rear body latch in pomona

Does anyone have some pictures of what was approved for the cable/pins at the back of the body?

 

If you go to Murf McKinney's web site he sells a nice kit that includes a red billit aluminum handle, cables, brackets, pull pins, etc. cheaper than you can round that stuff up yourself. We used the basic parts out of it and it works great. You may have to replace your chassis saddles and make a new ones which really isn't very hard.

 

This is the email I got from NHRA tech. I'll try to attach the photos they sent.


THE 2009 RULE BOOK CHANGED THE WORDING SUCH THAT THE BODY NOW HAS
TO BE REMOVED IN THE NORMAL MANNER WITHOUT PULLING THE PINS. IT ALSO
HAS TO BE CAPABLE OF BEING REMOVED FROM THE REAR BY PULLING THE PINS.

ATTACHED ARE PHOTOS (INSERTED INTO A WORD DOCUMENT) OF A RELEASE
MECHANISM THAT IS ACCEPTABLE; IT IS A MURPH McKINNEY DESIGN.

PLEASE USE THESE PICTURES TO PROVIDE COMPETITORS, CHASSIS SHOPS,
etc. WITH EXAMPLES OF ACCEPTABLE METHODS. THE ATTACHMENT IS 3.0M+ SO IT
MAY TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO OPEN.


THE FIRST TWO PAGES ARE PICTURES OF THE PIN AND CABLES ON THE
FORCE TEAM CARS.


THE LAST TWO PAGES ARE PICTURES OF THE DEVICE THAT IS USED ON THE
BERNSTEIN CAR. IT REQUIRES THAT THE PINS BE PULLED TO REMOVE THE BODY
FROM THE REAR BUT THE BODY CAN BE REMOVED IN THE NORMAL MANNER (LIFTING
THE FRONT FIRST AND THEN THE REAR) WITHOUT PULLING THE PINS.


THE PINS MUST BOTH BE ACTIVATED/RELEASED BY A SINGLE T-HANDLE.

 

could you forward me the email? on Mckinney's website, no pictures come up of that kit( http://secure.mckinneycorp.com/AMAZING/customkititems.asp?kc=M-25-A&eq= ), and I'd like to know how it works before I start buying stuff. I'm lost on what the point of this deal is, if, as the email states, bernstein's car's body comes off normally, then where are the pins, and what purpose do they serve? thanks

bryan@empireironworks.com

 

Rear Release

if anyone needs pics of the rear body release let me know, I have some good shots of what we did and what it should look like!

aits-hollandmi@sbcglobal.net

 

Release kit

I bought the mckinney kit, thinking it would be plug and play, however, due to the way my tree is situated, i am ending up having to modify half of it and throw the other half away.

 

$$$

What does that kit cost, I think we had less than $30 in parts!

 

You can send the picts to me at ericdavidbru@yahoo.com I will host & post them for all to see.

EDB

 

thanks randy, that cleared it up. I don't really see how the force one works, but the bernstein way uses the brackets I already have, so that should be pretty easy. thanks again.

 

Eric's last 2 sets of pictures are from the NHRA and are the recommended way to do it.

Watch out for the body tree hook design, though. If you notice, the opening in the hook to slide the body out without pulling the pins is almost straight up from the bottom of the slot. That means in the body-up position the pin will slide right out of the slot and let your body fall off the car to the left or right if a slight breeze hits it in the staging lanes. It happened to one team twice already.

For Pomona I left the slot enclosed. I am going to have another pair made so that the opening allows the body to come off the car if it gets too high. Instead of having the opening in the middle of the slot on the hook like in the picture I will have the opening at the back (lower) end beyond the normal body up slot position. In other words, should we have an issue where the body needs to leave the car in a body blow over situation, the pins will slide out of the hooks and let the body come off the car. If the body is over backwards and stays with the car on the rear hook you won't likely be able to reach the chute levers, besides the fact that it may pivot the rear tires off the ground like an over-center jack making braking impossible (Ashley Force's deal).

Del Worsham's car has the body hook slots done just like I described. When we need to remove the body it's just a matter of pulling the handle on the back of the body. Replacing the pins once you put the body back on happens faster than you can read this sentence so it's no big deal.

Another nice thing about the McKinney handle is that you can mount it directly to the body. On my Monte Carlo body I drilled two holes and mounted it about 7 inches to the right of the chute packs between the top of the rear bumper and the deck. It does not need to be mounted under the center of the body, which typically puts them right under the chutes and in harms way should the chute lines get a little unruley.

If I can get to the shop tonight I'll take a picture or two.

Randy

 

that latch system looks like it was designed by a federal committee. I saw a system built by randy parker, looks just like the front latch system many use. seems simpler than the one here. and it will lock and release quicker. just my thinking, but I know who's Id use. maybe he would post it.

 

I wanted to do a catch latch setup but NHRA claims this is the only "accepted" method. Bob Meyer had a great design that was turned down, too.

 

At the PRI show I talked to the tech guys in person. I also have the Randy Parker version and was told it will be fine. What they told me was that the main thing was that nobody have to reach under the car to find the pins to release the body to remove it if it's on fire. Mine has just one handle on the rear of the body like the cable versions. I know the NHRA can be a pain sometimes but what do they care if it (A) works, (B) does what it is supposed to do (C) accomplishes it's designated task? But I haven't been to an event yet and I know that some of the rules are up to the individual tech guy's interpretation. Dave Germain