Hot Rods When is it time to give up tradition over being practical?

I don't remember if you said what trans the Fly is running, but an old 301-327 with a lotta compression and a big roller cam backed by a 4 spd should provide all the fun your heart can handle. Screaming RPM and wheels up in every gear makes the spectators go nuts. If the numbers matter to you, it should run at least high 10's if it's not too heavy.
Stick with your old stuff and just kick it up a notch. The modern cam, valve train and those new "old looking" aluminum heads (painted) don't show and should give you a bunch more power.

 

http://www.rodauthority.com/tech-stories/engine/double-hump-heads-trick-flow/
Have look

 

Yeah, I have been eyeing those for a while. I was just researching their flow rates.

 

Why?
It would be no worse than stumbling onto a Barn Find 32 Roadster and swapping the rusty Henry frame for Reproduction rails, and while you're at it fix the rusty body with a nice 'glass reproduction replacement.
Then a 350 Chevy with a TH350 would make it more of a hotrod [all hotrods have engine swaps]

You can't get more traditional than the "George Washington's Axe" of Hotrods

 

Maybe practical over rules traditional when you want to make it to a rod run 500 plus miles away and be behind the wheel instead of on a trailer . And confident to make it back home .

 

What about when you want to make it to a drag race 1800 miles from home, and the truck pulling the trailer breaks? then you have to get in your 60s era build and drive to that damn race.....

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/another-stupid-trip.1077403/

 

Im building a Y block for my car at the moment and had the same dilema. Build it to period equipment and not get crazy power, or go with some mummert aluminum heads and intake and really get it up there.... Ill paint the heads ford red and nobody will notice from 20 feet that they arent the stock castings and ill have fun tearing down the strip.

Sent from my LGLS775 using Tapatalk

 

Remember the original question guys. This is for a purpose built drag car. At the end of it's life it may have 50 miles on it. It will always be on a trailer except for approx 1320 feet. I am running a dry block, so it's even more traditional than most "nostalgia cars".

 

There are a lot of people here that just don't get it. If you want to build a street rod, that's fine. This just isn't the board for it.
Pete
Roothawg,
I wouldn't have run a dry block 60 years ago and still wouldn't now. You are down in Smith brothers country. Too bad they aren't around to ask.

 

[QUOTE="buffaloracer, post: 12448865, member:
Roothawg,
I wouldn't have run a dry block 60 years ago and still wouldn't now. You are down in Smith brothers country. Too bad they aren't around to ask.[/QUOTE]

Dad ran around with the Smith Bros. He always speaks very highly of them.

 

Probably so. I don't skimp on safety stuff.

I would always like to go faster. I think it still has some left in it. I'll end up pulling the motor later this week, when I get back on my feet. At least give it a good once over and see what she looks like. I am a purist, so my guess is, the 301 rotating assy may come out and put a 3.25" set up in. That will add 30 CID for minimal expense, while still retaining the period correct parts.

 

make sure it's a welded stroker

 

I was thinking a 283 with a 1/2" stroker crank like the old days.

 

Sounds like stroking the 283 is the way to go to be true to yourself. I am a fair weather trad guy at best. Like other guys have mentioned I'd build a something with more cubes like a 383 stroker or something, dress it up with the old stuff, and feel those cubes in the seat of my pants. But you know me, I've been jonesing for a racecar for years.

I do appreciate what you're trying to do, I just don't have the patience or resources to go that route.

 

Great story and the fact that you kept driving your deliveries all of those years tells what the hobby is about...Thanks...

 

Use a factory block and cram it full of the best updated parts available. Thats "traditional"....using the best stuff you can find.

Either way, post up the details of what you go with.

 

You're getting every facet this jewel of a topic has to offer. Sometimes being 100% NOS (nasty old shit) can have consequences you don't want. Everyone serious about running old stuff knows that it will hit a "wall" and never do better without catastrophic failure. I figure if it has the look to the casual observer you're doing fine. Maybe beyond the scope of this, if there's electronic fuel injection but it's wired with cloth covered wire...? Keeping it easy, if you set or shoot for a 'standard' and keep with it you win. I'm keeping sort of old with mine but I have a Rebel harness and blade fuses. I'll have a sub woofer and amp in the trunk but will it be ok if I focus on old tunes? Kidding of course but sometimes this stuff makes us chase our tails. You really want to be frustrated? Restore cars that have little to no repro support.

 

blade fuses? damn....no way I'd run those....

 

Traditional.......I see it two ways. (Not that anyone cares). There is traditional as in using the exact same parts as someone used in 1963 which can get pretty expensive today or doing it the traditional way guys built cars in their garages.

There were guys with money that could buy all the new speed equipment to hit the market but many, traded, searched behind barns and scoured the junk yards for their parts. I put a lot of miles on second hand tires...........

I'm building my car in the "traditional" way most of my friends did when we were young. On a budget. I bought a rusted out 61 pontiac with a 63 389 and 73 M21 in it. $1000. Parted it out after pulling the drivetrain and made money. Traded some stuff for a rear end out of an old 55 Nomad drag car a guy is putting back on the street. Came out of a 69 Pontiac. Traded the same guy my 56 Pontiac front seat for upholstery work (he's really good at it).

Photographed, listed and sold an old Suburban for a friend (got a good bit more money online than he could get local) and he gave me two old Holley's.

Roothawg is asking because he wants to be competitive and that's cool. I just want to have some fun. I may finish and have the thing run 16 seconds....... (not likely but you get the point) we will tinker from there. I'm having a lot of fun building the car with a couple friends and to me that is also traditional.

I guess what I'm saying is Roothawg do what you have to so you meet the rules but do it how you want to do it, don't worry about others. I'm not advocating this either as in the end it takes some of the fun out of things, but fudging here and there in racing is most certainly traditional. Racers are still doing it.

 

Now that is a deal, the raven is nearly done with a big inch small block and I'll bet he is deeper than that with his.

Hey @Roothawg you got a 265" short block or a 238" short block in the Fly now? If I recall one year you managed to get air born with it on the 1-2 shift.

He is concerned with the modern mill. The new platform has nothing in common with the old motor design. Personally if I wanted cheap power and didn't care I would use a modern mill and a pair of hair driers, but that is totally out of the scope of this site.

 

Motor wise a small journal small block will go coast to coast and never break a sweat. His concern is the cost to squeeze more torque from one, not reliability.

A car does not have to be modern to go anywhere any time, it just needs to not be wore slap out. A T could go coast to coast in the 20s and that long before the interstate road system. You have to bear in mind that these old cars were built to be driven and they have not changed only that they need enough care to make them go again.

 

Did anyone ever use the 1962 olds jet fire turbo and methanol injection AKA rocket fluid system on the track back then? The hair dryer thing is period correct. Just saying

 

That is an entirely different animal than computer engine management, root was concerned that the L Esssss moniker was going to get the thread shut down and that is what I was referring to in my comment.

If you look around a bit you can find turbo charged motors on the strip. Other then factory apps ( like the Olds and Corvair (the Corvair unit works really well on a Harley by the way)) didn't start to gain popularity on the street until the '70s. Even then if you ran one successfully you were considered to be a wizard. Not like today where you can just order one from 1-800 hotrod and bolt it on. From what I have read you can pretty much build 700-1200 HP with a 326. Easy peezy, nothing like what we do with our old heaps. The way we build em, even if you cheat like I do 2 HP per inch, is pretty much unheard of. 1.15 is pretty easy though. LOL

 

My point is the hair dryer tech builds power and technically is period.

SOOO the question is could a guy who wants to remain traditional with old shit bring himself to run the hairdryer. Maybe even if nobody else did?

I've got a derelict German 924 and a new fangled 326 In a wreck and just waiting for the opportunity to Mary them up with some hair dryers. Probably going to need somethings better than fence poles for a cage in that one. So far there's Zero bucks into it.

 

If you run an old hair dryer with the old carb technology, and build it like an old one, so it doesn't really perform like they make them perform these days, then it could be sort of traditional. But if you make it work well by using modern methods, then it'll just be another modern turbo thing. They work great, but they're dime a dozen these days.

 

PnB, the 265 got retired about mid life on the Fly. We scabbed together a 301 out of left over parts. 327 SJ block. I am leaning towards updating the rotating assy. to a 3.25 inch stroke. Maybe a 6.250" rod and use an off the shelf, stroker piston for a 383.

 

I could and never look back, but you know me I am not cool and don't care if anyone thinks that I am. I have been offered a big one that ran before the blower on a Cummins and have even considered running it with a belt on my small block. Would have worked on the A, I got an idea that on my current build it may look a little wonkey but that doesn't change much in our world does it. LOL

I guess that if totally trad was important to you one would want to source something from the era. On a small block that made any volume you would probably want two from a 'Vair or the Olds. May be a pretty slick setup. A little rough to tune but once you got it the cool factor would out weigh the tuning difficulties. Adjustable dump gate and a pop off would make it easy to go from street to strip. Banks makes a pretty slick setup for a small block and you can order it for a specific displacement so make it spool properly. They don't make a draw through but they can also supply the carbs, or if you were running stack injection you could just make a manifold for the air and adjust accordingly.

 

get a turbo off an old tractor....

 

Cool if I were not so poor I would consider buying your cast off parts to help fund your new mill. I really want to decrease my stroke in favor of revs. LOL

 

The old C/alt we ran had a Z-28 short block from Chevrolet . Bought new for $450.00 in the winter of 68,tore down and balanced and blueprinted. Crane solid roller cam . Crane heads when they used to port GM castings and put their stuff in them. Hilborn injection, Magneto ignition.
Schieffer clutch , hd truck 3 speed trans running 2nd and high. Olds rear with 5..13 gears.
Ran on Sunoco 260 , push started it and had rear brakes only with a hand brake handle. We ran M&H slicks hardly any burn out needed to spin a little to keep from bogging. Usually ran 10.80-10.90 at around 125 mph. Could not compete with the big boys but had a fun summer racing. Hated to check the mail afraid of a greeting from uncle sam.
Don't get wrapped up with how fast you can go ,just remember how much fun you are having going as fast as you can afford. You may have to move some weight forward in the car to control your wheelstands,because from the picture it looks like it is going up and not forward.
How are your 60 ft times. My gasser in my avatar ran quicker e.t. when I broke the 60 ft. beams with the back tires.