Well aside from the arguments and "opinions" posted I think that one of the problems that you need to overcome is traction. Neither of you is John Force so the driving skills to take advantage of what you have is huge in this question. Trucks are not known for weight distribution being in favor of traction. That's why every punk with a POS truck does a burn out whenever they can to show off. Drive that thing a while and get your launch under control before you decide to take him on. Better to win the first time around than to try and get him to come out and play again after he beats you and you figure out how to dial things in.
Right on David,,,, I have seen trucks at the strip that were fast,,,,but ,,,, the really fast ones had tailgates that it took 2 or 3 guys to close.... because they were full of ballast...a tail gate that is full of ballast when let down really puts the leverage on the rear wheels.... but,,, then there is the ''aerodinamic as a brick'' thing.... the best trucks to race at the strip are the rancheros, elkeys, or the 20's-40's fords, chebbys... Like Ed says use the massive torque that the Buick has to put such a hole shot on him that it takes further than a qtr. to catch up with you....I have done that so many times that i cant count them... The lark was a beast off the line and of course , I had lightened it up as much as possible when I was building it up,,, one of the best kept speed secrets....
Ed, it's not that difficult to understand, and at this point I think your just trying to pick a fight. I'm not just posting opinion as fact. I said it was MORE a matter of personal opinion becuase all I have is lots of data backing up a hypothesis. I don't have actual dyno runs from a bone stock Nailhead, and I don't think anybody does at this particular point in time. I, personally, HAVE NOT dynoed alot of engines. I NEVER said I did. I've looked at the Nailhead combos that people have had dynoed, and at the dyno results which they have posted. Yes, I own a Nailhead, it's sitting on an engine stand in the garage as we speak. I haven't dynoed one becuase I don't have a steady stream of cash coming out of my butt for things like that. At this point I think I've sufficiently defended what I said, although you seem to keep egging me on. Lets back back to Wicked50's original question - smoke 'em dude :TU: !
Ed, I see your points here, But Guys, please take the arguement somewhere else!!! We want people to keep coming back/joining this forum. :TU:
You would have loved this truck at Portland International raceway last summer Doc. The thing was back halved, was more tires than rear end and it ran good. Well, back halved might not be quite right. I think it had a tube chassis and a 50's Chevy truck body less the floor of the bed. The thing is they were still only using about half the engine because they couldn't get it to hook up past that! It was a cool truck with a fun problem since I got the idea that these guys had the money to keep working on getting it dialed in. Somewhere I have a picture or two of it. I can't remember the exact year of the truck.
Things like that are intresting to see, David,,,, I remember back in the late 50's, when a guy turned up at the Houston drag strip with a go cart that had 2 motorcycle engines on it.... turned 110 in the qtr. and never did quit spinning... they wouldnt let him race again because it was all over the track.. Can you imagine going 110 on a blasted go cart????? One wild ride.....:laugh: :laugh:
wicked50, what are you running for a rear end ? rear gear and tire?front shocks,rear shocks?how many leafs in the rear pack? i run a 66 gs with a 401 with at67 turbo and i have a 53 international p/u chop top that i built and still(never done). it is not easy to hook with alot of power but it is not hard.it is all about your setup. everything needs to work together. i would look at maybe a softer leaf and a set of cal-trac bars, they are like $320-350 but you can make then for $100.i have the blue print with all the measurements you need to make them. My 53 is a fairly light truck and it does hook. weight distribution is the key and of corse a gd drag radial. i have a ton of info because i am doing the 53 at the tech school i teach at and would be glad to get you to hook for cheap, dont be shy to pm me..ohh and Save the arguments and fighting for other forums. We are buick guys.. We are supposed to be fast with Class!! lets keep it that way.
A nothing special 66 or 7 Mustang would be a 289. I'm thinking even with a traction problem you would reel him in before the end of a 1/4 mile. It's hard to believe such a simple question can create such a heated argument. After all it's not rocket science. Bob H.
Back in 1978 I had a 66 GS 400 w Q-jet and 4.30 gears at the track would run low 14.05 ET One night in town I raced a 66 Mustang 289 a friends car, run 14.8 ET @ track. I had beat all of my friends car this one included. Low in behold the old dreaded vapor lock happened. And I guess you know the rest of the story. Well it was settled at the track that weekend. So the moral to the story is, If anything can go wrong it just may happen on any given day at any given place. And the winner may not be the fastest. Good luck, and you'll have to fight for Buick respect! Just keep winning!
Yup,,,, I have beat a bunch that was supposed to be faster,,,, one night I was in my folks 56 super,,,, and a guy jumped on me at a stop light with a 57 Ford fairlane that had a thunderbird engine with 2x4's stick shift 3 speed.... surprise, surprise, while he was sitting there spinning the Super with the dynaflo hooked up and put such a hole shot on him that he couldnt catch me before the next light.... Don't ever back down....
Yes!! First gen Mustangs were either 200hp 2bbls, 225hp 4 bbls, or 271hp hi-po's. Torque was 282, 305, or 312 ft lbs. A Nailhead in a comparable- weight truck (??) WITH TRACTION should kick it's, um, 'tailpipes'. There are a lot of late-model 'stangs that run much better... but your talkin' roller cams, fuel injection, and hi-flow heads..... that's not what the original post was about.
I am running a ford 8.8" with posi. I have airbags in the truck I know they wont not work in my favor if I race him.
Doc, I'm going to take a wild guess that your beating some of those guys goes back to that whole experience thing. You can take two guys and put them in the same car with different results. I know that you have been practicing the launch for most of your life! Why do you think that drag racing isn't totally dominated by the youngsters with the quicker response? When the cars are fairly equal like in NHRA you will see the experienced guy pull it out very often, especially if track conditions are not good.
I will go along with that,,,,,, it is the total combo,,, including the surface that the car is running on.... I once surprised a dodge charger with a hemi,,, we were runnning on concrete and the old car did not spin much at all.... the torque came on and the hole shot was 3 lengths or better.... and at the end of the qtr, the famous buick top end power was coming on strong...and add to that,,,, the dodge had a 4 speed in it and every time the guy would shift , the auto in my car would be pouring the power to the road and would gain on him.... Really shook the guy up.... getting beat by a buick of all things....:laugh: :laugh:
Yeah, weren't there a few NH threads that settled this question in 2008? ErikS's 425 build with 2x4's, TT roller rockers, headers, ported heads, cam. barely made the stock 2x4 HP rating in optimized environment (no accessories, etc.) http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=115156&page=9 Ted Nagel's 401 +0.030 build (headers, big valves, head work, roller rockers, etc. etc.)and dyno is here: http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=152669 The stock HP ratings were at 4400 RPM (325/401, 340/425, 365/425 2x4 in my shop manual). I have not seen a stock NH dyno'ed anywhere recently for comparison. not sure why anyone would pay the money for that. I've got a stock 425 running, but 43 years after it was built! LOL! :TU:
