Making progress, and my first 11 second time slip...

[cjshaker]

I went to a UMTR event Saturday at Dragway 42. I wanted to see if those 7.5 1/8 mile numbers I ran at Beaver Springs held up to an 11 second 1/4 mile time slip.

Got to the track and pulled the car out, went to fire it up....and nothing. It wouldn't fire a lick Great. The car ran fine at Beaver and it's been in the trailer since I got home. At Beaver Springs though, I noticed the tach make a couple of 'blips' on one of my trips on the return road, where the needle suddenly dropped for a split second. That has always been a tell-tale sign that my MSD pick-up was developing an issue, and since I've been through this routine countless times now (seems like anyways ), I knew what the problem was. Soooo, out came the distributor for a quick thrash and replacing it with a spare I always carry with me, reset the timing, hit the key and sure enough, it fired right up. I barely had enough time left to make the first time trial round. Glad I got there an hour early!

On the first time run of the day I was pleasantly surprised with my first 11 second time slip. An 11.51 to be exact, at 119 mph! I wondered if there was a mistake. That is over .7 quicker and 4 mph faster than I had previously ran with the exact same setup...except for the transmission swap.

On my next 2 runs, I spun the tires and ran a 11.7, then a 11.6. I made it to the 2nd round of eliminations where I ran a closer ET, but got treed pretty bad on the line. Gotta work on that! Still, it went 11.57 on my 11.55 dial that run, so needless to say, it wasn't a fluke and I was pretty darn happy with the day!

[chilly460]

Awesome progress, congrats

[Lenz]

Congrats Doug, ya gotta wonder, can 10's be far behind?  You're half way there

[turbohunter]

Dude,,,,,that’s pretty damn cool.

[427Fastback]

Well done Doug....

[jayb]

I told you that car had 11.50s in it    Congrats, Doug!

[Heo]

 

[Barry_R]

Outstanding!
Congrats on the pass.
Next target is the 10s.....

[Gregwill16]

Congratulations Doug! This is still the old motor right?

[cjshaker]

Thanks guys. I was pretty happy!

Greg, yes, still the old engine. Nothing fancy about it; basically an all stock 427 with a little bigger cam than factory. Absolutely no porting done on the intake or heads and 93 octane friendly compression.

Barry, a few weeks ago I wouldn't have believed you, but there is still more in the car. After watching some video of the run, I was still spinning the tires several revolutions on launch. Larry said I had low 11's possible with a little clutch, and I believe him now. It's hard to 'finesse' a Ram HD clutch!

[BattlestarGalactic]

Yup, MPH tells the true tale of what the car is possible of running.

Knock .3 off that 60ft and you are well into low 11's.  That's all in the clutch(and some chassis tuning).

Even my car is lacking in true ET.  It was going 10.92 Saturday at 122.8 mph.  It's gone 10.83 at 123 mph.  That's only with 1.48 60ft.  I still have way too much clutch at launch, even though I have it dialed in down track.  Just need to find the right combination to get it to leave better.  It has gone 1.41 but that is when the stars are aligned better and a really tight track.


I'm glad you showed up and ran.  I could tell you were a real happy camper at the end of the day.  Hope you can run with us again.

[cjshaker]

I'm glad you showed up and ran.  I could tell you were a real happy camper at the end of the day.  Hope you can run with us again.

Yeah, I'm sure it won't be the last time you see me at one of the events this year. I'm pretty hooked on it now and have a great time with the car. The UMTR guys seem like a good bunch and I enjoyed racing with you guys.

And you're right, I still have a lot of chassis tuning to do. The 3.19 first gear has been a crutch for lack of chassis tuning, clutch....and driver, I admit that. The video made that very clear to me. I have 2 things to concentrate on, my 60' times and reaction.

And thanks for your help at the track. I hate being the 'newbie' because I still make mistakes. I learned a lot at this event, being a more formal event than the Reunion. Lots to learn yet, but I'll get there.

[Falcon67]

Nice numbers.  Warning to you guys that get past 7.50 in the 1/8.  Not only is that roll bar and jacket area per NHRA/IHRA but at our track anything under 7.50 REQUIRES a diaper or catch pan.  That may well be spreading across to other tracks as time goes by.  The Falcon runs 7.60s and I have no plans to change that until I can fab a full pan to fit under the motor - no way to get a diaper on the car.  Dragster fits a diaper easy, so no problems there.  Best to keep up with local rules so as not to be surprised.  Like TruSTART - never know when that may come around.

[BattlestarGalactic]

The diaper rule doesn't come around til much faster around here.  They wanted 11.99 or such, but the guys running a stock late model were complaining.  Thus it got changed back to like 9.90(1/4 mile).

I can't get a diaper on the wagon very easily and if I put a pan on it...I'll just mash it up when the car stands up.......so that's out.  Even a diaper will get ripped to shreds when the car comes down.  The headers and pan are currently smashed equally and take the load when it does hit hard.

Yes, the roll bar is 7.50(1/8 mile), and Doug was concerned.   Most tracks around here are pretty easy going on that, at least for the slower side.  Don't show up going 9.50's in the 1/4 with no roll cage!  That will get you put on the trailer.

We have Tru start, but have only seen it at Norwalk(Summit Equipment).  I won a run off because of it.  Opponent left first .-025 and I went .-012 and won.  Maybe other tracks have it and I have not see it in action?  Most places are small town tracks and not up on the newest timing equipment.

[cjshaker]

Chris, I'm already in the process of upgrading the car for faster times. I've got clothing and shoes covered, and this will be going in later this year (just the roll bar, trans is already in)...



And I'm already gathering stuff for a rear battery install, required shut-off etc etc.

I had to read about TruSTART. That seems like a good thing. Can't say I'd be a fan of the diaper or pan on my car, but I understand the reasoning behind it. Oil downs really affect tracks, especially at events with lots of cars. There were a couple of oil delays at Saturdays events.