. (Note: Auburndale is a quarter-mile, paved low-banked oval. There is little difference between a dirt car and an asphalt car in an entry-level class such as this.)

Which class? Which car? Would Sleepy Gomez come down and help with the project? Of course! I am always a sucker for a free meal and a chance to work on a race car. (Patrick didn't tell me about the flying alligators, i.e. mosquitoes.)

A look at the rules and a glance around the track indicated a 108-inch car would be necessary. The General Motors "metric" was the car of choice. The GM metric car is the mid-size Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, and Oldsmobile built from 1979 to 1986. It was so named because many of the components (nuts, bolts, etc.) were made to metric rather than inch dimensions. Some of the '79 models had smaller front-wheel bearings (not good) than the '80-and-up cars. The rest of the suspension components are OK, but the spindle with the small bearings may be a problem. Certainly they will be if you need to interchange parts. So an '80s car was chosen.

Admittedly, Patrick knew which way to turn a wrench. Yet, he has had no experience working on cars, much less race cars. This whole project was educational for him. By the time we finished the car he wouldn't be able to build another by himself, but he would have a working knowledge of why and how it should go together.

We located an '83 Pontiac. It had been left at a dealership because the cost to repair it was too high. So, for the price of towing, we had the beginnings of a race car. The wrecker driver deposited the car at the magazine's office in Lakeland, Florida. Soon I showed up driving my Cadillac hearse containing the tools and equipment, less welder, needed to build a race car.

Now, just so you don't get the idea that we had a wonderful shop at the magazine office in which to work, let me describe it for you. Our area was a designated spot of uncovered concrete complete with a high dosage of Florida sun. The nearest electrical outlets were 50 feet away, and compressed air was non-existent. Had we been able to save the day's glare from the adjacent white metal building, there would have been no shortage of light during the night shift. Nighttime work saw us using two mosquito beacons, otherwise known as drop lights.

The first step in a project of this type should be to remove the fuel tank. Obviously, don't cut the straps with a torch; this could leave you red-faced or worse. Remove the rubber hoses from the tank to the metal fuel line. The smaller steel line is the vapor return; it will be discarded. The larger line will be used for the fuel line in the finished car. It is quite adequate in size for gasoline and a motor less than 400 hp.

Once the tank is removed, set it aside, far aside. Now work with a torch can commence with a greater degree of safety. Remember, there may still be some old fuel in the lines. Since rear weight is a plus to this project we won't cut any metal out of this area unless it interferes with some of the bracing or fuel cell mounts.

Move around to the other end of the car and stare at the engine. I hope you had the foresight to take the car by a car wash before bringing it home. Remove all front bodywork, the radiator, and engine/transmission unit. Easy, right? Now you will begin to understand the metric car. Judicious use of a cutting torch can speed up the procedure. The front fenders with their core support can be removed in one section. This section can be disassembled later.