Went to the track yesterday and got the news that the fellow who lost some of his foot, is doing ok. He hopes to be back to work soon and also is already fixing the car to race again. Track owner has now required all Mopar auto trans cars, to have a scattershield. On another note, I made it to the semi's with the 347 fearmont. First time trial was an 8.82 @ 113mph in the 1000ft. Car seemed a bit sluggish at first with the weather and air density changing rapidly. Mavman had put on a new set of Hoosier 32x14's and was having a small tire shake in the Maverick. I told him of my feeling on the "fat" condition of the toilet injection and he tweaked on it with his knowledge of how they work. Took the old girl up for the next run and doing the burnout, knew it was "way" better. 8.39 @ 119mph. 1.38 60ft and 6.49 @105 in the 1/8th. Lights were .540's and a .515 all day, except for the semi round against a Mopar, had some trouble with the tranny not engaging 1st gear immediately, when trying to stage. Had to rev it up to get it in gear and that thru my whole launch sequance off. Popped a .487 red and still ran it out at 8.39-119mph on a 8.41 dial in(who me, sandbag?) Anyway got some money and also was team race day with five us regulars on our team, "Miracle Racing" We were tied for the lead in points for the day against several other teams, going into the final. Mavman had redlighted out early and the other Maverick on the team was going to run the same Mopar that I had let win. Same fellow driving it that had the cycle wreck last year that I posted about. He told me he would kick that Mopar's arse for me, and by damn he did. Won Pro/noe and also the team championship for the day, which each of us got a nice plaque and 35.00 each for it. He recd. 500 for the win and I got 100 for the semi. Some days it just can't get any better than that. Paid for fuel and entry fee, so it was ok for this old guy. May put the "glide" in tha fearmont before next race day in May. Mavman has it all built for me and all I need is a cheby converter to match the engine and car, etc.
Great news! I love hearing the reports on yall's racing. I'll bet it's a blast to hang out with you guys at the track (or in the garage, or kitchen, or, no...no, not there). Keep the reports coming, Dave.
No transbrake in the exploded 727, at least not that I know of. The only thing that bothers me is...how long is that 302 block going to last in the Fearmont??? Time will tell I guess. The Maverick....I may have to do some 4 link work again. It rattled the tires pretty hard on the first time trial, enough to shake some nuts & bolts loose and a hot wire came loose on the back of the trans temp gauge, which shorted, and popped the fuse about 10 feet out and immediately died...smoke under dash and all. I knew what happened because I saw the EGT probe wire red hot. All day long it was just barely spinning the tires, enough to throw off the 60' times and 1000' ETs by a little...but I did manage a personal best 60' time in the quarter finals. Had been running 1.33 all day except one 1.29 and one 1.30...and of course it would have to run that 1.26 in the quarter final. I "parked" it on the big end and still broke out with a 7.73 on a 7.74 dial at 102 mph (been running 130). 1/8 mile time was a 5.92/116. We'll try again another day.
i hope i can start racing for money soon.. just need to get a few things buttoned up i dont think i will be team racing.. all by myself.. but i will be doing some cash/trophy races as soon as i can
Do you think either one of y'all could tow my car through the quarter so I could say my car had made a 8 second trip?? I mean, I'd consider it a favor!! Seriously though, that sounds like a LOT of fun! Y'all have some very fast cars and both of you are willing to share the go-fast knowledge with the rest of us, and I appreciate it. I think the VERY first PM I got on this site years ago was from you Mr. Dave with advice for gears. Never did forget your willingness to help me. Either of you, for that matter. Good luck this year, stay safe and win some rounds for the rest of us!! Thanks again to both of you, and y'all take care!! Preston
Simon, I'm not racing for money. I race for fun and if I win a little $$$ than good...if not, I go home with less than I showed up with. If you're going to race with money on your mind you'll find that you'll go home discouraged a little too often. Speaking from experience! And Preston...no problem! All too often we see people on forums that post this and post that...but are usually very little help. That, and it seems like a lot of times people will buy a car already set up or have someone else do the work for them...and we don't get to see what it took to get there. So, all these years I've been busting my butt getting to where it is now...and I've learned a LOT...so why not share the knowledge? You sure can't take it with you when you go!
oh.. dont get me wrong.. i plan on losing every race i enter.. i would like to race for some cash... but what i meant was, i wont full out bracket race yet.. i would love to right now.. there is a $13k race car makeover going on at my track and another track close by.. there are gonna be 10 races.. the worst one gets thrown out.. and in the end, someone is gonna get $13k in parts... or more.. i would LOVE to be part of that.. but my car is no where near what it needs to be to win..there are guys running within .05 of their dial in.. and i cant compete with that.. i am lucky if i am within .2 of my dial in right now nowe once i get the springs and intake and tires figured out.. there would be no reason i cant give some of these guys and gals a run for the money i have always been pretty good with reaction times on cars that were setup correctly.. i had a 98 grand prix gtp.. my first night out EVER, went something like this 1. went through wet box (because i didnt know any better) had a 1.78 reaction time 2. someone told me to leave when the last yellow comes on (trust me) 3. .502 4. .503 5. .601 6. .508 or something close to those.. but yes.. i ran a .502 and .503 my first night ever every night after that i would cut 600-700 lights nearly every time i have red lighted 4 times total. i think i have the eye for it.. i just need a car that i can set and forget..and i am working on that part
Congrats to both of you. I got the final touches to my Mustang coming in the big brown happy truck. That 302 block held up alot longer for Dave than it did for me. lol Thats the block we cracked when trying to heat the freeze plugs to get them out. So Dave traded me blocks and concreted it for his use in the Fearmont. Anyways, car will be up at the strip hopefully before my wedding May 26th. If not, shortly after. Congrats again
What Todd said. Started out in the 60's racing stock cars and no one would give me any tips on how to set up the car or stuff like that. Drag racing is a bit different when you are with friends and running smaller tracks like ours. My theory is the same as Todd's, why not share what little we have learned over the years and feel the pride of accomplishment when the opponents or hot rodders do good in their projects etc. Had a woman driving a Falcon with us, back a few years ago, she was as tough as they come on the tree and had a very mild iron head 302. She got a large tax refund that year and asked me what I thought she should buy to improve her car. I said that I would get some RPM heads and go to a solid lifter cam, to start with. She got them and hubby got them installed, I drew her on the wheel first round and damn if the did not beat me. Bought back and "crap", drew her again. She spanked me again! Told her afterwards "no more tips from me", all in fun of course. She still race's a hot little 460 later model T bird (when the big block ain't broke) and is still tough on that tree. She now has a four year old daughter who come's to the track too and one day I bet she will be in the jr dragster program. Money is nice but helping and making friends is best win of the day.
very true.. i guess i just need to get to the track on a regular basis and help out the older guys so i can get in with them.. i lvoe helping people out as well.. just wish it came back ya know
I know exactly how you feel! It'd be nice to have someone return the favor once in a while but I've learned to not even expect it nowdays. On a lighter note, yesterday I went fishing for a couple hours. I'm sitting on a bucket watching my cork bob up & down and I hear in the background what sounded like pots & pans hitting the floor. Didn't think much of it, but eventually I turned around & looked up at the top of the waterfall and saw a nice blue 2 door maverick sitting just off to the side of the bridge over the waterfall...and someone walking around looking for something. Upon further inspection I noticed that the right front hubcap was missing...which explained everything. Kind of ironic that I was thinking about another Maverick that I had seen earlier in a junkyard and 30 seconds later a blue 2 door drives by. By the time I got through the thick wooded area I was in and back up to the truck, the driver & car were gone. I don't know if the owner is a member here or not, but if you are, I looked all over the place for that hubcap and never found it. I assume it went down the waterfall and into the pool at the bottom, but the water was going a little too fast for me to wade out in there & look for it. It was definitely not at the top of the falls and I didnt' see it anywhere in the brush around the area.
I dont think they are a member... this car was for sale over on Donaghey towards the little shopping center. Not a bad looking car... hood had problems opening. Dave looked at this car once before but didn't buy it. Catch anything good for dinner? And as for people helping each other out... Dave and Todd and Jr. have always been good to me and I try to help them out when I can.
