Midget Chassis
 

What would be the best chassis for someone looking to get into midget racing but is on a budget?

Re: Midget Chassis
 

Whatever you can find within your price range used.... Find a buyout you can afford so you get spares, and a complete roller. You will spend MUCH more building a car from scratch than you will finding a nice sell out.

If youre heart is set on building new, the cheapest is a Triple XXX chassis, which are very nice. I drove one all year, super responsive cars and very forgiving.

We like our '98 stealth.

Re: Midget Chassis
 

I guess the real question should be what is the best chassis for a rookie to midget racing.

Re: Midget Chassis
 

There is no "best" chassis. Any of the big names will be fine for you. Spike, Eagle, Boss, XXX, Stealth, etc etc.

You could give one chassis to 10 different guys, and get 10 different opinions on it so just pick one and roll with it.


I would however stay away from some of the smaller companies that offer cars for substantially cheaper than anyone else.... Not naming any names, but I would highly recommend sticking to big names with proven results in USAC, POWRI, etc etc.

There isn't really a right or wrong as long as it's sound and has readily available parts. All cars have different quirks but Spike,Stealth,DRC,Beast, Eagle,Boss and XXX all are quality cars with easily obtainable parts. Buzzard,Ellis and TCR are well built cars but I'm not aware of the availability of parts. Johnny has several Zero cars out there as well.

The car doesn't really matter as much as making sure it's assembled and maintained properly. If those things are done properly the driver can concentrate on learning how to drive.

What these guys are telling you is good info.
Really doesn't matter, key is making what you have work for you and getting seat time.
Age doesn't matter either, it's just dumb metal. If you have access to a welder you can make anything work.
Johnny Heydenreich won races last year with an early 90s beast, I was competitive with a 90 ellis.
I won a championship with a 92 Stapp in 07 that was twisted like a pretzel.
If it's bent you'll have to scale the car instead of blocking the car like everyone says you "must do".
As long as you get your axles square and your torque ball is free, scale it n let her eat!
No matter what chassis you get always inspect it for cracks.
The most important advice you can get is don't pinch pennies on your safety gear, it's your ass in the seat, protect it the best you can.

Re: Midget Chassis
 

One thing that may impact your choice would be your physical size. I am only 6'1" but something about my build makes me look & feel like somebody 6'4" when I get in a midget. It takes a special frame for me to fit safely in an older midget.

I can not get in an older 33" car without my kneecaps riding on top of the steering gear. I also can't drive an older 34" car (unless the cage is a plus 2" tall) without some sort of halo or extra hoop above me due to how close my helmet sits to the top of the cage.

I owned a 2001 standard narrow body Stealth 34" car and had to add a "luggage rack" to the top of the cage. It was basically the same size tubing as the main frame rails, bent and welded into the same shape as the entire top of the cage and it sat on 8 spuds that were 2 inches tall. It made the top of the cage 3 and a half inches higher which allowed me to have the seat high enough that my knees cleared the steering gear (by a half inch) and still have room above my head.

I'm not sure exactly what year the builders started building midgets with more cockpit room, but it seems that all the newer cars have taller cages and a bit more room between the A frame and steering gear than the cars from the early 2000s and previous. I sat in a 2008 standard spike and had more room than my older stealth had. The Boss chassis I have seen all seem to have MUCH bigger cockpits than normal. Most builders also offered and still offer cars with +2" cages but they are much harder to find used than standard cage cars.

If you are a smaller guy you won't need to worry about this with any car you find, but if you are taller than average or if your torso/leg ratio is different than normal it is for sure something to consider.

And most importantly....listen to the guys who have already commented...buy a complete roller instead of just a chassis. You will never be able to piece together an equal quality car as cheap as you can buy a roller no matter how hard you comb through ebay and classifieds. And even if you do find a sweet deal on a chassis, then a rearend, then a steering gear, then a tank, then a front end, etc etc you will end up getting nickel and dimed to death and spend twice as much time piecing a car together...not to mention the money you waste on parts that turn out to not be compatible with your car.

^08 is when they started building bigger cars from what I've been told.

And to compound off of that I'm 6 ft and also ran into the same issues when I bought my first narrow body stealth I ended up having to sell it because I just couldn't get comfortable inside without building a halo which I did not want to do.

My dads eagle is extremely roomy especially in frame height, the boss chassis are by far the roomiest I've seen yet.

I ran a XXX and it was pretty comfortable but a tad on the short side (height wise). If I ever bought my own midget again I would go with a boss or a eagle.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I am 6'2" so I guess I will have to find an 08 or newer car. Leaders Edge mentioned the Zero cars, how well do they perform?