roger3

Anybody used Dragvette's basic drag kit? What do you think about it? Worth the money?

Their 6-point kit looks impressive but maybe more than I am interested in.

I am putting a 454 (480hp/500tq, 350auto trans, 3.36 gears) in my 76 vette. Will mostly drive on the street but will make it to the drag strip a few times a year.

Roger

ajrothm

I think your money would be better spent on better half shafts with solid spicer u joints.

Put better parts in that don't break and don't worry about the camber change issues....Just my opinion...

If you think you may start getting down in the 1.4x range 60's, the DragVette 6 link may be a good idea just in the event that you DO break something, the 6 link will keep the wheels in place. But that 6 link is not gonna stop it from killing ring gears, posi cariers, spider gears, snapping side yokes or twisting off outer axles (spindles)...... The 6 link mainly helps keep it from popping u joints (due to bad squat and crazy half shaft angles) and does help keep the wheel in place in case an axle breaks.

Moral of this story is, limit the amount of rear end squat and have good shafts/u joints in it. Also 31 spline outer axles (spindles) and 30 spline inner axles (side yokes) are a good idea if youre gonna be dragging a lot...

Let us know what she runs....

roger3

Im having my differential rebuilt by Traccdog. He is also installing solid u-joints in my half shafts so I think (hope) my rear end will be okay for a while.

I was reading about ways to lower 60' times by limiting the back end of the car from squatting too much. The dragvette basic kit is not too expensive and I was just wondering if its beneficial.

Right now I have the rear end, motor, and tranny out of the car. Hope to have it all back together in a month or so. I'll let you know how she runs in the 1/4. I bought a used motor (basic LS6 with slightly different cam than stock). I'm a little disappointed in the idle so I may end up changing heads/cam down the road. On the dyno it didn't want to idle below 1100rpm. Dyno guy thought the idle circuit in the carb is the problem. I haven't taken carb apart yet to clean it out and see if that helps.

Thanks for the info.

Roger

Hadez

Snap 1 u-joint or trailing arm spindle and you will wish you had the dragvette kit as it will cost more to repair damage to battery box/storage compartment, shock, etc. and then you will be buying the dragvette kit anyways after the damage costing twice as much. For the basic kit...the cost $$ vs. potential $$ damage is reasonable in my opinion.

I have dragvette kit on 2 different 69 vettes. I had solid spices and power shifted into 2nd gear hammering the throttle on the street and snapped the spindle in the trailing arm, not the u-joint. This was with a L46 that was putting down 275rwhp and 313ft lbs. The dragvette saved everything perfectly but wow!! a loose half shaft at 30mph makes a hell of a BANG and a lot of noise aftewards until I came to a stop.

roger3

Kaos,

Do you have the basic kit or the 6-link?

Nobody.

I just finished rebuilding the rear in my '81. It's getting ready to attempt to handle a EFI 383 w/twin 57mm turbos. I added half shaft loops around the shafts just in case one breaks, it won't beat up the underside. We'll see...

ajrothm

Half shaft loops are a GREAT investment.....I have the DragVette loops that just bolt in.

You should know about the reduced suspension travel with the 6 link...the upper strut of the 6 link will hit the frame/bump stop well before full compression of the suspension.....You get on a bumpy *** road, you'll know it.

Les

I got the bigger half shafts, solid Spicer U-joints, driveshaft loop, and the half shaft loops. Good insurance and probably enough to cover your power level and usage. For a full on race car the 6 link would make more sense but in your case I just don't think it's the best choice.

Gordonm

I ran the 6 link on my car for 1 summer and took it off. It hammered the frame on bumps and dips. It does what is says it will do, reduce the camber change but it is not for the street. Drag race it works but street driving it really reduces the wheel travel a lot.

427Hotrod

Getting a Vette to hook is pretty easy with sticky tires. Getting it to do it more than one time is the trick! As AJRothm said...best bet is to get at least good outer stub axles. I've seen more of them die than anything else.

Mike will build you a killer diff...so that won't be an issue and the solid joints take care of that part. The outer stubs and stronger halfshafts themselves are about all that's left if you have Mike put in the good inner stubs during the build.

After that it's primarily getting a strong rear spring and good shocks. You can actually ET pretty well with one that squats like crazy...but it's tougher on parts. A stronger spring and either the Drag Vette setup, a VB Smart Struts kit...or a homemade spacer between strut bracket and diff will take care of the camber change. Good shocks help a lot (like QA-1 single adjustables). The half shaft loops are good in case all this stuff can't handle it.but 99% of the time it will handle what you chunk at it.

JIM