How to improve my qtr. mile e.t. for free?

Yesterday I made 2 quarter mile p***es at Cecil County Dragway in my Model A Tudor highboy. It was my first time running at a dragstrip since I ran my 51 Chevy babbit beater at Atco a million years ago. It was spur-of-the moment and I was unprepared and had no idea what my car would do but I was secretly hoping for 100 mph in the 13-14 second range. My result was a slightly dissappointing 92 MPH at 14.82.

I think that my biggest potential for future improvement lie in the areas of
a) driving technique
b) weight reduction.(I might be able to take out 150 lbs)

The car:
Model A tudor highboy.
350/350 with mild cam, headers,650 cfm Edlebrock
3:50 something rear
radial street tires
no posi
open exhaust
air cleaner on

Driving technique:
avoided the water
did not heat up the tires
sat at @800 rpm idle and mashed the throttle. Straight takeoff w. little wheelspin.
shifted at @4000 rpm

So I am asking for some advice on how to shave off 1 second without spending any money. Is this a realistic goal?

Any recommendations on driving technique, tire pressure, or anything else, other than the obvious attention to engine tune-up?
Thanks in advance!

 

What were your 60ft times??

 

how about shifting at 5 grand

 

2x.

 

Try different shift points, stalling up on the converter on the launch, play with different timing adjustments(this could make a HUGE difference)

 

shorter rear tire

 

Shorter tire, heat them up. Slight power brake at the line ( just before spinning) , more timing , make sure the carb is set right and if it's a good 350, turn it up to 5500 rpms before you shift. You won't hurt it shifting it there. My own mild sbc with tunnelram I run it up to 6800 and it hasn't come apart yet. I don't know about taking a full second off your time but the changes willl help

 

More info:
R/T .161
60' 2.407
330 6.306
1/8 9.53
MPH 75.2
1000 12.386
1/4 14.822
MPH 92.63

 

X2 I think ya can get .5 shaved off that E.T. Get rid of that extra weight too. That should get another .15.

 

stage shallow, bring the motor up on the converter, shift at 5500 rpm

 

Traction.

Drop the 60' from a 2.4 to a 2.0 and your e/t will drop from 14.8 to ~ 14.

Shift point suggestions are worth less without a dyno chart or LOTS of track time.

David

 

And I know it's internal mechanical stuff, but most stock short blocks with a "mild" cam just kill the cranking compression, I would check it, hope for 120-140 PSI, if not it's a good idea to advance the cam 2-4 degrees, and that is dirt cheap for a SBC! A set of gaskets and a adjustable gear set is under $40.00. I have seen so many street cars that after simple modifications like that will be a tire smoking torque monster. Also, work on the mechanical advance in the dizzy, shoot for 12 degrees at the crank and about 24 degrees in the dizzy for a total of 36 or so. Hope it helps.

 

Your 60 ft tells it all, TOO MUCH WHEEL SPIN! Borrow some slicks or sticky DOT type tires and you'll see, and feel, the difference. Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

A big poo before racing is popular with quarter-milers over here...

 

Ok
1. Make sure tires are up on pressure. Radial tires when air is down will actually fold up in the center loosing traction.
2. Don't power brake it - Your 60ft times are bad.
3. leave the hole at about 1/4 throttle then nail it
4. Shift 1 to 2 at 3500
5. shift 2 to 3 at 4500
6. Run your total lead to 36 degrees
7. Put in new plugs then check them after the 1st run. If any thing other than clean to a very light brown lean it up a bit.
8. Take out weight 100 lbs = 1/10th

 

^^ oh my my my

 

weight and find out where the sweet spot of your motor is, tire size rear,rear gear, do you have disc brakes.......lots of stuff and it makes it fun ....as you find stuff or you can spend a ****load of money as DG said speed costs how fast ya want to go just figure it like golf dont get to serious and its damm fun.... oh sorry about my spellin and the other stuff

 

Thanks for your advice, guys. I'll try out your recommendations.

 

Damn! I fell off my chair laughing.....

 

http://clickclickboom.smugmug.com/R...Mandra-6132010/12532825_9g9mw#898968240_VwtXq

 

That would be a good start.
Another way to not only get free ET but to actually save money
doing it is to push back from the dinner table sooner.

 

free stuff, and fun at the track---

hitting your shift point won't help your 60 ft, but it'll help your E.T.

have somebody watch you from the stands and listen/watch for your shift. If you "nose over" before you shift, back off 500rpm and watch again. If you don't "nose over", add 500rpm on the next run, 'til you find the sweet spot.

this 'll sound retarded, but ---running a shift light at night will let your spotter see just how early/late you're shifting, as they can see the glow from the stands.

***uming the curve is right, bump the timing 2 degrees at a time until the car stops picking up et, set at last gain. If the engine is built "safe" you can pull fuel (jets) until it quits gaining, jet at last gain, BUT you'll be pushing it toward lean/detonation so WATCH IT!! with the "power tuning"

also, watch you engine temp, and vary it to see where the engine likes to run. Alternating running and shutting off, switching on and off the water pump/electric fan, can allow you to change the engine temp at the line.

 

Don't drive it like a school bus

 

air cleaner lid flipped upside down that is 100 hp

 

Hey Allmotor,
Thanks for posting your amazing pictures from Cecil.....all 522 of them! Very cool!

 

Do you have a hood on it or is it out in the open?

If you have a hood, run a cool fresh air source to the carb.
Don't ever let it sniff warm air if you can help it.
If you have a small stylish air filter, trade it for a big one.
..or.. get one of those gauze "filters" that really don't filter well, the K&N types that let dirt through.
After the races switch back to a filter that actually filters out the harmful stuff.

 

ooops

 

May I add something Ryan said to me at MOKAN a few years back when I had the same issues witht eh Touring "Dude, a 14 second street car is nothing to be ashamed of, that is in the top 25% of all these cars here today." he was right.

 

Glad you liked the pictures.They were taken by one of the regular photo guys who is at Cecil all the time. He takes some really great pics.

 

weight reduction....100lbs unsprung weight=.1 second