All loaded up for the first trip to the track. It's a lot of work getting a car loaded and secured on a trailer for the first time. It will definitely get easier with practice.
Coming along well!
+1
Renovating a race car trailer on a budget
- Thread starter skwerl
- Start date
Coming along well!
+1
skwerl
tree hugger
The trailer pulls great, straight and steady and not very heavy. I believe the axles and hubs are new (a year old or less) based on their condition. I put Bearing Buddies on the hubs and the bearings looked new with lots of fresh grease. I put the car a bit further back on the return trip which helped. The truck springs aren't very firm, might look into air shocks or something.
I had a minor incident unloading the car at home yesterday. The ramp kicked up and ripped off the plastic shield covering the driver side frame rail. It's the one you have to remove in order to change the fuel filter. I'm replacing these ramps anyway, they are much too heavy. I found a 10' aluminum car ramp on Craigslist yesterday (off a big car hauler) and I'm having it cut in half and made into two ramps for the trailer.
I also finished painting the trailer today and rewired it. I added new marker lights at the corners and I need to locate some non skid strips to put on the left fender where I have to step on it to get in or out of the car.
A buddy of mine who owns a boat store/marina gave me a two speed manual winch. I had a piece of 2" square tubing which I cut to make a bracket on which to mount the winch. I'll have my welder put a pocket on the front of the trailer that the winch bracket will fit into. This will give me a removable winch that will fit in my truck toolbox. I think an electric one would be too much fuss and maintenance for something that might be used once per year. The manual one might not be as easy but it will never have a dead battery.
More pictures as soon as I get the ramps back from my welder.
I had a minor incident unloading the car at home yesterday. The ramp kicked up and ripped off the plastic shield covering the driver side frame rail. It's the one you have to remove in order to change the fuel filter. I'm replacing these ramps anyway, they are much too heavy. I found a 10' aluminum car ramp on Craigslist yesterday (off a big car hauler) and I'm having it cut in half and made into two ramps for the trailer.
I also finished painting the trailer today and rewired it. I added new marker lights at the corners and I need to locate some non skid strips to put on the left fender where I have to step on it to get in or out of the car.
A buddy of mine who owns a boat store/marina gave me a two speed manual winch. I had a piece of 2" square tubing which I cut to make a bracket on which to mount the winch. I'll have my welder put a pocket on the front of the trailer that the winch bracket will fit into. This will give me a removable winch that will fit in my truck toolbox. I think an electric one would be too much fuss and maintenance for something that might be used once per year. The manual one might not be as easy but it will never have a dead battery.
More pictures as soon as I get the ramps back from my welder.
Drunk Racers
forum member
Might want to look into helper springs / shocks for your truck.
SteedaBrandon
Banned
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Thekid760
forum member
Looking good.
I just bought a similar trailer, your giving me good ideas, keep it up.
Misspelling courtesy of my fat fingers...
I just bought a similar trailer, your giving me good ideas, keep it up.
Misspelling courtesy of my fat fingers...
skwerl
tree hugger
Second trip with it last night. Got it painted last week and pulled all new wiring, added a couple marker lights on the corners as well as some plow markers for the back corners. Driving in traffic with the empty trailer is spooky because you never know when somebody will run into it because they didn't see it.
Still need wheels or wheel covers. Maybe I'll do the dove tail next month as well.
The car runs a lot better at the track when it's not heat soaked. Ran a new PB last night of 11.86, all three runs were under 12 seconds.
Still need wheels or wheel covers. Maybe I'll do the dove tail next month as well.
The car runs a lot better at the track when it's not heat soaked. Ran a new PB last night of 11.86, all three runs were under 12 seconds.
Looking good and congrats on the new times!
Trailer and car look great and of course congratulations on your NPB! Time to update your sig?
GallopingFord
I'm Cam - Mr. Indecisive
Brian, looks great. How much $$ (if you don't mind me asking) have you roughly got into the trailer at this moment?
P.S. update those numbers in your sig.
P.S. update those numbers in your sig.
kylecm85
forum member
Looks awesome man. Bet it's a nice sense of security having a trailer at the track with you. Congrats on running a pb.
HellsBells
620/677
Spinner hub caps! I will buy them if you promise to put them on and keep them on.
skwerl
tree hugger
Hah! You guys are too funny. Billy, I might take you up on that if you're not careful!
Cam, I have about $1500 in it including the welding work, but not including the $100 plus whatever the welding and fabrication work will be involved with my aluminum ramps. At this point it would have been cheaper to buy an almost-new trailer in perfect condition for $1500 but I was looking for a deal.
Good news and bad news tonight. I took the car to Bradenton for the 'Street Heat' event which ran from 8pm until 1am. I got there about 30 minutes early and was one of the first ones in the gate. On my first pass I was doing great with a new PB 60' and 1/8 mile times but when I shifted to 4th my clutch came apart. I nursed the car back to the trailer in 2nd gear and shut it off. The good news is that my boat winch worked perfectly to get the car on the trailer. I had it loaded by myself in less than 5 minutes. I watched the races for an hour and then headed home.
I smelled my clutch burning on my last pass yesterday and figured it was nearing the end. In fact I just ordered a new Exedy Mach 500 clutch and flywheel from American Muscle this afternoon before heading to the track. Should have it by Tuesday or Wednesday and I already had an appointment with my mechanic on Wednesday to install the Eaton Truetrac. I'll just leave the car on the trailer until Tuesday afternoon and drop it off at his shop then.
Cam, I have about $1500 in it including the welding work, but not including the $100 plus whatever the welding and fabrication work will be involved with my aluminum ramps. At this point it would have been cheaper to buy an almost-new trailer in perfect condition for $1500 but I was looking for a deal.
Good news and bad news tonight. I took the car to Bradenton for the 'Street Heat' event which ran from 8pm until 1am. I got there about 30 minutes early and was one of the first ones in the gate. On my first pass I was doing great with a new PB 60' and 1/8 mile times but when I shifted to 4th my clutch came apart. I nursed the car back to the trailer in 2nd gear and shut it off. The good news is that my boat winch worked perfectly to get the car on the trailer. I had it loaded by myself in less than 5 minutes. I watched the races for an hour and then headed home.
I smelled my clutch burning on my last pass yesterday and figured it was nearing the end. In fact I just ordered a new Exedy Mach 500 clutch and flywheel from American Muscle this afternoon before heading to the track. Should have it by Tuesday or Wednesday and I already had an appointment with my mechanic on Wednesday to install the Eaton Truetrac. I'll just leave the car on the trailer until Tuesday afternoon and drop it off at his shop then.
Last edited:
JerryC
Member
Congrats on the killer deal on the trailer.
A buddy and I talk about this all of this time, how lazy people are that they wont clean up their stuff before they sell it.
An afternoon with a wire brush on a drill and a few rattle cans of paint would probably have gotten the guy another $500 on the sale price.
A buddy and I talk about this all of this time, how lazy people are that they wont clean up their stuff before they sell it.
An afternoon with a wire brush on a drill and a few rattle cans of paint would probably have gotten the guy another $500 on the sale price.
SherrodMustang
forum member
Looks good...
skwerl
tree hugger
Keep in mind I got this winch for free and was simply testing the concept as cheaply as possible. I already had the 2" square tubing and only paid a nominal welding fee to my local welding shop. It worked way better than I anticipated or hoped for and I'll eventually replace this old rusted winch with a new one. Still way cheaper than an electric winch and all the related expense and it put my car on the trailer in less than 5 minutes easily. As long as you're not dragging something up on the frame or a couple flat tires, this is all you need.
JerryC
Member
I bet 20 mins with a drill and wire wheel and some spray paint that winch would look just fine.
Mystickeith50
forum member
That's awesome, the trailer is already saving u money...if ur clutch came apart before, you'd have to get it towed right?
Just plasti dip the wheels black and call it a day. lol
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