2773 with me in it buddy, and pretty close to a 50/50 front to back weight ratio. I'm pretty sure that Tomahawk knocked 70lbs off the front of the car, as compared to my 525" which was filled, girdled, and lifter bore girdled. Most recently I think it was 2815 with my half filled, non-girdled backup motor in Bowling Green last October.
Doug great job on getting back out there with the car. Great numbers and update on the setup. Do you have any pictures of the new bars and what length did you end up at?
Thanks. I didn't measure my upper bars before I went to the chassis shop. I took mine with me and told them to use adjustable rod ends at both ends, use thicker tubing, and make the new ones 1" longer, which allows me to drop my bars several inches lower...almost to the ground if I want them that low. The upper bars are two different lengths due to the mounting points on the rear being different distances from the back of the car. The overall length of the wheelie bars didn't change, if that's what you're asking. I've never measured that either. :laugh:
Looks like you are on the right track Doug, finally! It is funny to me as you are talking about your wheelie bars and transmission gear ratio's etc. and not about the motor letting go or worrying about it.... right?.... I have always dreamed about this type of thing with these Buicks. and did you really say "2800lb. behemoth"? Awesome to see you back at it!
Hey Rockstar...I mean Jeff :laugh: , just because I'm talking about wheelie bars and transmission gear ratios doesn't mean I'm not checking my System1 oil filter every time I come back from the track. It'll take a little while for me to shed the "Buick time bomb" thoughts lurking in the back of my mind. I thought I was done with that when I ran my 525" for two seasons and 125 passes with no damage. Then we freshened it up and it promptly exploded. ou: As far as my 2800lb behemoth comment....compared to all these "little" Buick racecars out there like Skyhawks and Somersets and even Rod's later model Regal, that's exactly what my car is. I could redo my car with a round tube chromoly chassis and carbon fiber body and it would be a bunch lighter than it is but it would still be a huge, flat cinderblock going down the track! :laugh:
Hey Doug, good to hear your out running the car again, did you ever get out all the oil and pieces parts from that Norwalk motor swap/explosion? I know my motor was really light when I got it back in BG. Ha! Best of luck to you this season my friend!! Bruce
I took her up to Island again and some of my fellow Northeast members came to join the party, which made it kinda like a mini-Buick event. Dave and Dan Chait brought their Pro-Stock style orange GS from Long Island, Chris Dedura brought his silver '67 GS, and Bob Christo brought his '76 455 Skylark, both from Connecticut. We all pitted together and it was like old home week. Weather was clear and dry, but about 80 degrees, as opposed to 65 when I took her out three weeks ago. The car noticed the heat and so did I. Before letting it rip on the transbrake, I wanted to see how well the 4-link adjustment worked in keeping the car straight. 1st pass I footbraked it off idle and I could tell right away that it's got less gear in the trans. It didn't have that same acceleration off the line, which is what I expected, but this is what I needed to do to in order to use the transbrake, as well as to stretch out 1st gear. The shift into high gear was much further downtrack, so that part worked. It didn't pull to the right more than a smidge, so that's good too. Might need a tiny turn more on that upper right 4-link bar, but basically she's going straight. It ran 8.80 at 153.91 on that pass. 60 ft was 1.26 2nd pass I set the wheelie bars 5" off the ground and transbraked it. She ripped up hard and smacked the wheelie bars hard enough to unload the suspension and spin the tires at that point, probably ten feet out. Ran 8.83 at 153.23. 60 ft was 1.25 3rd and final pass I set the bars at 7" and hit it again. Did the same thing, only not quite as bad tire spin. Ran 8.81 at 152.73. 60 ft was 1.24. Next time out I'll raise the bars a couple more inches and let the weight transfer a little more onto the rear tires. Maybe that will keep it from unloading and spinning the tires. I've never had the tires brake loose before, so that's a weird thing for me.
Well, I made a slight change to my signature.... I took her to Englishtown last night and set the bars at 9" and turned the transbrake rpm up to 5200 and let'er rip! It did a nice, strong wheelie and carried the front end out pretty far and wound up running 8.74 at 153.25. 2nd pass I raised the bars to 10" and this time, even though it went up a little higher, it rattled the tires a bit at the apex of the wheelstand. Just not enough to keep me from running a new best ET..... 8.72 at 154.05. This time I was at the track by myself, so I didn't get any video. The track photographer did get a nice shot of me leaving the line, so of course I bought it! I'm attaching it for your wheelie-viewing pleasure. Nice straight and even launch.
Furious 4??? A heads-up race with 6 and 7 second cars?? Have you finally (completely) lost your mind? :laugh: You've got spunk, I'll give you that. Quick 16, on the other hand......I've won at Norwalk before, but it's been awhile. I'll certainly give it everything I've got! :TU:
Something tells me it wouldn't be the first time Alan was threatened to be "sleepin wit da fishes" or having his thumbs broken..... Looking forward to seeing this monster in person!
Nice job Doug! I'm soo jealous.. I'm truly living thru you and Rob right now. My car is weeks away from a test hit.
That's the magic number. At least since NHRA changed the rules several years back. I used to be good to 7.50.
Had to update my signature again. :TU: Went down to Englishtown tonight to test out my new delay box so I'd be ready to race at our Buick event at Lebanon Valley, NY on Saturday. Takes awhile to get the hang of letting go of the transbrake on the first bulb, but after cutting a .203 light on my first try I got an .053 on the second. A little more practice and I'll be golden. Did a nice wheelie and ran my best e.t. so far, 8.70
