Billy's Red Neck Wheel Gap Tool

[ratrodsrule1]

Now this Item will open a Pandora's Box of opinios of what wheel to body gap should be. There's a lot to be considered here but that's another opinion for another day. If it's too much gap for your liking just sand it down to your own preferred specs. There will be no paten infringment. Keep in mind it's Billy's goal is to help the novice builder on a budget. There's a number of quality gap gauges available from many vendors at different prices and thicknesses but this amount of gap has served Billy well. As you can see by the amount of wear he's used it often and it fits his needs. What had happened was Billy's Credit Card got hacked on Black Friday a few years ago. He thinks it was at the well known cheap tool freight store but he doesn't like to drop names without proof. Billy found the 1-800 number to cancel his card but his wife wouldn't let him do it until after Christmas. She said the hacker was spending less than Billy was. So after Santa had come and gone Billy was allowed to cancel his card. Billy, the not dumb Redneck found a way to repurpose the worthless piece of plastic he was toting around in his overalls. He took he snippers he uses to notch his piglets ears with as not to cause another Hatfield/McCoy incident and cut a narrow strip. After a quick observation he nipped out an axle notch and Bubba Gump said "And just like that, Billy had a wheel gap tool. MaMa always said some people hack other peoples Credit Cards. That's just part of life but I wish it wasn't".

 

[Thinkin'Bout Racin]

While this protects the wheel hubs and will allow for a consistent gap, it is most likely too wide of a gap in my humble opinion.

 

[Pinewood Outlaw]

He'll be fine...let him use it

 

[Castoro Racing]

TBR is right that is way too large, dont use it. Iirc credit cards tend to be around .030". That's too much for front or rears.

 

[Jupiter 2.9]

take a bad recipe card out of your wife's stuff & cut it up

 

[Pinewood Outlaw]

Don't listen to em.....030 will go you fine go with it

 

[Castoro Racing]

If you both read through the forum you will see better recommendations for wheel gaps. That is about the gap most gap tools are and they are all too big.

 

[Chief]

If you build rat rods then you know what feeler gauges are. You need something almost half that card

 

[ratrodsrule1]

TBR is right that is way too large, dont use it. Iirc credit cards tend to be around .030". That's too much for front or rears.

Hey CR ........This is probably one of the most debated issues in PWD. Billy said the idea of the post is for the guy on a budget and just trying to get started. It also mentioned in the 3rd sentence if the card is too thick for your liking just sand it down until it meets your preferences. Billy also knows there are many other variables that come into play that gap alone can not fix. He also agrees with you that .030 may be entirely too much on many cars. Some cars want different gaps than others. As for as better recommendations on the forum for wheel gaps thats all subjective. It's all about knowing what your particular car wants. It's like when Larry's friend Paul built the Pontiac Fiero Motor that won one of the classes at The 24 Hours of Daytona. When it was their practice time he told the driver to go out, make 3 laps then come back in and tell me what the car wants. The driver goes out and makes 5 laps. When he came back to their pit area Paul met him before the car even stopped. When the driver open the door Paul says " you don't have to tell me, i already know what the car wants. It wants a driver that knows how to count to 3" !! Billy's Granddaughter just won 1st in speed at a race in early February. Setting a new track record on a Computer Timed Aluminum Best Track that's been in use for 10 years. The Gap Gage in the picture above is what her car wanted. So in the end it's not opinion that matters its in testing and knowing what works best for your particular car be it .030 or a paper receipt.

 

[ratrodsrule1]

If you build rat rods then you know what feeler gauges are. You need something almost half that card

Chief I still keep pushing buttons but nothing's working LOL. The card is for the budget guy and the 3rd sentence in the post mentioned if the cards to thick for your liking sand it until it meets your preferences. Still looking for that magic button. Maybe if I hit Control/Alt/Delete I might get what in looking for !! LOL LOL

 

[Chief]

Chief I still keep pushing buttons but nothing's working LOL. The card is for the budget guy and the 3rd sentence in the post mentioned if the cards to thick for your liking sand it until it meets your preferences. Still looking for that magic button. Maybe if I hit Control/Alt/Delete I might get what in looking for !! LOL LOL

You’ve gotta put some gas in it Mmhm

 

[ratrodsrule1]

While this protects the wheel hubs and will allow for a consistent gap, it is most likely too wide of a gap in my humble opinion.

TBR.....the card might not work for all cars. A lot of variables are in play that gap alone may or may not fix. But Larryysaid to tell you in the 3rd sentence of the post it said if the cards to thick you can sand it down until it meets your preferences. He also said however, he respects your opinion....

 

[Castoro Racing]

Rrr sorry if I missed something but I'm skimming your posts. There is no league racer running such a large gap. If you read back which i suggest you do there are much better ballpark numbers suggested and none are near .030'. Sure there are tons of variables but if yours includes a .030' you are starting out far from optimal. Like was suggested something like a recipe card or business card will be much closer.

 

[ratrodsrule1]

You’ve gotta put some gas in it Mmhm

Chief....you got any mustard and biscuits........Aright Den !! If you don't have of them I like french fried btaters, I think i'll have me some of da big uns. I believe one of them fellers was from Arkansas

 

[ratrodsrule1]

Rrr sorry if I missed something but I'm skimming your posts. There is no league racer running such a large gap. If you read back which i suggest you do there are much better ballpark numbers suggested and none are near .030'. Sure there are tons of variables but if yours includes a .030' you are starting out far from optimal. Like was suggested something like a recipe card or business card will be much closer.

CR....LOL Brother....It's all good. Larry wasn't offended. Like the 1st sentence said this will open the Pandoras Box of wheel gap opinions and we all know what opinions are like because everybody has one. We all know guys that have preference on what it should or should not be. I know an 80 year old guy that's won so many races all he does now is help kids understand the science of PWD and help them build their cars. His cars always dominate everywhere they go and you may not believe this but they run .060 on the rear wheel trailing the DFW. That sounds crazy I know, but that's what works on the style of car he builds. Larry still holds to HIS (LOL LOL) opinion that it's all about what your car wants. Don't worry about it man i's cool with Larry if it's cool with you. NOOOOOOO Problemo....

 

[ratrodsrule1]

Don't listen to em.....030 will go you fine go with it

But Outlaw Billy said it's a tight .030 LOL LOL.....

 

[Loud2ns]

Rrr sorry if I missed something but I'm skimming your posts. There is no league racer running such a large gap. If you read back which i suggest you do there are much better ballpark numbers suggested and none are near .030'. Sure there are tons of variables but if yours includes a .030' you are starting out far from optimal. Like was suggested something like a recipe card or business card will be much closer.

Agreed

 

[ratrodsrule1]

Agreed

But Loud2ns.......It's a tight .030 LOL !! It's the card Larry used when his kids were little when he was building cars with no clue. He still doesn't have much of a clue but He's learning thanks to a certain someone. Anyway he knew the post would create some differences of opinion but he said so from first sentence and the post said you can sand the card to your own preference. It's just a get by piece from the old days that's worked for Larry's level of competition.

 

[Thinkin'Bout Racin]

TBR.....the card might not work for all cars. A lot of variables are in play that gap alone may or may not fix. But Larry said to tell you in the 3rd sentence of the post it said if the cards to thick you can sand it down until it meets your preferences. He also said however, he respects your opinion....

RR, if you notice, at the end of the sentence, I stated this: "it is most likely too wide of a gap in my humble opinion."
I just didn't want any newbies reading this to think that a credit card gap tool was the best/only place to start. Yes you did say if it was too thick, that you could sand it down, however, you did not say that Larry had sanded his down. ...ouch!

I am in agreement that every car likes its own gap and is best adjusted on the track. I also normally use a bit larger gap with graphite than most here.

In response to Grandpa car guy; I am REALLY glad he is helping kids learn about physics while building cars and having fun! Also you said, "His cars always dominate everywhere they go and you may not believe this but they run .060 on the rear wheel trailing the DFW. That sounds crazy I know, but that's what works on the style of car he builds." I too have had success with the RDW having a gap at 0.045" or larger. However, this was on cars before I new they needed to be notched to keep the RDW off the rail. Maybe this is just his budget way of saving a from having to make another cut or from extra sanding time?

P.S. I am still a fan of that all roller SB that Smokey built and of his creative "fuel line".

 

[ratrodsrule1]

RR, if you notice, at the end of the sentence, I stated this: "it is most likely too wide of a gap in my humble opinion."
I just didn't want any newbies reading this to think that a credit card gap tool was the best/only place to start. Yes you did say if it was too thick, that you could sand it down, however, you did not say that Larry had sanded his down. ...ouch!

I am in agreement that every car likes its own gap and is best adjusted on the track. I also normally use a bit larger gap with graphite than most here.

In response to Grandpa car guy; I am REALLY glad he is helping kids learn about physics while building cars and having fun! Also you said, "His cars always dominate everywhere they go and you may not believe this but they run .060 on the rear wheel trailing the DFW. That sounds crazy I know, but that's what works on the style of car he builds." I too have had success with the RDW having a gap at 0.045" or larger. However, this was on cars before I new they needed to be notched to keep the RDW off the rail. Maybe this is just his budget way of saving a from having to make another cut or from extra sanding time?

P.S. I am still a fan of that all roller SB that Smokey built and of his creative "fuel line".

Thanks TBR, great reply. Larry;s actually kinda shy and doesn't like posting things online so i'm his interpreter. Larry's getting old and sometimes he doesn't make himself clear. As I've mentioned in other threads Larry's not your average Red Neck. He's kind of a mix somewhere in between Doc, the professor in Back to the Future and Karl Childers in Slingblade. We never know what slot the roulette ball will fall in on any given day or time. For example if you notice (and again I just enter what he tells me to) sometimes he doesn't know who he is. Sometimes he calls himself Larry and sometimes Billy. His full name is Lawrence (Larry) William (Billy) Badowski. He's a somewhat tall gentleman and some of the locals, knowing his mental capicity, won't know what slot the ball is in when they see him so to cover all the bases they simply call the tall guy LWB for short. Of. course I don'i know if they're possibly making fun of him because of his mental state or his height. LWB could stand for Long Wheel Base. Between his shock treatments and the heavy meds he takes the poor ole boy sometimes doesn't know if he feeding the hogs or slopping the chickens. There's also another factor in play here. On the rare occasion when he's right he's kinda like Bill Nye the Science Guy. He knows the voices aren't real but sometimes they come up with some great ideas. At times when he's in bad shape we have to send him to the Nervous Hospital for a few days to get him straightened out. Hs just told me to let you know that the card in the picture is what he used way back when his kids were racing and it's sorta worm down over the years so it's probably more of a tight .030 if not less. He really just wanted to share with the novice builder what he started out with until he could do better. Wait a minute he's telling me something else.......He just said he's sorry he didn't make the point more clearly understood in regard to the option of sanding the card. They're very durable and you can sand them quite a bit to fit your preferences and they're still a good alternative to buying a spacer that may or ay not be what you need or want. He just started out with that and since he's also a bit like The Rainman and doesn't like a lot of change. Some times when he misplaces his snuff can or chewing tobacco, there goes the day and a trip back to the nervous hospital. But all in all Lawrence William Badzowski, even with all his issues is really a quiet amicable guy and just one of the good ole boys. In fact, he'll give you the shirt off his back on the rare occasion that he's wearing a shirt. That's just one less thing he doesn't have to worry about. He just rolls outta bed and slips on his overalls. He started that habit when he was cutting wood and driving a pulp wood truck until a log feel of the truck and hit him in the head. We think that's where all his problems started. Now his wife, who he refers to as Momma is running the logging operation to keep food on the table while i keep an eye on Larry. But the pulp wood business is in it's last winter. Larry's also on blood thinners and some nights Momma is to tired to take a bath and will go to bed with pine tar all over her. The sheets and blankets stick to her and every-time she rolls over it pulls the covers of Larry and he gets to cold. To offset the upcoming loss of income she's selling the truck and signed up with a traveling women's mud wrestling team. But that just puts more pressure on me, now i'll have to keep an eye on Larry 24-7. Gotta go, apparently Momma was up late last night and was surfing the inter web looking at Lord knows what and got pine tar all over the key board. Gotta clean it with some anti-bacterial cleaner because I don't know what Momma was up to all night. But Larry will take your advice and make his posts more detailed. Larry says thanks foe the input and..............Go Smokey !!