First trip to the track

[wikd69]

What rear-end, carrier and gears are you running in the back, and, what slicks are you using ?
As long as I get a good matched set and the run-out doesn't get above 96 or so, I'm gold.

I have two 9" Strange nodular iron center sections.
For the track 4.11 pro gear, 35 spline spool.
For the street 3.50 Motive, 35 spline Locker.

The Pro gear also has a 35 spline pinion, I broke a Motive 3.00:1, 28 spline pinion gear...

As far as roll out goes, I've had a hard time getting a pair of MT tires that match.
I wonder if the Hoosier tires are better at being the same size. I've had 3 sets of Mickeys and usually there is more than a 1/2" difference.

What is your rear gear, and rear suspension set up? I'm ladder bar now.

---Bill.

Wow. That takes a lot of torque and a lot of hook to twist a pinion in two. yikes !

I'm running a narrowed GM 12-Bolt with Ladder Bars and a diagonal locater. I originally had a panhard bar but my frame is so narrow in the back it made the panhard bar radius too short and the geometry was really wonky. It would do interesting things on hard launches . I swapped over to a heavy 1" diagonal / locater bar and it tracks a lot cleaner now. Heres a shot after I got the new brakes and diagonal hung on it...



(I have since reversed the diagonal so it runs between the opposite corners)

Here's another view up on the rack, installing my new driveline. I'm a pretty fair fabricator but I suck at brake lines...



I'm running a Detroit Locker with Yukon 4:10's, 33 Spline Moser axles and 1350 yokes and crosses all the way forward. I had a thick-wall 3" driveline made and swapped out the original light duty tube. It's about as stout as I can make this GM 12-Bolt (short of going with a spool) and I'm hoping it'll stand up when I start laying down some industrial strength hook. The only other thing I've been considering is running a gusset/strongback between the ladder bar brackets and the housing itself. I know the OEM case and axle tubes can deform under load and I'm thinking it might not hurt to add some extra bracing there.

What springs are you running in the back ? I'm using a set of Chassisworks single adjustable coilovers with 175 lb springs and they're a bit stiff. I have a set of 130's I may try but I'm not sure what I really need on this ladder-bar setup. I've not been able to really get it to hook up so I don't know what the chassis is doing yet. I'm ordering slicks this week and *then* maybe we'll see

I just installed a new B&M Pro Ratchet this weekend. I use a multi-function button on the t-handle, setting the function (rollstop or transbrake) using a 3-way rocker switch I installed into the console. I had to build a new switch box, etc., to house all the new wiring. Finally got everything wired and mounted and tomorrow will finish adjusting the linkage out. Hopefully this will work better than the old Hurst AutoStick 3 I had in before.

Excuse the typos and incoherent sentences - it's after midnite and I've been wrenching all weekend <yawn>

[John_Heard]

Hey Bill I'm curious, have you found much ET difference between the ET Streets and the ET Drags? I think those sizes you're using are the same aren't they?

[sc68z28]

Harry, WOW that car of yours is sure clean under there I should take lessons from you, I'm just not a detail guy

I have Aldan double adj rear coilovers w/ 160# springs. I've been told 140#s might work better, I don't really know??

So did you finish your wiring and shifter work? I'm assuming you have a powerglide in there? Sorry I don't understand much about those auto-m things, converters, trans brakes, ect.
This is where I'm old school, just give me a clutch pedal and a stick to row, then I'm happy.
There's no break with a 5 speed at the track, it's one gear right after the other to about 700 feet.
To tell you the truth, when I listen to your track videos, you NEED more gears! But thats JMO. 98% of drag racers think I'm nuts, doing the stick shift thing.

Hey Bill I'm curious, have you found much ET difference between the ET Streets and the ET Drags? I think those sizes you're using are the same aren't they?

John, yes sizes are very close, within an 1/8". Traction is also similar, but my Drags are on much lighter wheels. So yes the car did pick up, I think it was the lighter total package. Remember this thread viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1227&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15

---Bill.

[John_Heard]

John, yes sizes are very close, within an 1/8". Traction is also similar, but my Drags are on much lighter wheels. So yes the car did pick up, I think it was the lighter total package. Remember this thread viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1227&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15

---Bill.

Ahh - yes I remember now... thanks.

[wikd69]

Harry, WOW that car of yours is sure clean under there I should take lessons from you, I'm just not a detail guy

I have Aldan double adj rear coilovers w/ 160# springs. I've been told 140#s might work better, I don't really know??

So did you finish your wiring and shifter work? I'm assuming you have a powerglide in there? Sorry I don't understand much about those auto-m things, converters, trans brakes, ect.
This is where I'm old school, just give me a clutch pedal and a stick to row, then I'm happy.
There's no break with a 5 speed at the track, it's one gear right after the other to about 700 feet.
To tell you the truth, when I listen to your track videos, you NEED more gears! But thats JMO. 98% of drag racers think I'm nuts, doing the stick shift thing.

---Bill.

Thanks for the compliment :) . The cost of playing at the track is having to clean up afterwards. I like to do car shows and whatnot and it's no simple thing to try and do both, race and show.

Nope, not a Glide. I like more gears - having only 2 forward gears is unnatural, sort of like dating your own sister. It would get the job done but would never feel right, ya know ? And yep, I did finish up the new shifter and wiring. I'll post a photo when I get back home. I'm traveling this week (in bucolic Des Moines, IA today).

I'm running a competition 400 from TCI. As you've noticed in the videos it does sound like I'm using a Glide cuz my old worn-out Hurst ratchet shifter was teleporting me straight from 1st to 3rd gear. Hence the move to the new B&M ratchet. I also ordered a set of speed bowls for both carbs so I can change jets without major surgery at the track. I have hard fuel lines on my dual-quad setup and it's a b*tch swapping jets.

So with my new shifter, slicks and the ability to jet-up-down as needed I should be able to improve both times and speeds. We'll see. I'm really hoping to get down to consistent 10.xx's with this thing, tho I'm pretty happy with it as it is.

And I don't think you're nuts doing the stick shift thing, I just think you're *waaaay* better at throwing gears than I could ever be I seem to have a penchant for leaving parts on the track when doing the manual trans thing (recalling the reverse gear cluster debris they were picking up from the right lane at Carlsbad, oh those many, many years ago).

[wikd69]

Ok - I did the deed. I just ordered a set of new Centerline rims, Hoosier slicks, and a new set of Sportsman Fronts for the hotrod today. The old credit card is *still* smouldering....

I ended up going with Centerline Warriors (15x14") and Hoosier 18195D06 slicks. These are a 29.5x11.50-15 slick with 13.5" of tread. I'm told that even though these new Hoosiers are 2" narrower in tread than my Sportsman Pro's, they should give me *lots* more hook. Lets hope. Given the weight of my Camaro, the harder compound and stiffer sidewalls in these Hoosiers should work better and make it more stable at speed. Again, lets hope

Here's what the Centerlines look like. I got a smoking deal on them from Harlow, about $150 cheaper than buying from Summit. I may end up down the road buying a matching set of fronts as well, and mount up some lighter racing rubber. The Sportsman Fronts I'm using are an 8-ply and pretty heavy.



I bought all of this from Harlow Racing in Westland, Michigan ( http://www.harlowracing.com ). I had spoken with them before when I was hunting for a good dual-purpose tire. They were real helpful back then and gave me a great deal on the package today. They're even gonna soap up the slicks, mount and balance them and install bead lock screws for me. I recommend these guys as a good source for wheels and tires. If you call, ask for Brian.

So now I'm one big step closer to breaking some really expensive hardware...

stay tuned...

[sc68z28]

cuz my old worn-out Hurst ratchet shifter was teleporting me straight from 1st to 3rd gear. Hence the move to the new B&M ratchet. I also ordered a set of speed bowls for both carbs so I can change jets without major surgery at the track.
So with my new shifter, slicks and the ability to jet-up-down as needed I should be able to improve both times and speeds. We'll see. I'm really hoping to get down to consistent 10.xx's with this thing, tho I'm pretty happy with it as it is.

Nice looking wheels, I agree a little bit smaller slick will be better than any treaded tire. So it is a 3 speed trans, missing 2nd gear didn't help ET much at all.

Your 10 sec pass is coming soon, then you'lle want low 10's

Any plans on getting back to the track soon? Keep us posted.

---Bill.

[wikd69]

[quote="sc68z28
Nice looking wheels, I agree a little bit smaller slick will be better than any treaded tire. So it is a 3 speed trans, missing 2nd gear didn't help ET much at all.

Your 10 sec pass is coming soon, then you'lle want low 10's

Any plans on getting back to the track soon? Keep us posted.

---Bill.[/quote]


Yep, I'll be back to the track as soon as I get some other stuff done. And thinking about faster ETs, I may jump the blower from 9% under to 1-to-1 for this next session. That should give me about 10 lbs of boost and dynamic compression up around 13.7 to 1. That will be a whole bunch of new grunt to play with.

Going fast is addictive

I bought a new Aerospace fuel pump awhile back and need to install it. I had intended to just swap out the older dual Mallorys I'm running and stuff this new Aerospace pump in their place but the new pump came with a tag stating it had been flow-tested at 400 gph. I guess I'm not gonna be using it with my current dead-head regulator. d-uh me...

I'll pick up a high-volume return flow regulator, replace the dead-head and run a new return line. I'm also swapping in speed bowls for my 4150's. I have hard lines on the carbs and it makes jet changes a challenge at the track. Getting the quick change bowls will make life better.

So, long story short, I'm gonna be doing some fab work before I head back down to the track. By the time my slicks come in I should have most of this stuff done.