I missed this Gary. Good to see it at the track. With the power you're making, a 2.48 first gear is useless. Do you have a second gear leave option in your transmission?
Hey Gary. Yes I have a Griner transbrake with the 2nd gear launch. May end up putting the 3.70 gear back in the rear, or 3.42. My transmission has tons of upgrades but not a lower first gear. Eventually I’ll get some successful passes and see what I’ll need to change, maybe it’ll be nothing! Still waiting for John Everett to come thru with the new better hub.. Here’s my PSA; if you plan on making big power based off a Buick, regarding custom go fast parts, consider Buick “ base” with common high performance BBC, Mopar, Maybe even Ford, all more common than a BBB.. If this doesn’t make sense, regarding my broken balancer hub; I have an aftermarket Moldex crankshaft, I should have had the snout been aBBC set up. I’d have been back running months ago… Think about your build, since some stuff will need to be custom, parts strength and availability… Gary G
I did try to adapt some more readily available parts to my Tomahawk. The unfortunate result of that is comments like " Not much Buick left on that one". Or "Is it really a Buick anymore?" Keep pushing. I think you'll get pretty close to "optimum" even with a 1.48 as your first gear. Ultimately I'd guess a 1.86 first in a T400 will get you that last couple numbers on the timeslip.
Current update; NUTHIN!! "Things" are in the works, thanks to John Everett. Hoping we can get something done SOON...... Gary G.
It’s been like 8 months since I broke the ATI hub…. Finally an update……. Hopefully be back running this weekend! Gary G
Jeez that is one honkin big blower, awesome!! Also I was re-reading the whole thread and thought I'd suggest something if you're still having trouble with the blower vibrating bolts loose, try Nord-Locks! You can get them on McMaster, kind of pricey but a clean solution. I try and use them wherever there's critical fasteners that like to vibe loose.
Glad to see you're back up and running Gary. I know you don't have a lot of run time yet but are you happy with the Aeromotive spur gear pump so far?
That pump has been great, but I also have a small electric fuel pump to prime the system, makes starting easier. Gary G
We're going to give it a go without the electric primer pump. I know there are some cheats that can be done with the tune by adding a lot of fuel to the cranking cycle to overcome the lack of pressure. Hopefully it works out. I can't wait to see your car making some hits. You are trailblazing for sure with the Tomahawk.
Been fighting a “no start” issue, but got it figured out! Cam sync adjustment was off, now….. Bad Buick is ALIVE!!! https://youtube.com/shorts/kqjK61bC5Rc?feature=share
Update; car is up and purrin like a Lion! Heading to Las Vegas Street Car Super Nationals, x275 “Contender”….. New combo should give me a fighting chance! Nervously anxious……… It’s been a few years. The pic is from before the Procharger, but looks pretty good! Gary G
Time for the Update; Went to Street Car Super Nationals in Las Vegas, its been about 3 years since I was there with the old nitrous combination. I'd run the X275 Class, usually the second slowest car in the class, running 5.50's in the 1/8th mile. This year I pre-registered for X275 ready to see how the new blown combo would work...Well, that didn't happen! Tech guy asked what motor I had, "big block Buick 475ci", his reply; "you can not run a Big Block with a procharger in this class, but let me verify that your Buick could be an exception". He came back and said "NO, you need to pick a different class, here are your options; XDR (stupid fast radial cars), or Small Tire No Time (chip draw).... I chose the Small Tire class, paid another $50 and was ready . Prior to this event, I still hadn't made a successful pass under power, and like I said it's been like 3 years... I was super nervous when we got the call Thursday for our 1st hit, didn't have any official crew helpers, and it was HOT and 2000ft , got a friend who's' car broke in testing the night before, to tow me up, check tires, and line me up.... Launched the car and damn, never have I ever been set back in the seat before! Made a full pass under power, got the slip new personal best, 5.16 @138mph.. Pulled the data to see I wasn't at full throttle, only 45%, damn nerves!! 2nd pass that day came about 3 hrs. later, like 1pm and like 95 degrees outside, pushed the gas to the floor, another personal best 5.006 @142mph. Friday comes up and basically the same drill, 1st pass, put some timing back in, adjusted the launch rpm up 200 and set it.... 4.99@143mph!! Second pass come later in the heat, 5.12 @143mph. Saturday the class meets and we do the pairing chip draw, guy I got paired with broke his LS powered Mustang (i actually raced him in Testing and spanked him hard!) so I ran a solo pass, just drove down the track, 7.0 @ 107mph.. Later that day in the heat again, did the chip draw for 2nd round, drew a 70 Camaro BBC nitrous, we lined up, I launched out 1.24 60 foot, and never saw him and took the win! 5.06@142mph.. Car had been working great, routine maintenance between rounds, but got a text that they did the chip draw for the Sunday morning pairings, luckily the race official pulled a chip for me, damn text came after they had done the draw...... Now its Sunday morning, a bit cooler out, i went back into the Tune and bumped the launch rpm up 200 again, and added 1 degree of timing back in... The car I get to race has been fast for years, also running like 2 classes and getting data, guess we'll see what happens... So far I've gone faster, quicker, and farther, than at any race.... We line up, like I said a bit cooler out, about 11am and the track is good... I knew he was faster so id actually have to cut a good light to have a fighting chance, I launch, car leaves Hard, carrying the front wheels down track but starts to drift to the center, a quick pedal straightens out the situation, and the Nova shoots by me........ We get to the time slip booth and to my surprise, the Bad Buick went even quicker and faster! 4.92@144mph with a pedal!!!!!! 1.15 60 foot time, and the car pulls just over 2gs' going down the track! Cars in one piece, and just shy of the goals I had hoped for with this crank driven Procharged Big Block Buick...Not sure when or where I'll be going next, gotta mess with the cooling system, its was giving me some problems, but Methanol fuel helped keeps the motor cool... Gary G
Congrats Gary. Alot of hard work has gone into that build just seeing what I've seen here. You should be proud, and waving that Buick flag high! Awesome.
