Holy smokes! I had no idea that a Maverick could look so "naughty" (snicker). That video is VERY exciting to watch. What size engine / trans. / rear axle are you using? The nitrous is obvious,...hahaha! My first car as a young lad was a 200 cu. in. 72 Maverick. $hit brown on brown, ($1725.00 used back in 1975). I've always thought a nasty engine in these would be a lot of fun. Thanks for loading up the video. I'm psyched when I see videos like yours. I drive a FORD SHO as a family car and it's a sweety, but now that I'm retired, I'm looking to buy one of these cars and drop something evil into it and mess up some pavement. I'm delighted that you can keep a nice sleeper look to these too! Later guys and girls. Drop me a line if something comes up for sale, eh? dkratz@nc.rr.com
There was a red maverick there on December 23, had a 408 in it I believe. Someone had converted it over to coil over shocks in the front, the towers were gone, very interesting the way they did it. I didn't get his name but he was from Phoenix. I plan on being there Feb. 3rd, we should all try to get together.
Gene can probably tell you more on the engine, 302, 10.25's, 289 heads, Edelbrock torker intake, Mallory ignition, Barry Grant 750, stock lower end and stock C-4, (scary), 5.14 gears in a 9 inch with Cal Tracs, I can't remember the cam specs off the top of my head. Nitrous Works 175 hp kit, using the 150 jets. I hold the button down from the moment the light turns green till the end. :evilsmile :evilsmile
i love that GET UP AND GO LAUNCHING... looks awesome.. seems to be a little wiggly on takeoff. my myspace name is stmanser add me..
Weak,...hahahah! More like a hot potato jumping out of the oven...damn, that's one naughty beast guy. I would guess that the engine prep. for that is outragous in cost for NOS, eh?
I love the "all fours" off the ground. But you have to know that you can improve your 60' if you get the rears to stay planted. Maybe take a turn or so out of the Cal-Tracs, back off a turn or two on the shocks or even remove a leaf spring (extreme)? Don't get me wrong, I love the way it looks when it porpoises out of the hole. It's fun to watch. Nice ride. Thanks for the vid.
Awsome video.... So now I know what my car may look like on the spray. I also run a stock bottom end and yes it is scary......
So...why does the rear of the car raise under launch? well...it's kind of complicated, but anyone with some chassis knowledge can understand. It has to do with the height of instant center (point of lift) in relation to the neutral line (line drawn from the centerline of the rear tires at the ground to the car's center of gravity). If IC is higher than the neutral line, the rear will raise, or separate. If it is below the neutral line, the rear will squat. If it is ON the neutral line, it will neither squat or separate. Now, the instant center (IC) on a leaf-sprung car is at the front spring eye. The neutral line is much lower than the IC on these cars, which causes the rear to separate. And since the spring eye is mounted to the frame, there is no adjustment for it. In order to combat this separation, about the only things that can be done are (one) lower the center of gravity (lower the entire car) or (two) use some adjustable shocks and adjust the rebound to the stiff side of the adjustment. Or you could backhalf it & go with a ladder bar or 4 link...and the 4 link really is the way to go if you're starting from scratch (speaking from experience), but this option is much more expensive than the first two. the amount of separation or squat is referred to anti-squat value, which is usually expressed in a percentage. 100% AS means that it will neither separate or squat. Under 100% means that it will squat and more than 100% means that it will separate. This can be calculated by plotting out the rear suspension, which is quite a task in itself. Another subject for another day...or do a web search. There is some valuable information out there. Back when I ran leaf springs, I had a set of home-made "caltracs". They worked in conjunction with some adjustable shocks which I had set at full soft (which stiffened up the rebound and softened up the bump). This helped separation immensly. Car was driving straight and true. But don't take it wrong...lots of separation means that the chassis is FORCING the tires into the track, which is generally good for initial bite. Sometimes, though, you can find yourself really trashing the tires, which is easily seen by watching a vid of the launch. Sometimes (like in the vid posted here) you can see where the chassis separates so hard and hits the tires so hard that it will initially hook, then when the shocks reach their upper travel limit, it will unload slightly and sometims spin. Mine did the same thing. I fought it for years and was still fighting it until I backhalfed it & did the 4 link. Worked great on a marginal track, but it SUCKED when the track didn't need that much bite and the weather was cool. 60's were all over, from 1.40-1.50 and it would just do it's own thing whenever it pleased with no warning. Kind of hard to dial it like that! Ideally what you want is a smooth launch with very little separation, very little front end lift (if any at all) and just a LITTLE tire spin. This sport/hobby/addiction we call drag racing is nothing more than a controlled burnout from the starting line to the finish line. He who can control that burnout the best and cut the best lights on a consistent basis will be the winner 99% of the time.
A goog friend of mines stang did that with his Cal tracs, He took some preload out and wow did it help. That run would have been 10s for sure if it didnt unload like that.
