1st time at strip - 9.23@77.72 - 1/8mi

Yeah defiantly not earth shattering, but I guess it isn't horrible considering it's mostly a cruiser with a 3.00 peg leg gear out back... The Wallace Racing 1/8 to 1/4 mi converter claims 14.43...

 

Hey Tom,not bad,you know what you would have to do to go faster.You know the compromises of either cruising or racing,& how much you want to work on it when the parts break.

 

now you have a raced car...

 

I think that is respectable!

 

Sorry guys I screwed up on the time it ran 9.23, guess I had the Bird on my mind it always ran mid 8's...

If it'd ran a 8.23 I'd have been grinnin' from ear to ear, that equates to a 12.90 1/4 mi...


BTW I edited title to show correct time...

 

Not too bad!

What track did you run at? When the weather cools off you should be able to get closer to the 9.0 range.

I've swapped from a 3.40 gear to a 4.11 gear and swapped the carbs from a 600 to a 750 in my '72 Grabber. Hoping to get mine into the high 12's when the weather breaks.

I'm trying to talk the wife into getting me a 3,000 stall converter for my 50th birthday in September, as my car still has the stock stall. If that happens I would hope to be in the mid 12's!

I will be taking the car to either VA Motorsports Park or Richmond Dragway.

 

I was at North East Dragway, in Hertford NC...I've ran at Dinwittie several times(Ric once) but at less than half the distance, I've mostly gone to NC since they opened in late '00...

A 3K stall would give you a huge difference, likely more than just the gear change(stock to only a 2600 gained .4 in the Bird, already had 3.73 gear)... Unless I swap to a AOD(that I have), I'll probably leave the 3.00 gear in the Comet and just enjoy it as a cruiser...

Now the Comet isn't requiring my constant attention & since I have 95% of everything I need to put the T-Bird back together, I'm gonna finish it... It'll no doubt run a 12.70 or better(went 13.11@105 at Dinwittie on the 5.0 & 2600 stall, in addition to the 331 I also have a fresh AOD & 3500 converter)...

 

Sounds like some good times, you don't have to go super fast to have fun racing.

 

Yes, being closer to a track is always nice. VMP is about a 2 hour drive for me and Richmond Dragway closer to 2 1/2 hours. My somewhat local 1/8 mile track is about 40 miles from my house but you have to go through the mountains to get there so it takes about an hour.

I ran 13.35 @ 106 last year with the stock stall, 600 carb and 3.40 gears. That was with a lazy 2.13 60 foot time on M/T ET Streets. I think with the 750 carb, 4.11 gears and a 3,000 stall that mid 12's are possible.

Your T-Bird sounds like a fun car, always liked that body style! A co-worked has an '87 T-Bird that he bought new and has turned it into a street/strip car. It has a mild 306/C4 combo with a shot of nitrous. It runs high 7's in the 1/8 mile.

 

At 106 mph trap speed you have plenty of power to make a mid 12 run, just need to optimize the combo...

Basically a good short time is all about the engine revving into the power band as quickly as possible... That's where the loose converter shines over additional gear, as just changing gear it still takes a few wheel revolutions for RPMs to come up... With added converter stall, engine revs are up probably 20-30 feet sooner... The Comet managed a 2.18 60ft, but does have a 2000-2200 stall Hughes converter... Back when I had the 5.0 GT Stang a 2.18 was a good number(at least on street tires)...

I checked a old slip for the T- Bird at VMP back when I was spraying a 75 shot, went 7.84@88.72 at 1/8mi & 12.23@112 in 1/4... Activating spray on launch, it pulled a 1.72 60ft that run...

 

Hey Z28,are they still racing at New London,I would think that would be fairly close also.I`ve never been to the trk but would like to go sometime,I guess Motor Mile would be your closest.

 

Yeah but even us old guys get the itch for a little more, still bracket racing is all about being consistent... Takes a purpose built, real race car to be consistent at the lower ET's you big guys run...

 

I'm hoping the bigger carb will add to my trap speed. The car seems to pull better with the bigger carb, especially in the higher RPM's

The car runs real well from a 2,500-3,000 RPM roll on the street. At the track it is just lazy getting from off idle to 2,500-3,000 RPM's. The cam card for my Lunati 51028 cam says the powerband is 2,200-6,200. I think the stall will really 'wake' the car up on the bottom end.

IIRC, my co-workers T-Bird also runs 7.70's-7.80's in the 1/8 mile, but he is running a 125 shot.

Yes, they still race at New London. That track is only about 15 minutes from my house and I have only ran there a half dozen times in the last 25 years. The track is uphill and if you run a stick car the car will roll out of the beams at the starting line.

They don't have any type of scoreboards, so if you go to watch you don't know what kind of times people run. They also don't do any type of test and tunes or street car events. It is just a bracket race program a couple of Sundays a month.

Motor Mile is about 100 miles from me and it takes just about as long to get to as it does when I go to VMP. I did race one of my old Fox body Mustangs at Motor Mile about 10 years ago and it is a very nice 1/8 mile track.

The 1/8 mile track I go to is Natural Bridge Dragstrip. It is a half decent track and they run street cars every Friday night. The staff is pretty laid back and I usually have a pretty good time.

When I go to a track I'm just usually chasing ET's and don't care anything about bracket racing, that is why Natural Bridge works for me to get my drag racing fix.

 

True! When I raced my old 200 I6 Grabber, I had the time of my life. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for the spectators

 

I`ve seen the signs for natural bridge,but never been there either.I drive an 18 wheeler for a living & used to go by there all the time,not so much now as its not on my companies route.Have you ever run Elk Creek,seems like a neat little trk out in the middle of nowhere below Galax Va,some of the stick guys run there quite a bit.