Bigblock Firestorm 10T

[Fuel Crazy]

Well heres my bigblock Firestorm project. Converting it to on-road only, doing mainly 132ft drag racing.. but will also keep gearing on hand for doing speed runs.

Sofar it has been a pretty painless swap. Using OFNA Adjustable engine mounts from a OFNA P10M (requires drilling 2 new holes for mounting to the chassis, as well as opening up the slots in the chassis itself), Modded Hyper 21 8port, OFNA 086 pipe, Jaco 2040LP Foams. Will at some point probably switch to the Carbon/Graphite chassis & top plate. Still trying to decide on which clutch to use, but am switching to 1.0M gearing since the 0.8M options are not very good... using Axial 22T clutchbell and modified Integy Revo spurs (34, 36 and 38 on hand).

can't wait to get it completed and see what it does. Pictures show it with my self ported Hyper 21 4port with stock HPI 19T clutchbell & 50T spur to see how everything was gonna line up with using the OFNA engine mounts.

 

[nitrostoned]

Looking good so far! Your giving me so many ideas for my Jato

 

[Metalhead Matt]

Looking good. Throw some video up of the test drive if you can.

 

[Fuel Crazy]

Will definetely get video once its finished...but thats gonna be a while still as i dont want to rush the build, and want to make sure everything is perfect so i run into as little problems as possible. Not to mention i just spent a good chunk of change on parts for my RS4 EVO+ and will be doing the same transplant in it as well with a modded Hyper 21.


Nitrostoned... Jato is a pretty popular platform doing drag racing. Good friend of mine has a bigblock Jato that runs 2.30-2.40's in 132ft on a unprepped track. If he spent more time on it, he could probably get it into the 1.90-2.0 range on a prepped track...i know hes got the know-how to do it.. i mean, he DID set the world record for fastest nitro car @ 120mph lol. I liked the idea of doing this with a Firestorm cause theres only a handfull of people who have done it.. so its not something everybody has done, like the Jato's and Revo's.

 

[nitrostoned]

Will definetely get video once its finished...but thats gonna be a while still as i dont want to rush the build, and want to make sure everything is perfect so i run into as little problems as possible. Not to mention i just spent a good chunk of change on parts for my RS4 EVO+ and will be doing the same transplant in it as well with a modded Hyper 21.


Nitrostoned... Jato is a pretty popular platform doing drag racing. Good friend of mine has a bigblock Jato that runs 2.30-2.40's in 132ft on a unprepped track. If he spent more time on it, he could probably get it into the 1.90-2.0 range on a prepped track...i know hes got the know-how to do it.. i mean, he DID set the world record for fastest nitro car @ 120mph lol. I liked the idea of doing this with a Firestorm cause theres only a handfull of people who have done it.. so its not something everybody has done, like the Jato's and Revo's.

My Jato is still a 2.5 but I baught a picco .26 maxx and I sold the revo it was for, so more and more I am thinking of dropping it in the Jato. The only problems with the Jato are last time it was drove it went full speed into a ditch, and ditch = broken rear shocktower, front shocks, rear shocks, and broke off the top of the head. I have also been taking parts of for other rc's and its not going to be a "fun" rebuild.

 

[Fuel Crazy]

Well trying something a bit different with the Firestorm. Trying to adapt a 2 speed transmission, and its definetely proving to be a challenge, but not impossible

Setup is from a original Nitro 4-Tec. Got it about 75% complete.. just gotta make an adapter so the 1 way bearing will engage. I'm not sure if i will keep it or not, as the gearing (16/41 & 20/37) wont produce alot of speed... but 90% of the time the truck will be for 132ft drag racing, so it may end up working out perfect as 1st gear should peak about 40mph, and 2nd gear around 55mph. Just gotta make sure it still ends up fairly easy to take off, so i can switch to the single speed (axial 22t clutchbell & Revo 34t spur) for the speed runs.

 

[nitrostoned]

Fuel Crazy, you are really making my dreams come true 7 years in the hobby and I have wanted to make nitros for drag racing but people didnt understand cars and geard for speed and I would smoke them all. Dimwitts I tell ya!

 

[Lessen]

This build makes me want a go fast and straight car R/C dragsters are amazing.

 

[Fuel Crazy]

Fuel Crazy, you are really making my dreams come true 7 years in the hobby and I have wanted to make nitros for drag racing but people didnt understand cars and geard for speed and I would smoke them all. Dimwitts I tell ya!

RC Drag Racing been around a long time. Its just not real popular as it takes alot of finess and patience to do, especially with prostocks/promods/funnycars/dragsters. Not alot of people have the want to take something like a Stadium Truck and convert it for doing drag racing either.

I've been around real drag racing my entire life...so it comes natural to me. Back in the late early 2000's i ran a Walbern Prostock/Promod with a modded Picco 21 & cut down MAC's boat pipe and ran high 1.90's in 132ft, which was only a couple tenths off the national record at the time (think it was in the 1.70's or 1.80's).

My main reason for building this truck for drag racing is when i go out to Louisiana to visit friends and race boats, "Street Racing" with RC trucks/buggys is quite popular there so its another thing to do with friends when i go to visit.

along with this... i'll be testing running with a cut down MAC's marine pipe as well. On the lighter drag cars, these work amazing.. but work on a pretty narrow power band, so its definetely gonna take alot of tweaking for it to work as good if not better then the usual side pipes.

 

[nitrostoned]

I have built 2 pro street drag racers out of a 77' pontiac grand prix and a 77 chevy monte carlo so real life is nothing new to me either I also have a very rad Pontiac Trans Am. But back to RC. What engine will be ran in the Fire storm? What you using for shocks/springs/oil?

RC Drag Racing been around a long time. Its just not real popular as it takes alot of finess and patience to do, especially with prostocks/promods/funnycars/dragsters. Not alot of people have the want to take something like a Stadium Truck and convert it for doing drag racing either.

I've been around real drag racing my entire life...so it comes natural to me. Back in the late early 2000's i ran a Walbern Prostock/Promod with a modded Picco 21 & cut down MAC's boat pipe and ran high 1.90's in 132ft, which was only a couple tenths off the national record at the time (think it was in the 1.70's or 1.80's).

My main reason for building this truck for drag racing is when i go out to Louisiana to visit friends and race boats, "Street Racing" with RC trucks/buggys is quite popular there so its another thing to do with friends when i go to visit.

along with this... i'll be testing running with a cut down MAC's marine pipe as well. On the lighter drag cars, these work amazing.. but work on a pretty narrow power band, so its definetely gonna take alot of tweaking for it to work as good if not better then the usual side pipes.

Is There more noticeable response overall?

 

[Fuel Crazy]

I have built 2 pro street drag racers out of a 77' pontiac grand prix and a 77 chevy monte carlo so real life is nothing new to me either I also have a very rad Pontiac Trans Am. But back to RC. What engine will be ran in the Fire storm? What you using for shocks/springs/oil?


Is There more noticeable response overall?

Yeah, i use to travel the country with a Stock suspension, Drag radial mustang i did alot of the wrenching on. Smallblock with a Procharger F2R blower.. ran a best of 8.01 @ 176 before it got sold. My old mustang streetcar had a 347" smallblock on 2 kits that ran 9.03 @ 155 after driving it over an hour to the track. Still own 4 mustangs, with my favorite being my 94 GT with a Vortech S-trim blown 306 that made 632whp on 14lbs/50shot, on a very safe/rich tune.

I am using a Modded Hyper .21 8port in the truck. Will be using Shocks/Springs from a old Duratrax Maximum MT on the front, Shocks/Springs for a Jato on the rear. Not sure on oil weight..ill be messing with that when the time comes, along with different preload settings.


As for the pipe..there is a noticable difference.. its just something that requires fine tuning to your setup (1/8" length adjustment will make quite a difference). They hit very hard, in a certain range. They dont offer a smooth power band like the typical side pipes do. When the truck is done, i will do back to back testing with it and OFNA 086 pipe.

 

[nitrostoned]

Yeah, i use to travel the country with a Stock suspension, Drag radial mustang i did alot of the wrenching on. Smallblock with a Procharger F2R blower.. ran a best of 8.01 @ 176 before it got sold. My old mustang streetcar had a 347" smallblock on 2 kits that ran 9.03 @ 155 after driving it over an hour to the track. Still own 4 mustangs, with my favorite being my 94 GT with a Vortech S-trim blown 306 that made 632whp on 14lbs/50shot, on a very safe/rich tune.

I am using a Modded Hyper .21 8port in the truck. Will be using Shocks/Springs from a old Duratrax Maximum MT on the front, Shocks/Springs for a Jato on the rear. Not sure on oil weight..ill be messing with that when the time comes, along with different preload settings.


As for the pipe..there is a noticable difference.. its just something that requires fine tuning to your setup (1/8" length adjustment will make quite a difference). They hit very hard, in a certain range. They dont offer a smooth power band like the typical side pipes do. When the truck is done, i will do back to back testing with it and OFNA 086 pipe.

My trans am has a 461" pontiac with a 3 peed auto (turbo 400) and 3.73 rear gears. runs high tens low elevens more of a street car than racer. But I'm not liking the $12/gallon for 110 octane right now my car eats it up.

 

[Fuel Crazy]

My trans am has a 461" pontiac with a 3 peed auto (turbo 400) and 3.73 rear gears. runs high tens low elevens more of a street car than racer. But I'm not liking the $12/gallon for 110 octane right now my car eats it up.

Yeah i originally had my 94GT tuned for race gas..but got tired of spending a bunch of money on fuel. So i put a alky/meth kit in it.. makes about 10hp less then it did on race gas tune.. but only spending $3.30 a gallon for 93 instead of $15+ for C16.


Anyway... update on the Dragstorm. Got the 2speed all completed and working. Been a long time since i messed with adapting something like this, and pulled a bonehead move and had the 2spd hub mounted backwards.. couldnt figure out why it wouldnt shift. Unfortuntely, once i figured it out and went out to run..it started getting dark so had no time to play with shift timing.

But with the new gearing.. this thing is a monster in 1st gear, and absolutely wont stay on the ground (and i dont even have the DragModded engine in it yet :whhooo: ) so i built a wheelie bar for it.

Using 5/32" carbon tube, tie-rod ends, some nylon bellcranks (these are getting changed to aluminum ones), and a modified 1/24 scale model car tire. The bar is completely adjustable height wise..with about 2" or so adjustment.

 

[nitrostoned]

Looking good! I bet that machine is super lite. Are those rear tires what you will be running?? BTW looks like your other half doesn't care about the r/c on the bathroom sink?

 

[Fuel Crazy]

Looking good! I bet that machine is super lite. Are those rear tires what you will be running?? BTW looks like your other half doesn't care about the r/c on the bathroom sink?

No those were just on there for testing. For drag racing on prepped track I'm using Jaco foams, on unprepped track (street) I'm using Panther slicks.


I dont complain about her shoes everywhere, so she can't complain about me putting rc on counter to take a picture lol.

 

[w bill]

Looks like a good recipe for fun .Can't wait to see a vid.

 

[Fuel Crazy]

little update on this. Been messing with it just running stock OFNA P10M .21 pipe, i ended up spinning the hex's in my beater wheels on a hard launch on my prepped test road, so i pulled the tires off and stretched them onto some bigger wheels. Took it out this morning before the rain comes in (slight mist coming down).. running Omega 16% (which is actually about 6 years old..just wanted to see if it was still any good), got a best run of 59.2mph with it...which by calculations was netting right around 37000rpm.


On a 104mm tire, the 16/20-37/41 gearing is a bit too high for 132ft racing.. so I'm probably gonna switch to 41/45 on the spurs, which on a 97mm tire should probably be perfect as it should top around 51-52mph in 2nd.. but get their quick.

 

[gamebredrc]

Hey fuel crazy by any chance you read this can you tell me if you were able to beat jatos? Looking to do the same thing. Thanks in advance

 

[tdawg55]

Is it a lot of work to do that and a lot of money ??