Homemade drag racing Xmas tree

I have to put the lights on both sides. Its gotta be as authentic as possible! Its that attention to detail thing I have. Its a gift and a curse

 

I donated a little time over the weekend to the project. here are the preliminary results. I made the base and the mounting pad. I also determinted the spacing of the lights. The green dots indicate the placement.

The first set of lights starts 3" up from the bottom on center. The next light is 3" O/C from that one. The next set is 8" from those and so on. Seemed to work out perfectly. The distance from the top "pre staged" awning and the "staged awning worked out to 13".

Not too bad for flying blind with no diagrams or dimensions. What do you guys think about the light spacing?

 

I got a reply to an email I sent out a few days ago-

Hi, It just so happens that I had a visit today by a race track operator that says there is a 5 bulb original tree in moth-balls at their track. I asked him to check with the owner and see if they will part with it or at least take pictures and measurements as you requested. If they do decide to sell, in all fairness I have two other people begging (for sometime now) for an old tree so I really have to give them a shot at it too.


So I may have a shot at getting a real 60's tree after all or at the very least, the actual measurements off of it. I emailed him saying I would grease his palm him if he throws it my way.:Brow: (you know, NY style) Until then, I'll continue with my build.

I have absolutely no idea what a vintage tree would go for. There hasnt been any sales to base a price on. Would be pretty damn cool to have one. It would look good next to my gas pump and other garage art I have. Im curious to see where this goes.

 

Made a little progress this weekend-

Made 8 aluminum brackets. Cut them all up and put a finish on them with my DA and some 80 grit. I mounted two of the brackets to pipe flange base. Took alot of measuring with my micrometer to center it just right. Doesnt look like a lot of work, but it took me a few hours all totalled. The pole fits perfectly now. I also cut a 13" section off the channel. This will become the removeable pre staged add on lights. The fringe benefit is that without the pre staged add-on, it will fit in the house now. My ceilings are only 8'

Going to work a little more on it tomorrow. Maybe drill the 7/8" holes up the side for the lamp holders. The lights and sockets should be delivered my the end of the week. More to come..


Rob- That would be an awesome idea :idea2: You could sit on a chair in your pick up bed and operate the tree. Sell your services to the local street racers! :grin:

 

There's a place close by here that makes aluminum railings and boat super structures (don't know exactly what theyre called). I had him bend me up an 8 foot "C" shaped channel with an outer diamter of 4". He also made me a 4" x 8 foot piece for the one open side. I did it this way for 2 reasons. One is that I thought it would look more realisitic this way as opposed to using a vinyl fence post. And secondly, the wiring would be much easier to access with a removeable front plate. The guy bent it out of 0.080" aluminum sheet and charged me $100. Looks pretty sweet.

I wish I could of taken a picture of the look on the guys face when I started explaining what I was doing. Lately, I dont try explaining things. I hate it when I get that look from people. Like Im insane or something. I cant help it if im a visionary:grin:

 

Here's another update for you guys. I finished construction of the add on pre staged bulb assy. Here's the semi finished product.

I got all the spotlight bulbs and lampholders delivered. All the 13/16" holes are drilled up the side of the pole. The pole has been mounted to the base and all the brackets are installed. All I need to do is assemble it this weekend. Barring any complications and providing i dont pass out from heat stroke, I should have some pictures of the finished product less paint and lettering

Thanks to Dave Shaker for telling me about www.greatlettering.com They had the perfect font for the Chrondek lettering. I ordered the lettering today. Should be here come Tuesday. I cant wait to paint this!

I think its turning out well so far.

 

Here's the semi completed tree. All done except paint and lettering. I had to put it together in the raw just to see what this thing was going to look like. I think it came out pretty good. My friend Nick said it was "over the top":grin: . Is it over the top? I can never tell. I think he was impressed.

Im happy with it. The dimensions are pretty damn close. I found a vintage drag racing pic with someone standing right next to the tree. Assuming the guy was average height and build, he came up the the second set of yellows. When I stand next to my tree, I come up to the same set of bulbs. Anyone need measurements off of mine, just let me know.

Now, what I need is your opinions-

The original as you can see in the previous photos, is a two piece design. What they used is basically two door hinges mounted on each side of the pole. I made mine one piece for now. I can understand why they made it two pieces- this thing is friggin heavy!

Should I cut it in two and mount the door hinges? I would get the polished 4" chrome looking ones. I think it looks a little cheesy with them, but I'm obsessed with making it true to the original. What do you think? Cut it or leave it be?

 

Thanks!

I thought I would work on the electronics this winter after the emotional and financial scarring heal from this part of it.

I have thought about getting photo cells and making it work like a real tree does. Devon posted a link that shows the curcuitry using a micro controller.That way I can deep stage my lawn tractor out in the street in front of my house. p

Or I was thinking about just using a Xmas light controller and just fire them off on thier own.

For now, Im going to just paint it and letter it.

 

Took a little break from this now Im back on it. Just picked up the parts from the body shop. All painted up in GM white-