Ricknmels 67 ragtop GS clone in process....

Discussion in 'Members Rides' started by ricknmel67, Feb 19, 2006.

  1. Smartin

    Smartin antiqueautomotiveservice.com Staff Member

    two tenths is what I remember...

    I would've been well into the 14's 2 years ago if this is the case.
     
  2. ricknmel67

    ricknmel67 Well-Known Member

    Thanks guys
    Yes, I've heard 2 tenths as well.... but I think alot of the 2 tenths is "traction related" which doesn't effect me at all.
    We'll see next time I go to Nowralk!

    Regarding my cam... I bought it 3 years ago, so I forget what it is. I do know that I spoke with TA over the phone when I bought it, and it was the largest cam that they would recommend with stock heads and valve springs. (which is a pretty small cam! )

    I DO know that I didn't degree it in (I know.... shame on me!) and I'm really starting to think that Bob is right about the cam being retarded. However... I won't be yanking the engine anytime soon to find out. I'll play with the tune this summer and just deal with it.
    If I don't get it figured out this summer, I may yank the engine out and degree the cam, and possibly get some head work done over the winter. But I'm enjoying the car WAY TOO MUCH this summer to tear it down to mess with it. I rather deal with an "off" powerband all summer, than have the car down again. :TU:

    Regarding the stance.... Thanks!
    It was sagging a little in the back when I put it together. I put a couple hundred miles on it hoping the front would "settle" a little to even it out.
    It didn't settle any so I put those "helper coils" over my rear shocks to raise the rear about an inch. I really like the stance it has now, but I'm not crazy about those helper coils. I might get some new rear springs this winter.... or maybe I'll just leave it like it is, depending on what I end up doing to the 455 over winter. :Dou: :laugh:

    Eric... you're going to get a 66/67? Awesome! Welcome to the dark side. :TU: :laugh:
    Mind if I ask why you might switch?
     
  3. Blaze333

    Blaze333 Craig B.

    Hi Rick
    This is a great thread you have going here! I just spent the better part of an hour or so reading it. I had no idea what was all involved with the car when I met you at Salem. (Sat in the staging lanes.) Reading this thread gave me much more appreciation, and envy of your car.
    I give you alot of credit for what you started out with. I would have given up.
    Glad that you stuck with it...you certainly have a car you can be proud of. I know you will get the little things worked out. Its only a matter of time. Great job!
     
  4. skyphix

    skyphix Well-Known Member

    Rick:
    I've had my fun with 70-72's and my car is a perfect performance build candidate for someone... I just dont have the ability to do it right now. Its got all the right parts - a bit of tuning and port work, and a minimal amount of body work, and it'd be a great bruiser that would kill at the local cruise-in and car show circuit. That was my intention and its not gonna happen, at least this year. I can't bear to see it sit here and not get worked on for another winter, so hopefully someone who will take it to its potential will get it.

    So, I am looking to try something new. I've had two 70's and I figured why not try something a bit older. When I got my first 70 it was between it and a 66 Gs, but the GS was way too far gone for me at 17. I am taking this opportunity to get a nicer car than I would've had when I was 17.

    Im not just limited to 66's and 67's though, 64's and 65's are good too. 66 is my favorite year but I'm not going to be picky. I don't even care if its a stripped out Special v6 as long as its local car show ready for me to enjoy and not worry about.

    I've gone so far as to PM another member asking if he was selling his car, which is way out of character for me... but I guess its worth a shot. I just hope I dont offend him :laugh:


    Sorry, didn't mean to hijack your thread :rolleyes:
     
  5. ricknmel67

    ricknmel67 Well-Known Member

    Thanks Craig. I enjoyed BS'ing with you in the staging lanes! I read your thread the other night too. I knew most of the story from our conversation in the staging lanes, but the pictures tell the rest of it. Super job! :TU:

    Eric... the 66/67's really are a totally different car than the 70-72's. I've had both and they both have their great points, but the 67's won the competition for me and we got rid of the 70 & 71 a couple years ago. The 67's look ALOT bigger from 20 feet away, but in reality there's only a few inches difference. And from the drivers seat, the 67's short nose looks like a compact car after driving the long nosed 70-72's around. :laugh:

    Good luck in your search! ... and don't worry about hijacking my thread. :TU:
     
  6. skyphix

    skyphix Well-Known Member

    Thanks Rick :grin:

    I dont know of anyone locally that has one so I could see or spend some time around one. To be honest, I think I've only been in the presence of a 66/67 once in my life. :shock:
     
  7. ricknmel67

    ricknmel67 Well-Known Member

    Well I finally got my hands on a B4B. I gave up on finding a used one and picked one up from Summit. Before you say it....yes, I know TA has them for $1 cheaper. But I'm not real happy with them right now.

    Anyways... the B4B made a TON of difference. I actually have throttle response! I still haven't really adjusted anything else because I haven't driven it alot since I swapped intakes (cold and rainy), but even without changing anything else, it feels ALOT better now.
    I'm definately going to have a traction problem now. :Dou:
    I just hope it'll get me the elusive 13.9x ET
    I'll find out in a few weeks when we all go to our annual "weekend long" outing at the "Halloween Thing" at Dragway 42.
    Hope to see some other Buicks there! (but usually I'm the only one)
     

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  8. Hector

    Hector '79 Buick Limited

    Looking good!
     
  9. Blaze333

    Blaze333 Craig B.


    Rick,
    When you get ready to get some real tires and wheels, let me know what you get. I'm going thru traction problems right now after I correctly set up my ignition timing. Wow...what a power difference. I got into the 14's and that was spinning out of the hole so I know I can be faster. I need slicks and rims but just dont know what setup will work the best (and fit) my stock rearend... plus I'm on a budget, and i know It's not going to be a cheap deal. I probably wont do anything untill next spring anyways.

    Good luck at dragway 42. I would love to come down so you arent the only Buick there, but 3 hrs one way is a bit of a stretch for me.
     
  10. ricknmel67

    ricknmel67 Well-Known Member

    Thanks Hector :TU:

    Hi Craig, glad to hear you're getting the ol' girl sorted out! :TU:
    Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to give you any useful info regarding wheels/tires even if I did get a new set of wheels/slicks....
    My rear end is a 1968 rear end which is a little different length than a 67 rear end. So what works for me probably wouldn't work for you and vise-versa.

    For what it's worth... I used to run the Mickey Thompson "Indy Profile S/S" tires (G60-14) on several of my street cars with 14" rims and limited wheelwell area. Worst one was my 63 Impala... not much room for tires at all back there. Those little Mickey's really hook! (and they'll easily go on narrow rims) I was always bothered by the fact that they don't make a matching front tire though. :Do No:

    I may end up with a pair of them for this car next summer...... depends on how far I get with my tubbed car this winter. :Brow:
     
  11. ricknmel67

    ricknmel67 Well-Known Member

    I'm on top of the world!

    Just got back from our weekend at Dragway 42....
    I was hoping to get into the 13's since the intake change....

    The old girl didn't let me down! I drove it 90 minutes there, beat the snot out of it for 3 days, and drove it 90 minutes home without any issues. It ran pretty consistant 13.50-13.55... with a couple 13.48's thrown in!!
    I took runner up on Saturday night (2nd place), and made it to the semi-finals (3rd/4th place?) tonight.
    I can't get over tonights semi-final race though. I cut a .003 light and ran a 13.487 on a 13.49 dial .003 BREAKOUT! :Dou:


    Time for a shower and bed... I'm whooped :sleep:

    Just had to pass on the good news! :laugh:
    :beer
     
  12. msc66

    msc66 still no vacuum

    Rick, congrats man. You've done a great job on that car. I kinda envy you.
    BTW, 13.48? that's not that far away from the twelves. :Brow:
     
  13. ricknmel67

    ricknmel67 Well-Known Member

    Thanks Mike
    I was floored when she ran deep into the 13's. I was seriously expecting 13.9x's.
    Quite an improvement for a simple intake change! :eek2:
    My 60' times are around 1.95 now. Before the intake swap they were 2.1x & 2.2x
    Traction is quite an issue now though. I really gotta smoke those Radial TA's to get her to hook. My quarter panels and exhaust are completely rubberized now. :laugh:

    12's you say? :Brow:
    I had been kicking around the idea of doing some headwork this winter. I'm running stock 72 heads with stock valves and springs. I was thinking about converting to stage 1 valves and doing some mild porting.....

    But I've been looking into the rules and it's sounding like ragtops quicker than 13.50 need a roll bar. I'm certainly not going to flub up my "grandma cruiser" with a roll bar... so mid 13's is PERFECT for me.
    Looks like I'm done tuning.... which also means time to get to work on the tubbed 67! :TU:

    Might as well give everyone a laugh at my expense about Saturday night's final round where I took 2nd while I'm yacking....
    First a little background...
    I've been racing on and off since the late 80's.
    I've ALWAYS watched the yellow lights come down the tree to launch.
    I was talking with a buddy at the track Friday night and he said he ONLY watches the last yellow light. He blocks out the first yellows and concentrates solely on the last one. He launches as soon as he sees it.
    I tried it Saturday morning and started cutting some awesome lights!
    We're talking lots of .00x's and .01x's!

    So by Saturday night it was getting dark, and getting harder to ignore the first yellow lights. Final round, I was in the left lane and had a "bright idea" :Dou: I used my rearview mirror to block the upper yellow lights so all I could see was the last one. Sounds good in theory right? :laugh:
    Well... I was about a second slower than the car I was racing.
    I was staged and waiting.... and waiting... and waiting.... and waiting....
    What the hell?
    I look over to see if the other guy was even staged yet.
    He was.
    By the time I looked back at my yellow light (split second later?).... my GREEN was already on!!
    I floored it... and had a .436 light. :Dou: :rant:
    Worst light probabaly ever recorded in a final round in the history of drag racing!
    I'm guessing my yellows had started coming down before I even looked over at his tree, but remember I was using my mirror to block them out of view.
    I handed him the race.
    Man.. I'm getting mad about it all over again just thinking about it.

    Anyways... enough of my rambling... moral of the story....
    Once you're staged, DON'T look away! :Smarty:
    My friends are still giving me crap about it.
    :beer
     
  14. msc66

    msc66 still no vacuum

    Rick, where did you get aftermarket quarters in the first place?
     
  15. msc66

    msc66 still no vacuum

    One more thing Rick. Did you have to have a coolant catch can to race? If so where did you mount it since the battery is on the same side as the overflow?
     
  16. ricknmel67

    ricknmel67 Well-Known Member

    Hi Mike
    I got the q-panels on ebay soon after getting the ragtop. The guy said he had them laying around for several years. I paid a fairly outrageous price for them. :Dou:
    Now they are on ebay all the time. I think they are around $129 each?

    Coolant overflow....
    I ran a rubber hose over to the windshield wiper reservoir from the radiator.
    Not my permanent solution... but it'll do for now. :laugh:
    I now have an NOS windshield washer reservoir (thanks to Scott Miller!!) that I want to put in the car, so I'm planning to try to put the old windshield washer reservoir on the passenger side and use it for the coolant overflow over there.
     
  17. ricknmel67

    ricknmel67 Well-Known Member

    Hi guys, I haven't been here at V8Buick for quite awhile. For some reason I got to thinking about my 67 ragtop today, and wondered if the new owner ever became a member of this forum?
    If I remember right, he was from the Toledo area?
     

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