IHI

iTrader: (1)

Holy cow, I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders. I've been working with a established photo imaging company that is branching off and starting a "sister company" to offer products to the general public and the president of the company and i have become freinds over the past couple years since he's building a 3rd gen as a father/son project, and a way to step away from all the "suit wearing" responsibilites he deals with day to day. He wanted to market products towards racers and the professional photogrpahers that photograph us at tracks, so I've been working with him establishing products we'd all be apt to purchase, getting him connected to people I've been fortunate to work with/get to know over the years. This past weekend I attended a trade show for the official launch of the new endevour on his invitation at the Drag Expo and it went better than we ever anticipated, the feedback has been fantastic.

So long story short, he's know my story about hack shops, bad name brand parts, how the recent economic downturn has dramatically slowed down my construction business...overall he knows my passion for racing, and knows that unless this spring starts off huge, I'd be piloting a "rent a race car" again this season, or sitting it out LOL!! So he proposed offering me an engine. Last year he tried doing the same thing, but I just dont feel comfortable taking "hand out's" having busted my **** my whole life even though he dang near forced me to do it. Well, at the Drag Expo, after walking around, talking to other racers, talking with me about things he asked me to come to his office today to discuss "something". I was told to "just sit there, dont say a word until I'm finished with what i have to say" LOL!! So he pretty much backed me into a corner of getting an engine from him...BUT, on my 1 condition:

I told him IF i were to do this, I want to get decals for the trailer (which I was going to do anyhow) and also lettering for the car so it would be a "sponsorship" type deal...and this would be the only way i would entertain this idea...it's the only way I would be able to "accept it" and he just laughed and said, "if that's what it takes for you to take my offer, we'll wrap the entire car if that's what you want" LMAO!!

So, this spring I'm taking possesion of a nice little 383 that I speced out to be an almost sister motor to my old 388 I had such fantastic results with on the track. The heads will be the newer AFR eliminator 210 vs my old version 210's, and i will be installing my ported super vic+ Pro-System reworked carb on it. I'm expecting it to be in the 550hp range since that is a proven power level my car worked best with for zeroxing time slips, but most importantly, zeroxing reaction times since the front end was going skywards. I'm going to drop back to a 28x11.50 tire vs my current 29x9 to increase finish line rpms, and will be installing a loose 8" convertor that will be a little ineffeicent for more off the line slippage for consistency reasons. Hoping to stay around the 10.90/11.00 ET range so we'll see what happens.

Long winded, sorry, but this is a huge deal for me so i can actually wheel my own junk for an entire race season and HOPEFULLY get through the year without snapping a fricken crankshaft...4 yrs in a row of snapping cranks and completely destroying eveerything inside the motor has gotten to be a huge burden on my wallet and patience.

AlkyIROC

There are people out there willing to sponsor a race car for whatever reason but have no idea who to contact. Having a deal like that turn up is a blessing.

Deimos140

I'm so jealous.

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

congrats josh, glad to hear it finally worked out for you. I am finally stepping up to a trans brake this season.....oh noes. Got a PTC 8" converter coming I just picked up off yellowbullet, so we'll see how it goes this time around. Fresh th400 with great internals and a brake will take some getting used to but I hope it'll solve my slow tree reaction times from my footbraking days.

Deimos140

Tranny brakes rock and PTC FTW. Congrats Josh!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

josh, that's GREAT to hear! where do i send the car for a wrap and engine install?

IHI

iTrader: (1)

Steve, the TB should help, my only advise is to get an adjustible 2 step vs carrying a box of pills with you all the time to change staging rpm's. I know many of the tracks i race all have variable roll out's so it's nice to be able to dial it up/down based on where i get chipped or carded for lane choice (our home track i have to be 400rpm higher in the pit lane to be at the same R/T as the tower lane....luckily most guys have'nt logged enough passed and documented as anally as i have over the years to look at things like that and just blame themselves for missing the tree...but it's not the tree.

It will take some time to adjust to a button. Placement in the car (steering wheel or down by the center console seem to work best) I raced for yrs off the wheel and the past 4 yrs have raced other's cars where console mount was their choice and i have to say, I'm moving my button to my center console too...1 major muscle arm movement to release down there vs multiple joints in your arm/hands coming off the wheel. Also learning what part of your thumb to use. On slow to see the tree days, I use the hard part of the under side of my thumb on the joint, it releases the button quicker since there's no "meat" to expand first. One days i see the tree like a superhero, I will use the meaty part of my thumb as it slows it down just enough to keep me green. YOU just have to put in major seat time before you get into an elimination situation so your comfortable and learn how different aspects affect your program...right down to this little crap like this

As for the engine deal, this is a blessing, and i'm not a religous person persay...but I've been extremely fortunate to have opportunity's come around when bad things happen. I've always had a car to drive these past 4 yrs when mine was out for the season, and now I'm fortunate enough to have this opportunity with the engine "donation"...the racing has been like most things in life, bitter sweet. Been lucky to be surrounded by a great group of people at all the tracks who are like family and have been there to lend a hand if i asked/really needed it, met soo many generious folks around the country who have donated or sold me parts at prices i thought impossible to give me a helping hand when i needed it throughout all these ridiculous circumstances I've had to deal with, donated services at below cost to help out...which I probably would never have met/had to deal with if not for all the hard luck we've experienced these past 4 years...so like i said, bitter sweet, but looking back more good has come from it than bad based on the relationships I've been able to form- even though financially it's been very bad for me LOL!!

So, here's to 2010 and the hope it's a new chapter so we can get back to the way things used to be....NO DRAMA -LMFAO!!!

IHI

iTrader: (1)

LOL, here is the start of the wrap design I planned to do last yeat but blew up my junk...again LOL!!! It was just the first mock up, i want the wrap to continue onto the front lower fender for a smoother flow, but i think overall this is the theme i'm going to stick with, but we're going to do some final tweaking for a smoother overall look.

Luckily i have a buddy that is in this line of work and we trade services back and forth, but he's never wrapped a car before so i told him, I'll buy the materials for this partial wrap (around $600 for the material we need) and he'll do the design and we'll both do the install so he can get his feet wet with this new to him procedure. He gets requests for wraps all the time, but is scared since it's new and a pretty intense application process when compared to typical vinyl layout/installs.

3rdBird

iTrader: (1)

Congrats on the deal. I like the "tearing" part of the wrap but not too fond of the checkers. It does look good, but check out some of these.
http://www.ragewraps.com/

AlkyIROC

I'd like to find a sponsor for tires now. I already have one that buys me methanol when I need it. That's a big saving but making a set of tires last 2 years is tough. I'd love to put on new rubber every spring but $600 for a pair of tires is hard. That's my only other high operating expense.

At least if he's sponsoring you for an engine, it's not like he needs to do it regularly. Unless something catastrophic happens, it should last for many years. Maybe next year he'll provide the routine maintenance stuff to keep it healthy.

BASSETT IROC 85

iTrader: (2)

Cool deal, congratulations

IHI

iTrader: (1)

Bad part with red cars...is'nt much you can do with them unless you completely cover them, so patterns and colors on the wrap itself are very limited.

$600/yr for tires...sign me up!!! The 4 yrs I was hitting the season like a freak I burnt up a set of sticky's PER MONTH. tread would be fine, but the sidewalls would be going away due to hundreds of rounds per month plus low psi i used at that time and heavy car. Mine were only $400/month drop shipped, but you add that on top of entry fees/travel expenses/maintenance I was dropping alot of coin to race...but loved every minute of it Now with slowing down on my racing schedule and higher tire psi, i figured out how to get a season on a set of tires, so that is a huge bonus, but tires IMO should be replaced every spring before real elimination racing begins...just wayy to much cost at stake to chance a dried out tire on, kinda like never checking fuel level in your fuel tank...it can turn around and bite ya and cost you alot more than the purchase price.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

josh, im jealous, but in a very good way. i'm so happy for you man. the wrap is absolutely killer, i like everything about it. the checkers, the tearing, everything. i want something like that on my hood.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

I've got something in my head for what i want on the hood, I'm just trying to find somebody to work with that has some artistic ability so it comes out exactly like i "see it". Ever since i began racing, i've owned the tree...made the consistant low R/T's my beeotch so to speak and have been "torn down" twice because other's thought i was cheating because "street cars dont cut lights like that" LOL!!!

So I "want" the picture/mural of a big lumber jack in the full red flannel, pants and boots with a evil looking skull for the head wearing a stocking cap beanie with a pizzzed off look on his face swinging an axe at-it would start out as the base of a big oak tree that's cut and in the process of toppling over that morphs into a NHRA christmas tree light. Then the back drop behind it all i want a theme of getting dusk with a red sky horizon, other toppled oak into NHRA christmas trees laying on the ground and some broken down and broken dragsters/other race cars mixed in like a race car grave yard. It needs to have the cartoonish look, but also be bad azzz like some of the stuff rage wrap has done...

Artwork that has the look like below so to better understand what i'm after, only with a full body and skull vs clown:

ezstriper

cool deal !!! would love to hook that up myself...a word on the wrap...thats what we do....use the good 3M wrap material with air release, have it laminated, if you try to cut corners here you will be sorry in the install on the curved areas...Rob

IHI

iTrader: (1)

Luckily my buddy in in the vinyl business, but just has'nt done the wraps like we're used to seeing, he's done panels for the mud packer guys, window wraps, just not a FULL body wrap. He's got and uses all the materials already and just bought a laminator last summer after a huge failed attempt at his first "wrap attempt"....saleman said "you dont need to laminate" even though my buddy was skeptical, so he tried his first partial wrap on a roundy round car...after the race, the ink was fading/going away in the pwr wash bay as they rinsed the mud off the car....NOT good obviously, so then he bought the laminator. We've been to many shows together and seen first hand the difference between laminated and non laminated wraps, and like you said/know already...the difference is HUGE!! So it will definately get laminated. I "believe" the material he uses is called "dragon skin"? has all the perforations as well as veins running between all the perforations so squueging the air out is simplified, you may know what i'm talking about already?

Do you fella do in house art work? Please read the post above of what i'm after and I would really like to talk about it if it's something your interested in. At this point since distance is a factor obviously, I would like to just "buy the artwork" so i could have my guy load and print the mural somebody designs, so I'm assuming a file of some sort could be trasfered via email?

IF that is something you fella's can do, and would be interested in doing, please contact me so we can go over some details and possibly make something happen. I'm also thinking of just using "my idea" on the rear hatch since there's much less body lines to work around...no cowl for one...

anyhow- joshmeighan@yahoo.com
thank you

Shagwell

Thats great news man!

I just got a pretty good hook-up with a machine shop, he's giving me some serious deals(many freebies) on parts for getting my machine work done there.The 496 has been good to me, but I need more inches and I'm adding a second kit.

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

What button did you end up using on the shifter mounted trans brakes? That idea of chopping down trees is pretty hilarious, I'd love to see pics when it's done. Unfortunately for me it would be the tree chopping me down taking off one of my legs with how poor my times have been. I sure love watching videos of me going off an arm drop or a flashlight though, at least I typically leave first that way.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

Dont you ever...NEVER EVER use those light springed POS buttons in the shifters, they are for line lock purposes only, they just do not have near enough spring pressure to be a consistant player when .00X counts in a win/lose scenario. I've seen and talked with countless guys using them, and having problems. We've compared buttons in the pits (green button/blue button/red button) and at first glance you think "oh, same swtich, different color button is all" the green and blue button have a distinctly noticable/lighter tension spring in them, and for consistant tree chopping, you want a good stiff button so it reacts fast and reacts consistantly.

The one fella's car i ran used a blue button with integrated coil cord he tied into the TB circuit, was fighting R/T's, could'nt group them within a .01 window all day, very spratic even though he thought he was seeing the tree the same. That's why we got intothe button talk, got in eachother's cars, felt buttons we all used and it became very clear the red button with intergrated cord was stiffer and popped faster. So the next weekend he replaced the blue with the red button and turned into a monster winning races at a ridiculous rate.

But dont use buttons in the shifter for important things, keep that button reserved for the burnout so you can pull 2-3 while the LL is still engauged...ez as pie. Mount your TB button seperate...you will thank me later. I take extreme testing/documenting on the R/T issue to a "that guy is fricken nutz" state of mind, but it's the first chance you get to win a race, you screw that up, your fighting the rest of the time to get back in the game....make sure you geet a head start and it's gravey from there on

Here's the current button set up, but I will be changing it around, actually i'll just be adding another button in conjunction to this one in case somebody else wants to race it and is used to a wheel mount, or it will give me the option if i'm having a fast/slow day to mix it up to get myself right:

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

No I wasn't talking about the button that is mounted inside the "ball" on the shifter, i was talking about what button to purchase and just build a bracket on the side of the shifter box to mount. I know those ones built into the shifter ball or the pistol grip like mine are for linelocks at best, they don't release consistently at all. My friend bought a big red button, probably the size of a quarter at least and some chassis shop mounted it to a bracket on the side of the shifter and it cuts great lights, but no idea on a part number for me to pick up the same thing.

1BADRZ28

iTrader: (2)

You'll enjoy the t-brake and I know for a fact you'll enjoy the converter.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

THIS is the one i have, and have been using for yrs and it's showing zero signs of fade to date.

Me personally, since i bottom bulb, I wanted/like the small surface area, it allows me to pin point a specific area of my thumb like i was telling you about above onto the switch to compensate for a slow or fast day of "seeing the tree"

Other guys who top bulb and are required to wear gloves like the mushroom button, but for my scenario I prefer the smaller surface area...less area to "roll" off the button, it's either on or off and it forces me to hit the same spot everytime. If you have ever shot much archery with a release, you know how important it is to have a set "anchor point", when i pull back my bow using my release I have a spot on my cheek i dig my thumb into so i know I'm consistantly pulling and anchoring in the exact same position each draw.....I follow the same train of thought with my transbrake buttons, a small, impossible to miss place to hit the button.

1BADRZ28

iTrader: (2)

I understand you know TJ Johnson?

IHI

iTrader: (1)

??Maybe I've met him somewhere or know him as a different user name from somewhere?? Explain/refresh my memory? Hate to sound prudish, but I talk/meet/corrispond with thousands of people every year, and the older i get, the more my memory resembles my peter...gets smaller and smaller

1BADRZ28

iTrader: (2)

Used to work at NOS does that ring a bell? Unless there are two Firebirds like your in the Waterloo area.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

There's a fella outta Cedar Rapids, IA. that has a firebird like mine, Terry I believe his name is. run's low 9's on the spray? does that sound like the guy?

I only formally met him once yrs and yrs ago when we were dynoing the engine for my uncles truck, Terry and the twin brother's with extremely bad fast cars were in the room with us shooting the breeze as the pulls were being made. They spend most of their time at that teflon coated track about an hour east of me since they just go out and have fun, dont really race race per say.

IF that's the same dude?

Shagwell

I use that same button Josh. I have mine mounted on the left hand side of the wheel and use my right hand on it; "cowboy arm release". I have a toggle switch that switches that button between LL and TB, thus I use my left thumb to hold it while doing my burn-out, then switch the toggle and cross my right hand over to go on the brake when staging. It has suited me very well. - I have a black button/stretch cord for my right thumb going to the Co2 shifter(I use it sometimes).

1BADRZ28

iTrader: (2)

That must be him. I swear my friend was describing your car to the tee because he had a few different engines and similar problems. Oh well.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

LOL, well, that's an interesting concept I've never thought of....my luck i'd smack myself in the helmet and knock myself out

Because they're jinxed.....I snap one more crankshaft and this car is going to die living upto it's name "FIREbird"

Shagwell

^ LOL. Mine fought me for a while, but this 496 has been good to me. It and the trans have been better to me than they should be.

The button deal is not bad because with your arm crossed you don't tend to pull straight back, you pull cross-ways which also moves your now loose hand over towards the shifter. I have the shift button, but don't often use it. - Anytime we're doing more than just testing I tend to stay in the .03x - .02x range with my lights on a pro tree. Testing/qualifying I focus more on the car and how it's working and thus don't tend to pound the tree much.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

[QUOTE=Shagwell;4423418 Testing/qualifying I focus more on the car and how it's working and thus don't tend to pound the tree much.[/QUOTE]

I've only entered and went to the final in 1- 10.5 race and i got there solely by murdering the tree, because obviously I'm about 1000lbs too heavy and 200hp short even using my juice to be a real "contender" but it just highlighted how terrible the locals were...they had the hardware, just could'nt wheel...it was an easy money day for me and i had a blast since i did'nt have to play chess at the finish line LMFAO!!! But overall, and I dont mean this in a condesending way, overall most of the guys running the heads up stuff think the bigger wallet will over compensate for lack of ability. I think THE closet anybody got to me off the line was .15 or so and then they were sooo overly concerned about making big power, they obviously forgot that you can have twice the power as anybody at the track, but if you cant hook it...it does you no good.

Countless times on this forum I've told the young men if i'm given a choice to race a car with 1000hp but cant stick it vs a 500hp car that can stick, i'll take the underpowered ride eveytime

But the heads up stuff is a blast.

AlkyIROC

Last year I made 60-70 passes down the track for the entire season. That's why I can make them last 2 seasons.

Local car was in Vegas last weekend for the PCSA race. Twin turbo Mustang running in Extreme Drag Radial. The car was just under 3500 pounds and runs mid 7's. They toasted a set of sidewalls after 5 passes and broke 4 tranny input shafts but made it into the semi's. They were pulling the tranny out of a 25.3 chassis between rounds to replace the input shaft.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

LOL, and then ya read the talk from the "heads up" racers who say- "it does'nt cost that much"

Friend of mine is running THE largest M/T tires on his 10.80 back halved 69 maro, it will hook on grass...and he gets 2 season out of his since there's almost no burnout to make them work, and the car is'nt hitting them very hard, so it's all relative i guess. Definately smarter to do the backhalf and spend the $5K up front and save on tires vs trying to fight yoru way through with a small tire and replace them all the time since those add up quickly too...

Deimos140

Is this Mr. Moody you speak of?

AlkyIROC

If the white lettering on your tires, IE, the big MT, is getting dark, you're heating up the tires too much. After 2 seasons, the MT on my tires is still white. It's faded but still white. In the last video I posted online last fall, you can see the typical burnout I do. It's a high speed burnout but I'm out of the waterbox in about 5 seconds and I can almost hook on dirt.

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

I don't know anyone on a small tire 28x10.5 that doesn't have the lettering dark and we shoot for the smallest burnout possible to hook. Of course a backhalf car doesn't need much of a burnout, you're also not trying to get a 1.3X out of a 10.5 wide tire. Your contact patch is probably triple of what most guys are doing it on. Some days we needed 30 degree hotter slick temp than the track to hook and it was barely a burnout at all, depends on the track.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

i've been studying the BFG drag radial guys lately because i'm going to be running a BFG tire this season(if i ever get the car together). it seems they do a hard blitz, at the top of whatever 1:1 gear they have, for about 3 seconds, and that's about it. hit it hard, get wheel speed up, let off. of course, those guys still have a tough time getting them to hook cause they're just not an ideal tire.

look at the outlaw 8.5 cars...they beat the CRAP outta those tires...26x8.5" Hoosier seems to be the tire of choice.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

There's definately a huge amount of factors that go into the "burn out procedure", and the funnest part, one method is not "the only way" to do it

The Hoosier quck time pro's i have 20-30 sets burn through, were a medium compound. cold weather/hot weather they just needed a larger than normal burnout to work consistently.

M/T full slicks- cold weather if i pulled out of the box when i saw smoke, it was perfect. hot weather if i saw smoke it was too much and they'd slip a bit

Hoosier full slicks- same basically as M/T full slicks due to the softer compound. cold weather i need to see some smoke, hot weather seeing smoke = bad, lottsa smoke= might as well just back out and drive back to the trailer since it'll lose .02-.04 in the 60' and before i installed the juice, I had no way to make that amount of time up.

Routine wise I've jsut gotten comfortable rolling into the water in 1st gear, stopping and putting it into 2nd gear, bring my rpm's up and shift around 5500 into 3rd gear then letting off the line lock and rolling out until the tires start to grab.

What's interesting is watching ALOT of newer guys, or guys that get excited easily...as they get deeper into the rounds, the burnout durations increase LOL!! nerves getting to them and thinking it'll make sure they really hook...and it's doing the opposite and they trailer up

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

my hoosiers liked just enough to see smoke, like what you were saying. but my car only went mid 1.5x's so it wasn't like the tires weren't going to work.

Shagwell

M/T and Hoosier 33x10.5w's - I've run "big" tires as well on the old car.

I do about the same, total spin time is less than 6 seconds, I don't even go past the tree. I roll through the water in low, tap the pedal lightly to spin them lightly in the water, pull up to the edge, put in 2nd, set LL, tap throttle to approx 5500(go 1-2 in my mind), shift to high(1-2 again) release line lock(1-2 again), lift/stop. The car has been very consistent there.


I fully agree with you about the lights, which is why I preffer 1/8 mile. I can't afford the HP it takes to run 220+mph, but I can take them out of the gate and out 60' most guys, and at least run comperable numbers to the 330'. It takes a lot of HP to make up 2-3 tenths from the 330 to the 660, so I get lucky sometimes.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

i like your strategy Jp, i plan to do similiar in the ORSCA Real Street class...

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

Well just grabbed the reverse gate for my magnum grip pro stick and that TCI button that you recommended. Can't wait to toss them both in the car and do some testing in a few months.

Josh
you have a pic of your transbrake button mounted near the shifter? I'm still deciding on placement for it.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

I have'nt had the car out of the trailer since season end, and the button in mine is on the wheel, everybody else's car's I've raced over the past 4 yrs had the button on the center console...basically right next to your right thigh...you'll have to just mock it up until "it feels right". I plan to mount mine so i have no choice but to use my elbow to release...baseically my entire forearm will be the "lever" pulling away from the button.

I just bought a Cheetah shifter with the air solenoid and stuff on it from another racer, so that should shipping Monday. I LOVE my B&M Pro Ratchet shifter, and it's the easiest shifter I've ever jerked on, and everybody that's driven/race my car loves it because of the simplicity of it...BUT i had a problem with the $300 solenoid to make it an automated shifter (trying to take out ALL human err factor to help tighten the ET's up) so i got the cheetah shifter with air solenoids, new shifter cable for $275 shipped. I'll be able to sell mine to pay for the 2 shift rpm switch and i have bottles/regs laying around so that's no biggie.

Plans as of now, I'll be pulling and selling the 4th gen center console and fabbing an aluminum one up so i can fit the new shifter and change switch lay out's..make it more user friendly with the space provided.

3rdBird

iTrader: (1)

Are you racing, or are you selling it?
http://www.racingjunk.com/category/1...at-simple.html

IHI

iTrader: (1)

It'll get raced until it sells/if it sells. Just is'nt any market for a small tired car, no matter how well it works. I'd pit this againt any big tired car for ability to get down the track zeroxing slips....well I have for yrs and won anyhow but everybody wants big back tires, so this fall before we put it away I'm going to get a backhalf done on it, big tires=cool so it'll get alot more attention.

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

i'll drop mine off for that backhalf as well, save you some time doing two

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

i'll keep my small tire...ugh, growing up around fast street cars has made me a strange breed of purist...

Shagwell

as my old man always said, "everything's for sale but the wife and kids......and I'm taking bids on them".