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Before you can think about speed or horsepower, safety is the first thing that needs to be checked off the list.
To that extent, the frame and roll cage of a race car is the most important aspect of any build. Should anything else in the machine fail and cause it to go careening off the track, it's the underlying structure that protects the driver in the ensuing roll.
Back on March 30th, Dave Schaffel, a certification team member from the National Hot Rod Association, was in Swift Current doing safety inspections of racecar frames. In this example, he was taking a look at a 1970 Chevrolet Camaro drag car owned by Rayce Schultz.
While Rayce doesn't intend to have this vehicle race-ready this year, he is planning to complete the build next year and had the safety inspection done while Schaffel was available, as this particular inspection is good for three years.
Other inspections are only good for a single year in select classes. Different classes require different levels of safety due to higher or lower speeds, and the makeup of the cars competing.
"Depending again on how quick they go, different speeds require different actual overall chassis designs and a different amount of bars and where they're placed," explained Schaffel.
It doesn't get much deeper under the hood than this, as the entire front end of the vehicle, including any and all engine components were stripped away to allow for an easy inspection.
He begins with an overall visual inspection, looking for obvious imperfections and issues.
"Once we're happy with that, we're looking at the weld quality," said Schaffel. "We want good weld quality, good fitment, all that kind of stuff."
Later on in the inspection process, Schaffel uses a machine that uses sonic waves to test the thickness of the various pipes and bars that compose the frame structure. This ultrasonic test determines the thickness of the tubing through the outside, without having to cut any sections to measure it by eye.
Depending on the class of the car, he may require an owner to make upgrades to certain sections to ensure it qualifies for safety certification. This particular car falls into the largest category of cars in Saskatchewan, the sportsman class.
"What they do here in Swift Current is called Elapsed Time Bracket Racing," said Schaffel. "It's pretty much the majority of what the cars that we do here do."
Furthermore, he inspects to make sure the car is a good fit for the driver, physically. They have to fit appropriately inside the vehicle to ensure that the various bars and pipes can actually protect them adequately.
After going through the car, Schaffel found that the Camaro was in fact good to go for the next three years, It actually had extra bars, so if Schultz wanted to go up a class, he already had the frame to do so.
Schultz for his part, is happy to have passed. For him, the vehicle is something of a dream car, as he grew up watching his father, Cory Schultz, racing in a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro.
"I've always liked Camaros ever since I was three years old when my favourite Hot Wheels were Camaros," said Schultz. "I always rode around in my grandpa's 1968 Camaro convertible around town, and with my dad's 1967 Camaro (a different car from his racing Camaro), I guess it was kind of bred into me."
For an engine, Schultz is planning to install a 383 Stroker Chevy small block.
The vehicle itself is mostly fibreglass panels, with the only original bit of steel on the car left being the floor unibody, the roof, and the quarter panels. That work was all done by the previous owner, Barry Stenter. He decided to sell the car to Schultz, knowing it was something he had been desiring for his next car.
"He called me over to his ranch while I was living in Regina and just asked me if I wanted to go look at these cars because he knew that I loved these cars," said Schultz.
Schultz is planning to keep his fifth race car for a long, long time. Alongside his father and grandfather, he is a third-generation racer, and now a third-generation Camaro owner.
If anyone would like to contact Schaffel for their own inspections, he asks that they contact the NHRA, or to contact him on Facebook.
Under the Hood is powered by Great West Auto Electric, your local Bumper to Bumper dealer in Swift Current. Long live your car.