My first time out. what next?

Back in December I took my 67 valiant to the strip for our local "Mopar Nationals", one of my mates has a very nice 383 duster and we naturally ended up razzing each other about who's going to be faster on the day.

His 383 duster or my 318 valiant. (a nice little underdog story)

The event was getting closer and my it turns out i have a bit of a competitive nature after all because I decided i might up the ante a little and have a bit of light porting done on my cylinder heads... UH OH.

Number 8 bore had a chunk missing from a rust spot that had worn away, you could catch it with your finger nail. Sooo out comes the motor, I tear it down and decide times running tight and get my engine builder to reassemble it for me after he's fitted the sleeve.

I get to chatting with the gentleman who offered to port my heads and he shows me he has a shelf full of second hand mopar SB camshafts and offers one to me for little more than spare change. (by hotrod standards)

So now I have a whopping solid cam with 254/254 duration and a set of lightly ported cylinder heads. I just might catch that 383 after all!

The car all goes back together and I decide my cast exhaust manifolds simply won't do. I've had these second-hand custom made 1-3/4" headers sitting on the shelf for a few years and decide that they only need "a little bit of massaging" to make them fit.

A month later, with about a dozen pieces of tubing that "almost fit just right" left over, it's time to fire that engine up. everything went smoothly. no problems with the cam break in. was music to my ears!

I didn't get to drive it much between first fire up and drag day. It was only little over a week between.

The night before nationals i was up til about 3AM trying to figure out how to "launch" because it had never occured to me that i have no idea how to actually drive these bloody autos properly. truth be told i still don't!:burnout:

So the day finally arrives and i'm up around 6:30am which is unheard of for me. I literally grab everything i might possibly need in case i break something or need to make adjustments. I reckon i had 150kg of tools and spares in the trunk. (obviously took them out before racing)

My first time staging and i somehow manage to get to the line with my wheels turned to the left. embarrassingly it takes a few times for me to get staged properly as the marshall just kept asking me to go forward and backwards and i had no idea i wasn't lined up. LOL :oops:

Anyway I only made a few runs, but decided to quit while i was ahead and my car wasn't broken. I managed to click off a best of 13.96@98mph which i'm satisfied with.

My buddy in the 383 duster managed to best me by about 3 tenths but to me i'll consider it as a personal victory since there was a bit of smack talk about my doors getting blown off by a big block etc. :D

So it's getting to about that time that if i want to make any changes to the car i have a few months to do it before nationals come round again. My current specs are as follows.

1967 VC Valiant Regal
318 +.030"
Dome top forged pistons.
Scat H beam rods
915 J heads, lightly ported.
1-3/4" headers. 30" long. 13" collector
10.2:1 compression.
Cam is ISKY Z35 solid. 254/254 108LSA .525Lift
Recurved distributor. 14 deg @ idle. 34 deg total
Edelbrock Performer RPM intake. 650AVS carb.
904 trans with transgo TF2, converter foot brake stalls to 2000
3.7 LSD with 235 street tire (25 inch tall)
estimated weight with driver 3300lbs.

It's a little less streetable than i'd really like, with an idle vacuum of about 6"

Things i want to change.

6 blade truck fan is a HEAVY SOB, but this thing gets gets hot in an aussie summer.
Electric thermo fans would be more efficient and won't rob horsepower

Home made twin 2" exhaust system was crudely bent to fit with oxy torch (time was running out before the big day)

I think i could definitely get a better time with a ratchet shifter as i found the standard shifter to be highly resistant, if you attempt to change too enthusiastically it will go straight from 1st to neutral!

I was looking at the possibility of getting a fibreglass hood and bumpers. but shipping to AUS makes it a little pricey. I haven't ruled it out.

Long term plans include a super victor intake and megasquirt MPFI.

Best run
60ft - 2.17sec
330ft - 5.88sec
660ft - 8.97sec @ 79.97mph
1000ft - 11.66
ET - 13.96 @ 98mph

Would a higher stall of about 4000rpm be of much advantage next time round?
Any ideas/suggestions or advice appreciated.