I would like to hit the test and tune tomorrow and was curious about the battery hold down. My battery is in the battery box and hasn't had a hold down since I got it, I'm not for sure if that's the way they come from gm, if not could somebody post a photo? Do any of y'all who race or have raced on the strip know if they consider the box good enough to pass the tech inspection? Thanks in advance. Blue

 

At my drag strip they've never even checked my battery. Only what's under the hood and whether or not I had a helmet (needed if running faster then 13.9 at my track). Mine never had a hold down either and it seems pretty solid in the box.

 

Thanks Conrad.

 

My 69 has one... I can't imagine any factory car not coming with one originally.

I had to reinforce the bottom of my battery box and also had to replace the hold down parts as well.

There are parts on the bottom and inside the box.

 

That's what the original one looks like in my '69. (I've since moved the battery to the right hand box to get more weight on that side of the car.)

 

Thanks for the photos. I'm going to double check mine, I don't recall seeing it though.

 

Ok so I'm home from work, I do have the hole but no clamp. I wonder if the box works for securing the battery.

 

I don't know about the strip but I am a tech inspector for SCCA road racing and a battery needs to be securely tied down and just being in the box behind the seat would not be enough. If something happened and the car rolled or was in a violent accident the battery could become a projectile that would not be a good thing.
Rob

 

Thanks rob.

 

Batt in the right hand box?......what a great idea! I'm thinking of replacing my positive cable and that would save me a ton of trouble with routing

 

I replaced my hold down hardware but it really seems it would rip the mounts from the glass in an accident.

 

That's what I thought. I went to schmucks and got one.

 

They didn't even look at it.

 

That's what I was going to tell you, from my experience.

So, what happened? Did you make any runs?

 

I got to make two runs during the test and tune. We got there late and I had to bum a second carb return spring to pass tech.
First run was 12.98 @ 101 with a 60' of 2.0634.
Second run was 12.75 @ 107 with 2.0609
I was working up to a good launch trying to leave and not spin so I had increased the rpm at launch some, I felt like I might have been able to squeeze another .25 out of her, but I let the seat belt retract and could get it to come back out. This was my first time ever on the strip so I felt with practice I could decrease time. Both runs were with street tires and full exhaust. I'd like to spend more time out there and mess with the jets some between runs, I have to run a spacer to get my accelerator pump to clear the intake and right now its a 1" four hole would like to try a 1'' open just to see if there was any gain or loss. My son and I had fun. Look forward to doing it again.

A question for you, I currently have 3.08 rear gear and am going 3.7 which I have in the garage. If I can keep it planted what kind of increase do you think I'd see over the 12.75?

I was pretty stocked for the first time ever to be sub 13 seconds. I was actually going to pm you on this but no need now. If you go to YouTube and search for pittbullbluerage it will bring up 3 videos and two of those are the runs. The first run was funny as I've always though there were lines on the Asphalt and was trying to figure out were to stage. Felt like s dip s41t but got it figured out. Definitely looking forward to doing it again.

 

Wow, you had some fast times for your MPH and 60 foot. I say that because with about the same 60 foot I ran a 13.11 @ 107 in my 2000 TA.

I would think you could get a 1.8 60 foot, which would put you in the mid 12 (for every 1/10th in the 60 foot you get 2 tenths at the big end, as a rule of thumb). 107 MPH is good for a low 12s.

As far as the gearing, what RPM and gear were you running through the traps at?

 

Right now I've got the original 3.08 gears, I didn't get to make enough passes to look and see what rpm I came through the traps at, but I'd just shifted to 3rd gear, so maybe 3k or 4k rpm. I figure that the gear change would help the 60' if I can keep it planted and I figure that would equate to wider tires, nito's or drag radials. I bought heavy duty side yokes from mid america and have hlf shaft loops on the way. I'm running a 2400 rpm stall and figure that I could decrease times if I went to a 3200 or so, but the car is easy to drive on the street and the over drive transmission will make the 3.7's not an issue. Hers the time slip, It's hard to read in person, I could probably use my photo editor and darken up the script.

 

I assume you are running an auto transmission?

 

yes. 700r4. Probably the most parasitic losses are from this tansmission, but I like it.

 

Spending a few moments with a RPM calculator, it seems like it would be an improvement. I figured 107 MPH, 27 inch tall tire and the 1:1 3rd gear ratio of a 700R4, you get ~5000 RPM.

More time at the track will probably be the best way to see big improvements in your ETs