Under The Body
Under the bodywork of our 1998 Chevrolet Monte
Carlo's sits a well prepared full racing chassis.
The Chassis itself starts out as a bare mound
of welded bars prepared by Port City Chassis of Michigan. The Winston Racing
Series that we participate in allows us to run an "Offset Chassis",
that is a chassis that is built with most of the weight left of center,
allowing the car to turn left more efficiently than a "Perimeter Chassis".
After the chassis is prepared by the factory it needs to be primed and
painted before the rest of the bolt on's are attached. The bolt
on's make up the rest of the working chassis. The bolt on's include "A"
arms, steering rack, spindles and hubs, rearend, trailing arms, and the
such. These items simply bolt on to the main chassis hence the term bolt
on's. Once most of the bolt on's are attached, the wheels and
tires may be placed allowing the chassis to be moved about the race shop
in preparation for final assembly. At this point we have what we call a
rolling chassis or roller. Now comes the hardest part of
the whole assembly process, placing the Template Body. The team
is allowed a weight break if the body conforms to the template body rules.
Hanging the template body is no easy task, usually taking many evenings
to get it adjusted, just so, to fit the template. We now install the lead
in the proper locations to make weight. This is done with precision to
allow the weight percentages to conform to track rules. The SEMCO
Performance prepared 355
Chevrolet engine is fitted into the motor compartment with transmission
attached. The car is now ready for painting and lettering which puts the
finishing touches to the hours and hours of preparing our Late Model Car.
Kevin Custer, B.M.S.