FE Power Forums
FE Power Forums => The Road to Drag Week 2014 => Topic started by: jayb on September 01, 2014, 12:09:41 AM
-
This week my objective was to get the car street drivable, and get it to the track and make some passes to further tune the suspension. On Tuesday I decided on a new set of race tires, and had them mounted and balanced by Thursday. The specs from Hoosier said that these tires were only 0.2" larger in diameter than my existing tires, but they turned out to be 0.75" larger in diameter instead. I got them mounted on the car on Thursday night and realized I wasn't going to have enough clearance. I felt I needed the tire, though, so I did a little wheelwell trimming to make sure that I'd have the required clearance at the track. This went off pretty well except for one spot at the rear of the driver's side fenderwell, where I had trimmed the fenders originally before I painted the car. There was a little body filler there, and as I trimmed the wheelwell it cracked and a small chip came out. No big deal, and my friend Steve said he can fix that up this week during the week so the car will still look good at Drag Week.
Also this week I tuned the EFI system to run a little better at low engine speeds, and added a drain to the bottom of the fuel tank so I could drain out the pump gas and fill up with race gas at the track. Finally I machined some air cleaner bottoms for the Accufab throttle bodies, and cut some tops out of some 1/8" aluminum sheet, so I could run air cleaners on the street. Friday night I filled the tank with 92 octane pump premium and went out for the first street drive in the car. I was a little concerned about how it would cool at freeway speeds with the electric water pump, but it ran down the road at 70 MPH and 3000 RPM at 180 degrees, and would drop to 170 at 2500 RPM. The weather was kind of cool, though, so down at Drag Week I think I'm going to have to watch the temperature, but I think it will stay in the 200 degree range on the freeway even if its 95 degrees out. The car needed a little more idle setting with the pump gas, but it behaved fine in traffic and was perfectly happy at idle and part throttle conditions. Towards the end of my shake down cruise it started raining, and I found out pretty quickly that I'm going to have to be light on the throttle in wet weather, as the rear end of the car came around on me a couple of times with pretty minimal acceleration. Other than that it seemed to handle in the rain OK. After about 40 miles of mixed driving I came back home, satisfied that the car was streetworthy.
Saturday morning was practice for Drag Week. I was up early, hooking up the Drag Week trailer to the car, then packing it with the race tires, race fuel, tools, jack and jack stands, etc. By 7:15 I was on the road with a friend of mine who was visiting from California, and my pal Steve following in his minivan. We were headed for a local 1/8 mile track for their test and tune, about 70 miles away. The weather was overcast when we left, but the weather report said that it would be clear at least until early afternoon, so I figured I could get some passes in after the track opened at 9:00. Halfway to the track, though, that plan evaporated when it started to rain. It sprinkled on and off all the way to the track, so when we got there I just parked the car and waited. After and hour or so the rain stopped and it started to lighten up. When the track dryer started working on the track I disconnected the trailer and started getting the car track ready. I got the car teched and was ready to race by 11:30 or so, but they were still working on the track; apparently the light and timing system was wet and giving them some problems. Finally, around 12:30, the track announcer came on and called the test and tune cars down to the staging lanes. But, literally within 30 seconds of his announcement, it started to rain again. We ended up waiting around for another hour, and then they called the test and tune. So, I got rained out on the test and tune. We put the car back into street trim and headed home.
The drive home was uneventful, and I now have over 150 miles on the car with no issues. But I still haven't run with the new tires, and still haven't really finished tuning the suspension. Tomorrow since I have the day off I'm pulling the transmission back out, because my new converter is supposed to be here on Tuesday. I have a punch list of about 20 small tasks to do on the car besides swapping converters, plus I have to get packed up and on the road to Tulsa next Saturday. Its going to be another busy week. Drag Week registration and test and tune is one week from today, and the race starts a week from tomorrow. I'll post another update from the event next weekend.
-
Jay I read on the Bangshift Dragweek forum, that Tulsa is having a Saturday night TNT to kickoff Dragweek. Starts at 9pm and runs to 3am? Sounds kinda late for a track to be open but it might be just what you need.
-
Larry Larson's new ride a Pro/Mod with steel cab/doors and a VIN?:
http://bangshift.com/bangshift1320/bangshift1320-drag-race-news/reason-8-never-count-larry-larson-unveil-larry-larsons-2014-drag-week-plans/
-
That is exactly the reason I haven't been to drag week as yet. When you build a race vehicle that is built as a race vehicle, and call it a street vehicle, then it is no longer fit for the street in my opinion. I think a street car should have all the sheetmetal, bolt-on suspension mods, and engine family it came from the factory with to be considered for this venue. I know the classes allow for this, but it sure takes the incentive away for folks who don't have unlimited resources to build a killer combination. To build a race vehicle with sponsorship donations, advertising rights, and unlimited funds, and multiple shops involved, does not make for a street concept proven vehicle. To me, the real bragging rights come from personal ingenuity, hard work, and keeping it looking like it came from the factory to be considered a street vehicle. JMO, but that truck is not my idea of a street vehicle. Joe-JDC
-
^^^ Agreed.
-
I guess it depends on what you define as "street". No clear answer there, obviously. I draw the line at a funny car style cage; any car going faster than 8.50 has to have one, and to me crawling around those bars to get in and out of the car stretches the word "street" too far. On the other hand, though, if the car can be driven 1200 miles in 5 days, and make its passes at the track, its hard to argue that it isn't at least "streetable". Personally, I like Larry's new truck. At least the body shell came off the assembly line; the pure Pro-Mod style cars don't have any factory parts in them whatsoever.
-
Well, good luck at Drag Week!
One thing though is to be sure to pad the roll cage really well anywhere the body and head might contact. Ideally a helmet would be best since I think there are cases where people have died from hitting their head on the bar in an accident without a helmet on.
-
That is exactly the reason I haven't been to drag week as yet. When you build a race vehicle that is built as a race vehicle, and call it a street vehicle, then it is no longer fit for the street in my opinion. I think a street car should have all the sheetmetal, bolt-on suspension mods, and engine family it came from the factory with to be considered for this venue. I know the classes allow for this, but it sure takes the incentive away for folks who don't have unlimited resources to build a killer combination. To build a race vehicle with sponsorship donations, advertising rights, and unlimited funds, and multiple shops involved, does not make for a street concept proven vehicle. To me, the real bragging rights come from personal ingenuity, hard work, and keeping it looking like it came from the factory to be considered a street vehicle. JMO, but that truck is not my idea of a street vehicle. Joe-JDC
You do realize the UNLIMITED class is just that, don't you? Larry's truck is a result of what other people did last year. Larry was always a proponent of steel bodied cars and no pro-mods but they allowed the pro-mods last year so here is Larry's answer. That truck is the baddest, most evil thing I've ever seen and I love it personally. (and it's still steel bodied with a real vin tag)
My favorite class, however, is Naturally Aspirated Small Block as that's the class I would build a car for if I could even afford to do that.
I will be paying special attention to UNLIMITED this year, as well as pro-street (I think that's Jay's class), and a couple of other specific cars that all happen to be tuned by a certain individual. ;)
Any way you slice it, the fact that they have to drive these cars, race track to race track, over 1000 miles in one week and NO TRAILERS ALLOWED makes these things the baddest street cars on the planet. These aren't trailer queens that are loaded on a trailer and they make a 10 mile "drive" to show their street prowess, these are real, bad to the bone, street cars.
I give full respect to ANYONE competing in Drag Week at any level in any class. It's a huge accomplishment.
Go Get 'Em JAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 8)
-
They make the statement that it is a Pro Mod build. Nothing is impossible with enough money. And, yes, I understand the unlimited class. Just not my "cup of tea". Joe-JDC
-
Afret, Thanks for posting the warning that roll bars need to be heavily padded in street cars for "street accidents" when helmets are not warn. I'd never thought about that. The typical roll bar padding is likely useless in a "street crash" when a skull plows into it.
-
Jay: its been a heck of a thrash to date and, as one who self-admits to only ever having followed Drag Week from afar as an interested spectator, please let me suggest that the combination of technical innovation plus pure dogged persistence on your part have been amazing. Heck, just having managed to put this package together in time for the event already makes you a winner! Will be pulling for you in coming days from the east coast.
-
Doesn't our man hit the road today? Thursday.
-
I thought he said saturday
-
I am already more than half way there, in Denver now. Hope to see Jay on the weekend. Can't wait to see and hear the Shelby in person. 8)
-
I am already more than half way there, in Denver now. Hope to see Jay on the weekend. Can't wait to see and hear the Shelby in person. 8)
It sounds way bad ass Tom.
While I was there a few months back I recorded just the sound while it was on the Dyno.
I think I'll make it a ring tone. :)
-
I'll be heading out Saturday morning - I think. Tonight after doing a bunch of work on the car this week (including checking the chain tension, the rockers and springs, and the lash) I got it off the jackstands and started it up, and heard an intermittent knock coming from the engine compartment. I think it might be the headers hitting the frame, or something like that, but it sure sounds ominous :( :( I'm taking the car in for a front end alignment in the morning at my friend BradFord's shop, and I'll have him listen to it and give an opinion. But if it's a motor noise, like maybe a rod knock, I won't be heading to Drag Week. Crap, that would be just my luck...
-
You need a BIG sign-- "Murphy not allowed here"! Hope it is just a lose motor mount of something simple. Joe-JDC
-
That car is absolutely beautiful....and totally cursed.
-
No knock before you pulled the car down to do a few things?
-
I'll take an "intermittent knock" any day over a steady "whack whack whack". I hope it's an easy find. It's high time for this Shelby to kick some ass.
-
No knock before you pulled the car down to do a few things?
Not that I heard, but I can't recall listening carefully under the hood after returning from the rain out on Saturday. You can't hear the sound when sitting in the car.
My friend BradFORD has the car for an alignment today, and he just called after checking it out in light of my concerns. He said there are a few points where the headers are contacting the frame or body when the engine vibrates, and he thinks that is where the noise is coming from. He doesn't think there is any problem with the motor. Being paranoid in light of my last few attempts at Drag Week, I've asked him to run a few more checks (e.g. listen under the hood and oil pan while the engine is revved up), just to be sure, but he is pretty convinced that the knocking I was hearing was the headers hitting the frame or floor when the engine vibrated at idle.
Hopefully I'll be heading to Drag Week as planned...
-
Let's all hope so! Go Jay! ;)
-
Picked up the car tonight at BradFORD's place, and he assured me that everything was OK. He tightened up the headers and now the car is much quieter. Whew! I must be paranoid after the last 3 years of Drag Week disasters. I'm putting on some finishing touches tonight, and will get started early tomorrow packing up. Should be in Tulsa tomorrow evening. Almost there...
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Road to Drag Week 2014/stripedclone.jpg)
-
Great work Jay, looks good. Good luck to you
-
Woo-hoo! I'll be checking http://www.data.scec.org/recent/index.html for the car launching ;)
-
Good looking car Jay. Go and spank some chebys now
-
It was naked without the stripes. They got to be worth at least a tenth ;)
-
Give 'em hell Jay.
We'll be rooting for you and hanging on every entry.
-
Those stripes really help with that color combination! I think I would leave it that color because it is unique. Looks tough. Joe-JDC.
-
Good luck! Hope all of your hard work and innovation pays off.
-
Jay, fantastic overall build and looks the part 8) I'm not much of a believer in luck, but I do know careful preparation yields expected results- Let 'er rip!!!!!
-
The car looks awesome. You have spent a lot of time this year to be well prepared, go have some fun and get some footage for a new drag week video.
-
Looks great! I wish you the best of luck during Drag Week. Hook it up on the line and then let that cammer eat! ;D
Have a fun time and be safe.
-
Picked up the car tonight at BradFORD's place, and he assured me that everything was OK. He tightened up the headers and now the car is much quieter. Whew! I must be paranoid after the last 3 years of Drag Week disasters. I'm putting on some finishing touches tonight, and will get started early tomorrow packing up. Should be in Tulsa tomorrow evening. Almost there...
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Road to Drag Week 2014/stripedclone.jpg)
Car looks excellent!
Good luck at DragWeek
-
Here we go. Drive it like it's rented. But maybe like your on your way to church too. No balls no blue chips. And several other things the old man use to tell me. ;D BOOGIDEEBOOGIDEEBOOGIDEE!!!!!
Edit: redneck nomenclature typo
-
Good Luck Jay, When are you going to share the Hp on that beast!
-
I'll give some details on the HP numbers and the ETs on Monday night after the first day of racing, Chris...
-
The car looks great Jay! Best of luck this week!