I've been a little busy to give any updates, but I'll try tonight before I try and grab some sleep.
First, the car has been running great. Valvetrain seems to be happy after running the valves last night, so that's definitely good. At National Trail my ET was 13.25 with a speed of 112.5. Not what I wanted, but I was leaving at a really low rpm and the 60' times were horrible, so that kills my ET. Having street gears and not pro gears, with a Ram HD clutch, I didn't want to hurt the toploader or break a tooth on my rear because I don't have any spare parts for them. If I hurt them, I'm done.
At Norwalk, I didn't change anything and the car started cutting out at half track, but I was surprised my MPH only dropped by 1, and my ET was pretty much the same at 13.27. I think that was because I raised my shift point to 6400 to keep the engine in the power band better. I left at 2500 again, and again, it just kills my 60' because the car is hooking really well. I've just been making one run because, for one, I have zero chance of winning my class, and 2, I just want to make it through the week. I spent the night at the hotel in the parking lot changing plugs and checking the lash like I mentioned. I had the suspicion that the drives were hard on my plugs, and I hadn't changed them since I left for Drag Week. That suspicion turned out to be correct, because the car ran great at US 131.
At US 131, it was an all around good day for me. It was my wife's birthday for one (she's been showing up at each track to watch), and her Dad used to be a regular at this drag strip many years ago. He passed away last year, but used to race a '55 Chevy, then a '65 Mustang and eventually ran a rail for a short time before he retired from racing. My wife's sister and her husband showed up at the track, so it was a special day for everyone, and an emotional one for my wife and sister-in-law. I raised my launch RPM to 3000, kept my shift point at 6400, and ran a 12.98 @ 112.2. But again, my 60' times are killing my ETs. The higher launch helped though.
I need to be launching much higher to get the potential out of the car, but that will have to wait till Friday, provided I make it that far. I'm going to raise my launch to 3500 tomorrow at Indy and try easing off the clutch instead of dumping it. We'll see if that helps my 60' time.
Friday, I'll pull out all the stops, pull the exhaust, re-jet the carbs and try launching at 4500 and 5000. With the truck and trailer there, I won't have to worry about the car breaking. I've been having a problem with my starter after driving for several hours. The Bendix won't kick out, so I've been doing NASCAR stops at gas stations and check points. That means 6-7 hour drives without shutting it off. Once the car cools, it's fine, so I'm confident I can finish the week without loosening the header to change it. I also was stuck in 2 miles of bumper to bumper traffic after the Bowling Green checkpoint, near Toledo. The car crept up to 215* and I was getting nervous, but it stopped dead at 215* and the engine handled it beautifully with no bucking or pinging problems. I was actually impressed and very happy with that. Apparently, I have the carbs and timing tuned pretty well. I'm also very glad I have the factory oil cooler on it.
I'd also like to say that I'm VERY impressed with Alan's car. He can putt around, stop and go anywhere he pleases, and rip off 11.7-11.8 elapsed times with ease in a less than light Galaxie. The car is deceptively stock and looks to play the 'mild mannered accountant' part, but it's more a wolf in sheep's clothing.