Down under Thunderbolt

[ToddK]

The front suspension uses the original lower control arms, strut rods, spindles and frame mounting points. The modified parts are tubular upper control arms that have the same dimensions as the original upper arms, use the original ball joint and mount to the frame at the original points. The springs and shocks have been replaced with coil overs that attach to the upper control arms and the forward section of the roll bars that run forward through the firewall and down to the front section of the frame rails.

[fastback 427]

Absolutely LOVE this car......

[e philpott]

I like how you did the front end !! ...... the way shock towers should be !!

[GJCAT427]

Todd are your headers custom built? And are you running stick or auto? Got a shot of the left side linkage and header area if its a stick car?

[turbohunter]

I'll just drive by and throw my congrats in also.
Absolutely beautiful.

[ToddK]

The car was originally set up to use a stick shift, but the fabricator I used thought I should use a hydraulic clutch set up. I have a Jerico DR4-4 to use in the car, but I can not find a hydraulic throw out bearing to fit on the input shaft. I could try and use a slave cylinder to activate the clutch lever, but haven't gone that far yet. I could also try and make a custom linkage, but it's pretty tight in there with the mid plate, even though I'm using rack and pinion streeting.

The car currently uses a C4 built by Dynamic Racing. It will help me to get the car sorted by not having to worry about clutch adjustment while I'm getting everything else sorted. I have it set up with a delay box, as they are legal in the class I race in and help me be competitive. I would like to eventually go back to using the Jerico, as I think it would better suit the nature of the car.

Below is a picture of the LH side headers before I changed the steering set up. This is probably part of the reason the car has taken me so long to build, I keep changing my mind about things.

[ToddK]

Yesterday, we finally got the car to the track to do my licensing at a test and tune session. The licensing involved doing a 3 passes. First was just a burnout and stage, then drive it down the track at "street" speed. Second was a launch and half track pass, and last involved a full power pass and deploy the parachute. Managed to get them all done to the stewards satisfaction, so now I can race the car.

I haven't done any tuning to the engine since it came out of my Galaxie, but it ran okay on the street. On the track, I noticed it seemed to stop accelerating in top gear at about 6000rpm. I know the ignition system is okay, as I shifted at 6500rpm. So I think it is running out of fuel. I know my fuel system is okay, it uses an Aeromotive A2000 pump feeding a -8AN line to an Aeromotive dead head regulator, then -6AN lines to the 750's. Fuel pressure is set at 6.5psi. I know I haven't check the float levels in the carbs since it's been in this car, so maybe the float levels are too low, causing it to run out of fuel? It was such a long, hot day yesterday, that once I had passed licensing and got a time slip, we called it a day. I plan to check the float levels and tune up before it hits the track again. But our race season is coming to a close soon. Maybe by the time I can race again, the race engine will be finished and I can get that installed and running.

The end result for the day was a 10.736sec at 123.8mph. 60' time was 1.64sec. I only brought the engine up to 3000rpm on the trans brake, and the tires on it are at least 4 years old. 660' time was 6.840sec at 103.5mph. Going by the 660' mph, I reckon it should have ran about a 10.4sec 1/4 mile time, which is what I figured this engine would do. But the car drove straight and braked well, and I didn't brake anything.

Here are a couple of pictures from the day.





So I am pretty happy to finally get the car down the track. It still needs a fair bit of sorting and I need a fair bit more practice to get used to driving it. But it looked and sounded great. I can't wait to race it again.

[turbohunter]

Congratulations
That's gotta feel great.

[machoneman]

Cool!

Best to check actual fuel pressure right after launch through the traps to see if it drops off down track. Go-Pro or a similar video recorder here is your pal. In our drag cars, we'd often set idling fuel pressure at say 7.5 lbs or even a tad higher until fuel just started dripping past the needle seat assmebly and then back off as little as possible. Never had a 1,000 ft.+ leanout after that.   

[ec164]

That's good news Todd, Super glad for you and hope you can get your other engine back and done soon. Your cars looks fantastic on the track........Al

[ToddK]

Took the car out again last Saturday for the last meet of the race season. I wanted to get a bit more practice launching the car on the transbrake, and see if I had the top end fuel issue sorted.

I was having issues with the transbrake not releasing consistently, my reaction times were between 2.5 and 0.9 seconds. But despite this, I still managed to win 2 rounds of eliminations. I was launching with the throttle floored and the 2 step holding the engine at 4100rpm. This allowed the car to launch wheels up and a best 60' time of 1.50sec.



However, the top end power loss issue was still present. I had check the fuel pressure was correct, set at 7.5psi, and float levels we correct. But the engine would still not rev past 5800rpm in top gear, hitting the wall at about the 1000' mark. If I was to race this engine again, I would swap the 750 vac sec carbs, for a pair of 660's I have. But hopefully I will have my race engine in the car before it is raced again. Even so, I managed a pb of 10.58 at 123.6mph. Not bad for the street engine out of my '63 Galaxie.

[machoneman]

Great report!

-Did the engine dyno well past 5,800 rpms?
-Any whiteness (lean) to the plugs after a clean shutoff after a run?
-Any report on what the fuel pressure gauge reads down-track?
-Properly vented fuel cell/tank? After a run and shutdown, crack the cap. Any 'whoosh' means bad news as to venting.
-Any misfire when the engine noses over?
-Any rpm chip/limiter present?   

[ToddK]

Hi Bob, in answer to your questions,

1. The engine was dynoed and hp peaked at 6300rpm. I shift 1-2 and 2-3 at 6500rpm.
2. Checked the plugs, definitely not lean. I'm running Sunoco 260GT, and the plugs had a brown all over colour with no signs of erosion.
3. Unfortunately, I have no idea what the fuel pressure is doing down track, as my gauge is under hood. I plan to install a data logger this coming winter, which will be able to monitor fuel and oil pressure.
4. The fuel cell has a new roll over vent that is free to vent.
5. The is no misfire, then engine just stops accelerating in top gear at 5800rpm.
6. I am using a MSD 7AL-3 ignition. It has overall limit chip of 6900rpm, burnout limit of 6700rpm and launch stage limit of 4100rpm. I'm not using any of the timers or start or high speed timing retard.

[whitea62.7t]

a 750 vac sec , sounds awful small
I run a 850 track warrior on a 302
stock short block, Trick flow 11r 205 heads

[machoneman]

5. The is no misfire, then engine just stops accelerating in top gear at 5800rpm.

If you can hit 6,500 rpm before top gear and it flattens out at 5,800 thereafter, I'd strongly suspect fuel pressure (or fuel flow but that seems unlikely). The only other thought is to bybass the chip altogether, for one run, to see if the rpms rise.