Drag racing questions....
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,606
Likes: 1
From: Las Cruces NM
Drag racing questions....
I drag raced, among several other cars, my '88 for a long time. I got rid of it and now I want to take my '72 to the track. The motor is warmed over and with the rest of the setup, it should run high 12's at a sea level track, but will probably run in the mid-high 13's at the altitude I run at(5000+ft).
I know the normal NHRA rules apply..13.99 and under needs a helmet, etc.
Do I need I need to run should belts? The retractors in mine don't work too well and the slots in the seats weren't cut out when the leather was recovered by the last owner. I'd rather just yank them out altogether and I don't think the track would know that they were installed to begin with.
And about the battery....since it's in the storage compartment, do I need to run a cut off switch on the back of the car? I know cars that have batteries relocated need to.
Hopefully someone here's taken their car down the track and knows the little oddities specific to these cars.
Chris
I know the normal NHRA rules apply..13.99 and under needs a helmet, etc.
Do I need I need to run should belts? The retractors in mine don't work too well and the slots in the seats weren't cut out when the leather was recovered by the last owner. I'd rather just yank them out altogether and I don't think the track would know that they were installed to begin with.
And about the battery....since it's in the storage compartment, do I need to run a cut off switch on the back of the car? I know cars that have batteries relocated need to.
Hopefully someone here's taken their car down the track and knows the little oddities specific to these cars.
Chris
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 15,176
Likes: 88
From: State of Confusion
I don't think the factory rear-mounted battery will cause a problem for you, unless your local strip's safety-regs supercede NHRA's-own policies:
I've run my snooz-a-pa-looza '82 several times, and nobody has questioned the battery location/tie-down.
OEM seat-belts w/o shoulder-restraints in a 12-second car may, or may-NOT, be a problem.....
I've run my snooz-a-pa-looza '82 several times, and nobody has questioned the battery location/tie-down.
OEM seat-belts w/o shoulder-restraints in a 12-second car may, or may-NOT, be a problem.....
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,259
Likes: 2
From: MS
You are defintely OK with the battery as this is the OEM setup so no extra switch should be required especially at the speeds you are running, but make sure the battery is secure and not just sitting in the well. I would guess that you would be OK with the lap belt only as many original musclecars were so equipped and they will let stock cars run as long as they are not running too fast. Defintely show up with a helmet and make sure you have some kind of radiator overflow protection, even a washer bottle temporarily wire tied to the inner fender will suffice.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,606
Likes: 1
From: Las Cruces NM
I don't plan on running at sea level, so it's pretty much a 13 second car as far as the rule books apply. There are a few nice things about running at this altitude. You can get away with a much wilder setup without the strain on the drivetrain. You can get away with much higher timing and compression without detonation as well. You can also run less carb than you'd normally run.
The trade off is that the car will run a lot slower. My '88 ran 11.8@118 at Vegas, but ran 12.9@109 up here at 5k feet. Stock C5's run in the low 15's and high 14's, also about a second off pace.
Thanks about the battery. I figured it wouldn't be an issue since it's a factory mount.
I know it all depends on the track's standards. Some are sticklers for certain things and lax on others. I emailed the track supervisor, so hopefully he'll get back to me about it.
Chris
The trade off is that the car will run a lot slower. My '88 ran 11.8@118 at Vegas, but ran 12.9@109 up here at 5k feet. Stock C5's run in the low 15's and high 14's, also about a second off pace.
Thanks about the battery. I figured it wouldn't be an issue since it's a factory mount.
I know it all depends on the track's standards. Some are sticklers for certain things and lax on others. I emailed the track supervisor, so hopefully he'll get back to me about it.
Chris
