Before too much is misread into the matter of engine weights...

Thanks to its location behind rather than above the front axle, C3 engine weight is split roughly 85% / 15% front to rear. An otherwise iron blocked BBC with aluminum heads, intake and water pump only weighs approx. 90# more than an L82 SBC, for example, which translates into an increase on the front axle of about 77# with the remaining 13# on the rear. This is on the order of ~1% difference in distribution to the front, and an all-aluminum BBC would actually tip the scales in the other direction. Not exactly the equivalent of having dropped a supermassive black hole in under the hood. Just saying.

Now, back to our regular programming...

 

I agree,. over the years people have said the big block cars didn't handle as well I always felt that was overblown but still it has to have some effect.

 

When I remove the rear window [69 coupe] the drone from the exhaust system is gone.
Also one year at RA [HPDE] they made me run with the top up [6t8 roadster], to eliminate the parachute effect of canvas top we cut out the rear window, it was shot and couldn't see through it anyway, but just having the top up slowed me down 10mph. T

 

I assumed his response was aimed at those saying it was too dangerous to travel at high speeds, not at you and the other useful responders to the thread, but I could be mistaken.

 

Here is what a late model Audi looks like underneath.

 

Or you have the same option as the Sundowner Corvette that has been over 220 MPH. To keep that front end down...
LEAD lots of lead plates on the front!

 

See the little fins on the top of the Sundowner car that run the length of the roof. They are for stability.

Years ago I was Crew Chiefing for a customer of mine's land speed bike. A friend of his was pitted next to him with the world's fastest stock bodied VW Bug. The friend heard me trying to explain the importance of aerodynamics to my customer. He told a story of how his car was uncontrollable at speed. It was all over the track. He took the car to a aerodynamics engineer and he put the two little fins on the length of the roof on the Bug. He said it completely transformed the Bug. It was now stable at very high speeds.

The fins keep the air running straight along the roof instead of dropping of the sides haphazardly and making the car move around.

The lead in the Sundowner serves two purposes. One is to keep it from going airbound, but the other is for traction. Running on the salt is not like running on any type of pavement racing. Traction is not as good, especially with the skinny tires, and you run for long distances as compared to a drag strip or the straight on a road race track, so the weight doesn't hurt you for acceleration as bad. Except for maybe balancing a car for a race course, the extra weight would hurt handling and acceleration in most other forms of racing.

Mike

 

A good example IMHO that one needn't go to extreme lengths in order to achieve worthwhile aero improvements underneath.

 

Separation creates a high pressure area, not a low pressure area. If the flow remains attatched to the body as in laminar flow that is how lift is generated. Separation is also known as "stall" I think most folks know what a stall is.
Separation creates drag. So with attatched flow you will get better lift and less drag. If a spoiler is employed THEN you get down force with flow over the spoiler and also drag as the air separates aft of the spoiler. The whole reason spoilers need to be used is to counteract lift. Then the spoiler needs to be tall enough to reach the area of flow, that may be much higher off the body of the car due to some separation. If the separation includes burbling (notch back design) then the spoiler would have to be quite tall to reach the region of flowing air and would be more like a flying wing type design, similar to an elevator on an aircraft.

Race cars constantly have to balance drag with lift as does every car now. Less drag on cars makes for a better lifting body as well due to the lack of flow separation. So good in fact that Nascar (at least, others may as well) uses spoilers on their cars to keep them from getting airborne due to lift in a loss of control situation.