Operative word is....*A*.....because I got exactly one run before being told I was done! So much for "convertible-no cage-street car friendly"!

Short version is: 10.84@ 129.53.

I took car 200 miles to an IHRA track that is really nice. I had to work over there anyway this week, so it was no big deal.

Bad part is weather was really funky. That big front that has been sweeping the country was right on us last night. it was sprinkling rain off and on and the air just felt bad. Dead still. I checked a weather station with another racer.....when I ran it was at just over 3700 ft elevation air wise! Humidity and baro were really bad.

Good part is the car worked great. I had no idea how it would really act at the track, so I figured I'd start conservative, and hopefully get a few more runs in. I filled tank with gas (93 octane) to help traction and set timing at only 36* to make sure all was well. Linelock worked fantastic for burnout and I decided to try a launch at 3700 or so rpm first figuring it would spin a little.

Well it didn't! It hooked hard and topped out the suspension. It never bogged but I could quickly tell I could have come out MUCH harder. The new Dana 60 and all my rear end stuff worked perfectly along with the new clutch. I don't think the tires spun at all. But it only ran a 1.63 60' time.

I had shift light set for 6500 for the first run and shifted about there, once again making sure all was going to work well. The engine was still wanting to pull hard up there but I went ahead and shifted. Remember, these are my first runs since fighting that "running out of oil pressure" problem and I still wanted to make sure it really held well under real torture. It did! gauge stayed pegged.

But with weather the way it was, it just didn't pull like it should have. It ran a 7.01 at 102 mph in the 1/8th.

I pulled a plug afterwards and it definitely showed I could use lots more fuel than it liked on dyno. I had bumped it back up to the dyno tune jets for the first runs, and the plugs were snow white.

After the run I was met in the pits by the friendly guy on the golf cart telling me that fun was over for the night. He was actually very nice and told me if I wanted to make a few 1/8 mile passes he would let me. He said rollbar rules for IHRA are 7.50 1/8th mile and 11.50 for the 1/4.

So I went back around to make another pass and he reminded me to shut it down at the 1/8th. But right before I pulled into the water, he came up to my window and told me the owner of the track had overruled him and said no way could I even run 1/8th mile passes.

So anyway....I consider it a good night overall. All the rods are still in it...rear end is all in one piece (much better than the last few times out!). I am very happy with how it hooks on my little 10x26" slicks that I bought used several years ago. It ran a high 10 second pass on a very conservative tuneup and driving style, and I have no doubt a few more runs and a little tweeking couldn't have put me in the low-mid 10's even in last nights' weather.

I spoke with a fellow there running a lowered/tubbed '56 Chevy pickup that was pulling wheelies all night with the 15x33.5 slicks on it. He was running a 540 with Dart 360 heads, solid roller and an 8/71 blower with 2x1150 cfm Dominators. His best time was a 10.20 something and MPH ranged from 129-132 mph as the night went on and weather got better late in the evening. He said in good weather with no other changes it runs 9.70's@140 mph. So I felt even more encouraged!

My ultimate goal has always been to run a 9.99 on pump gas with it with nothing more than a set of slicks and maybe uncapping pipes. I have every belief that I'm on the way with it and a little good weather and "hammer type " driving will get me there!

I have a couple of weeks before the next event. Need to try a few more things!


JIM


PS- BTW- I weighed car while I was there. With a full tank of gas it is 3295 lbs. So it's not as bad as it could be I guess, considering the ungodly heavy Dana 60 differential, halfshafts, Doug Nash, scattershield, Merlin block etc. Not going to tell you what it is with me in....but I ain't no featherweight!
_______

 

Dang! Would have been great to get that on my digital camcorder. :thumbs:

Mark


[Modified by 81vette, 7:59 PM 11/6/2003]

 

Sounds like you had a good time! :)

I don't think the NHRA tracks around here would even let you in the gate, so you're doing good!

You're not going to cage that thing, are you Jim? It's too pretty for that!

 

I was just going to post "Where is Hotrods track report"

Well 10's down 9's to go. It seems funny to be talking about a street car "only" running 129, but was the weather that humid? I have never run in humid weather so I have nothing to compare it to, but 8-10 mph ? I have no doubt the car has the power to go 135 +

I am also confused about the car wanting more fuel than on the dyno, aren't you running full exhaust? I would think it would want less fuel.

What are you going to do about the cage now that your secret is out. I kinda like getting kicked off the track :p:

Good to hear the rear held, wasn't really any doubt.

Got any place you can run it and not get booted, I know you want that 9 sec. slip.

Congrats, and thanks for all the help on my projects.

 

I really expect mid 130's in normal weather around here. That guy was running an 8-71 and could pretty much create whatever air he needed. I could see it happen with really "cave" air, but that only happens around here about twice a year.

It's pretty common to need drastically different jetting at the track than at the dyno...usually richer. I used the dyno setup as a baseline.

I may still work on a bar of some sort to make them happy (and be a little safer) but I'd love to pull off a 9 in the current setup.

The weather has drastically changed around here since yesterday and they are predicting cooler weather over the next week or so.

I have another race date planned in a week or so at another track. Gives me a little time to find a little more and put it in "kill" mode from the baseline.


JIM

 

Congratulations, Jim! You are the man!

Everything held up just like you thought. Great job. Too bad it wasn't as good a run as you would have liked. This is the problem with having that much power.

I am anxious to hear about your next race.

Steve

 

Thanks guys....

Steve you for sure know what humidity does to HP. The barometric pressure was somewhere in the 29.0 range. Tonight it's over 30.3! That's big stuff!

I really think low-mid 10's were possible last night even with bad air..just take a few runs to hit it.

It's sure going to take a long time to dial it in with only one run per trip! I better make each one count!

For sure it was a few clicks down on MPH than what I hoped for....but I'll be back soon! Gotta start somewhere!

JIM

 

Jim, those are some damn fine numbers, and considering the air and short shifting, mid 130's are in the bag. With good air, shifting up around 7500 (yikes!) you should pull a 9 at possibly 140. Just using your conservative run corrected for the 3700' elevation, NHRA corrects to a 10.35 @ 135.7. What was the difference in your HP @ 6500 and 7400 again?

Congratulations! You're right, this *is* a great country!

Take care,

Mark

PS I rec'd packages from Bernard today. :) Check your e-mail for pics!

 

My HP at 6000-6400 or so is really only up maybe 10-15 over the last version. Right about 6400 is where it goes crazy and picks up 75-90 hp more to the peak. So definitely wasn't using all it had.

Going through Tech was pretty easy and I had been given no "warnings" so I was hoping to get a few runs in, thus I figured I had the "luxury" of doing a "check out" pass. That didn't quite work out.

I'll be trying harder next time!

JIM

 

PS I rec'd packages from Bernard today. :) Check your e-mail for pics![/QUOTE]

MMMMmmmmm, Bernard mmmm, Mondello :yesnod: Sounds like some new heads :hurray:

 

SSSHHHHHH.....it's a secret! :lol:


Looks like there's going to be another 10 sec Vette running around before long!


JIM

 

C'mon Mark spill the beans, what the new conbo. :D

Jim, Yup 10's I guess is the new standard. I may have to talk to Mike and get some bigger jets for the fooger to keep up with those 540's. I got the rear and and it is MASSIVE stuff. I can see why Tom's says it is good to 1000+ HP. Can't wait for that first 5000 rpm clutch dump

I start tearing down the car tomorrow and hope to have it back together in Feburaury, sorta depends on when Liberty gets a few of those 5 spds availible. Got to get a cage to so it could be a while. I bought a V-rod to keep me occupied in the mean time. :)

When is your next trip to the track?

 

Haha, no secret! Just been soo long waiting parts. And it will wait until spring 04 when I can hopefully bring the money tree back to life and finish the exhaust system (little stuff like headers, mufflers, custom pipes, etc.) which is all that is holding it up at this stage. Oh yeah, a NH winter too...

The new combination:
547" (4.53 x 4.25)
10.9:1 CR w/ SRP 142999 10cc forged pistons
AFR 335 CNC heads
Vic Jr 454R intake, ported by Bernard Mondello w/ milled carb pad to fit hood
Comp roller 266/272 .050 duration w/ .717 intake and .688 exh lift
112 LSA installed 2 degrees advanced

I'll post pictures of the assembled short block, the head (I only have one at the moment) and intake in a separate post.

Sorry to hijack your thread Jim!

Take care,

Mark

 

Hey that is cool Mark, looks like I will need thgose bigger jets for sure :yesnod: :lol:

 

sounds like you got 9.99 potential in there to me.