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Finally got the race car dialed in

That poor SOB in the picture doesn’t like BB sounds. Looks like all others pictured didn’t feel the need to earmuff!
 
usedto said:
I'll bet quite a few folks don't get the license plate.:thumbsup:
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Getting those plates a few months ago presented a moral dilemma. Previously I had never bought a dress-up item in my life for a car or motorcycle. Not even wheels. I’m too cheap to waste money on something that’s not going to make a difference.
I rationalized it by making it a Christmas present.
Another one not everyone would get is the car’s would-be name. Time II Kill.
 
@grillebilly

That is a sweet looking ride!!!!! I had a 70 Chevelle with a 350 4 barrel and stock T-Shift back in the day but I was too young to appreciate it and proceeded to beat on it (mechanically) and then I'm guessing selling it for some ridiculously low price.
 
That Nova looks fantastic. To be honest, I've never understood the fascination with bracket racing but your description helps me understand your passion and the work involved. I still need to turn the wheel a bit more but now I have a better appreciation for your world. Thanks!
 
BMWCCA said:
That Nova looks fantastic. To be honest, I've never understood the fascination with bracket racing but your description helps me understand your passion and the work involved. I still need to turn the wheel a bit more but now I have a better appreciation for your world. Thanks!
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Thanks for the kind words!
The attraction in bracket racing is everyone can race and be competitive. It's really not about having the fastest car. If it was, the same guys would win every week, and most everyone else will stay home. It would also be a sport for the very wealthy. It takes a lot of cash to be the fastest. I race against "rail" dragsters often. They weigh about half of my car.
There are what they call "heads up" classes. They vary from grocery-getters with strict rules on modifications to run what-ya-brung exotic racecars with multiple power adders (boost). They are the most fun to watch, but have a hard time getting a large car count.
There's some satisfaction from taking a backyard built car and beating a quarter-million dollar purpose built race car. Some of these guys have more in their golf carts than I spent on the car.
Thanks again!
 
Yeah, bracket racing is the real run what ya brung first to the finish line is the winner type of racing. I can dig it, but, I like to turn the wheel too as @BMWCCA says.
My brother just bought a race car today. It's a purpose built car that ran in the 150mph class of the Silver State Classic. He and my nephew are planning on running it in the Lucky Dog series and use it for track days.
 
Doing the math at 176 feet per second at 120 MPH, the spread on the 3 runs being .0017 seconds (rounded up to .002) it looks like the 3 passes were separated by about 4 inches (.352 feet) at the finish line.
 
With consistency in mind, is it easier to run flat out every time or only go part way?
I would think going flat out every time would be easier and then you could attribute time differences to things like wheel spin or missed shifts etc.
 
Old Ears too said:
With consistency in mind, is it easier to run flat out every time or only go part way?
I would think going flat out every time would be easier and then you could attribute time differences to things like wheel spin or missed shifts etc.
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Yeah, it's pedal on the floor wide open every run. If your car is working than the race is usually won on the starting line.
Some drivers do "dial up" a couple hundredths and try to judge the finish line, thinking they will hit the tree better than the other guy, and nose their car across the stripe first. That's dangerous because the chance of "running out", meaning going faster than their dial-in, is way high. The cars are running different speeds, it's very difficult to judge the finish when the margins are so short. I am horrible at the stripe and have "given" the finish away many times when lifting. My only recipe is to pretend there's no one in the other lane and lift only when the other car breaks.
 
My brother did bracket racing for many years - built a business up from building racing automatic transmissions.
He had a Big Block 64 Chevelle because he wanted a frame under him - but - that car was a monster!
He had street tags on it for a while and I can recall riding along on a few 6Am runs down Old Columbia Pike
from Burtonsville when I was younger ... when we were all younger!

Stephens64Chevelle.jpg
 
Great looking car and I love that color.

grillebilly said:
Doing the math at 176 feet per second at 120 MPH, the spread on the 3 runs being .0017 seconds (rounded up to .002) it looks like the 3 passes were separated by about 4 inches (.352 feet) at the finish line.
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That is absolutely insane consistency. Do the times you target/run vary a lot day to day (with differing temps, differing humidity, etc)?

grillebilly said:
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.
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I believe this 1000% -- the usable power is more driven by torque curve than peak HP (I guess unless you can keep the engine at peak HP RPM). The "high horsepower low torque" street cars I've driven like the Subaru BRZ, late 60's/early 70's Porsche 911 "s" model, and the Honda S-2000 have impressive performance numbers (0-60, 1/4 mile) but are fairly miserable miserable to drive under normal conditions -- the road testers have the beat the living crap out of them and keep them at the highest revs to get those performance numbers.
 
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@peterp1 - It's funny you bring that up. My brother once loaned me his '67 911S for a weekend to drive it to the races at Laguna Seca. What a PITA car to drive in any kind of traffic. By the end of the weekend I was more than ready to jump back into my not so stock 912 for the ride south home.
Torque rules for day to day driving. That is one reason Porsche came out with the 'T' model 911. It was tuned for more low end torque that US customers were familiar with.
 
Old Ears too said:
@peterp1 - It's funny you bring that up. My brother once loaned me his '67 911S for a weekend to drive it to the races at Laguna Seca. What a PITA car to drive in any kind of traffic. By the end of the weekend I was more than ready to jump back into my not so stock 912 for the ride south home.
Torque rules for day to day driving. That is one reason Porsche came out with the 'T' model 911. It was tuned for more low end torque that US customers were familiar with.
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Agreed. The 911 "e" from that same era was amazing -- much faster than the "t" but without all of the peakiness of the "s". The "e" was my favorite by far. I miss my '69 912.
 
My old 912 is sitting up at my brother's place. Waiting in line for who knows what to happen to it. Kind of a shame too as it was pretty much dialed in when I traded it to him for his 911SC.
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