Well even though I don't need any more projects I had to pick up this one. It a '72 Mav, 200 with an auto. My plans are to make a 1/4 mile beast by putting in a lima block. My dad said that " These cars were squirrelly with a small block and not designed for a big block " soooooo I now have big block dreams.:evilsmile The real qustion is are they really that bad and how to setup a suspension which is the most bang for my buck. Can't say it will not see the street but designed primarilly for the strip.
how fast you looking to go ? you really dont need a big block , some of the fast mavs and comets are using small blocks you can make HUGE power with small blocks and weight less than a big block
Get ready for LOTS of work making a 460 go into the front...and for the rear, IMO, you're better off backhalfing it and going with a 4 link. If it's going to be a 1/4 mile beast that's the best option, IMO. Pure race car. If I had to do another one, I'd go with a round tube chassis kit from S&W, Chassisworks, or anyone else for that matter. Strut front 4 link rear on a 4130 round tube chassis. Light, stiff, and not all that hard to assemble. Just need to do a little welding.... And to add to the last post, a stock iron headed 460 is fun, but a aluminum headed 351w stroker will generally blow the Lima out of the water as far as performance goes. There are guys making ~2000 HP out of small blocks now with a turbo or blower.
Man 2000 hp !! A little more than I can afford. Rather have a n/a engine anyway. Well interms of small blocks I have a production block 351, 302 ,and a 5.4l mod motor. I am looking to break into the mid to lower 10's. I wanna stick and I have a 8.8" rear, If that will hold up ... if not I have a 10.25 sterling out of a 1 ton . I heard four link , what is better, .. I was thinking a 3 link.
i know of at least one who runs super LOW 10s like a 10.07 with leaf springs N/A 351w 414 you dont need 2000hp to get there , dont need 4 links but its your choice
well the problem with me is I have been into it since I was a kid. My dad , uncle , and grandpa raced a RT 30 in Indiana and at raceway park in chicago. But really have not had the funds to do anything. But now I am changing all of it and if it kills me I am going to do it. The one thing that has been stressed to me is that no matter how much power you have if it does not hook you woun't go. But what I am learning more and more is when it hooks things tend to break. So what I am looking for is a setup for an entery level racer that plans to go further, if at all possible.
306(302 .030 over) can me made to run 11.80-12 flat pretty cheap or 351w with 3.85 crank stock rods and off the shelf 302 pistons you can have a 393 stroker REAL cheap about the cost of a rebuild traction is most of all of our problems , traction bars a must of course , many like Caltracs www.calvertracing.com but even slapper bars can do the job
Here's my story: bought a '75 2 door when I was 16. Planned on making a street car out of it. Built a little mild 302, c4...etc. Drove it around and I didnt' like the way it ran for a street car, so we made it into a dedicated drag car. It stayed stock chassis/302/c4 for a LONG time and I won a ton of money with it. But, as a racer, I wanted to go faster. So one weekend, I decided to put together a 393w and make a set of headers to fit the stock front end with notched towers. The 302 was running 7.30's when I pulled it out. The 393w I put new heads on (Victor Jrs), a Victor Jr intake but the rest was just a normal 393 (stock rods, cast crank, etc). It ran 6.70s & 80's most of the time. That was with leaf springs, stock front, all adjustable shocks, slapper bars (worked the best), etc. End of that season one of the stock rods let go which destroyed most of the rest of it. Next season I went with a stock crank 351w but with 13:1 compression. Ran the exact same ET and MPH. Went through that entire season with no troubles. Middle of next season I found a used Flying Toilet injection system and bolted it on. Picked up .35 and 5 mph over a gas 9375 Dominator. The Dominator was about .1 quicker than a custom built 830. Ran the rest of that season and found out that with leaf springs & 28x10.5's I was pushing traction to a limit...and on a summertime slick track consistency was just not there. So, I sold everythign I could get my hands on (thank you ebay), did a LOT of side work and odd jobs...and saved the $$$ to backhalf it. The backhalf pics are here on this site. It is not that hard to do, and it was THE best thing I have ever done to this car. While I did that, I also did a mustang 2 front suspension, moved the engine back 6 1/2" and lowered it 2" from the stock height which meant new firewall, new headers (went with outside-the-chassis headers 1 7/8" dia) and a LOT of other little things that went along with it. It was a TON of work but I can guarantee you it was all worth it. I went from DRIVING the car down the strip to basically just mashing the throttle and shifting. It was now driving itself STRAIGHT and true; and more importantly it was safer and more consistent. Since then, the chassis has not changed much...I added an anti-sway bar on the rear, taught myself how to adjust/plot a 4 link, new coil overs on the rear and fully adjustable front QA1's. First run with the new chassis I picked up another .3 and 6 mph...most of the MPH increase was due to the headers. Grenaded the 351w, but I had a 408 on the stand and ready to rock. Had one of the heads welded up, dropped them on, put in a new cam and it hasn't changed since...other than I grenaded that 408 and went back with a 415" which is .060" over 408..only this time steel crank instead of an iron crank. I'm running 5.90-6.00 in the 1/8 now and loving every minute of it. Moral of the story...I spent tens of thousands of VERY hard earned dollars getting as far as I have gotten. I could have easily spent a LOT less if I had just done the backhalf & 4 link, M2 front, and 415" windsor in the first place. And, not going to draw it out any further...but I will tell you now that if you're starting from scratch and wanting a fast reliable drag car, a 4 link is THE only choice. Go with a stroker windsor naturally aspirated, maybe alcohol (gas works too), do a front suspension upgrade of some sort, whether it be a mustang 2 or a strut or something custom...kits are available....and speaking from experience, the whole racing thing will be SOOO much more enjoyable. We are in it for FUN and not money; if we were trying to make a living by racing, we wouldn't be posting on this site...we'd be out hitting up potential sponsors and trying to find that deal of the lifetime.
I agree with mavman.....I did not runs the circle in my car. The first big spend was ladder bars/coil overs. I had the car ready for more horse power before I had the horsepower. Then I built the mild stroker I have in it now. It will run mid 10's and probably quicker if I "really" wanted it too. Do it right the first time. You doing good by asking questions before you start. Keep us in the loop.
Sounds like I should hook BOSSv10 up with the orange Maverick. Got my pics yesterday, gotta get it listed this week.
One thing you need to consider is your budget. On the one hand...it is nice to plan on building a back-half four link car with 14x32 slicks, a strut front end, big inch N/A stroker and run 9's. On the other hand....if you only have the money to do the back half and then you're broke but still want to go racing then you end up frustrated, not racing, and you have a half-built car taking up space. If you want to go racing right away and don't have a large stack of cash laying around then do something simple. Build a 331" 302-based engine or a 393" 351-based engine with a C4 auto and either slapper bars or Cal-Tracs with small slicks. Add subframe connectors and a six point roll bar then go have fun. This approach also works well for those who don't have the necessary fabrication skills or equipment to build a full-on race car. Once you have some bucks for the big modifications you can take the car apart and get after it. If you're ready right now with money burning a hole in your wallet.......you can go either four link or ladder bar. A four link is the ultimate setup but, as with anything "ultimate", you have to work with it. If you have no experience adjusting a four link you can get lost real quick. There are perhaps five settings that work and five hundred that don't. You want to put the work in to make the four link work properly? Get after it. However, if you want something that hooks very well and does not need much tuning to work then ladder bars are for you. Get a decent set of 32" ladder bars and add a coil over rear shock setup with GOOD, ADJUSTABLE shocks. For the front....many choices. Popular among them is the Mustang II style front suspension. You could also go with a full blown race car style strut front end. Better sit down when you see the prices on those! The final choice is up to you, of course. You are the only one who really knows how much you have to spend, what kind and how much work you can do on your own, when you want to race, and how fast you want to go. I've seen too many people dive headfirst into a full blown, double throwdown, killer badazz project car and then get stuck due to finances. The classifieds on the internet are full of half finished projects that someone has lost too much money on and lost interest in. Good Luck.
First I wanna thank everyone for their input. I was always taught measure twice , cut once. That is why I am trying to think of as many questions as I can to pick your collective brains. A budget is not quite something I have yet , but I am working on it . At this point I have some body work to do to get it ready, so I have time to get up some dough. My real plans are to remove the shock towers , add a mustang 2 front end , 8.8 or 9" rear , fiberglass hood and fenders , roll cage , and a 4 or 5 speed. I wanted a stick to keep with the grass roots theme I was going to go with. My real inspiration for this car is the Dyno Don maverick. Just can't afford a 427 .. well not yet anyway, one of my dads friends has 4 of them but $$$$.
Never heard of Holman and Moody but a Boss 429 mav sounds awsome ... if you take off say 55 thousand I might be able to afford it . What are those heads 5 grand for a bare head.
i know there is one at least in progress , but he is a punk he doesnt show pics or release to much info, itll prolly never make it out of the black hole its similar to the Dyno Don Maverick , just H&M built it ... it will even have shock towers
