What do you think my 57 chevy will run in the 1/4 mile?

Sounds like a cool ride. Put a rev limiter on if you haven't already. Missing a shift can ruin your day as fast as anything. Can't wait to see pics.

 

Ya these guys are right on the Rev Limiter thing.My 6Al cost me $250 and that seems like alot when your young ,but if you miss a gear a blow it ,you will wish you had bought one.I have powershifted many cars many time without one but anything can happen,broke u joint ,clutch failure ,input shaft you name it.With your foot on the floor when something breaks you might not have time to lift .I would hate to see you loose your motor over a broke u joint.You've got my mark kid you remind me of me when i was 16 .Good luck with your 57 .Now lets see some pics...

 

If all else fails, get your dads 57 out and thrash it, I know it will run!

 

with real slicks the rear end wont make it out 60 ft. before ka-boom!

 

you are absolutely right.
one of the guys in my club just lost a new 454 in his 29 chevy (spun main)due to being too cheap to buy a rev limiter.
in retrospect the 6al would have been quite the bargain.

 

definetly need a decent gear, sticky tires and a decent set of axles or its gonna spin or break.

 

chk ebay, hellufalot cheaper from the guys that are upgrading....

driveshaft loop will be manditory if you got slicks....
hate to see ya pole vault the thing...

 

I have a set of weld on ladder bars that i will install once its together this spring. What company should i look through for aftermarket axles? i dont know if strange or anyone like that sells them for a stock 57 rearend. I met a guy this past 50's day at Epping and he was running a 4 door 57 with a stock stroke 283 single carb 4 speed with slicks running HIGH 13's and hes been running the stock rearend since the 60's but has aftermarket old skool axles. forget the brand though...

 

ive also got a blowshield bell housing for it and a driveshaft loop out of a 57 ford fairlaine that ill modify to fit. thanks for the input on the rev limiter thats somehting ill have to looking to but dont i need the electronic HEI ignition for one? i cant fit the domestic HEI because of the tunnel ram and my un modified firewall. which i plan to keep that way!! but i could invest in one of the new billet HEI's if thats the case.! This is awesome how many responses im getting from you guys! im really learning alot. its sweet. and apparently im even getting a date to prom through this thread haha. im haveing computer trouble now but i am working on those pictures!!

Thanks

-Nick-

 

I have had good luck with Moser, Strange and Mark Williams axles in drag cars.

 

An MSD 6AL will work fine with points.I have an old Mallory dual point on mine .You just have to take the trailing set of points out like the instructions say.If you dont it confuses the box and the Rev limiter wont work right.I put a 6000 chip in mine and it hit according to the tach in first right on 6000 (i tested it that way).You could set a watch by it.I race with a 7000 chip and i dont ever plan to hit it ,but its nice to know its there if something happens...

 

If your machining those heads for bigger valves spend the extra $ to port them! If the right fella ports the heads you can expect surprising results! Also if you run street tires, try letting a few lbs. of air out and they'll hook better. I used to have a 55' chevy with a weird bore and stroke it was around 362 cubes with a lot of cam and 2.02 heads, muncie m22, traction bars, 4:11 rear and I was turning mid and even low 12s in the 1/4 on radials. Apparently the guy who swapped the motor originally had his father do a full port job on the heads all the surfaces inside were smooth as gl***, even the intake manifold(dual-plane z/28 iron!) was ported and had some strange looking contours inside, but it worked.

 

high 18s

 

I would guess it's a solid 14 second car...

It 1987 (I was 17 too and bought mine when I was 14) I had the blue '55 below... 327, 9:1 compression... Crower Mileage Beast cam, 600 Holley, Edelbrock Performer intake, Electronic ignition, headers, dual exhaust, 3.55 ratio rear and it ran 14.74 with radials.

In 1991, I built a 383... dart Sportsman II heads, Comp 280 cam (.480 lift) Edelbrock Victor Jr. Same ignition, headers and 9.5:1 compression and it ran 12.90 (best) and low 13's all day long. But I had 4.11 gears and McCreary street tires...

Oh... and ******* bars with both combos...

Incidentally... I blew the first 4.11 gear posi because it was that piece of **** stock one (don't waste your time or money... get a 12 bolt, 8 3/4" MOPAR or 9" Ford) I thre in a 3.08 stocker... and with radials it ran 13.70's... then I sent with a 4.11 12 bolt posi... and with the radials it ran the SAME 13.70's but the mph was different... THEN, put the sticky street tires on it and it ran low 13's high 12's again!

Here it is...




My suggestion would be to ditch the tunnel ram... I got one on my '55 now, it looks cool, but it keeps me from putting a stock flat hood on it! Oh, and I can't get it to 60 ft worth a damn! (I was fighting other gramlins that day... probably not the tunnel ram) but, with that weenie cam, and unless you're gonna run a bigger cam, more gear and a converter... leave it on the shelf!)

All that good **** costs money... but, you get 11's! I'm running a 383, 4.88's and a four speed!

Anway, have fun!

Sam.









Here's what happens when you spin the tires!


Then hooking up and bogging at least it breaks into the 11's...

 

Then finally 11.75 @ 117... but remember gr***hoppah... that's a lotta motor!

I will say... it was only running 1.79 60 foot times on that run... it has more in it.

But... you'll be there some day... just stay at it, and don't street race.

 

that's a mid 15 second car...barring the fact that you can shift good.
the proof will be at the end of the track when you get your time slip.
15 seconds, is not a slow e.t. for a street car. but, when people see the tunnel ram, and hear the rumpy cam...they will be expecting ot to run faster than it will. you have alot of weight to move, with highway gearing....it won't be as fast as you are hoping....but...keep at it. it's easy to make improvements as you go. i think right now, your downfall will be the weight of the car, the gearing, the tunnel ram and the 4 speed.
but...you'll do ok.
don't shoot for a 12 second 1/4 mile on your first trip out.
getting it to hook up is another obsticle..if your serious about drag racing, you'll need to upgrade to a 9" ford rearend, a good set of slicks, and a set of gears. dumping the clutch with a 4 speed car that can hook...WILL break parts.
back in the 80's i had a 70 nova, 454,10.1 compression, .600 lift cam, solid lifters, roller rockers, rectangle port heads, edelbrock torker intake, 850 double pumper, ****** compe***ion headers, 150 h.p nitrous, turbo 400 with a 3500 stall converter, a stock open 10 bolt rearend with 3.08 gears stock mono leaf springs, worn out sears shocks and ******* bars. i was running 8" cheater slicks (all the time).
off the bottle it ran mid 12's....on the bottle it ran 11.90 (1.90 60 foot times) BUT....i was going through the traps at 7000 rpms, in second gear. due to the 28" tall rear tires, and the 3.08 gears. no frame connectors, a full interior, gl*** frontend. eventually, i twisted the body from the car hooking and twisting so badly. the drivers door would no longer open, the drivers side 1/4 panel was wrinkled up by the roof, and the windshield was broken. this was my every day driver by the way. when i was done...the car was pretty much junk.

 

Im really partial to my tunnel ram, and the fact that i already have a hole in my tilt nose for one doesnt help the fight against it either! i do have a 780 double pumper laying around and a single 4bbl intake which i was considering swapping the tunnel ram for on race day which may suite my cam a little better. Im gonna swap over to 1.6 ratio rockers to jump my lift up to a .513 though. so idk hopefully that .513 will support my tunnel ram enough. THe rpm range on that cam is 2500-6800 rpm though and with those anti pump ups im hoping they'll push me right up to 7000 grand if ever needed. but trust me. i dont know as if i wish to ever get that high haha. and the fact that i have a stick does let me dump it higher up in the RPM's which will also support the tunnel ram a little bit better

-Nick-

 

I think it's neat that you got started in on your own car at age 12. Back when I was 12 I had my paper route money and a chance to buy a neighbors 55/56 Ford 2 door for 35.00 with a bad trans, beautiful car, white upper, black lower. My parents said no over and over, that was in 1968. To this day I still like to remind my mom about that car about once a year, "Oh you can wait a few years and find another one instead", kind of a family joke nowdays, of course I never did find another deal like that. Anyway, ENJOY!!!!!

 

i dont think you will run **** .. you will more than likely blow the light for the simple reason your tryin to ****in hard .. but practice does make perfect lil bro .. good luck lil man you will figure it out

 

btt

 

I have seen a few people in my life that are hell on 4 wheels off a stop light ,but got all choked up on a dragstrip (especially with a standard trans).When i pull to the starting line i always pretend i am just running the piss out of my hotrod on a deserted country road somewhere alone.If you sike yourself out like some people do and feel that all eyes are on you and such ,you will most likely **** up (meaning miss gears),just like anything else not just racing .Good luck kid and dont worry about running quick at first.Just focus on the shifting part .I think that 57 will run better than a 15 if it will bite off the line at all.

 

I wouldn't waste my money on axles for that rear-end. I'm on my 2nd one in my 55 and i'm always concerned it's going to let go. On my last one I sheered a tooth off my ring gear that broke through my housing and that was just on the freeway. You can get a junk yard 9" for next to nothing, then getting gears, possi (you'll want one), axles, etc will be way easier and cost alot less.

 

When you can lose the rear end that stock unit will break !!!!!

 

This is my 55' from 1975. 355 with a Sig Erson Hi-Flow 1 cam, Z28 Hi-rise with a 780 Holley. M-21 with 4:56 gears. Car ran 13.80-13.90 on L60 Goodyears.

Oh yeah, port the heads. Makes a world of difference.

 

If you haven't changed your rear diff already, and don't have money piling up on you, a 10 bolt posi from a early 70's Camaro or T/A is usually way cheaper than a 12 bolt or narrowed 9 inch, and will hold the kind of power you have. I run a 3.42 posi from a 72 WS6 Trans Am and have hammered it relentlessly with no problems. It cost $100 at the junkyard. I got my 56 when I was 14. 26 years will fly right past you....