Drag Racing Online brings you a step-by-step series of tech articles on purchasing, building and racing a rear engine dragster. Check back to this site for frequent updates to watch our progress .
Project 4 Link: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

PART 4
Photos by Jeff Burk and Jok Nicholson

Well, we are right on schedule to be racing over the Memorial Day weekend. I picked up the complete chassis last weekend from Dragstar Chassis. They were just completing the wiring when I arrived and their attention to detail will be evident to you when you see the photos. Indy Cylinder Head pulled the 540" Bracketmaster off the dyno and we made the trip to Indianapolis to pick it up. We will have a full article on the engine next month.

"Stop that racecar"

Since we have spent so much of our time trying to make sure "Project 4-Link" would be as fast as we want it, now it is time to figure out if we can stop it. When we ordered the rear end assembly from Strange Engineering we opted for their billet disc brake system. With billet calipers and lightened rotors it will offer us all the "stopping power" we will need. Like all their products the workmanship and final fit was excellent. When we were ordering the rear axle assembly we got to talking about master cylinders. They suggested their Remote Single master cylinder with 20mm bore. With only one set of brakes there is no need for a dual master cylinder and the additional weight.

Dragstar Chassis fabricated the brake line brackets and formed the steel lines. As you can see in the photos there are no plastic wire ties holding things in place. Dragstar welded mounting tabs for bulkhead fittings so the brake lines are secure yet easy to service. The lines themselves are run through the frame rails for both protection and appearance.

Bleeding the brakes was relatively simple. With dual bleeders on each side of each caliper it took a little time to get all the air out but the pedal is very solid. If you get a "soft or mushy" feel on the pedal or have to pump them to get good braking action, you need to get back on the bleeders and get the air out of the line or caliper.