Drag Week 2017 pictures..

[cjshaker]

Also maybe at Beaver Springs this year we can get pics. of our cars side by side and maybe going down the track together? Take care.

Dan

Dan, I know what a long haul it would be for you. It's a 10hr drive for me to BSD, and it's a 9hr drive to Cordova. 19hrs would be a long enough haul for me to consider not going. Still, I hope you can make it one of these times.

Great pictures, Doug. I hope to see you and that bad azz Mustang again next year. 

Already planning on next year, Alan. And the year after that...and...

This forum needs a like button. Love your truck! Your car is ok too

Thanks, Jaime. I'm not a big fan of the '70-'72 grilles, so it will get a facelift in the form of a NOS '69 grille assy. that I've got. Restoring a dumptruck. In the words of Forrest Gumps Drill Instructor, "Are you crazy or just plain stupid?"

[mbrunson427]

I'm pretty impressed with how well your car performed. Alan's as well! I was able to catch you on the live feed a few times and could tell that you weren't taking it easy on it. I think a lot of these 8 second turbo cars make it seem like a week full of 12's might not be that rough. I get nervous just taking the Mustang or Cougar out for a cruise night more than 30 miles away haha.

[cjshaker]

I was taking it a bit easy on the launches for 2 reasons, one being if I busted the mainshaft in the toploader, I would have been stranded for good. The thought of leaving my car for 1-2 days without cover or theft protection doesn't appeal to me at all! The main reason for launching a bit easy is it would just bog hard if I tried to pop the clutch too fast. To really let it go and not bog, I'd have to dump the clutch at 5k-6k and try to get the tires to spin and grip smoothly. I still need to do some fine tuning to get that to happen. As it is now, I get some wheel hop if I try that, which KILLS parts. So until I sneak up on what works best, I have to slip the clutch perfectly, which is a bit tricky on a stiff street clutch. After the launch, I shift as hard as the stock style synchros and blocker rings will let me. I can't say I'm real happy with the current line of replacement blocker rings either. Factory blockers seem to work better, but I can't find them anymore.

It gives you a real respect for the guys who raced before adjustable clutches! I'm not putting anyone down who uses an adjustable clutch, but once you get the pressure dialed in, it takes all the work out of the launch for the driver. You just pop the clutch and let it do all the work. Try that in a normal street clutch and you'll either smoke the clutch, spin the tires, or you'll hook and break something. I know, I've done all three

Believe me, if you complete Drag Week, it gives you the confidence to take your car just about anywhere..lol  I'm confident enough with my car that I think the only thing that would leave me stranded is an internal engine failure. I have a small bag I carry with me all the time on local drives. It has a spare distributor, a spare MSD pickup (I've had a few failures, so I double cover my butt there), a tire plug kit and small air pump, and a few basic tools to deal with basic problems. Maybe 10-15 lbs total. Of course Drag Week is different. As everybody knows, trying to find anything FE or parts related to our old cars at your local parts store or speed shop will likely net you a big fat zero.

[ec164]

Great job on all the pictures and posting them...Thank You..........AL

[57 lima bean]

Nice job Doug..........

[AlanCasida]

Believe me, if you complete Drag Week, it gives you the confidence to take your car just about anywhere..lol  I'm confident enough with my car that I think the only thing that would leave me stranded is an internal engine failure. I have a small bag I carry with me all the time on local drives. It has a spare distributor, a spare MSD pickup (I've had a few failures, so I double cover my butt there), a tire plug kit and small air pump, and a few basic tools to deal with basic problems.

Yup, I feel the same way, Doug. 

[TomP]

Great pictures, I saw quite a few of your runs on the live feed.
I had no idea Richie Crampton was that cool until seeing that 57 there, he built it at the Morgan Lucas Racing shop. Larry Dixon there also. It'd be cool to race beside a guy whose been over 300mph.

But what is the Aussie story you started to mention? 

[cjshaker]

Great pictures, I saw quite a few of your runs on the live feed.
I had no idea Richie Crampton was that cool until seeing that 57 there, he built it at the Morgan Lucas Racing shop. Larry Dixon there also. It'd be cool to race beside a guy whose been over 300mph.

But what is the Aussie story you started to mention? 

The only runs worth watching are on the last day when I finally started to get the launch figured out. At least somewhat.

Anytime you get around the Aussies, there's a story to tell...lol
I mentioned it in one of my Drag Week updates. I was letting my car run while I pumped up my MT tires to drive to the track the next day (to save time having to switch them out). It was still daylight, about 6:00, and the Hotel manager asked me if I'd be running my car long because it would probably upset the guests. I told him I was about done, but I was laughing inside knowing he had NO idea what he was in for that night.

Sure enough, the Aussie Opel team showed up at that Hotel, and they typically stay out in the parking lots drinking beer, having a good ole time and don't go to sleep until early morning. With 26 DW cars in the parking lot that evening, 2 of them being Unlimited cars, there were some late night fixes....which always results in start-ups and some RPM "checks" when they're done, to make sure everything is ok. That night was no different, with the Aussies doing their "checks" at about 12:30 that evening. Those would be 6000 rpm, 4" exhaust with straight through muffler "checks"   Everything was ok, so of course there were some cheers and expected celebration for having gotten done. That still left them about an hour to party before going to bed...lol
I wish I had been around the manager then, just to see the expression on his face

Richie Crampton was a very nice guy, and willing to take the time to talk with you. He was having a lot of fun and I wouldn't be surprised to see him back next year. The car, as mild as the engine was (at least as mild as a twin turbo car can get), was amazingly well thought out, designed and built. There was NO doubt when you spent time looking at it, that it was designed and built by professionals!