27 replies to this topic

[Dirtracer48]

Roll cages you weld together are TOP price 299.99 ordered from Jegs . If someone is going to Charge you 600 to 700 to weld it they are truly ripping you off . I have access to a wire welder bought at ACE for less than 300.00. And wire while expensive will last a very long time,

jgilley I will disagree on someone ripping off people for doing a professional job, I have been a welder for 30 years and owning a fabrication company.
My hourly rate is 45.00 per hour and to put a cage in a truck the right way will take you 8 hours easy and that's just labor. I will trust my 1,600.00 dollar welders way before I weld with a three hundred dollar welder. Them welders don't weld worth a crap, no penetration at all. quick fix yes for the safety of others NO. That kit does not include 3 door bars, stub bars in between and 2 bars in passenger door with stub bars, and the extra halo bar added to help protect the drivers head. They come with with bars to add cross X as which drag racing requires for door bars. If I was going to put a cage in a truck new I would also quote 800 to 1,000 cause that also comes with boxing in all chassis ares that the cage will be mounted to.
I don't care what people say even if I was to build a race truck here at my shop I still would be looking at over 6,000 to build it, And I have part dealerships to buy parts from with no mark-up. People the days of 1,200.00 race trucks are gone, get over it. Put the word race in front of anything and it spells money. JMO

I can tell you from my own experience that my new stock car roller cost over 10 grand to build using 95 percent new parts. It's done right, with top shelf parts and safety equipment. Sure it can and has been done cheaper, you can pass on the safety stuff and weld it up yourself, but no thanks from me. Others have done it cheaper.... They got what they wanted, and I got what I wanted. That said, I don't see how it is a lot cheaper to build a new truck roller without skimping where you probably shouldn't. As Scotty B once said g if you want affordable racing, get a greyhound.... Dog food is cheap.

[compact racer]

Here's my question since the topic is car counts. If we all believe that the cost of an entry level class car is easily 6 to 10 thousand dollars for the race car or truck and another 10 grand in a decent truck; trailer and pit equipment why is anyone crying because they don't have a b main? Not too many people can throw that much away on a hobby that will never come close to paying back a fraction of the cost.

[kartracer229]

Your exactly right. I explained this to Jody Shannon of the DRC when he asked me any ideas to get kids involved with racing, I just told him to make their dads rich. Lets face it, a racer wants to win, that's why were out there. But, I think some things the ways the trucks have went are for the better. Sure someone will exploit the rules, but you say stock springs and shocks, I can buy stock mount shocks revalved to my own needs. I do take pride in my work Gilley, but I can honestly say I don't trust welding a cage on myself with a cheapo welder, stock body panels are kind of a pain to find, and expensive if bought new. Im honestly going to have more money in bondo'ing old stuff together, and making it look presentable. I know, flash and glitter has NEVER won a race, ever, but, when you have a very presentable ride, it opens the doors up for people to look at you, and open up areas for potential sponsors and things of that nature. Racing is far from a cheap hobby, at all, but I personally see 0 problem in spending the 6-7k building a roller. I know stocker, he builds stock car chassis and they are really nice pieces, and that is someone I would not be afraid to take my stuff to if I wanted to do it right, needed a cage, anything. Ill pay for safety, not cut corners in those areas. I once told my friend, Id rather run last and be safe, than not be safe and run 2nd-3rd. I used a necksgen device this year when I flipped at Waynesfield, 2nd night I ever wore it, and I woke up a little sore, but its better than the alternative. One thing I will say the track does need to do is have people roll up into tech with their helmets on, and make sure their head isn't above the roll cage. I saw it with several drivers in all different classes this year. That hurt Don O'neal earlier this summer. Flipped his late model and his helmet was above the cage. He was lucky he was able to run the World 100. I helped Dirtracer48 build his stock car over the winter, and there were a few things that were not bought new, and the price was still up there in the 10k mark, and I honestly believe we have one of the nicest cars when it hits the track, looks wise, user friendly wise, and if it were to be sold, the only things that weren't new were the fuel cell, gauges, and a front clip. When you get down and honestly look at the car, sure it doesnt have the GRT or Rocket logo, but it is as nice as anything you will get from them. You pay to play, you pay for peoples years and years of knowledge. Ill pay for that any day of the week.

[aswisher7]

Put together a truck for less than 4k and see how well you do with it. Just make sure your $299 cage is welded properly with a good welder, I dont exactly like the fear of a cheaply welded cage snapping apart in a wreck and entering my cockpit. Thats why I like how so many chassis builders have taken on the ability to build a good, safe cage. Sure it might cost $1000, but everyone out there knows you dont have a pile of junk tubes welded together with a harbor freight welder. Do you think Donny Schatz makes his own chassis? No, and theres a reason for it. Chassis builders are always doing research and development to find the fastest, yet safest chassis. they make certain bars that "break away" and certain bars that "flex" upon impact.

[Blown93LX]

Roll cages you weld together are TOP price 299.99 ordered from Jegs . If someone is going to Charge you 600 to 700 to weld it they are truly ripping you off . I have access to a wire welder bought at ACE for less than 300.00. And wire while expensive will last a very long time . Like I said .... There is a HUGE difference between building a truck and having one built . And if you are using STOCK body panels as the rules state , there is no need to any fabrication of body parts or panels . Very simple .. Take body apart... Fenders off , Cab off frame, bed off ... Build cage on frame .... Paint cage and frame , put cab back on , put bed and fenders on , Paint body, Tape off and letter, number . Is it easy ? No . Does it take time ? Yes . Takes patience and the ability to LISTEN to others and the DESIRE to do it your self and save a bunch of money. Took me a long time to learn how to put a decent paint and lettering job on a car , and took me longer to learn to weld the RIGHT way , but it beats paying 3 times the money for a money loosing hobby LOL

Very scary conversation regarding the welding of a roll cage in a race car.

[kartracer229]

Very scary conversation regarding the welding of a roll cage in a race car.

Absolutely. Now take someone who has done their homework, its one of the few trucks Ive looked over, but both the Sawmillers have absolutely done their homework on how to build a chassis. Ive looked up, down, all around and they are 100% top notch, as youd find from someone with fabrication as a trade.

I put a cage in my race vehicle not because its a "cool feature", but to make sure Im safe. Safety isnt cheap, so why skimp on your safety factor?

My question is, and I see it in stock cars too, why is it the people who complain about engines, the ones who dont have the 3 things needed to win a race? Driver, Setup, Engine. Honestly if you dont put setup at the top of the list on the first thing to be worried about, then I dont care if your Kyle Larson running the biggest engine out there, your never going to win. Motor helps, but when your wrestling the vehicle, cant get in or out of the corner without scrubbing massive amounts of speed, then of course you think its motor. When you struggle getting in, youve killed the exit, where you want the motor. The expensive part of getting this WHOLE truck thing done, is spent in parts chassis wise to make your truck better. Bent shocks, stock springs and bald dry rotted tires wont win you races. The whole combo does(setup, driver, motor), and until your vehicle is top caliber, where you as a driver know every in and out of that truck, and you have every piece you need to scrub as little of speed as possible in the corners, and you as a mechanic know how and what to do when the track does what, and then that extra HP you thought was murdering you isnt as bad anymore, then look to your motor department for speed. Until then, you are beating a dead horse by trying to slow the fast guys (who will always be fast) down.

Edited by kartracer229, 20 September 2013 - 08:30 AM.

[compact racer]

Absolutely. Now take someone who has done their homework, its one of the few trucks Ive looked over, but both the Sawmillers have absolutely done their homework on how to build a chassis. Ive looked up, down, all around and they are 100% top notch, as youd find from someone with fabrication as a trade.

I put a cage in my race vehicle not because its a "cool feature", but to make sure Im safe. Safety isnt cheap, so why skimp on your safety factor?

My question is, and I see it in stock cars too, why is it the people who complain about engines, the ones who dont have the 3 things needed to win a race? Driver, Setup, Engine. Honestly if you dont put setup at the top of the list on the first thing to be worried about, then I dont care if your Kyle Larson running the biggest engine out there, your never going to win. Motor helps, but when your wrestling the vehicle, cant get in or out of the corner without scrubbing massive amounts of speed, then of course you think its motor. When you struggle getting in, youve killed the exit, where you want the motor. The expensive part of getting this WHOLE truck thing done, is spent in parts chassis wise to make your truck better. Bent shocks, stock springs and bald dry rotted tires wont win you races. The whole combo does(setup, driver, motor), and until your vehicle is top caliber, where you as a driver know every in and out of that truck, and you have every piece you need to scrub as little of speed as possible in the corners, and you as a mechanic know how and what to do when the track does what, and then that extra HP you thought was murdering you isnt as bad anymore, then look to your motor department for speed. Until then, you are beating a dead horse by trying to slow the fast guys (who will always be fast) down.

I'd say that after what 10 yrs of trucks you need it all........ period....

[Racer31]

Ok I started this subject basically as a thanks to all that have supported WRP this season and to let everyone know that the counts have risen this season. Yes I posed the question about the truck class just wanting some feedback on what people thought about the current condition of the class to see if there was anything that we could do to help get the count up even more. Then it turned into a topic of "you guys don't tech" and "this is how much you should spend" and "it needs to go back to doing things yourself in the garage". I could care less how people work on their trucks and prepare them......we are going to run for the same purse whether you spend $2,000 or $8,000 on a truck. As far as enforcing the rules......I personally inspected trucks 4-5 times this season for anything that I could look at without removing parts other than air cleaners. As far as checking rods and cranks, that would require a tear down and a $200 gasket set every week...I'm pretty sure that is not going to happen unless we implement our protest rule again which may happen. This would require to protestor to put up the gasket fee and another $50 for the inspection time. We DO inspect! I'm sick of hearing we do not inspect.....we may not tear down an engine to the last bolt like some people may want but if we implement the protest fee then we will. Next season now that we have the hotpit lane and have that under our belt we will require some divisions to drive their cars through an inspection lane before competing that evening. Every season we re-visit rules and will do it again this off season. This season the truck class has been more competitive than it ever has and the trucks are in a much tighter pack once again. As for the tailpipe rule....that rule worked nicely and will be touched up just a tad but will still be in place next season. Thank you for all of your support and we will see you all at the banquet.