Memorial Day - Hemmings Musclepalooza

[Bigpig455]

I forgot to post the update, but I finally got my 3.23 Ltd slip together in time for memorial day and went up to Lebanon Valley - for those of you who saw this on V-8 Buick please forgive the duplicate post...

I literally put the break in miles on the diff on the way to the track, but it held together and it really seemed to help the launch and 60 ft times , although hard to tell how much because it was hot and thick  (the F.A.S.T. guys claimed a corrected altitude of 3000 - 3500) at the track and I'd had no practice to find optimal launch RPM yet - Everyone was running .2 tenths slower than usual. My best was a 14.85 @ 92 mph, but generally ran at 14.90 or so....

I got in 6 runs or so.. I got beat by a 340 Dart Swinger (NOT a street car) in qualifying, but managed to take a 68 Firebird 400. First round of eliminations I took a 68 AMC American with a built 360 and drag radials. I got sent home in the second round by a stock Grand National who ran 14.50 against my 14.91. At least it was another Buick who got me...

Last year, before I did any modifications (3.23 LSD, Doc manifold, recurve and jetting) I was running consistant 15.3 @ 88 mph in 70 degree weather..If I fine tune a little and go back in the fall (or run at night) I bet I can knock off another .2 tenths just from cooler temps.

I did figure out that to really run 14.0 or better, the less of a street car it can be - you seemingly need gears, headers and drag radials, at least from what I saw.. there were no pure stock 60's cars running the next bracket up from mine.. and most stock stuff like 340, 351C, L-79 SBCs and 5.0/4.6 Mustangs were running slower than me. I also got alot of compliments from dudes who thought running a nailhead was "hardcore"

I was pretty proud of this round, considering I drove the car 100 miles each way, raced all day, didnt puke a drop of coolant and or break anything, all on a single tank of gas. Thats a pretty good day.

Rhett

[dsags]

Rhett, that is fantastic. Really nice to see someone running their car like that. Hardcore indeed.

Dan

[Bigpig455]

Thanks Dan - I'm working on weight transfer now, I want a 60 ft under 2.0. I'm going to run again in October with the Supercar Shootout, hopefully with better air I'll run 14.5. If I do, I'll call it good - I'll feel good about that  and I dont want to ventilate a numbers matching block...then I'll retire this car to cruise night status and start on the 73.

I cant stress how great this car is to 60 ft even now, it even surprised me- I had a fender on just about everyone no matter how outmatched.

But what an awesome time and met some great people on the F.A.S.T tour (including a guy from Maine running a non-stage 69 GS at 12.9 with an OPEN diff!) It's addictive, and my buddy is already reminding me I've already hit my target ET for a basically stock car and should build a dedicated drag car if thats what I want to do...he's probably right.

RT

[campfamily]

It's awesome to see somebody using their classic the way it was supposed to be used.  Love the story!!!

Keith

[Bigpig455]

Like I said, I'll be back up there in October, and probably up for a test and tune session in September before that. Anyone is welcome to join me....

[WkillGS]

I'm working on weight transfer now, I want a 60 ft under 2.0.
RT

The stock GS front springs aren't very good for weight transfer....they have thick coils which don't give a lot of travel with minor weight changes. Tall, smaller-wire springs would be better for strip use. Downside would be the handling would suffer. I bet you don't want to go there.....
Softer rear springs could be an option for you. Easy to change out after a weekend of racing.
Different shocks could help, but again, street handling may suffer. Try some old worn shocks on the front  for a day and see if the front end rises easier.

No-hop bars or traction bars in the rear change the geometry to plant the rear tires harder.

And a higher-stall converter from a V6 car will get the engine into the powerband sooner.

[Bigpig455]

The car does corner pretty well, I added a GM bar out back and went with a 1.25 Trans Am bar up front. When I do change springs, it'll be back to stock spec which still wont help me. The front springs are pretty stout, but used up and need shims to maintain ride height. The front shocks are pretty weak and will probably allow the front to come up once I get longer sway bar links ( I need to find an application with 4 1/2 inches between bushing stacks, that was Tom Telasco's idea)

The rear springs are shot, and I put in a set of coilover shocks to maintain ride height. I also have airbags to preload the rear before the posi..I'd love a set of Competition Engineering adjustable rears (or all 4!) but thats pretty spendy so I can probably get away with replacing the coilovers with a cheap set of NAPA's for the time being, and that should get the rear down.

Also just pulled the trigger on a set of aluminum G-Body rear brake drums - if the old racers adage of 1 lb rotational weight = 8 lbs vehicle weight then that might buy me almost a 10th.. time will tell, but it 's a relatively cheap experiment....


Rhett