Looking for advice/insight on car

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DDS74

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Long time reader, first time poster. So after a few years for putting my car together I've finally got it to the track a few times. Here's the specs that I can remember on the car

1974 Dodge Dart Sport
A freshly rebuilt .030 over 383 with comp cams XE285HL, torkerII intake, MSD 6AL-2 box with Pro Billet dizzy, stock 906 heads, 750 VS holley, breathing through just a set of headers and nothing after them. (The engine was built to follow Mopar Muscle's resto to rad 383 build, suposedly it was said to make ~450 hp and 450 lbs/ft)

Trans is a 727 of unknown mileage with a transgo TF-2 shift kit, and 3500 stall 10" Turbo Action torque converter.

Out back is a 8.75 donated by my bothers 69RR with 4.30s and a limited slip spinning 275/60/15 MT Drag radials.

Suspension is stock 318 bars and springs with cal tracs and Single Adjustable QA1s at all 4 corners

The car weights 3296 with myself in it.

As for performance the last time out with the 4.30s it was running 13.2@104 with a 2.04 60ft.
Now I know that being a new driver has an affect on all this but my buddy, who has a few more years of racing on me, couldn't cut a faster time then me in it. And at the last run I made I got flagged for leaking trans fluid, and was a 13.4@102 and a 2.06 60ft, it's coming from the inspection cover area so my guess is that the front pump is leaking but I haven't pulled it yet. My plan is to have the trans completely gone through by a racing trans guy and see what he can find and upgrade.
Its my thought that the trans is weak link here because, well it's leaking, and it is the only thing that hasn't been gone through other then the limited slip which also might be on it's way out too because there just wasn't much smoke in the burnout box and my buddy thinks he noticed noticed the driver side tire slowing down and speeding up during my burnout.

So my question to you of the internet is that; am I thinking to optimistically of my car to think that it should be quicker then a 13 second car? Thanks in advance for the help/advice!
 
Are you slipping off the line? can you leave under full power? does that 10" converter real stall at 3500? What is you timing at and were do you shift at?
 
It was happiest leaving the line around 1500 rpm, anything high and it would be slower honestly my 60 ft would go up to 2.1-2.2, as for shifting I'd shift at 5700 and through the traps at 5800-6000. Mancini lists it at 3500 stall. And I honestly don't know if it was slipping, I don't know what that feels like.
 
104 mph shows that it is making enough power to run mid 12s. Your 60 ft is awful. Is it spinning or does it just leave soft?
 
plant you left foot firmly on the brake and right foot slowly to the floor.......what does the tack show. I'm betting it's not any where near 3500 RPM.

Check you total timing, Im guessing that you don't have near enough of that......low timing = bad 60"

If your not sure if the tire is spinning, it must not be spinning much.
 
104mph isn't close to 450HP Those mag numbers are way off imo. the mph is 350HP range.
 
It leaves soft I guess, from the pictures that I have of it leaving it is getting a bit of the weight shift but not much, if I left any higher then 1500-1700 or so it didn't like it at all, it's not that it was spinning them it just felt slow out of the hole. In my searching and looking at people launching with cal tracs they seem to launch them fairly low in the rpms so that's what I was trying. As for timing I have 36 degrees in total.
 
I bought a converter from turbo action. It was a 3200 and no joke the stock converter was faster. I pulled it out and sent it back. Then called PTC and ordered one built for my car. It went from 2.0-2.05 60ft to 1.80s . I can't leave over 2k due to traction. Once I get new drag radials I believe I'll get a lot better 60ft times. I think some issues your having might be in the converter.
 
Yeah a 383 needs a good torque converter, my runner weighed 3035 with me in it and had similar setup even 4.30's and m & h race master tires and I went from a hemi converter which is about 1000 over stock to a real 3500 TCI converter and it dropped from 13 flat @ 106mph down to 12.40's @ 114mph it was truly a dog outa the hole but hauled *** after the 300 f mar my 60 ft dropped down to 1.6's form like 2.10's makes a big difference in bottom end power.
 
I have a off brand converter in my car and my best 60"/ET is when i leave just above idle.
Mine only stalls at 3000 with a 408 stroker.

All tho you have a big block, it is a short stroke BB and needs rpm to make power.
 
You also need a good shock on the rear for caltracs. A single adjusted shock is not going to do it. You need 90/10 o the front and a 10 way on the rear. Start at 50/50 on the rear. My street car on BFG would 1.8 60 foot.. It was a stock small block with a 200 shot on it. Leaving with a 50 shot and then squeezing the other 150 in second gear.

Tune the suspension.. You are giving up to much there.. I can see you are losing around 4 tenths.
 
Suspension aside for the moment - 383s need rpm to really move. My impression is it's down on power - probably from tuning. You said the timing is 36° total - what are the seperate initial and centrifugal amounts? When does the centrifugal start coming in? When does it finish? Also - that convertor needs to be higher stall and I'm not a fan of Turbo action. Get a custom convertor from Ultimate Convertor or soemthing from PTC. I think UC is the best, but PTC can do a decent one for good value.
 
I believe the initial is at 18 and it's all in by 2500 or so, I didn't change the springs or the bushings from the factory, I can't remember exactly and it's put away for the winter currently, while I work on other projects. As for the torque converter I bought this one because I was short on the funds and I needed a TC that would work, the stock one (the one that came with the car) wouldn't let me get more then a half mile down the road without loading up and killing the car, this one fit the bill because of cost and stall speed. I would love to buy a custom TC for the car but as always I am low on funds and this isn't the final set up of the car, it's only a temporary set up as I have a 440 in the shop that I would really like to build up to do some real power, when I do that I will buy a custom TC. The rear shocks are adjustable I believe they have something like 15 different settings on them.

I know that it likes to rev, when driving it as soon as you hit the 3000-3500 it just starts to pull like a freight train and it's all out of steam at 6000, I know the stock heads are the hold up now but I just can't afford the cost of aftermarket heads at the moment.
 
Even if you put a 440 in, it will want more timing in it. The 18 degrees initial is not enough. And it will wake up you 60 foot.
 
Cudafever said:
Even if you put a 440 in, it will want more timing in it. The 18 degrees initial is not enough. And it will wake up you 60 foot.
Click to expand...

Agreed and if you need a bushing to increase initial/limit mechanical, I have 10 and 14* bushings. $10 + shipping.

Find the point it kicks back on your starter when hot or highest vacuum at constant RPM while advancing distributor. Run it at the lower point of the two.
 
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