THe road to Drag Week 2016 - Hemi Style

[Hemi Joel]

It just kills me to concede that my early Hemi powered 31 Plymouth coupe will not be ready for Drag Week 2016, but that is the reality I need to face. So on to plan B! I really need to reprogram my enthusiasm for the new plan, because it is not really there yet. I am still emotionally clinging to my dreams of running the Hemi-Coupe. Hopefully writing a blog here about it will get me energized!

31 coupe:



So Plan B is to bring my 67 GTX that I ran in Factory Appearing Stock Tire (F.A.S.T.) years ago.

F.A.S.T. 67 GTX:



 Last time I ran the car was 2010, and I blew up the Hemi by accidentally setting my two-step launch control to 9300 rpm instead of 3900.    The plan now is to keep the budget somewhat low by putting together a 484 inch Hemi from spare parts that I have laying around, make some changes to the car for streetability and durability, but keep with the stock appearing theme. For Drag Week of course, I do not need to comply with the strict F.A.S.T. rules, so I will take some liberties as needed.

[Hemi Joel]

I will probably run in Street Race Big Block NA, or the Daily driver Bracket race. I expect the car to get solidly into the 10's, which would get it into the quick 32 program at Drag week, but would not be too competitive in SRBBNA. It has a roll bar and will tech to 10.00 e.t.
But the non bracket classes at Drag week have a few perks that might be worth it.

[Bolted to Floor]

Either car looks to be a lot of fun to drive. Good luck. 

[Hemi Joel]

Beginnings of a to Do list:

Clean up the mess in my shop so I can work on it

dig the GTX out of the back corner and push the coupe back into the corner.

Find all the parts for the car and for the Hemi and get them into 1 location

order any parts I need for the Motor

Put the motor together, maybe dyno it?

Put the moter and 4 speed back in the car.

complete the wiring on the car, for F.A.S.T. I didn't wire anything that wasn't nescessary to get down the track, like headlights and blinkers

re-do the fuel system, with the stock tank for street fuel and a 4 gallon cell for race gas. I street pump and 1 race pump, plus a valve to switch between them.

Figure out what tire will fit under the back of the car. It is all stock wheelwells, so maybe an 8.50 - 26"? Drag Week does not allow street tires, so I am going to buy a pair of slicks. Maybe my thinking is wrong here, but since I have 4.10 gears, I need a short tire to keep the rpm in the power range when it is in 4th gear. With a 26" tire 130 mph = 7000 rpm, a 28" tire = 6500 rpm at 130.

Maybe add caltrack bars and mono leafs? Are they needed, or will my stock Hemi leafs be good enuff?

Maybe add frame ties? I didn't need them with the G-70 14 bias ply's, but with slicks they would help.

[ToddK]

On my '63 B body Dodge, I can easily fit a 28x9 slick on an 8" rim in the stock wheel wells, so you should have no problem there. My car has subframe connectors and runs only SS springs, pinion snubber and adjustable shocks on the rear. It has done a 1.54sec 60', lifting the left front wheel. However, my car has is an auto. I think you may be testing the limits of stock leaf springs launching with a manual trans and slicks. I'd be adding at least the Caltracs. I do like the monoleaf springs for the added weight saving.
Does your car have a Dana 60, or the 8.75" rear axle?

[jayb]

Joel, does this mean you lose the bet??  I'll bet JericoGTX is hungry already 

I think your GTX would be awesome at Drag Week.  My Mach 1 ran as fast as 10.45 with 4.11 gears and 27" slicks, so I'd be looking at tires in that general size range.  Get 'er in gear, I'd love to see that car at Drag Week.

If you don't make it, can I borrow your new trailer??

[Hemi Joel]

Yup, it's going to cost me a dinner. Is there a Taco Bell near National Trail?

[57 lima bean]

 808 S High St, Columbus, OH 43206

[thatdarncat]

Joel, I have 2 different sets of 28x9" Hoosier slicks and one set of 28x9" Goodyear slicks mounted on slightly different backspacing wheels with the 4 1/2" bolt pattern Mopar was wise enough to share with Ford. I also have a set of 26x8" Hoosier slicks, but they are mounted on wheels for my Lincoln MK VIII, which have a different 5 lug bolt pattern, but might be useful for you to test fit. I can stop over anytime if you want to try them.

[JERICOGTX]

You need to get the Cal Tracs and mono leafs on order ASAP. Are you going to run stock wheels? I think instead of the meltdown drags this weekend, we need to dig the car out, and get started on it. My time is limited, but some work is better then none at this point.

[machoneman]

Maybe add frame ties? I didn't need them with the G-70 14 bias ply's, but with slicks they would help.

Joel, the frame ties, weld-in only, would help a lot to not only stiffen the chassis but allow much more repeatable runs (i.e. e.t. consistency) with any rear tire type or drag race suspension system.

[Hemi Joel]

You darn cat, that is awesome, I really appreciate it! That will really help figure out what will fit. OK, I ordered a set of weld in frame ties from US Car Tool. They are contoured to fit the bottom of the floor. So some paint repair will be needed.
I'll order the caltracs and mono leafs today. I think I'll stick with my single adjustable QA1 rear shocks.

Good idea, Jeff, I'll skip the meltdown drags and hunker down on the GTX. I pulled the heads off the shelf last night, and found that they are all disassembled. I forgot about that, I thought they were ready to bolt on. Now I need to find all the parts.

[Hemi Joel]

I hate to weld on the bottom of the car because it looks like this, but I have to do it:

[JERICOGTX]

We could have just made our own connectors...  Personally you are not going to need them for one week of racing.

BTW, you will not want me in the car after a all you can eat Taco Bell dinner... Your better off buying me a steak dinner.

[Hemi Joel]

The car really should have the frame connectors anyway, to keep the car straight for the long term. Drag Week 2016 won't be the last time I drop the hammer on it. I should have put them in when I built the car, but I was so obsessed with saving weight that I didn't. I decided on the US car tools because they will show up ready to install - that saves me a half a day + of sourcing material and fabricating, + I like that they are contoured to the floor, and they weren't that expensive.

OK, Texas Roadhouse. We will need to celebrate just for showing up at Drag Week! And if Jay makes it in the Shelby, I'm buying him dinner too!