56 T Bird Drag Car with Y block power!

[mummert]

https://www.facebook.com/100002341498909/videos/4558529304168470/

 Todd Ferguson at Sacramento last weekend for Division 7 Finals.   Nice to see a real 56 T bird with the original Y block gettin' it done.

[frnkeore]

Tell us a bit more, please.

What was his speed & time? Did you build the engine? If so, can you tell us a little more about what's in it?

[mummert]

  Is the link not working for the video?

[frnkeore]

There is no text with the video and the timing board is to blurry for me to make out the ET or speed.

[shady]

6.11 @111 in the 8th

[Stangman]

Very nice sounds great. Sounds a lot like an FE maybe alittle deeper sounding

[mummert]

 
 The engine is a 355 ci Ford Y block.   14.5:1 compression, 3.860 bore x3.800 stroke.  1.97" 1.51" valves , our race version alum heads and tunnel ram intake. Cam is 268 @ .050  .630" int    263 @.050" .615" exh

[frnkeore]

Thank you, it is a fast, great sounding car.

What was the trans and shift points?

[mummert]

  The tranny is a C4, 7000 rpm shift points.

[Rory428]

Very impressive Y Block! That should be well into the 9s in the 1/4 mile, as my Fairmont only goes 6.30s at 107 mph in the 1/8th, and thats 10.0s at 132 in the 1/4. What does the T Bird weigh? And that is "all motor", I assume? Do these race Y Block heads retain the stacked intake ports, or are they like the Kasse Engine Master style? By the way, a friend of mine has the Kasse Y Block from Engine Masters in his shop, very trick piece!

[Falcon67]

Great car, great pass - Little air time for the spectators, nice and smooth, no drama.   Good combo - .4 quicker than the left lane at 8 MPH less. 

That track not have 60' clocks?  I didn't see a cone, that's odd. 

[mummert]

 
 The ports and locations are stock.  Valve locations are bit different, a little back and a little in but all stock parts fit. 

 The Nova is a throttle stop car,  that video was taken in Super Pro electronics class.

 The T-Bird is all motor 620hp  no electronics. We run it in Pro and Super Pro.  So shes pulling double duty.

[mummert]

 Most tracks don't post 60' or 330'  times during eliminations. 

[Eken1]

Is the Y block prone to the same issues as the FE with cracks developing between the number 2&4 main and camshaft area? Just curious if the Y block firing order has any effect on main bearing longevity if structurally similar.

[mummert]

 Yeah they can do the same thing, but its a 90* V-8 thing as much as it is anything.  4 bolt main caps, cross bolted main caps, splay 4 bolt main caps are all things people do to make the blocks more rigid.  Most people assume that V-8's try to put a bunch of downward pressure on the main cap, but the 90* bank angle, crank counterweights and the other rotating parts tend to turn a downward motion into more of a side to side motion. When they get run hard they tend to skid the main caps side to side and that motion is what breaks blocks.  Stock main caps deflect ALOT.  Billet main caps that we have made over the years measure narrower than the originals and fit in the block harder.

I know people have fallen in love with the90* V-8 but it has many problems considering its a pair of odd fire 4 cylinders linked to the same crank.  Exhaust issues come to mind, that low rumble sound the vV-8 makes is an odd fire sound.

[mummert]

Great car, great pass - Little air time for the spectators, nice and smooth, no drama.   Good combo - .4 quicker than the left lane at 8 MPH less. 

That track not have 60' clocks?  I didn't see a cone, that's odd.

  Good eye, some guy actually took the 60' ft  marker out during qualifying.

[frnkeore]

How tight do you fit the main caps?

[mummert]

 It depends on the material they are made of and how rugged they are.  Y block factory caps have about .002-.0025" interference on 59' and later blocks (or what I call modern era).  58' and earlier blocks had just about none.
 Billet caps we've made out ductile iron from McMaster Carr have .0012" interference, and they fit tighter.

[Royce]

Congrats John..and Todd.. The Y-Block has always punched above it's weight. Sometimes I am a voice in the wilderness over here, but I think some people are coming around  LOL  RPM of a die grinder  Torque of a locomotive.. and they are all side oilers!

[Dumpling]

Yeah they can do the same thing, but its a 90* V-8 thing as much as it is anything.  4 bolt main caps, cross bolted main caps, splay 4 bolt main caps are all things people do to make the blocks more rigid.  Most people assume that V-8's try to put a bunch of downward pressure on the main cap, but the 90* bank angle, crank counterweights and the other rotating parts tend to turn a downward motion into more of a side to side motion. When they get run hard they tend to skid the main caps side to side and that motion is what breaks blocks.  Stock main caps deflect ALOT.  Billet main caps that we have made over the years measure narrower than the originals and fit in the block harder.

I know people have fallen in love with the90* V-8 but it has many problems considering its a pair of odd fire 4 cylinders linked to the same crank.  Exhaust issues come to mind, that low rumble sound the vV-8 makes is an odd fire sound.

Never thought about it before, but do flat, boxer type engines have main caps?

[Falcon67]

>The Nova is a throttle stop car,  that video was taken in Super Pro electronics class.

That explains it - several here do that trick.

>Most tracks don't post 60' or 330'  times during eliminations.
As a bracket racer, I have never been to a track that doesn't hand out a full time slip unless there is some unsolvable problem with the track sensors.  60' and 330' are critical ETs for dialing the car.  If one of our sensors stops reading, we stop the race and fix it. 
 

[mummert]

  I meant posting the times on the board during eliminations. Yes 60' clocks were taken out.  Don't know why they werent fixed.  I have been at Fontana and seen something similar happen.  During Divisionals there are so many cars that if they don't get through X amount a day the race doesn't finishup on Sunday by curfew.  Unless its an oil down, its minimum to keep going. 
 Many tracks are being encompassed by homes in CA. and have noise curfews.

[Falcon67]

Ah, get it.  Our bords only show reaction, ET and MPH during time trials, then only dial with ET and MPH after crossing the stripe. 

I get the curfew too.  Lucky for us, it's midnight.    Before we had a track here, we had a once a year meet at the airport on a taxiway.  Rotary Club fund raiser thing.  It'd be nothing to have 250~300 cars on the property.  Only ET/MPH clocks, no lights.  And - no overnight parking on the airport between the taxi way and the associated runway.  So bring everyone in from the parking lot at 5AM Saturday.  Two time trials, jet cars (two shows) and a gamblers we never finished. .  Run everyone out, bring back in Sunday morning.  Dawn breaks, salute the flag, get 'em in the lanes.  Two on the line, two in the box, two picked to roll.  Every year seemed like the last two cars go down just about time we ran out of daylight.  That was a !@#$ load of work.  We had about 30 people tops to run the show for the weekend.  And maybe 10 to show up Monday to empty and put away all the trash barrels and return the bleachers to the parks.