Finally got it to the track

Discussion in 'Street/strip 400/430/455' started by babyblue 69, Dec 3, 2016.

  1. Mike B in SC

    Mike B in SC Well-Known Member

    You said you ran without any air cleaner right? Do you have hood insulation above the carburetor? If you do, maybe it is sucking the insulation down over the carb and choking it off. I know this may be crazy but it might be a free fix...
     
  2. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    That happened to me once. That will definitely account for your symptoms and low trap speed. I could not find that track in the dragtimes app. The track is near Phoenix, and Phoenix is at almost 1100' to begin with.
     
  3. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    OK, I did a little research, that track is listed in the app as Firebird Raceway. You were looking at almost 4000 ft on May 12, 2017 at 7:40 PM. FirebirdRaceway51217.JPG
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2017
  4. 8ad-f85

    8ad-f85 Well-Known Member

    You can google local weather conditions by the hour near any airport.
     
  5. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

  6. No Lift

    No Lift Platinum Level Contributor

    Larry check December 2nd(?)2016. That was when he ran the first time. Probably early evening like this time. The passes he made lately mean nothing. I do like the idea of the insulation coming down if he didn't run a filter.
     
  7. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    Oh man, a lot better! That's even a bit negative, track elevation is 1082'. FirebirdRaceway120216.JPG
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2017
  8. Dennis S

    Dennis S Well-Known Member

    Don't feel bad first time I had my car at the track I ran in the 13.9 at 100mph range over three passes after not being on a drag strip for 30 years .
    Second time out I ran 13. 3 at 101. By the third time out I ran 12.7 at high 103s and I felt that I was always running out of gas at the end of the track . I am convinced I could have got the car to go 12.50s with a few more passes . Every time I took a trip down the track my et. improved . I blamed a poorly positioned Holley electric fuel pump on the low Mphs and ETs and 60' with me the driver .I have since remounted a Mallory with new fuel lines the best I could under the tank and run new fuel lines. It had been mounted by a previous owner on the fuel line forward of the rear wheels . I have not been back to run again .

    After some seat time I got my 60' down from 2.00 to low 1.80s on drag radials which I still never totally got the hang of .
    So hang in there . It's just a matter working the kinks out and seat time I believe .
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2017
  9. rmstg2

    rmstg2 Gold Level Contributor

    You should probably get traction before worrying about your stall speed, if you are having traction problems now a higher stall converter will only make it worse.


    Bob H.
     
  10. babyblue 69

    babyblue 69 Well-Known Member

    Seriously the hood insulation? I would never even have thought to check for that. how do you guys feel about under drive pulleys, are they worth the 200 bucks they cost. I fire the car up today with the electric pump car started right up, and the the gauge went to 0 psi. Car continued to run but the gauge was at zero. Its a brand new inline gauge water filled?
     
  11. hugger

    hugger Well-Known Member

    Waste of money
     
  12. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member


    X2
     
  13. 300sbb_overkill

    300sbb_overkill WWG1WGA. MAGA

    Under drive pulleys are great for endurance engines that run @ 4,000 + on a regular basis or cars with numerically higher rear gears that drive on the street like 4.30:1 or numerically higher. Not needed for a street geared car though and would be a waste of $$ in that case.


    Derek
     
  14. babyblue 69

    babyblue 69 Well-Known Member

    Its been a while but I thought I would follow up on the progress. I took the car out on June 9th the last day of racing her for the summer 110 degree day, which I will never do again. The following were the changes made to the car. Holley Blue electric fuel pump adjustable regulator set at 7 pounds, dual 12 inch electric fans, round 14 inch element, I made three passes. The first pass the car went 13.58 at 101 miles an hour manually shifting the car, the second pass was 12.80 letting it shift is self , and the final pass was 12.79. @ 104 MPH with a 1.77 60ft, again letting the car shift itself. Neither of the last two passes did the car get to 5000 rpm before shifting. The first pass out I manually shifted it at 5000 RPM and it did not have second gear, as the engine continued to wind up so i wen to third to finish the pass. The car pulled great all the way through the traps the last two passes. The car is 4240 with me in it. So I know a diet is in order for both of us.

    The day after the races I took it back to the tranny shop to confirm what I already knew the tranny was indeed going out so now its rebuilt but too hot to race. The track opens back up in mid September out here and I want to change a couple more things before I take it back out. Any suggestions for improvements, and does anybody know what height QA1 single adjustable shocks are needed for the A bodies?
     
  15. hugger

    hugger Well-Known Member

    Viking shocks are a better option as they are double adjustable , for about the same money
     
  16. babyblue 69

    babyblue 69 Well-Known Member

    You know what length?
     
  17. hugger

    hugger Well-Known Member

    They are application specific, only two different part#s one for stock ride height and one for 2in or more lower

    Call Viking and talk to them they are super helpful, the Warriors will be more than adequate for your HP level, run around $160 each
     
  18. No Lift

    No Lift Platinum Level Contributor

    110* day, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.:eek: I won't go near a track if it is 90*(unless there is a Buick race). The DA must have been astronomical! Look up the DA on Drag times and see what you get. It has to a couple of thousand feet DA. That seems to be a heavy '69. I believe back in 1978 my '69 Skylark convertible w/455 weighed 3750 w/o me, no air, bench seat. You definitely need to get that shift point up to around 5500 rpm. Generally speaking you don't want to shift at or below peak HP rpm because your rpm will drop way below peak HP after the shift and out of the power range.

    I may have missed it but what carb are you running? If you are going to continue running the Performer intake get a 1" open spacer under the carb. That would be an easy swap out at the track. If your TA heads have been ported the Performer is starting to restrict the flow. The stock SP1 would not be a restriction unless the heads have been heavily ported. I know this much if you don't get the shift rpm up I can't see the SP1 helping much.

    Anyway you look at it with everything going against you got down close to your goal. In the winter with cooler temps, trans working right, and shifts where they belong ET will drop and MPH will go up.
     
  19. Bad Buick

    Bad Buick Foe Fiddy Five

    Some keep saying "SP1 SP1" but be careful..I tried every drop base cleaner made..including the Corvette drop base and I never could get enough hood clearance with a 3 inch air cleaner..the only way I could get enough clearance was with a 2 inch air cleaner and that would start to choke off the motor somewhere around 3800 to 3900 RPM. The car is a 70 GS..

    I finally gave up and sent the B4B off to Gessler..who did the heads..to get ported and he increased the flow to where he thought it should be..I might be giving up a few HP to the SP1 but at least I don't have to worry about hood clearance..and it runs very good as is.

    850CFM? That might be on the small size for a decent sized cam/ aluminum head BBB..I run a 1000 TQ on mine and its not to big at all..excellent throttle response at all speeds.

    If it was me I would get the timing straitened out and then try the SP1..if it doesn't work out you can always sell the SP1.
     
  20. babyblue 69

    babyblue 69 Well-Known Member

    I had the motor dynoed with the SP1, and the performer and the dual plane was 8 horse short of the single plan and 17 ft pounds better so i left the dual plane on the car. So the SP1 is no longer even an option. I put the track day info into the Drag times calculator and it came back with 1082 feet above sea level with a DA of 4461 feet. Im going to try a 950, with the 1inch spacer when I take it back out and see what happens in September hopefully it will be a cooler night out. How exactly am I supposed to read the DA and the impact on the car that day?
     

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