Hello was wondering what type of rear shock would be good to use .Curently my car has air shocks i dont really like them and they tend to leek over time.Ill be drag racing my 73 comet this year and whanted to change them soon.also i dont want the rear to be slammed to the ground ether need clerence for the M.T.s there 28 in tall so im hoping to get the car to sit around 27 in measured at the fender lip.Thanks for the help
A good shock for you would be a Rancho, yes I said Rancho. The RS 9000 adjustable rancho's are one of the better shocks for drag racing! They are 5-way adjustable from soft to firm allowing you to tune for the track. Now, when you start making serious horsepower you'll want to start thinking about some QA1's, these shocks are extremely expensive but work great and are completely rebuildable!! I am currently running the Ranchos in the rear and the QA1's up front......I wil be switching to the QA1's in the near future, if you want to wait, I will sell you my Rancho's. Now, if you really want to get serious, the best shock on the market is made by AFCO and you can adjust dampening and rebound completely independently (double-adjustable). These shocks are about $350.00 each!!!! The QA1's are $150.00 each and the Rancho's are about $50 each.
Thanks for the info on the shocks.I was also whanting to ask whats involved in changing from my big bumpers to smaller bumpers like yours 74comet.i like the smaller ones alott.Also let me know when your thinking of ditching your old shocks and how much $$. Thanks
Killercomet Was wondering what wheels and suspension you were running, we have a problem with our Mav using 28x10.5 MT hitting the fender lip and very close to the springs. Had to roll the fender lip a bit. Need to go to more tire but without tubs and coil overs can't seem to find a wheel offset that will work. Thanks for any info, by the way a good set of stock gas shocks and 6cyl springs will work if you are in the money toilet like myself.
Thanks for the advise old guy.The wheels that are on the rear are crager brand they look like the weld Draglite wheels with the holes all the way around, centercap with the brand name is the only way you can tell the deference.Also theres a 1/4 in alum. ring spacer between drum and inside rim were it bolts up.Alott of people are asking how i fit such wide tires under the car without modifying anything.If you have the corect backspacing on the rim you can acomplish this.theres not much clearence between leafsprings and bulge of the tire about 3/8 in. But it hasnt givin me any truble ive ran them on the street for about 2 months with no prob.look at your newest Summit racing book (hope you have one) go to M.T. E.T. street tires and look at the sizes it tells you sugested rim width,mesure of tread width the 26x10.5015 suggested rim width is 8.5, O.D. is 25.8 ,Tread width is 8.3. The 28x11.5015 tire Rim size 8.0 wide,27.3 OD,and 8.6 in wide tread.I belive the diference in the 2 is the width of the Buldge of the tire.Wish i had a modle # of the crager wheels i have but i dont. Like i stated on my post when getting shocks the rear fender when measured at lip cant drop below about 25 in or is will rub a little on the inner fender well nere the bottom front. hope this helps
re: 8.3 tread width I think the (my?) confusion lies here. You are correct: The E.T. "Streets" are measured differently than the "Drags". I think Dave and I (and others) are running "Drags" - which are designated by tread width - not side wall. Like I was telling Dave and others, it appears with my 9" rear, I can only get 9" "Drags" inside my wheel wells. Until I do some modifying - I'm stuck with that size. I would at least like to run 10" Drags.
Rick Book Thanks for clarifying that subject, forgot that everyone does not run drag slicks. Todd has 28x10.5x15 on the Mav with a 9in that was narrowed to the same width as the original 8in. Is close to the springs but works ok. Finally got some good weather and took the Mav to the track yesterday, just ran it around for awhile to get some time on the windsor before he beats on it. Will take the Mont up Friday and TNT is Sat. First points race Sun. Put another race seat and harness in it so the wife can take a ride(never happen!!) Will let you know how things go, supposed to be in high 60's both days. Unless of course some Texas storms push thru and foul it up
Good luck at the track and 'yes' we've been having miserable weather the last week or so (drizzling rain). It doesn't look like it's going to slow down soon. Like most fronts, it'll probably head your way - hope not. 'Looking forward to some new personal best numbers from you guys this year! Re: tires I'm going to mount a buddy's 10" E.T. Drag on my wheel and see how it fits under there. 'Got my fingers crossed but am not expecting much.
Good luck to you all.Hopefully weather will clear up here.We were supose to start 2 weeks ago but snow then rain prevented the test n tune on those days.
changing to skinny bumpers.... Killercomet, In order to swap to the skinny bumpers, you will need the bumpers and all the brackets and hardware off of a donor car. I couldn't find a donor so I ordered the front bumper from Maverick connection (he didn't have any brackts), I went to the junkyard and got brackets off of a 71 Maverick. Wile I was there I grabbed the doors also, they were rust free and didn't have the added weight of the side impact beams!! Depending on what brackets you use, you may have to re-drill the frame. Either they moved the bolt hole on the frame when they went to the big bumpers, or the Maverick mounts are different, I'm not really sure! Basically, if they lign up,good for you, if they don't you'll need to re-drill the holes. I actually pushed the bumper up closer to the body for a more sporty look and didn't use the plastic gravel shield thing, or whatever the he** that thing is!! I wanted to put a fiberglass bumper on there but didn't find out who made one until it was too late!! For the rear I used a Maverick fiberglass bumper from Maverick Connection. I'm not sure who he gets his bumpers from but I'm gonna have to say that the quality SUCKED!!! I had to put in many hours of labor on that bumper to get it straight!!! You'll need to relocate the mounting holes in the rear and also get the mounts for the rear!! I used pictures to get the location of my bumper correct but if you can find a donor car it's better to get the measurements while you're there......remember, if you use a fiberglass rear bumper you don't necessarily need to strengthen the rear mounting locations. If you use a steel bumper you will need to weld in some added material at the mounting location to add extra strength. The skinny bumper cars already have this, the big bumper cars do not!! Let me know if I've made any sense!! Feel like i'm rambling!!
Sounds good ill have to go find some brakets at the junkyard.Im not sure but Autocrafters may have the small bumpers .at the moment id like to do the front until more funds provide the rear work on that bumper.
I looked on the summit site and there is about 15 million RS 9000 shocks available. Do you have a part number possibly? Thanks Tim
you are all confusing me with what tire sizes that will fit i am wanting to get 255 60 15 M/T ET Streets for my car.. i have 15X8 rims with a 3.75" backspace.. will those fit my setup?
i never would have thought about rs9000 shocks.. is there a specific size? buy it for what vehicle... i doubt they will have it listed for a maverick.. i have air shicks on the rear of my maverick.. i tried air'ing them up and i let them all the way out.. i like no air in them better.. i seem to get a better 60' when they are flat.. i am guessing that is because with all the air out, they bottom out and then the car is sitting on the rear axle on launch..
