Mission Completed-with icing on the cake :-)

Don't be too afraid of a roll bar. They aren't that intrusive. Plus, you can probably get by with a 4-pt bar if you think the door bars would get in the way. You can even make the side bars to where they will bolt in and out, if you you want to add them.

As far as following the LETTER of the rule... The vast majority of the tracks out there are just looking to see that you have SOME TYPE of roll bar. Sure, if you ran a professional class every weekend, they would be a little more strict, but for the occasional 'weekend warrior', it's not THAT big of a deal. Kind of like scatter shields. As long as you've got one, whether it is in date or has holes drilled in it... it's good to go.

If you pay close attention to detail, the roll bar can be made to where it's hardly noticable. I have no problem with mine.

A dedicated drag car won't get near the attention your car does.

Good Luck!

Congrats Dennis!!!
That is great to hear that your car responded well to the recent mods you have made. You are getting that 60 footer down nicely and your awesome mph says that you have more in it! Way to go on making the finals in the bracket race as well. I've just been doing the Test and Tune thing for a while and am thinking about trying bracket racing again after being out of it for many years.

Me and you are in the same boat of being at the point of needing a roll bar to go faster. I have about decided to keep the stock sleeper look of my car and continue to run mid 11's instead of adding the roll bar/5 point harness/SFI Bellhousing/ etc... For the time being I plan on making the car look better (new chrome) and maybe stop better(disks) while trying to make it run "easier" mid 11's.

Anyway, I enjoy reading your posts about your tirals and tribulations with your car. I know others get a lot of good info out of them too.

Congratulations! Keep in mind that this is only your second time out with the new combo and clutch. I'm sure the mph will continue to pick up a little and the ET will continue to drop. Roll bar might not seem like a bad idea in the near future. Thanks for sharing and keep us up to date on the progress. Keep playing with that clutch and mess around with shift points.

Thanks Mike--You are right in that the rules generally get overlooked at my level and that I could get away with a non-NHRA certified installation. I watched a Mustang run 11.4's all last year with a 4 point, but if I go that far I would add the removable door bars too.

I wonder why roll bar requirements are based upon ET and not MPH?

Vinyl, Thanks also. I kind of enjoy the thought of racing the car and not always planning the next performance part purchase. I would like to take the GT down for paint, but as long as I am going to the track and wrenching on it all the time it would probably be a waste of time.

I find that although I started with T&T, I like the Friday Bracket races better. Although our track attendance is small and we can get practically unlimited runs on T&T days, the now seem boring in comparison. I guess I like the competition more, although other than last weekend I generally suck in consistency. It is fun racing pretty much the same characters each week and being in a Bracket race mindset as to choosing a dial time and lifting to ensure I don't break out. There always seems to be something new to learn about the sport (this is only my second year.)

Thanks Nate for the encouragement! I learn a lot from trial and error and it is generally fun to relate my experiences. As Mike has mentioned, it is too bad that we are all scattered across the country as a get together at a track some weekend would be a whole lot of fun.

Here is a shot of the final race last Friday:



My opponent ran a 13.05 against his 12.95 dial. I dialed high (11.75) so I could catch him and fender race at the end. To bad I redlighted . . . .

that is a lot of mph. I bet that you will have that thing in the low 11s in notime

Originally Posted by VV 67 Stang

that is a lot of mph. I bet that you will have that thing in the low 11s in notime

I agree on the MPH/ ET thing, when I was going low 120's I was in the high 10's.

I must say Dennis I have enjoyed reading your posts about dialing in your car. Lots of detail and you are doing a good job of troubleshooting your car.
Congrats on the good numbers you are running and the good finishes in the bracket races too.