I'm soon starting construction on a 1970 mav. I'm shooting for low 10's and are wondering what frame/unit body modifications the others here have done to hold the car's together. Is the factory frame and shock towers with subframe connectors and a cage able to hold it together. How about those rear frame rails. I was underneath the other day they seam awefully thin. Also wondering if any one has experience with a ladder bar supension on the street. Thanks Bryon
There comes a time when you have to make the decision...street car OR race car. It's been my experience that 99% of us can't afford to have both with the same car. Yes those rear frame rails are cheezy! I remember when I backhalfed mine...when I cut the frame rails out and they dropped to the floor, one of them landed on my foot (wearing tennis shoes). I was like hahahaha...jeez, I can't believe these things hold up the weight of the car! Each one was....like....15 lbs total. They are cheezy to say the least, as is most of the Maverick/Comet chassis. The rocker boxes are pretty strong compared to some cars, though, and honestly, that's where most of the body strength comes from. On unibody cars, the rocker boxes ARE the frame for the most part. That said, I have run some pretty decent ET's and MPH when mine had the stock rails and front end still in the car. I think I ran a best of 6.64 in the 1/8, FWIW, with a 351w and a powerglide trans. After I backhalfed it with the 4 link, I wondered how on earth I ever got it to go down the strip straight with the original suspension. It was night & day difference putting it lightly. I'm now running low 6's in the 1/8, which is close to what? 9.70 in the 1/4? It goes straight and feels a whole lot safer than the same car did with the stock suspension. I don't know that I want to go much faster than that in this car, even though its built pretty solid. If it ran a 5.90 in cool weather, I'd be tickled pink but it's already a handfull. But, its not anywhere near streetable. 4 link, anti-roll bar, Mustang 2 front suspension with lightweight stuff...first pot hole at speed will most likely tear off half the front of the car. That and climbing in & out of a 14 point cage is not exactly fun. Wait until I get the funny car cage put in. Even tougher. I know it can be done, but do yourself a favor and think it out thoroughly. At 10 flat ET in the 1/4 mile, you're going to be going close to 140 MPH. Do you really trust the stock chassis & suspension at those speeds? Yes, Mustang guys do it all the time, but those FOX cars do have a better suspension. Quite a bit better.
I agree with what he just said. Especially, Think it out... I am trying to go low nines, hight 8's w/ stock front and rear suspension, and just the thinking is driving me crazy. But it can be done... Full cage, notched framerails, notched shock towers, j bars, etc...
i think mavman said it best. not that it can't be done but your getting into the area where you have to decide race car or street car. if you go all out race car you lose the reliability of the street car. not to mention any comfort. if you drive a lot it gets old fast. if it's only a weekend toy like a cruise night you might be able to stand it. my opinion is that the point street car or race car is somewhere in the mid 11's at best. my car is race only and runs low 12's. but is designed to be as consistent as possible for bracket racing. only thing inconsistent is the driver . however i would hate to drive it much on the street.
Bryon, Your local track will have rules that will tell you the cage you have to use, the driveline loop, bellhousing protection and such. You are going to want to get rid of the hundreds of pounds of sound proofing and creature comforts to lighten the car to get near the ten second mark - your factory car weighs 3200 pounds and you will want to get it as light as you can (2500) to keep your horse-power requirements as low as possible. Tubs to get some room for big tires, four-link rear end for traction and a host of other mods to remove weight or add stiffness. Building the engine for lots of horse-power and a transmission that will take it and pass it to the rear end without coming apart under the loads. My experience with ladder bars was for hill climb cars and not on the drag strip. The four-link is better for the strip and you can tune it. A "streetable" 10 second car is a real workout to drive on the street and very few street cars will go 10 seconds without nitrous or a blower. If you are planning a NA engine then plan on using a trailer to transport it.
A streetable 10 sec car is possible. It'll just take tons of power and you'll probably roach the engine eventually when it's not very convenient. The new Z06 runs 11.5s at 127ish mph. Let me start off by saying there's a big difference between 11.5s and 10.9s. The vette weighs in around 3,000 lbs and is putting down over 500 hp. So, you'll probably need to be closer to the 600 hp mark to get into the 10s in street trim. This almost necessitates using a 351 or big block. If you stick with the 351 (the 302 will puke out the bottom end eventually) it'll need a big hit of juice or a couple of hair dryers to put down that kind of power with decent street manners. A CF blower would also get the job done, but they're not very peppy on the bottom end, and tend to suck down lots of gas too. A 351 with twin T3/T4 hybrids should get you in the 600 hp range without much lag at all. It'll be fairly streetable and easy on the gas as long as you're easy on the pedal. You almost have to get rid of the leaf springs, but you might be able to get away with them. They'll just have to be really stiff. The springs not only hold the car up, but they have to react 600 HP some how. It'll be a kidney buster for sure, or you'll be slippin and slidin all the way down the track with softer springs. A 4 link or 3 link is almost a necessity. I wouldn't recommend using the Fox 4 link, but it'll work in a pinch. I'll get blasted, but a GM F-body 3 link with a pan hard bar would work best. If you used a 4 link, you'd have to support it laterally for the G load you'd experience on the street. This means using a custom 5th link or a watts type setup. The engine will almost have to be fuel injected and at that power level won't live very long, because it's going to be a huge pain to get it tuned right. Using something like the AEM controller or the FAST with self tuning wideband will help a lot, but that only takes care of the AFR and timing. You still need to monitor EGT or you'll melt exhuast valves, piston rings, and turbine blades. It can be done, but it's going to be in the $20k range by the time you're all said and done.
i know BOSSMAV , runs low 10s on ALL motor no power adders , leaf springs i believe , basicly stock suspsion style, and that car is ALL steel , just a stroked and poked windsor, and stephen (74cometgt) is prolly getting close to low 10s , cant tell he runs 1/8th mile, thats 347 with some gas , so its not that far out of the question to have a 10 sec car , but once again just my .02 eddie
From watching the PSCA out here in AZ I believe that 10's are achievable using Caltracs and some good monoleafs. I've seen cars with leaf springs and Caltracs run 8's. But having said that, you will need to have a full cage if you plan on running 10's on any NHRA track. You'll also need a 5 point harness that's updated every two years and a host of other safety devices like a battery cutoff switch, driveshaft loop, scattershield or trans blanket, and finally you will have to have slicks. I'd like to approach the 10's myself, but it's not easy. I've done it in another life with a 68 Mustang and a 521 motor and stock chassis with ladder bars (it wasn't back halfed), but there was no way I could ever drive that car on the street...it was just too much motor and gas stations aren't nearly close enough to one another. Don't give up, but you need to know what it takes.
10's w/ mono leafs and cal tracs is very do able.... geez, c'mon fellas. This is 2006...lol Oh, and what mani's for the turbo and efi? I'm curious...
I think a more accurate way to put it is: It is very possible to run a 10 second car on the street - for limited runs and under certain conditions - like sunny and warm, no chance of rain, snow or ice and you have to make sure the local cop has the day off.
Yeah, exactly... For a street car the limit of your all weather radial is about a 1.9 or 2.0 60'. A drag radial will cut that down, but I don't really consider that a street tire. They wear way too fast to drive them every day. I know that some are decent in the rain, but I've also heard that there are plenty that are a handful when there's just dew on the road. Anyway, running a true street tire really hurts the ET, so you have to make up for it on the top end. I'd probably just run a sheet metal intake, but an edelbrock or similar production type manifold should work just as well. The T3/T4 hybrid will run a fairly high pressure ratio, so it will make up for some short comings in the manifold. I'd also adapt some equal length mustang shorty headers for the turbos, or just make my own again. I'm also assuming that the shock towers found the scrap heap a long time ago.
