I had a guy and is son checking out my car at the track. They were pretty cool asking the usual questions being my car is a bit unique. The father thanked me, started walking away, he then turns and asks "If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for a living?" I answered " I'm an aircraft mechanic" The guy's face completely changes and says with a little attitude " See son, you have to be a doctor, lawyer or and aircraft mechanic to own one of these!" What got me most about that it, is that in one ridiculous statement that man completely minimized all the years of hard work and sacrifice it took for me to have the car and be able to race it. I built it from the ground up all by myself. Money is just the easy target for people to make comments about.
Dang man. That’s sad. Unfortunately that’s the type of guy who doesn’t have patience, a long term vision and thinks that money solves everything. And now his son thinks the same thing. That’s my goal with this video/channel is to try and show people watching that it can be fun and affordable at my level.
That’s something people say when they cop out and feel sorry for themselves. They try to blame shit on circumstances beyond their control when in fact their circumstances are the only thing totally in their control. That man did his child no justice that day- if he had walked the track he would have found people of all sorts of income brackets that run the same class. When you are passionate about something enough to make failure not an option you have no choice but to make shit happen.💯 it’s sad what our society is coming to, and dads like that guy are raising our future.🤦🏽♂️ There is hope- people that still refuse to fail regardless of the odds .👍🏽✨
We definately need more people to participate in the sport! We are losing many of our race tracks across the country because of lack of participation and interest. Maybe when you get the chance, you can post a video of your weekend at the races, to show how fun it can be when you're just having a good time with family and friends doing what you enjoy! Hopefully it would help inspire someone to get out there and "do it"!!
There is cost to build, there is a cost to maintain, and there is a cost to race. It never ends. It doesn't take long to get a small fortune wrapped up in these cars. Most people do not have an appreciation for the amount of time, money and hard work that it takes to race. It took 7 years and many 70+ hour work weeks to get my car where its at, and yet people assume that im a rich guy. Far from the truth. Awesome video!
Having the knowledge, tools, and work space to save on the labor is huge. Without that you can easily double the initial outlay. 10 second cars are the sweet spot between a lot of money and the astronomical amount of money needed to be quicker.
Bracket racings 1 of the cheapest sports out there. I've been at it 35yrs. It's cheaper than full coverage insurance and plates. 12 weekends a year, I spend $80 a week. Fuel and entrys. Perior. I run in the 10:00s and have for years. Update in off season. Every 3 years teardown, inspect for freshen. Like every sport/ hobby, the initial cost is the most. You can build a 12 second car for nothing. Start there. Bracket racing the fairest sport in the world. You can/will win, in a 12 second bracket car too. We all did.
Thanks for the video... It is very realistic and helped me realize how it is possible to start drag racing at a reasonable cost... for fun.... wish there were more detailed videos about the build process though.
I do wish I started the channel earlier when I was building the car. I am rebuilding the engine this winter and am videoing all of that so keep an eye out! I’ve already posted the video of tearing down the engine!
@@PLANBRACING I think the most interesting things that I am trying to learn about are all the unique parts that a drag car has compared to a normal car. Starting from the unique gear shifter…. Etc.
I wanted to start racing competitively for 10 years or longer but never thought i could afford it. I bought a turn key old hard tail shorty dragster with a 355 SBC in it went 10.50 for 8k 3 years ago when covid was a thing. Had to do a lot of work to it since it had been sitting for 8 years but made it a nice car. Then fell into a deal on a really nice all redone updated dragster chassis that was all new wiring, paint, powder coat, ignition, everything new! But the chassis is still a 1995 but completely professionally redone! Bought that for 10k with a trans. Built a big block for 15k after all the accessories and dyno tuning, making 750hp 710 tq going low 8.20's in the quarter. Sold my old car for 15k so all and all in the new car very cheap. Finding the right deals makes a big difference! And u don't have to be the fastest in the class if your consistent and can hit the tree (bracket racing that is.) Bracket racing is at the highest it has ever been lately with SFG, gallstar, and Dustin wells putting out all these big money events! Anyone thinking about it needs to just do it! It has completely changed my life for the better! My depression has almost completely went away!
I'm always impressed by those that can build it themselves! Unfortunately I don't have the tools or the knowledge to do it myself. I wish I had had AT LEAST started out with an inexpensive rolling chassis instead of buying an expensive car, then spending even MORE money on it to race it.
Great breakdown bro. Love the Nova and the dads Maro. Keep pushing on and having fun that what its all about. Hopfully one day we can line up together.
I like seeing this, nice you are promoting the sport. I have enjoyed drag racing since 1972. Stands are pretty empty these days compared to back then but the drivers are just as passionate.
We’ve seen the stands packed at a few events up here in the PNW. Also heard that a couple of the NHRA races last year had record numbers so hopefully the sport keeps trending in a positive direction. I’m sure the stands back in the day were insane!
@@PLANBRACING - Where in the PNW are you? I’m in PDX. Have raced Puyallup, PIR, Woodburn back in the day. Was researching drag strips, I guess 15 new ones have started up since 2020 which I find amazing. 423 currently operating in the USA.
It really just depends on how content you can be with your car. I mean I took a monte that started with a 305 at 15.5sec roughly and over the course of a few years went to 11.9-12.10 on any given weekend. Bracket racing of course. I mean you can't just figure the car, because a person is going to need a tow vehicle, trailer, etc. You could do a street legal car and not have to have the tow rig. I have to drive about 1.5hrs to the closest track. They're all 1/8th mile now, which kinda sucks in my opinion. Insurance is killer for tracks. Not to mention the people around complaining or suing for whatever dumb reason. Mokan dragway, when I was racing there, had people buy a property close........knowing the track was there, and then proceeded to cause the track problems because they didn't like it. It's expensive to race these days.
Your always will have Hatters!! I have been in drag racing since I was born. My dad had 2 cars in HotRod Magazine and one made the cover back in the late 60’s. I’m 55 now and my so called friends still are jealous! They d😮realize I didn’t do this over night!! I have always had to buy or trade for what I needed!! Just because my dad held National Records in 2 cars he made me work for everything I had!! We don’t have to explain anything to anyone on what we like to do.
Beautiful car. Appreciate your honesty. I guess I’ll keep dreaming. I would love a ten second car. Wouldn’t we all! lol. You got one man, You built it! Great job 💪🏻 keep up the good work. You keep the rest of us trying. Thank you for sharing. Enjoy it and be safe. Very nice 👍🏻
I know a lot of ppl don’t have a local track. Technically I don’t but I’m only 45 minutes from the one I run the most. They have test/tune followed by bracket racing every Wednesday night. You can get started in bracket racing for literally nothing besides a car lol that and index racing make it very affordable. Now getting into heads up and now the popular no prep small tire you going to need to spend some money. Although it too can be done without spending a ton and still be some what competitive. Find your flavor of lightweight car (I prefer mustangs) throw in your preferred v8 be it a small block , ls, hemi, coyote then either put some nitrous to it or fab up your own turbo kit
I've built 2 pro street hot rods from the ground up and work part time at an engine builders on the weekends. As such, I know what it costs to build stuff and one of my peeves lately has been people being out to lunch on prices. People think you can build 1000 HP for $7k because they watched a "'budget" build video on here where they used "parts we had lying around" that all fit without issue, work well together and last forever. This car's built right and although it's a home build, it's not a hack job by any means. It's refreshing to see a video that honestly states what it costs to build a car to this level and yes, it is $30k to put a drive train in a roller.
Appreciate the kind feedback! Like I mentioned, I know I didn't use all the best parts in the world but I was trying to be realistic. $30K is always a lot of money, but most of the people commenting that it's too expensive just don't have the same hobbies or outlook. Shoot you can't hardly buy a side by side for under $30K now days... dirt bikes are 10-15 grand a pop... $30K isn't cheap but not expensive either when it comes to drag racing... its realistic.
Hats off to you bro. I been a c3 and give body guy for years Just got my first x body 74 Nova. Have only done the rear end thus far. Has a mild 350 in, and I'm just driving g as is to figure out where I want to go motor wise. Anyway I appreciate the content. And will stay tuned. 🍾
Messed around with a stock Fox Body for a bit. Priced out what it would take to really go fast and then moved on. Just don't have that kind of coin for hobbies.
Great video man. Theres always gonna be haters its nothing more than jealousy. Do the best you can with what you have and be humble. Props and respect.
Great channel.....subscribed😎 I would add that with building a race only deal would have to also account for buying at least an open trailer....... also having a vehicle capable of towing it........ both additional cost.
Terrific video!!! I’m in SLC and they tore down bonniville raceway!!! So there will be no drag racing here except on the street!! So I’m building a 92 Camaro for the street. Check it out. I’m at least 15 grand and nobody has touched my car but me. I went with a 6 liter LS with Holley terminator x max DBW Anyway that’s it
@@PLANBRACING I’m so fortunate to have been raised here hence my love of fast cars!!! Boise is like our cousin so it’s all good. Take care of yourself again thank you for the terrific video!!!
Good looking car buds, always been one of my favourites. Just sub'd and keen to watch the progression as obviously your enjoying yourself at the moment. Soon she'll start to feel slow, it won't be but it'll just feel that way. Before you know it your on the hunt for a 9. Wish you all the best mate and look forward to seeing you get some seat time.
This is way cool Brandon that you’ve started a RU-vid channel. I’ll be sure to come talk to you in person at the track! I’ve seen you many times but never stopped and chatted for one reason or another! It’s awesome to have you display the fun and our awesome track on RU-vid! 👍👍
Much appreciated! Hoping to get some good content this summer. Definitely come by and say hi, it’s only my second full summer racing so I’m still getting to know a lot of people out there! 🙌🏻
Good video. Its hard to find a decent priced roller to get started these days. Prices are crazy. I took my family hauler to the drags last month and ran 12.5 consistently but my SUV cost 115K so your Nova is a much better deal lol
Thank you! Would love to get a motorhome eventually… it’s so nice having AC and a place to sit/lay down in the summer. But some lawn chairs and a porta cool will have to do for awhile 😂
Hey dude, I would highly recommend you trying AV gas if you haven't already, forced induction loves it! It made more power in mine than the VP 110 octane. AV gas is a budget man's fuel! Ha. Happy dragin!!
I definitely would like too! Or alcohol. The only reason I haven’t yet is with my car being supercharged per the NHRA rules there are some more safety things I would have to add to the car by switching fuels. I would also have to switch my fuel pump (which isn’t a huge deal) but the cheaper fuel sounds sooo nice and is tempting lol!
@@PLANBRACING alcohol is good but, so many changes. I respect it makes hot lapping so much easier due to running cooler temps. But even e-85 isn't cheap! Nor the performance changers to run alcohol! I respect you for considering different things, you will go further with a open mind! Thanks for commenting back!
As always good vid. And as far as the Jealous Haters go they can kick rocks. I don't get jealous especially when good things happen to and for good people. I am happy for them. And no matter how you got the car it shows a lack of class for someone to be green with envy and talk trash. I hope everything for you just keeps getting better.
Agreed 😂 I don’t care about the negative comments honestly. I find them amusing, especially when you go visit their profile and see what kind of person they are 😂 thank you man!
Could not have said it better. I lost a friend over jealousy, him of me. After quite some time I asked what the problem was, he told me , he was jealous of my and my accomplishments WTH ? I am like you, be happy. Maybe I might learn something......
@@Comet-hn3gm I don't have a lot but I had a friend that was more successful than me and I made the mistake of sharing something with him about a nice situation I came into and we later had some beers he got drunk and got on a rant on why was that not happening for him and instead of being happy for me he was getting drunk and angry. This coming from a person that is younger the me has more money than me and way nicer things than I have also. Go figure.
Nice explanation bud I’m in canada and I’m starting to building a 71 Acadian 355 vortec heads 2.02 1.6 280H 230/230 12bolt 3.73 200r4 2500stall 3” exhaust caltrac fibeeglass mono leafs and caltrac bars upper and lower tubular a arms been saving/buying parts for 3 years now finally starting it in the next month
Listen kid bless you and your car keep doing what you’re doing and enjoy time is short in this world people are always going to hate on you I am 59years old and this year I just bought my dream car 76 dodge dart I live in New York I don’t have a garage but I have the most nauseous neighbors in the world they call the cops on me every time I look at my car people are sad😢 it doesn’t matter where you spend your money it’s yours you do what you have to do enjoy that car looks beautiful and you did a great job on that 🚘 so keep up the great job look forward to seeing your videos and to learn I need lots of help on that it’s not easy I am not a mechanic so it’s hard but it’s fun and I’m enjoying my self good luck to you🎉
You can buy an old Mustang GT 5.0, 5 speed, strip the hell out of it, put GT40 heads on it (from the junk yard), single plane intake, 650DP carb, headers, 4:30 gears, slicks, and run 11 O's/10.90's all day long for less than $6000! Just to get into the sport, hell, you can run your daily driver to get started!! No reason to spend $30K+ to go racing!
That’s not bad at all I’m price I have to say I’m at right around 34,000 on my build and I’m only 3/4 of the way done with my car. So I’m definitely won the tip of my head off to you and saying job well done buddy.
That is what I like about drag racing, get in where you fit in. Also if people see you are trying and you are listening and not a hot head, you will get a can of race gas here, a set of head gasket, you get the picture..
I guess "affordable" is a little subjective. I am looking into building a less expensive car. I've located an IROC Camaro, partially prepared for $2k. A friend is donating an engine which will hopefully only need new gaskets, seals, and given an upgraded cam. Most work will be done by me. I expect to have less than $5k in it. I know I won't set the world on fire, but I will have a ton of fun. I will be able to upgrade as I gain experience. Point is you can get started for a low investment and build up to where you want to be. Any car can be a drag car.
I own a 1973 nova that I purchased out of a back yard for $2500 back in October 2015. I'm in the middle of building my first motor, a 383 stroker. Do you have any tips about ways to stay motivated when money is tight or things aren't going exactly on time with a build?
My motivation comes from being around cars and watching cars. My build had its fare share of hiccups but I found myself watching my favorite RU-vidrs, going to car shows, going to the drag strip and every time I did that it would fuel the fire again. I think time away from the build is a good thing as well but maybe find a new RU-vidr and watch their content or take some time for you and go watch a race. That kind of stuff also fueled me wanting to sell things around the house and in the garage I never used to get some extra cash for the build. Money is a tough thing to be honest… but we always find a way even if it takes longer than expected
Folks, my oldest Son owns a construction company and knew where a trailer was that he could use, it took him 2 years to get the trailer. He had to buy the car on it to get it, less than 4 grand for a complete 72 nova with a 468 stroker motor and a truck load of parts. The guy just parked it, so my kid got a trailer and my grandson and I got something to spend his money on. Yeehaw There are bargains out there, see that car thats just been sitting in that garage with stuff piled on it? Stop and ask about it, maybe he needs a part, maybe he needs room in the garage.
I’d love to build a drag car I’ll probably end up using an 80s Camaro or Monte Carlo and have found some decent rollers for around $1000 but being in college at the moment it’s gonna be tough to get the money and find the time so I might have to put on hold until I graduate but I’ve always wanted a muscle car and would like to get in the 12 second range at least for starters
I highly encourage getting started if budget allows of course. I’m all for having a pass time like this. Although it’s always expensive, I don’t think you can put a price on the knowledge you learn along the way and then feeling your creativity hit the road or go down the track… priceless IMO. I think money could definitely be spent in worse ways lol. I don’t think you would regret it in the end. Best of luck!
I have a 86 cutlass that im about to spend oh around 20 to 25k CAD (full engine rebuild, transmission rebuild, drive shaft, rear diff, complete suspension replacement, wheels and tires). The intent of the build is very different to yours or drag racers in general. I want mine to stay very street friendly but also be able to scare the shit out of someone who isnt familiar with performance cars lol. Im hoping to run in the 12s when i take it to the strip.
hay bud i think you did a great job on your build, it doesnt matter what you do theres always some idiot thats gonna say some stupid shit dont let them get to ya, ive been building cars since the 70s theres no escape from stupid just be prowd of your good work
I think the best way to get into drag racing is for people to put their ego down And just buy a car that's already built. I see them sold for $0.30 on the dollar quite often. And that's not counting all the labor somebody put into it.
Hello, I just stumbled onto your channel and really like the content. I too am working on a project C10 and have a long way to go. I went with a 396 sbc stroker. It is NA and set up for boost. I am considering the torqstorm or something from TBS. What size is your supercharger? Keep up the good work. Love the Nova!
@98xj64 it’s a 350 small block Chevy (4 bolt main) out of a junk yard. Took it to a machine shop and they cleaned it all up and bored it .030 over. It’s now a 383ci with the stroker rotating assembly in it!
@@PLANBRACING i bet it's an adrenaline rush, after i seen the 4 bolt main part I knew it was a 383 😁. With a supercharger I'd say that it's a bundle of fun for sure
All depends what your budget is really! You can find some killer deals on some turn key cars but if those are out of the budget the cheapest option is usually to buy a solid roller and build it up how you’d like!
Being i guess what some would call a "shade tree mechanic"... theres just too many haters... too many chiefs not enough Indians. The amount of trips back n fourth to the parts store and all the little forgotten odds and ends alone are enough to wear a guy down spiritually AND financially lol. Ive got too much money into a "simple" street build that i haven't even driven yet due to the stupid little things or the amount of work it really takes. Then i got all these people constantly hounding me like, whens that fkn camaro gonna be on the road??? Im like, when you gonna pitch in 100 bucks or a few hours help
Did you calculate what a single turbo would have cost instead. Also what do you think an aftermarket Fuel Injection would have compared to the carb, please?
I priced out everything from a turbo, pro charger, nitrous and my supercharger. Nitrous was definitely the cheapest option but I didn’t want to go that route. The rest were all about the same price. I love turbo’s but for this being a purpose built bracket & index car I wanted something a little simpler and more consistent. I ultimately ended up going with the supercharger because they’re local to me and an awesome company. So if anything ever does wrong or I need parts… they are a 10 min drive from the house!
Depends on the payout normally. An average weekend event racing for around $1,000 is about $100 entry fee. Some bigger events with more cars and sponsors with purses upwards of $20K will be around $350 to enter.
Yeah, let's talk about drag racing a back halved Nova as being affordable. You can't even buy a back halved roller Nova that body style for less than 10k and then the cage and shit is going to be out of date or not even built to nhra specs.
They might be hard to find now for sure. Especially now that inflation has hit. But I searched for about 6 months and found this roller for $8K 3 years ago. Had to add 2 bars under the floor for the car to cert 8.50. And parts availability/cost has definitely gone up too.
People that say stuff like that don’t deserve to have a race car. They are lazy and don’t want to work. I would think they are kids or liberals. As long as you are happy and your family is happy you have favor from God so be proud and show it off.
The main hate comment people complain about is you street racers breaking the law racing on public roadways and not on a race track where they belong. I hope enough people that hate this will come forward and go after the movie producers that made the fast and furious movies. They are to blame. Ever since these movies came out,there's a big increase of people using public streets to race on,and risking injury or death of other drivers on the roadway. None of you care about the safety for other drivers. All racing needs to be on a race track. NOT ON A PUBLIC STREET!
Population growth, and politics are getting tracks shut down left and right around the country. Racers are going to flood the streets if they don’t have a local track or even one remotely close to visit. No matter what anyone’s stance is on street racing, we need to protect and fight for our racetracks!
Hey Brutha ..How much does it cost to go Drag racing ? UMMMMM Daaa . well lets see how fast are you looking to go .? Are you going to be racing in the NHRA Stock eliminator Series Or are you looking to go Bracket racing ? have decided to go Super Stock racing Or are you and your dad wanting to go Nostalgia Super Stock racing ..Or are you looking to jump right in with Funny car racing Or are you an import kinda guy .. It's all 100% relative to how fast you wanna go .. the faster you wanna go the more Pesos you have to have ..
