Projects 62 409 20 Day to Great Bend KS

I run 4:56 gears with 30.5" tires with 3sp auto in 1/4. About right.

 

I run 4.56 gears with 30" tires, THM400. Wish they were 4.30's. Going through the traps at 7500 rpm.

twisting that old cast iron 409 just a bit too much...but the old girl keeps on taking it!

 

Cam broke in and setting in race trim.

 

That looks like 100 kinds of fun Salty!

Can't wait to see you guys terrorize the Meltdown with that!

Scott


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She looks fine, that 409...!

 

Thanks guys
How important do you think a tach is?

 

Not important at all if you have a shift light.....

 

Well made one pass last night 15.34 shooting ducks all the way down the track. Looks like I have my work cut out for me today.

 

Persevere. What are your expectations?

 

Hope to at least be in the 13 s

 

Here are a few pics of James on the "maiden voyage" last night around 9:ish PM.


We used my 1962 SS car to ferry our bodies back and forth from the track to the Comfort Inn:

Enjoy!
Tom

 

Well.....?????

How did it run....???

The suspense is killin me here!

Scott


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Sorry Scott I have been fighting this thing all day yesterday never made a pass down the track.
Hope I can get this thing lined out today or this trip will have been a big waste. I am not throwing in the towel yet.
I swear this thing acts like an ignition problem but maybe after last nights sleep I will have a clear head with an open mine to look other places.

 

We're all in your corner Salty!

Did a plug wire maybe get burned and ground out on a header tube?

Maybe the leads got switched on the ignition coil?They will still run like that,but run like shit....

What's it doing,shooting ducks on the top end,or sluggish and lazy all the way across the tach?

Scott


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Well I think the problem was that the coil is internally resisted and the car has a resister wire feeding the coil.
So out of desperation Sunday morning after running into dead ends I ran 12 volts to the coil and made a blast down the return road and it sounder happier so I made a blast down the 1320 to a very weak 16 something with the secondary only hooked up to the front carb. I missed the first time trials but they were nice enough to let me get my second time trial in and I tried it with no secondary hooked up and blistered the track with a 17 something. Now for my next feat I had to pick a dial in so we said 16.40 and I hooked up the secondary on the rear carb and it went 15.77 needles to say I broke out but that was its best pass. Now I had no time to tune the carbs because of my ignition gremlin that I had been fighting all weekend. I believe this combo has some potential if I get more time with it.

Now for some real icing to the cake on this story. Sunday morning at the banquet brunch Hayden Profit put his hand on my shoulder and then again in the staging area and believe this gave me the encouragement to persevere and get some kind of handle on my problem car which is when I went back too the pits and and tried the 12 volts to the coil.
So maybe that was it or maybe not but thats the story I am going to always tell.
So now at least I have been down the track of the first US nationals and at the air base that my mom worked at before I was ever even I thought.

Thanks for sharing my build story with me and hope to see your guys on the 1320 somewhere in the future.
James Schrader PS my neighbors are not going to be happy with me in the near future while I get a handle on these carbs.

 

Want to see that pic of Hayden with James?


How cool is that?

Tom

 

A few self serving photos:

James at launch:


Me hanging out with my good buddy Hayden:

Cheers!
Tom

 

My brother-in-law recently dyno'd a Nice 427 Ford FE street engine for his Fairlane wagon. From the start it was suffering from an ignition problem. They finally figured out the the 12volt wire for the electric water pump was laying next to the pickup wire for the MSD, and was driving it bat shit! After they remedied that, the engine ended up making 575Hp/540 Tq.

 

Scott this was 100 plus times of fun. For me a bad day at the races is way better than a good day at work hands down.

Ric I am not sure why it took me so damn long too figure out the ignition problem.
I had an MSD 6AL I could have installed but I think if I cant make it run on what they had back then then I am not worth my salt.

Tom I am not worthy of that picture.

 

Just found my build on the Bel Air thought I would tell its latest for anyone that may of had some interest
Ran the car at the Meltdown Drags last weekend witch is the first time out since last September got a best of a 14.76
Still trying to get a good tune. Guess this could take me some time.
Plan is to be at the HAMB drags next month

 

At least the times are getting lower and not slower.

 

Just saw this thread. Wish I had known about the Great Bend race. Very nice car.

 

Thanks guys.
It's like back to school every time I work on it.

 

Please keep us posted. Luv those black BelAirs!

 

Going to be at the HAMB Drags if you can make it you should.

 

good luck !

 

Thought I should update this thread.

When I got home from the Meltdown Drags I found that the cam had shit the bed so I installed a smaller Isky Z55 cam cleaned the engine out and back together with a pair of 625 cfm cards.
I had wired up a 6al box at the meltdown well the first pass at the H.A.M.B. Drags the box took a shit during the burnout so I wired it up to the point again and the next pass the car runs a 12.76 now I am getting somewhere.
On my third pass it lost the poly lock on #1 intake and runs a 14.12 not so good.

Now the next outing is at Byron again worm the engine check valves again make a 12.45 @106 bring it bake in check valves again every thing good make another run fill that it is laboring at the top 12.39@107 so I check the valves again and back the timing down from 38 to 36 make another run 12.32@108 check thing again and make my last pass 12.26@108 going through the traps at 6000 and sounding happy.
I could be on to something now.

So on the way home from Byron we stop at St Louis make a bad time run so for the race I dial in at 12.30 cut a .022 light and out ahead of the other guy and watching for him over my shoulder trying to not brake out and beat myself I lift off the throttle then watch this guy fly pass me in the lights and beat myself.(dumb ass)I run a 12.44@102

Anyway I believe now I can work on jetting and playing with some carb spacers and a cowl induction set up.
Hope to be the 11s before the end of the year.

Not sure where we will go next but I cant wait.

 

Our cars are almost twins. Keep after it and you'll be right where you want to be. It's all part of it. If we didn't enjoy the challenge, we'd be driving a new Camaro or Mustang.

 

Well a lot has happen sense I have posted on the car.
I junked out my leaded up diff so installed a posi and some aftermarket axles.
Has run a best of a 12.23 with two jet changes and it gets a little air under the left front on launch.
Pretty happy with a bunch of used parts.
Here's a ride along from the HAMB drags and I won my class enjoy. Man I mowed that light down on this one.