First, let me say that Drag Pak #24 has more unique innovations, and changes from the way the car comes, than any other Challenger Drag Pak. I won't go into the entire list of them, because some of them are "Secret Squirrel" Information. And that information is held quite close to the vest. But this is only one of many, many things that are different on this car, and one of the reasons why we run more consistently and faster than any other Challenger Drag Pak with the same number of cylinders, and within 50 cubic inches. But we also do it with less stress, and grief.
If you want to get the whole list of what we have done, the book "The Definitive Drag Pak" is available on disk, in PDF form for only $500. And this book is the Secret Squirrel version, with absolutely nothing held back.
This post is about just one innovation that we have been slowly evolving. Our hood attachments.
As reported previously, we lost the original hood in Las Vegas last year. The Dzus fasteners just were not reliable enough. As demonstarted in thr fact that we lost the hood at 135 MPH as we crossed the finish line. In addition, from the time we got the car, the fasteners were, at best, inconvenient. And mostly they were a means to scratch the hood, and battle to get get them latch, and open. Ask any Drag Pak owner, and they will tell this is one of the most inconvenient things about this car.
Evolution One: When we got the new hood, I requested that it not be drilled or have fasters install. We had decided to use conventional hood pins. So we made new brackets, and the hood pins did their job. The hood was easier to get open when necessary, and stayed down when it should.
But when you took the pins out, you had to keep track of the 10 loose hood pins. We would set them in pile, or drop them in a cup. But I was always aware that if we lost one Not a really big deal, but just an inconvenience. And although this sure beat the Dzus fasteners, I am all for making racing as convenient than it absolutely can be. That doesn't mean I think I can make racing easy, I can't. racing is hard work. But I sure can make it easier than it has been.
Evolution Two: At one of the races, a representative of Quick-Latch came by and I got to see some samples. Immediately, I could see that we could remove our concerns over losing pins, and get a much better, smoother appearance. And they wouldn't take much modification to what we already had done, and they are NHRA approved.
And here it is. While we waiting to get our new engine together, we finally had a chance to make some minor changes to the custom brackets we made for the hood pins, and install the new latches; So, here is a better way. What you see is a bit more than the Quick-Latch Polished Mini Latch. We installed a washer under the pin bucket, and above it on the hood. There are four rivets holding the top washer in place. This washer, and rivets and probably not needed. But the Quick-Latch Min in not terribly big, so we felt comfortable leaving the large washer with rivets in place. We had used them for the hood pins, and some day we remove the rivets, and put pretty chrome washer in place under the latches. But that is not a real high priority at this point in the evolution.
What do we like about the Quick-Latch? Well, you press a button in the center of the latch, and it releases. We opted for the optional springs, so that the hood pops up away from the latch, when the button is released. And it works great. It isn't without its' own little quicks. The order that you pop the latches, is based somewhat on how they are installed, and you have to determine it yourself.
This is a look at one of the installed latches.
The center part, about 1 inch, with a small button
in the center of it, is the actual latch.
You press that center button to release the latch.
This is what they all look like when istalled.
Neat, clean, smooth, and easy!!!
They look nice and work good. Although they cost a little more than hood pins, but they still are better than any other solution that I have seen yet. You can do a whole hood for less than $300. And after you scratch your paint a few times, or lose your hood once, or just go through the rat race of unlatching, and then relatching them after fuel check a few times, and $300 isn't too much after all.
God Bless, and Race Safely
David
The New Hemi Guy
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