Ever been a hair from a lower second and cant get it ?

-
The Shocker

The Shocker

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
301
Reaction score
4
Location
Sherman Texas
I have been on a quest for 3 years to get my Dart to run a 6.99 in the 1/8.It started out running low 7.6's then i got it to hook and went to 7.40's ,then i got it jetted right and went to the 7.30's ,then i nailed the shift points etc.

I have been stuck in the mid 7.1's since last year (ideal weather here with a best of 7.13).Over the winter i upgraded to a little bigger cam ,home ported the heads ,and got stiffer valve springs to try and get me closer to a 6.99 slip.

Last night i took it down for a TNT session to try it out with the motor work and ran a 7.07 first pass in 30 degree weather and a cold track .Slipping and sliding all the way down the cold unprepped track i was on a quest to get that 6.99 slip and i hot lapped the car for 16 passes in 2 hours (thats right 16).It wasnt trying to over heat ,so i kept on.

I ran 4 7.09's ,3- 7.07's ,3- 7.05's ,2-7.02's,3 -7.01's,and my final pass before they shut down the track due to the lack of traction was a 7.005 ,lol.I almost felt bad for the old Dart to beat its *** so hard ,but she took it and never missed a beat .

Man that really hurt to be .005 from my goal.Im gunna have to try for that 6 second slip on another day .

My car use to run 95-96 mph ,and i ran several 97 and one 98 mph pass last night ,so i know the motor work paid off ...
 
wow dude. if you could lose 25 lbs somewhere you would hit it!

a buddy of mine and i used to joke around back in the day that a good wash and wax made his car run faster lol. it was a 10sec chevy II.
now he races a 7-sec camaro (1/4 mile) runs a 1000' in 6 point something seconds.

honestly, you are close enough to smell it. lighter battery? run 1/2 tank of fuel. gotta be somethin you are so darn close.

good luck!
 
0 toe in on the front end and taller upper control arm snubber if you haven't tried it. Also loosen up the brakes. Any reciprocating weight you can remove or friction drag from the drive line helps more then you realize. Just a thought I figured I would throw at you. Steve
 
Never been a hard core drag racer but I have done my share at the track so breaking into the next second with your car I have been there my self. Your motor work has payed off,It sounds like you need a little warmer day or fresh tires to get the hook you need, and like ML sead shed a pound or two
 
I was dealing with a stumble off the line every pass last night.Im thinking i may need jet extensions in the secondaries now.Right on the stab of the throttle it would bog then go like a raped ape.I was 60 foot'in mid 1.5's last night with the bog (which is what it did before the motor work).I know it had to cost me a bit as well.I tried to get that 6.99 slip with the bog ,since there wasnt anything i could do about it at the time ,but it just wasnt in the cards .Im gunna do sum carb work and give it another go .Thanks for the tips and good wishes ...
 
well even if you dont get the time down, you win with consistency and reaction time, not the ET :D

good luck bro, have fun
 
The Shocker said:
I was dealing with a stumble off the line every pass last night.Im thinking i may need jet extensions in the secondaries now.Right on the stab of the throttle it would bog then go like a raped ape.I was 60 foot'in mid 1.5's last night with the bog (which is what it did before the motor work).I know it had to cost me a bit as well.I tried to get that 6.99 slip with the bog ,since there wasnt anything i could do about it at the time ,but it just wasnt in the cards .Im gunna do sum carb work and give it another go .Thanks for the tips and good wishes ...
Click to expand...

did you try larger squirters?...are the squirter adjusted correctly?..

i got a few cars that 60' in the 1.40s...and don’t have jet extensions...
 
70aarcuda said:
did you try larger squirters?...are the squirter adjusted correctly?..

i got a few cars that 60' in the 1.40s...and don’t have jet extensions...
Click to expand...
Yes they are adjusted correctly ,but i have tried bigger squirters.I was leaving on the T-Brake @ 3800 rpm and the bog was right when i released the button or right on the hit ...
 
same as mine...leaves on transbrake....check that the front vent is not dumping gas into the main body.....connect a rubber hose between the vents and slice a hole at the top to vent the bowls..
 
Do you have steel rims?Swapping to some race rims will lose some substantial weight.Good luck your almost there.:D
 
Man i feel your happiness/pain. You'll get there for sure at some point. aar was talking about the pump shot........you could play with the cams since your leaving at 3800. A later opening cam or at least using screw #2 will get you a little more shot higher up on the throttle opening. I think you need to name her Timex.....lol. That many runs and keeps on gettin' it done........nice :thumbrig:. Now you just have to hope for some more of that power making weather....
 
Agree with Tony, do the v notch,on the hose over the vent trick.This is good news,you make enough power to change the tuning.
 
How did it 60' compared to before?

It's got plenty of MPH to go 6.9x times
 
UOP said:
Do you normally go to Northstar?
Click to expand...
Yes ,i was at Northstar Friday night for the TNT.I ran the nostalgia thing Saturday as well.I redlighted in the first round of elemintations ,but i was still happy that my shadetree work paid off ,so i didnt go home with a frown on my face...
 
crackedback said:
How did it 60' compared to before?

It's got plenty of MPH to go 6.9x times
Click to expand...
Same mid 1.5 60 foots like before .Only difference now is it does it with the stumble ,so i know if i could get that to go away it would have to pick up a little bit of 60' ...
 
Do you run an accessory belt? If so, you might pick up a little if you remove it before the run.

What about chassis stuff? Have you tried adjusting tire pressure up or down? Adjustable shocks? Do you have a video of your launch to see how the car comes off the line?

Maybe with all the recent mods your optimum shift points may have changed?

What converter is in it? Perhaps you need it to be adjusted with the changes?
 
rmchrgr said:
Do you run an accessory belt? If so, you might pick up a little if you remove it before the run.

What about chassis stuff? Have you tried adjusting tire pressure up or down? Adjustable shocks? Do you have a video of your launch to see how the car comes off the line?

Maybe with all the recent mods your optimum shift points may have changed?

What converter is in it? Perhaps you need it to be adjusted with the changes?
Click to expand...

My car is pretty much junk as far as chassis goes.Its not a budget build its a "back burner" welfar build that i only race a few times a year .The rest of the time it sits under a tree in my back yard inhabited by alley cats .Thats no lie either as i have to clean cat foot prints and hair off the motor often ,lol.

I have stock OE 49 year old 6 cylinder springs and torsion bars and wore out Monroe shocks .I am running a set of $35.00 (vintage 1960's) slapper bars that i got off C-list.

I am running 7 inch steel wheels and 8 inch M/T slicks .I run 13.5 psi in them as any less it gets weird at speed.The starter who was standing next to my car told me it was "Dead Hooking" and popping both front tires off the ground every pass.I have 15x4 vintage cragers up front with VW metric tires.

My convertor is a 3500 that wont footbrake past 2300 when it pushes over the wheel brakes and creeps.If i hold the T-brake i can get 3800.

Im not looking to throw lots of $$ at it with a new convertor ,carb ,gears ,tires ,etc, just to pick up .005.Im gunna use creativety instead.I could build a 4 second car with enough $$ ,but im only after a 6.9 car with the old Dodge ...

I ran it up to 6500 on a few passes and it was still pulling ther ,but i didnt want to go higher with the 5 qaurt stock pan .I used to shift it at 5800 with the old cam .

Here is a vid of my car from a few years ago .It launches the same way ,just without the bog then .I was 60 foot'n about 1.6 then ,and mid 1.5's now ...

[ame="http://youtu.be/ANgirZBweXI"]302 Found[/ame]
 
The Shocker said:
Im not looking to throw lots of $$ at it with a new convertor ,carb ,gears ,tires ,etc, just to pick up .005.Im gunna use creativety instead.I could build a 4 second car with enough $$ ,but im only after a 6.9 car with the old Dodge ...
Click to expand...

Wasn't saying buy new all equipment but perhaps freshen up what you have to get optimum performance out of it.

X2 on the looser brakes and wheel bearings. Did you check to see if they were dragging at all?

Perhaps check the alignment?

Maybe dump the traction bars (weight) and clamp (stiffen) the front section of the leaf springs instead? That's basically what Caltracs do...

You likely understand what I'm saying about the converter is that it may not be right for your combo anymore. You've picked up elsewhere with the porting and cam so clearly your power curve has changed enough so the converter may be that much less efficient.

Is it a huge deal to get it out and send it somewhere to have it tailored to the new combo? It can be if you don't have the equipment to do it. If it's not happening I guess you are indeed looking elsewhere. :dontknow:

Is the car gutted? Can you remove the hood? Read through this thread over on Moparts for some 'creative' thinking regarding weight loss.
 
I watched the vid, looks like it launches OK.

Could it be hitting the tires too hard? That would then unload the suspension for a millisecond.

Did you check your rear shocks for proper travel?

What about proper pinion angle?
 
You'll get it.
If it hooks w/ 13.5#'s in the tires, put more in them. (Less rolling resistance.)
Fix that stumble!
Remove anything that is not needed.
Like Ramcharger said, take the slapper's off. Mopar's don't need them.
Also, please respond to the idea's about front end alignment and brake adjustment, etc. You can measure toe yourself.
Maybe a ram air air cleaner? You can make that, too.
Myself, I don't think going round-robin is a good way to pick it up. Cool ambient temps or not, that thing had to be hot! Does the water pump spin w/o the engine running? If it doesn't, you should get an old Moroso set up on there. That alone would probably do it.

Maybe you should tell us more about the car, so we don't recommend things you have already done.
 
I am gunna spring for a an alignment on the Dart ,as i know its out.I backed off the torsion bars sum time back to lower the front ,and it is off im sure now .I havent checked the rear brakes in a while ,but i repacked the fronts a few months ago.They are Duster disc's up front and there is a good bit of drag on them IMO ...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top