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Finally got the race car dialed in

grillebilly

grillebilly

Empty Head
It's been almost 2 years since the 67 Nova was working like it should. It's a bracket car, for those unfamiliar with that form of drag racing, it's handicap racing. You run faster and slower cars, the tree comes down first for the slower car, first to finish wins. You can't run faster than your index, or "dial in". Index goes on your windshield to the hundredth, this example would be 5.70.
By the time I was done it had a new engine, trans, converter, rear end ratio and reworked rear suspension. The rear gear was reduced from a 4:56 to a 4:10 because it was doing gigantic long wheelies and it was too violent to drive, hoping to tame it a bit at the risk of slowing it down.
So I went to test yesterday and after a few hours of figuring out why the fuel pressure was going away and the transbreak (holds the car at the starting line) wasn't working I was rewarded with 3 back to back passes within 2 thousandths of a second and one quarter of a MPH. The 1/8 mile times 60 foot times, and MPH were all personal bests with the car as well.
Here's the proof, 3 consecutive time slips. The reaction times are throwaways as it was a pro tree test (instant on like heads up racing) and I was concentrating on the car.
It's a giant weight lifted off my back as it's been an obsession after so many problems and disappointments.

time slips beach.jpg
 
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grillebilly said:
It's been almost 2 years since the 67 Nova was working like it should. It's a bracket car, for those unfamiliar with that form of drag racing, it's handicap racing. You run faster and slower cars, the tree comes down first for the slower car, first to finish wins. You can't run faster than your index, or "dial in". Index goes on your windshield to the hundredth, this example would be 5.70.
By the time I was done it had a new engine, trans, converter, rear end ratio and reworked rear suspension. The rear gear was reduced from a 4:56 to a 4:10 because it was doing gigantic long wheelies and it was too violent to drive, hoping to tame it a bit at the risk of slowing it down.
So I went to test yesterday and after a few hours of figuring out why the fuel pressure was going away and the transbreak (holds the car at the starting line) wasn't working I was rewarded with 3 back to back passes within 2 thousandths of a second and one quarter of a MPH. The 1/8 mile times 60 foot times, and MPH were all personal bests with the car as well.
Here's the proof, 3 consecutive time slips. The reaction times are throwaways as it was a pro tree test (instant on like heads up racing) and I was concentrating on the car.
It's a giant weight lifted off my back as it's been an obsession after so many problems and disappointments.

View attachment 2554573
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Nice, A 5.7 to the 1/8th should be about a mid 10 second car my guess, What is the combo and weight
 
grillebilly said:
After taking the regulator and the pump apart I checked what should of been checked first. It was a dirty fuel filter screen. That's all on me and should be regular maintenance.
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Has happened to us all, if you work on your own vehicles. Glad you got it going right.

You can win some races with those 5.70s with a digit following. Dang close to bracket limit.
 
Lately I've been watching Engine Master's on Motortrend channel and have learned a lot about how they go about setting up an engine. They do a lot of testing that has real world significance when it comes to how an engine pulls. They had a good discussion about the differences between a 426 Hemi and a 440 motor they tested back to back on the dyno. I highly recommend watching some of their shows as they're always talking about the guys who are just bolting stuff on but don't really know how it affects the engine's output. The show where they tested long tube vs short tube headers was very interesting, at least to me.
You have a cool car there @grillebilly . Looks like a fun way to go racing if you can afford to that kind of thing.
 
Old Ears too said:
Lately I've been watching Engine Master's on Motortrend channel and have learned a lot about how they go about setting up an engine. They do a lot of testing that has real world significance when it comes to how an engine pulls. They had a good discussion about the differences between a 426 Hemi and a 440 motor they tested back to back on the dyno. I highly recommend watching some of their shows as they're always talking about the guys who are just bolting stuff on but don't really know how it affects the engine's output. The show where they tested long tube vs short tube headers was very interesting, at least to me.
You have a cool car there @grillebilly . Looks like a fun way to go racing if you can afford to that kind of thing.
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Thanks for the recommendation and the kind words.
I have been building engines professionally for 40 years and get the matching parts aspect. Not the best tuner in the world but this car is flying for what it is.
 
I found the episodes where they put different intake manifolds on the same engine and compare the runs very interesting.
 
grillebilly said:
Thanks for the recommendation and the kind words.
I have been building engines professionally for 40 years and get the matching parts aspect. Not the best tuner in the world but this car is flying for what it is.
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Do I assume correctly that you have a dyno you run your engines on?
 
Old Ears too said:
I found the episodes where they put different intake manifolds on the same engine and compare the runs very interesting.
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Yeah, getting combinations that work is a science. But the final say is on the dyno and on the racetrack. My mind gets blown sometimes by customers who come up with things that make a car go faster around or down a track. One guy times how long it takes an engine to get from one RPM to another, that being from when it comes out of a corner to when he brakes for the next. He'll sacrifice HP for a quicker time, which logic says is impossible, but he swears by it and has quite a few track championships as a crew chief.
I don't have the money or the willpower to wrangle every last HP out of my personal stuff. Most of my drag racing customers are bracket racers, where consistency and durability are the main concerns. We go out to have fun and hopefully go rounds.
 
grillebilly said:
Yeah, getting combinations that work is a science. But the final say is on the dyno and on the racetrack. My mind gets blown sometimes by customers who come up with things that make a car go faster around or down a track. One guy times how long it takes an engine to get from one RPM to another, that being from when it comes out of a corner to when he brakes for the next. He'll sacrifice HP for a quicker time, which logic says is impossible, but he swears by it and has quite a few track championships as a crew chief.
I don't have the money or the willpower to wrangle every last HP out of my personal stuff. Most of my drag racing customers are bracket racers, where consistency and durability are the main concerns. We go out to have fun and hopefully go rounds.
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The engine dyno they use has the ability to measure so many things it blows me away sometimes. One show they were measuring different oil pumps and how they effected HP. The graphs that Steve Brule can put up on the screen are really telling. It's not all about getting the most HP. How the HP works with the gearing in the car is also important. Like I said, it's an interesting show well worth taking a look at if you have the time/desire as they look at things from the standpoint of the regular guy going out and building an engine and showing what he can expect from the different combo's of parts they use.
 
Old Ears too said:
oil pumps and how they effected HP.
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It used to be a trick to use small block Chevy pumps in big blocks because they take less energy to spin. That goes back to the 60's. The term used for power robbing friction is parasitic drag. Oil pans can make or rob over 30 HP. Vacuum pumps are good for a lot of power too, as there's no crankcase pressure keeping the pistons from going down in the hole. Dry sump systems have a similar effect with scavenging. Almost all engines use very narrow rings, even factory passenger cars. You would think after over 100 years they would of perfected the internal combustion engine, but they keep coming out with new technology to make 'em work better.
I quit watching TV in 2008. I will check online to see what they have.
 
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