Racing on the 4th

I celebrated my 4th of July at the track and brought home another runner up trophy, this one in street stick. Mr. Mopar pulled a .043 RT to cinch the win against me in the finale, while I bogged at the tree, which was the only time all night.

The air was a cool 75 degrees with high humidity. I had 4 runs that were over 121mph so the air was right for making hp. My biggest triumph was a new MPH record for the GT--11.55@121.90. I couldn't get a decent 60'er all night, but after looking at the following videos you can see how violent the rear end was hitting the pavement at launch. Any ideas of what to try to get er' to not bounce?

Anyways, special kudos to the wife for FINALLY getting some watchable videos. It has been a struggle.

Here is my first qualifying run against the 10.0 second Vega that I tree'd during semi-finals last week:




Here is the second qualifying run (little fuzzy at first.) This run is against a stick Stang that I will face in Eliminations:




Third qualifying run against another stick newer Stang. I think that I forgot to keep the go pedal to the floor between shifts:



First round of eliminations and my new speed record. This round I broke out on my 11.71 dial trying to catch my opponent who had nearly a 3 second lead. All along I was thinking that I wasn't going to catch her but crossed the big end at the same time. Luckily she broke out by a lot more!



It was fun"pushing the brownies out" and chasing her down.

For those who might be following, my Ram clutch was adjusted at 1040lbs static all night and yet I still don't have the desired slippage. The grassy pits were just too wet for me to want to mess with the clutch. Next week static goes down to 920lbs. I should be getting near the sweet spot then.

Here is a nice still shot that I took in the pits before the track was open:



Enjoy and Happy Racing!

nice video.... I noticed my rearend slamming down like that as well, I had too much negative pinion angle on rear yoke. I set it to -2 and looks to have went away. You celebrated your independence very well! Mr. Mopar must go down!!!!! you'll get him....I'm sure of it!

Hey Dennis,Good goin' on making it to the final round once more. You' ll be the winner soon. Maybe the track prep wasn't too good or you need less air in the tires? The car looks to be leaving the line and going down the track just fine in the videos.

None of our local So Cal tracks have any trees or pits with grass to lay on.The asphalt gets so hot it will burn right through the seat of a pair of Levis while sitting down to tie the car down to the trailer after another first round runner-up.

Dad gum that thing really shreds the tires. I am guessing it's a leaf spring rear suspension? Looks like it by the way it works.

On a 4 link car moving the IC down and maybe forward will help the car pitch rotate and put the weight on the rear end. On a leaf spring car, I have no clue as to what needs to be done. Maybe stiffening up the rebound on the shocks? That would be a good place to start.

That car really looks nice going down the track, though! I love it. Especially being a row-your-own. Mine is a powerglide--not boring, but nowhere near as fun as pulling 4 gears

Damn Dennis, nice runs. I actually get to view the videos here than when I was in Krygyzstan the last 5.5 months and had the firewall. You car sounds and performs great. Very impressive.

Thanks guys--I am glad that you can enjoy my fun too. No need to keep the videos to myself--I'd film every run if it were possible.

Mavman, you are more than likely on to something and I DO have a little control over it. I run leafsprings (monoleafs), but I also have Caltracs which make some IC adjustment possible. Right now I am in the upper most hole and that is supposed to plant the rear the hardest. Perhaps that is causing the dribbling. I do have the option (like a 4 link) of dropping the front of the bar down a hole which moves the IC more forward.

This week I will probably try stiffer settings on the shocks, coupled with a little less clutch lockup pressure. Thanks for your input.

Hey Dennis, I enjoyed watching the videos! It's fun to see a classic, red coupe tear up those late model cars! (Since I'm a little partial to classic, red coupes) The car seems to leave and run well and looks and sounds mean doing it. 11.5's at over 121mph is impressive! What kind and size rear tires are you running and on what size rim? Also, what kind of HP do you think your engine is making?
Keep the videos coming! Makes me want to get mine out on the track!

Originally Posted by kgordonl

Hey Dennis, I enjoyed watching the videos! It's fun to see a classic, red coupe tear up those late model cars! (Since I'm a little partial to classic, red coupes) The car seems to leave and run well and looks and sounds mean doing it. 11.5's at over 121mph is impressive! What kind and size rear tires are you running and on what size rim? Also, what kind of HP do you think your engine is making?
Keep the videos coming! Makes me want to get mine out on the track!

When you get it all together, certainly take it to the track for some all out fun! We all want to know how the big windsor runs.

My tires are 26"x10"x15" MT Drag bias drag slicks on 8" rims. You should be able to put more tire under your 67', and you should use as wide a rim as possible to mount them (in my case, a 9" or 10" rim would NOT fit under the car without extensive bod/chassis work.)

Based upon my average 1/4 mile MPH, I am putting out maybe 450-485hp. With a more efficient chassis, a better launch, and improved driver response that 121.90 should yield a 10.83 pass.

Thanks to N20Mike and his software tip, I shortened one of my videos to include only the launch at slow motion. Check out that rear mean tire action IN FULL SCREEN:



Disregard that I was sleepy at the line while running the same Vega that tree'd the previous week in Top Street .

Pretty cool, eh?

Have Alex take a look at it, and see what he says. I would think less clutch, and maybe stiffer on the shocks... as it really bounces the rear when the clutch hits it. Mine does it to an extent, but not that bad. My shocks were set on '6' in my videos.

You -may- even look at using the bottom hole. I've never tried it, but have been tempted.

Next time out, my clutch will have zero turns, and will be at its 800# base.

Good Luck!