Switched the wheels off the car, put the front sway-bar on, cleaned the interior and exterior and did the once-a-year polish/wax/shine routine.
I drove on out to the Camaro Nationals in Morgantown PA on Friday morning
Car drove fantastic. Good amount of cars yesterday but probably close to 700 Camaros will be there today.
Also drove over to Maple Grove racetrack (15 minutes away) to watch some Friday night drag racing for a bit and then ripped a spirited drive through the Pennsylvania roads afterwards with some burnouts, and wound up at a BBQ and brisket place for a late dinner

I’ll fix the image hosting later, just posting a few quick photos.
Weather looks great for tomorrow, come on out!


























I unknowingly parked next to a big pile of dung when we went to the BBQ place.

 

Photos from Day 2 of the event.
Saw a few familiar camaro buddies, some from this board too!

Afterwards, my buddy Joe and I had a damn good drive home. My car gave me zero issues, the entire 260+ miles of the event, and didn't even get that dirty. Converter lockup makes 75 mph on the highway effortless.
Not sure what is coming up next for events with the car, but I sure am havin fun with it.
















[

 

Typically I like to use Fittings like this in the Valve Cover:



They are -16 ORB to -12 AN Crank-Case Vent Fittings.

Hyperlink below:
Click Me

 

Took a while to get this typed up, but here is a recap from last Friday 10/25/24 and the track rental at Island Dragway.




One of the new things I was testing out was a set of new-to-me Hoosier QTP Bias Ply tires, bought from my good buddy. They are a 27" tall tire and I put them on a set of the same size 15"x8'' Jegs SSR wheels. I drove to the track on the 28" tall MT ET street radials and made the first 4 passes on them that day. Swapped over to the Hoosiers for passes 5-11. Didn't really get to test their true potential on the launch, but did get a few mid 1.4x sixty foot launches. The starting line was tricky that day, but a few people figured it out. As expected, I did notice a slow-wobble wander from the tires as it went down the track, mostly midway through second gear and less on the top end. Some of my rear-view camera footage shows it. I started with 16 psi in the bias plys and then 15 and then 15.4 psi. Would like to do a burnout with them and see what the contact patch looks like for psi decisions but next time out I might start at 16 again.

I have all the datalogs with footbrake launch rpm and shift rpm on them too but its many to post up.



Pass 1: just a easy shakedown run, nothing unusual. MT ET streets. It spun a bit on the launch, so a slow 60 foot.








Pass 2: Made a better pass, mostly due to a better launch, and was happy to see a new PB at 11.58 compared to my previous 11.60. MT ET street radials, and still a slower 60 foot than possible. Shifted 1-2 2-3 and then 3- lockup .




Pass 3: Turned on the 150 nitrous shot Still using the MT ET street radials, this pass they were set at 18 psi. I do actually think my rear passenger side air bag was set close to correct, at 25 psi (drivers side was 8psi) because the car doesn’t squat as hard to the right rear anymore and also seems to keep the rear drivers side from body lift. But despite that I still spun on the launch. I had to do bit of pedaling and over revved the 1-2 shift










Pass 4: Last pass with the MT radials, and the 150 shot, and it went:

 

Pass 5: Had decided to get off the throttle before the 1000 foot cone. This was an all motor pass using the new Bias ply tires set at 16.







Pass 6: Made a full all-motor pass and it went a c1.47 sixty foot with a tiny bit of spin. Tires aired down from 16 psi to 15psi. It was a good pass, and now *** beat out my earlier pass as a personal best all-motor








Pass 7 : Turned on the nitrous. Same 150 jetting as before. 950 bottle pressure. New tires at 15.4 The car definitely felt like it was wandering around in the back end and you can kinda see it on the rear view camera. Little hot on the rev limiter at the top end too.









Pass 8 . another nitrous pass on the Hoosiers. Best sixty foot of the day, but it still chattered the tires at the hit.






Pass 9: I made another all-motor pass.





pass 10: Another nitrous pass with the 150 shot, and it was my last full pass of the day.






Pass 11. Since I had already made 5 full passes on this bottle, I had planned to swap in a new blue bottle but there was only a few minutes before lanes closed for the day, so I didn’t get it done. I just wet up there and tried to nail down a killer launch, but nothing spectacular happened.






Drove the car home packed with tools.
Unloaded everything the next day and got the car cleaned up a bit for a cruise-in event in Long valley On Sunday. Enjoyed that a bit, dove over with a bunch of cool C-10 trucks and musclecars.













Planning on going to Island for the last time of the year this coming Sunday.

 

Woah, it took me a month to finally get this typed up!
I did get back to the track one time after the track-rental, so this is the recap of it, which was on 11/3/24 at Island Dragway. IThe only thing different on the car since the rental was that I changed from Autolite 3923 spark plugs to the NGK BR7EF at the .028 gap out of the box. I drove to the track on the MT radials, and then switched over to the Hoosiers in the pits. The D.A. was awesome that day,; between 200-500 while I was there. I made 1 all motor pass and then the rest were dismal attempts at getting my 150 nitrous shot timeslips to match the ones I ran back in July (10.61 at 130.4 mph).








Pass 1:
This was an all motor pass. Both Hoosiers at 16.6 psi, airbags at 8psi (Drivers side) and 20 psi (Pass side), rear shocks at 1 (d) and 2 (p). footbraked to 2,201 rpms, converter flashed to 4,678 rpms. Shifted 1-2 too early at 5,562 rpms, shifted 2-3 at 5,875 rpms, and across the finish line at 6,257 rpms. Datalog showed that I was very light on the throttle, so it was not close to a WOT pass. Surprisingly, it went 11.56 and my p.b. on motor is actually 11.55, so in the springtime, I expect to get quicker all motor timeslips with a WOT pass.


Timeslip:



Videos:





Pass 1 launch Photo from track photographer website:








Pass 2: Same shock settings and same airbag settings, but tires were now at 16.0 psi each, and I turned the nitrous on with the 150 jets. Footbraked to 1,708 rpms, spun, pedaled it, and made the 1-2 shift at 6,479 rpms. The 2-3 shift was 6,337 rpms, while again not WOT, and across the line at 6,438 rpms. Not a great pass,

Timeslip:





Video:





Pass 3:
Lowered the pass side rear shock to setting 1 (lowest) so both rear shocks were at 1. Airbags still the same, 8 and 20 psi. Lowered the tire pressure to 15.4 hopeful to hook out of the hole. Footbrake launch at 2,557 rpms, launched and spun, pedaled it, shift 1-2 at 6,004 rpms, modulating throttle again, shift 2-3 at 6,528 rpms and 6,425 rpms at the finish line.

Timeslip:




Video:




Pass 4:

Decided to bring the rear shocks UP to both be at level 3, which is right in the middle. Airbags the same as before, and let the rear tires drop to 15.0 psi each. Simply trying not to spin at the hit. Footbrake launch at 2,562 rpms, spun for a moment, and shifted 1-2 at 6,143 rpms. Shifted 2-3 at 6,452 rpms and finished at 6,572 rpms, ...again, not fully WOT for whatever dumb reason.

Timeslip:




Video:





Pass 5:
Frustrated about the bad launches, I tried leaving the rear shocks at setting 3, and lowering air pressure in the rear bags (not smart) to be 5 psi (d) and 8 psi (pass side). I let the tires down to 14.6 psi each too. Footbrake launch at 1,638 rpms, spun bad, pedaled it, shifted 1-2 at 6,610 rpms, the 2-3 shift at 6,385 rpms, and finished at 6,487 rpms.



Timeslip:


Video:






That wrapped up the year of drag-strip action and over the next few weekends I did some local driving around before the early cold/snow came upon us.

So, for the 2024 calendar year I only put a total of 24 passes on the car. A few dragstrip personal bests, and I know I can chop down the all-motor timeslips even more come springtime. The nitrous passes will forever be a mystery to me because.. the July 7th slips were awesome, but every other time this year my mph was way lower. Out of the 24 passes this year, twelve were 10-second slips, ten were 11-second slips, and 2 passes were junk/aborted passes.




I have a few things that I plan on working on this winter, but trying to NOT spend a ton of money that I don't have. I think the single biggest purchase will be a UMI drag-bar to help the rear suspension on the launch. The airbags I've used as a band-aid for a few years but knowing that the rear likes to "unload" after the initial hit, has run its course for me. I want these Hoosiers to hook and not be inhibited from more 1.3x sixty-foots by the car unloading or whatever its doing. They still have some good life on them. I'll type up a post in the coming weeks about the other winter-plans, but that's it for 2024.

 

It's neat seeing you have so much fun with the car. And honestly so little trouble with it too. Not easy to achieve as people find out every day building their own cars.

 

That's impressed me as well.
Racing on a couple of levels. Driving here, there and everywhere. Good looking car. As a car guy, what more could you ask?

 

This "unloading" had been discussed here before (and might have been the impetus for getting the drag bags) and that's weight transfer, both fore and aft as well as laterally (hence the sway bar). There's also another factor and that was mentioned in the Dragzine article. That factor being what the slick is actually doing at the hit. Is it staying round other than the contact patch? The bias-ply apparently has a tendency to wad up ahead of the contact and kills the traction.



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What would be interesting is a closeup slow motion sideview video of the slick at launch. You'll soon see if this phenomena is occurring.

What would also be interesting is how far down the track you carry that front tire as it is in the picture above. When we were developing cars competitively (way back when) we strived to get the car "up on it's toes" for as far down the track as possible. Then we knew we had maximum weight transfer and control for the entire pass. You can see this in the Stock and Super Stock classes which have OEM style suspensions and is relatable to our cars as we race them.

 

You guys rock, thanks for the compliments, and that keeps me motivated too. I Have a few videos that other people shot of hte car/tire at the hit, but nothign from a dead-on side-view. I can get someone to do that in the spring. I know what you mean by keeping the weigh transfer and up-on-the-toes, my car does that a little bit that I notice both while drivign and from some videos. Usually on a decent launch, it kinda "pops up" while the rear digs in, and the while the front rubber touches down it kinda holds up for a second or so. I have a video from this fall I can try to link one day soon. Unless the launch is a total failure, the car does stay up on its toes for at least a second, and then gradualyl comes back down over the course of a few seconds, but never comes down to ride height until after the run.


Below is a list of tasks/upgrades I am hoping to accomplish over the winter season:
(some are self explanatory, but below the list I explain some of them in more detail)


1. Fix crankshaft Pulley/balancer issue
2. Swap O2 sensors side-to-side and compare results
3. Bleed out old brake fluid and put in all new DOT 3.
4. Rear passenger seatbelts stuck (done, I removed them completely last weekend)
5. Install GPS tracking/theft device (Tom Bailey's SICK version)
6. Tighten up hood alignment/gaps
7. Fix rear drivers-side seat base bolt hole (done, turned hole into a threaded post instead)
8. New set of Front MT skinny tires to replace the 9 year old rubber.
9. Swap out all valve cover bolts with longer ones
10. Key/ignition issue still happening
11. Fix exhaust shield edge by muffler/fuel tank (done)
12. Replace rear sway bar with UMI drag-bar
13. Oil and filter change (might swap to 40wt oil, or 10-40, instead of 20-50 VR1)
14. New magnetic in-line Trans filter, check fluid level better
15. A proper set of rear shocks to put on the car for dragstrip days (keep koni yellows for street)



details of some:

1. Crankshaft/balancer issue:
A few weeks ago I heard an erratic "clanging noise" under the hood and traced it down to the front of the engine. Used the screwdriver-trick to "hear" that the noise wasn't coming from inside the engine; started taking off belts for alternator and p.s. pump to see if that changed it. In the process of that, noticed a good amount of free-play at the crank pulley. Wiggled it around and that was the noise; the pulley was no longer contacting the balancer. Looks like the 3 bolts worked their way loose again, and also the crank bolt was loose enough to basically twist by hand. WOAH!
I have the oem pulley from my olde 305 TPI motor on this setup, its just powdercoated for appearance. The threads on the balancer are gacked up pretty good and I no longer can trust putting bolts into those holes, so its time for a new balancer, new bolts, and mayyybe a new pulley, but of the same style.
I have NO current plans to change out the other pulleys on the alt and water pump(serpentine style) and the p.s. pump (v-belt)...unless it will make the whole front accessory drive system better. In a few years time, I might end up re-doing it all again, as I will likely eventually go to a belt-driven vacuum pump, and then all these same components would have to get reworked. Didn't want to do this bigger project just yet (budget reasons) so thats why I am most likely going to just get an ATI super-damper balancer and put the oem pulley back on it, despite a few oblong bolt holes.


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2. Swap o2 sensors side to side:
For quite a while (even a year ago prior to the dyno session) my Holley o2 sensor reads AFR between .5 to almost 2 full points different than the AEM gauge. The holley is on the drivers side and the AEM on the passenger side.
For example, if the holley is reading (and adjusting the AFR) at 12.8, the AEM gauge is usually at 11.3 or somewhere in that range of numbers. This is across the rpm range and at various types of throttle and regular driving. Spark plugs from both sides of the engine are the same. I bought a new replacement sensor for the Holley side (Bosch 17025) after the rental in October and put it in before the last track session (Nov 3) and all it's AFR readings were the same as the previous Bosch 17025. Additionally, I do use those 1" long Oxygen sensor "spacers" that are recommended to be used by some holley guys; essentially it moves the tip of the o2 sensor out of the extreme direct path of exhaust gasses. I'd like to keep using those, because they seems to work fine for me, as I have not ever killed an o2 sensor. I think my plan of attack is just to take each sensor out, swap them side to side, and see if the AFR number discrepancy follows the sensor, OR if the AFR number stays the same on each side of the engine.


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10. Key ignition issue:
I thought I had this tackled last year but then it came back to haunt me again. Having an intermittent issue with the car not wanting to "crank" when the key goes in. Its not the Neutral safety switch either. I do not have VATS and never did have vats. Last year I took apart the steering column, inspected what I could, and also replaced that difficult to access Ignition Switch (Duralast LS309) on the top of the column. Things seemed ok for a few weeks and then the problem came back. I've checked the metal actuator rod also and did as much adjusting as I could. Part of me was thinking that my very worn-down key from 1987 and the ignition cylinder/tumblers might be the problem, so I was considering replacing both. However, I also know that the key does always go in, and the cylinder does always turn, so seemingly it wouldn't be the key as the culprit. Nevertheless, it just doesn't always crank, and when it finally does, it fires right up nice and quick like normal.. so its not a voltage issue either.



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12. Swaybar
Finally ready to call it quits with the wimpy stock 1987 rear swaybar on the rear axle. My probably choice is that UMI adjustable drag-bar that would take some initial figuring-out, but it would also give me the option to set some preload on dragstrip days. I can keep the airbags for when I have a heavily loaded down car on the way to an event, and then bleed them out so that the rear suspension works properly.
https://www.umiperformance.com/2245-...sway-bar-rear/

 

Seeing as how much you race/drive or otherwise beat on this mule (and well done I must say again ! ) there may be some benefit for you to do a little research of what kind of dampener might suit the engine best. Certainly one that's SFI approved but besides that, there's an element of tuning that can applied here rather than something off the shelf. Although I haven't applied it directly to my own engines (all 350 variants of some sort or another) and my Fluidampr Streetdampr (since discontinued it appears) has had a long service life (~ 100k miles IIRC) it may not be suited to all SBC's (internal or external balance notwithstanding). Displacement and RPM have an influence here. That's the aforementioned tuning element.
Kind of a finer detail thing but worth considering especially seeing how you use that engine. The word intensely comes to mind.
Again, just my 2 cents ( 1.38 CDN).

https://www.hpacademy.com/blog/what-...101-tech-talk/

 

You might have something else going on causing the bolts to loosen, but....

Where I work, we do not paint the pulley on the surface where the bolt clamps. Reason being is paint will compress a few minutes after the bolt is tightened and the joint will relax and possibly loosen.

It's a real thing, I've seen pulleys play ping pong inside the engine bay when a factory doesn't paint mask.

 

Skinny: that is certainly worth me taking the time to learn about, I'm going to read that link during this holiday down time and start to come up with a few options, so I'll keep that discussion rolling here. With the car focusing more on dragstrip (and possibly the 2025 Hot Rod Drag-Week event), I don't want to overlook something about the damper choices.


Qwk: I think you are exactly right. I noticed this peeling coming off in slivers so, you called it. If I decide to re-use the pulley I will grind all of that off on the inner face of the pulley. And red locktite. My main bolt (Milodon) looks ok, but I will probably get a new one for safety's sake. A buddy of mine mentioned that it also looks a little short, so I will have to do a thread-engagement test and see how many teeth are in. Will definitely do 3 new ARP machine bolts too.

 

Do you use any kind of thread locker on those bolts?
My assembly sees the pulley bolts and the large crank bolt all get, at a minimum, Loctite blue. And all ARP hardware as well (as yours appears to be).

 

I would not red Loctite that danper bolt. You'll never get it out of the crankshaft again without heat.

 

While I can appreciate that, and I generally use the medium strength blue stuff, my experience with red loctite on the torque converter and flexplate bolts has never required heat. Granted they're not of the same diameter and length as the crank bolt but it's never taken more than an appropriately sized wrench.
One thing though that greatly facilitated those bolt removals was a flexplate/flywheel turning tool. Similarly helpful for the front end too although there's a little ingenuity involved.

 

We did a bunch of studies with Loctite and found it is pretty much useless unless applied sloppy wet.

 

Interesting. Sloppy wet is often my accidental application. Maybe that's why I've had luck with it.
In all of my builds, particularly on the engine side, I can't say I've come across one bolt that didn't have some resistance to yielding when trying to remove it. Often with a mighty crack such as the flexplate bolts with red goop. Then again, I try to achieve the recommended torque spec for whatever fastener I'm working and that may be more telling than some thread locker.

 

Yea, I am leaning heavily towards the UMI one, and they have a 10% off sale for another week so I might snag it up. I didn't really look into any of those other "non-bent" ones like TRZ motorsports sells which require a relocated fuel tank etc. So I was between the UMI bar (#2245) , the Steinjager bar (#J0030952), the Midwest chassis bar and the Spohn bar. I didn't realize Wolf was no longer around either.


UMI: https://www.umiperformance.com/2245-...sway-bar-rear/
TRZ: https://www.trzmotorsports.com/produ...-bar-assembly/




The other day I went out and swapped the Oxygen sensors from side-to-side. The lower numbers followed the AEM gauge, so at least that gives me peace of mind that its not something drastic with the engine; its sensor related. I have a local buddy who had problems on his AEM gauge using a Holley terminator with a supercharged car and he discovered that a 2015 Focus ST upstream sensor was able to read really close AFR numbers to the numbers I see on the Holley sensor. I might do more research and order that in the coming weeks. I am still wondering if my +1" tall oxygen sensor extenders might not play nice with the AEM sensor, So I considered taking the extender off of that sensor only, but I have yet to do so.

extender: https://www.innovatemotorsports.com/...4jg92InYil7Rr0








I dug into the world of engine dampers a bit and after coming up with a few options, I called ATI Performance Products today.

My current balancer is a PB PowerBond Racing 1012SS 29261 which is 6.113" in diameter and weighs 6.92 pounds. It is SFI 18.1 rated. The threads are stripped out pretty darn good for the 3 pully bolts, so this balancer is done for.

The callies compstar crank snout is 1.245" in diameter with a single-keyway.


ATI steered me away from the heavier steel dampers, and suggested their Aluminum 7" diameter damper which weighs in at 4.45 pounds total, and an inertia weight of 3.7 pounds. It is part number 917221 and is a 3 ring setup which incorporates a lighter inertia ring compared to the traditional setup. I learned that the weight of the inertia rig is more critical than the overall weight of the whole damper. I was also told that transmission converter lockup should not cause any issues with the damper, even if I am using lockup on the 150 nitrous shot.

ATI also sells a new timing pointer assembly for the 7" balancer, part number 918954.
I wanted to get a longer crank bolt since I checked my current one and it only goes in 4.5 turns of the snout due to its under-head length, so I need something longer. I see ARP sells some, even in 12 point head configuration, I will just have to take some measurements. ATI said Blue locktite on the 3 bolts and also the main bolt.

Links:

chart: https://www.atiracing.com/products/d...s/damchevy.htm
damper: https://www.jegs.com/i/ATI/085/917221/10002/-1
timing pointer: https://www.jegs.com/i/ATI/085/918954/10002/-1

 

Glad you called ATI to get custom advice. What I've learned with them is the catalog items are just examples and not necessarily what you should be buying.

Case in point: The LS1 F-body damper has the wrong durometer rubber for most LS engines. It is just barely suitable for a stock LS1. Just happens to be the first one they released and that's what went in the catalog but nobody should order it today.

They probably don't have too many "bad" choices in the catalog, but it is possible. Best to talk to one of their engineers before buying.

 

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/arp-234-2501





Checking out the ATI website and catalogue, it's nice to know there's something to be learned regarding the damper.

 

your build is excellent dude. I just started mine. I have a question. when you were doing the wiring did you just separate all the wires you needed to keep like the headlights etc. etc. or did you pull it all out and then rewire those? I have a new harness for the engine I just need to figure out the other wiring and im not sure what the easier way is going to be, right now im separating everything out. It seems to be the more logical way.

 

There are three main harnesses in these cars. Engine, dash/chassis and accessories (headlights etc). For most engine swaps you only need to integrate a new engine harness. The headlight harness remains untouched and the dash harness may only need a few tweaks depending on your final set-up and how it relates to gages. Take a look at the LS/LT swap forum and read the stickies in regards to wiring.

 

Good question, and yes you are right, there are a few ways you could go at the wiring in these cars. As shifty said, the harnesses in these cars are bundled like that. I took the wiring underhood out completely, all of the engine related stuff, and I even took out the headlight segment; but I had my reasons. Look for your C100 connector on the drivers side firewall. Then find the expanded style diagram either in a shop manual or online and you will see how that connector is also setup. (it unbolts from the firewall should you need it to). I went through and labeled each wire while referring to the manual constantly and then deciding what to keep. I only kept a very few things from the original 1987 TPI harness, and I ended up building my own style harness through the firewall (out of sight) to run my wires from the cabin into the engine bay for stuff like the line-lock, nitrous stuff, holley can-bus wires, etc.

These photos below are from January 2020 when i removed the old engine and did a bunch of work in the engine bay prior to installing the new engine.
Here is the link to my thirdgen.org thread that has a bit more detail and photos as I took wiring out and put wiring in:
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...rior-next.html

Having only kept a very very few wires from the harness, I ended up selling the rest of it on the classifieds for decent cash.

 

The youtube algorithm delivered this video about LocTite on my youtube feed a few days ago. I know we were just discussing some of this stuff a month ago.


I got some progress made on the car this weekend (update to follow soon) but I used their advice about blind-holes and the product amount advice too.

 

Was able to get some progress done in recent weeks on some of the projects and other winter maintenance.

One of the first things to get sorted out was the balancer/pulley situation. Ordered an ATI 917221 Super Damper which is much lighter and stronger than the PB unit (2 threaded holes striped out of PB unit). Got the proper balancer pointer (ATI 918954) and a longer crank bolt (ARP 234-2501) . Extreme difficulty getting it to seat back all the way, multiple tries on multiple days. eventually a little bit of filing by hand, adjusting the key in the keyway on the crank, heating the balancer to 250 deg in my wife's oven, and blasting some cold nitrous at the crank snout, lubing the snout and it went on; fully seated! Blue loctite on the bolts and triple check measurements.






Decided to FINALLY scrap the old oem steel crank pulley and the oem water pump pulley. Never realized how heavy those are until I had these new March pulleys as a comparison. In order to help the alternator survive, the underdrive pulleys were mathematically a great idea. Instead of a 7" crank pulley , its now 22% underdrive, via a 5.5" crank pulley. Alternator now spins at 2.75:1 ratio instead of a 3.5:1 ratio like before. Used nice new arp bolts (430-6802) for the water pump pulley and the ATI provided bolts for the crank pulley. Got new shorter belts; contintental 4050400 (40" 5 rib) and a Dayco 15345 (34.5" v belt).






My Champion radiator developed a small leak during the fall season, and thankfully Champion has a lifetime free-replacement warranty. I had a leak in another champion back in 2021 and thats when this radiator arrived. So, again, Champion sent me a brand new CC951 radiator (3 row) for free and I dropped it in along with brand new hoses (Upper E71208 Lower D71131) and I put the steel springs inside each hose like usual. Used some new hose clamps that have a nicer design that doesn't dig into the rubber of the hose (Mishimoto Smart-seal).
Reused most of the Evans coolant that I drained out and topped it off with some fresh Evans.





Oil change, stuck with Valvoline VR1 20-50 for now, but probably in the future I'll likely change that.
Decided to go with a different oil filter; Baldwin B279 which comes highly recommended in the aftermarket sbc world.
The nylon/plastic washer at the Moroso drain plug had a small crack in it, which was slowly leaking oil, so I replaced the whole drain plug since I couldn't find only the nylon washer. Still would like to find it, or maybe a copper washer alternative to keep as a spare.






Replaced the two transmission fluid filters. The in-line Magnefine filter by the second trans cooler came out clean. Fluid also drained nice colored and clean from the pan drain plug. Dropped the trans pan and put in a new wide filter (A74010) and felpro gasket TOS 18663. Refilled the system most of the way with a blend of AMSOIL synthetic ATF and soem CATerpillar trans fluid.


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Bought a "carb screen" to put on when I am at the track instead of running a fully open throttle body. Intensity racing products #IRP4150LP for $105. Looks great, fits great, and its good piece of mind (I'll probably remove the sticker on it soon).






Pulled the valve covers off while I put in some longer 1/4-20 bolts. Three of the holes had gakked-up threads so I gently chased the threads before installing ARP 611-1000 fasteners which are 1/4-20 x1" long.










Removed the Oxygen sensor bung extenders. They were a total of 1" long and since I am only spraying wimpy nitrous shots, my oxygen sensors should survive.


Next up will be to bleed out all the old brake fluid from the car, service the brake sliders and calipers too.

 

The ATI damper comes a little undersized and you're supposed to hone the ID to size to achieve a specific fit to your crank snout OD.

Did you not do this?

 

And a machine shop wants as much $$ as the balancer costs to hone it.

 

It's so nice to read about things that were done correctly.
2 little things though -
Install threaded studs in the heads for the valve covers so that you never have to work those threads again.
Blue Loctite them in and use nylock nuts.
And YES to copper washer on the oil drain plug. Better yet, make your own magnetic drain plug like this:

If you have access to a lathe, you can make your own SUPER magnetic drain plug. Order a 1/4" dia x 1.5" long NEO magnet, drill your stock drain plug with a 1/4" bit, and red Loctite it in.

 

All it takes is a flexible cylinder hone on a hand drill.

 

Why would you not run your proper air filter on tracks days?

Thumbs up on the Baldwin filter. My choice as well.
Now to get you away from 20W50 oil!

 

I had run some same-day back to back tests at the track over the years and always saw better timeslips with the air cleaner assembly off. One year when i have creativity, I'd like to make a functional cowl-tray intake. I never liked running the throttle body fully open, but the air cleaner assembly I use on the car is much more show than go. I know this screen won't protect against particulate dust and such, but its just literally for dragstrip passes and then the full assembly goes on for the drive home.

I read the ATI instructions so many times, read on the trusted car sites, remembered my call with ATI and applied some of those techniques in order to get it to slide on. I think the most success I had was from filing down the sharp edge on the semi-circle key and re-orienting it better. I did heat it in the oven but only at 250 deg as many sources say not get it too hot and destroy the internals. I used a very gentle grade "rat-tail" style (round) metal file to chamfer the balancer and ever-so-slightly "hone it". I followed that up with a micro-wire wheel on a dremmel to smooth it out more. If I hadn't been successful I would have been turning towards a machine shop.





That mega-magnetic drain plug does sound like a good idea. I now have a spare drain plug so I can mess around with that and find a proper washer-gasket again too.

back in the fall when I concluded that I needed to redo the valve-cover fasteners, my initial thought was to do a set of valve cover studs. Two things prevented me from doing it, the first was that by the firewall its tight to lift the covers off past the windshield washer motor's bottom and the hyperspark coil. The other one, is I didn't want to have the exposed threads of the stud sitting up on top of the nut, so I would have to either cut them down or so acorn-cap nuts on top of the first nut. Didn't like the idea of that visually. When searching for replacement bolts, I was going to go with the 6 point heads for a more traditional look, but at the last moment, I decided to go with the 12 point head.

 

I now recall the air filter you use. I'll agree that it's more show than go as nice looking as it is. I've a traditional open element at 14" diameter with a 4" tall filter currently being used. The cowl hood provides just enough clearance. Combined with a proper dropped base (in both shape and depth) it does more than what I need for induction without restriction.
But...
I'm on the same page as you when it comes to a proper CAI package. It's a must have.
I've had a 16" cake tin sitting on the shelf for more than a decade and have yet to turn into a sealed cowl induction system.
There are many done in this fashion.





That said, I've also considered a hybrid of what a few others have done here and that's incorporate the TPI inlet box (with twin filters) and feed that to a sealed case on the carburetor.




It's the filter case that's of interest in this picture.

Rather than the Firebird specific "scoop" (as pictured), that 4" tube that transitions to the case would be fed from the TPI Camaro version of the twin filter inlet.



The filters are in the OEM location at the front and the case on the carb or throttle body is empty.

Cold air is KING!

 

I got some more stuff crossed off my winter-work list,

1. Fix crankshaft Pulley/balancer issue (done)
2. Swap O2 sensors side-to-side and compare results (unresolved still)
3. Bleed out old brake fluid and put in all new DOT 3. (done)
4. Rear passenger seatbelts stuck (done, I removed them completely last weekend)
5. Install GPS tracking/theft device (done)
6. Tighten up hood alignment/gaps
7. Fix rear drivers-side seat base bolt hole (done)
8. New set of Front MT skinny tires to replace the 9 year old rubber. (next winter)
9. Swap out all valve cover bolts with longer ones (done)
10. Key/ignition issue still happening (unresolved still)
11. Fix exhaust shield edge by muffler/fuel tank (done)
12. Replace rear sway bar with UMI drag-bar (done)
13. Oil and filter change (might swap to 40wt oil, or 10-40, instead of 20-50 VR1) (done)
14. New magnetic in-line Trans filter, check fluid level better (done)
15. A proper set of rear shocks to put on the car for dragstrip days (keep koni yellows for street) (probably in the summer)



The new UMI anti-roll bar is installed, and I am going to keep the endlinks on the "inside" hole until I can get to the track and see how much body roll there is with the new bar. If there is still an issue, I will move the endlinks to the outboard hole position, which makes it firmer. I am aware that the endlinks are kicked at an angle, and I measured it to be at 14deg from plumb. UMI says this is within acceptable territory, so I will keep it as it. The bar is perfectly level from side to side, but depending on how/where I measure it, it is 15 deg kicked-down towards the nose of the car. The endlinks are both adjusted exactly the same, and I am almost completely maxed out on available threads to shorten them. I did not load any pre-load in the passenger side endlink; will re-evaluate at the track. It feels good on the street, but thats not any real test. I took some measurements from the flat ground up to each endlink connection point and both sides were 7". Measurements from the ground to both body-mounting surfaces is 9". And lastly from the ground to the flat segment of the bar that goes right under the diff-cover, that is 6.5". No idea what all that means but I measured it anyways!



















Took the car out for a few brief local drives and it felt good. Probably only have about 45 miles on it so far with no new surprise issues. Engine does seem to want to rev-up quicker; likely a bonus from the new damper/pulleys.
The Brake system got all new DOT-3 fluid and all calipers were bled out.

Still stuck with three problems:
1. The ever present slow drip of oil at the rear-main seal area which causes the oil to sling around the flexplate and onto stuff like the starter and bellhousing.
2. Also, I checked over a bunch of stuff related to my intermittent "no crank" when turning the key. I'd say it happens 1 out of 15 times, and its random. Not an issue with heat soak at the starter or anything with the PRNDL or Neutral safety switch. I have been in the column, even considered swapping out the ignition cylinder and ignition key too, but the key ALWAYS turns and that makes me think its not key related. Last year I replaced the ignition switch module thats on top of the column under the dash and I thought that solved it, but turns out it hadn't. It's just an ongoing troubleshooting battle still at this point.

3. The discrepancy in the Oxygen sensor readings from gauge to gauge. Having swapped sensors from side to side under the car,and removed the extenders, I am still getting mis-matched readings on the Holley vs. AEM gauge. Local fbody racer with aolley and aem helped me out with a part number for a new sensor from a 2015 Ford Focus ST upstream wideband sensor (NTK 24334) that will help "bring" the displayed AEM numbers into closer range of the Holley sensors. I ordered it, and hope to get it on the car soon.



All that aside, I'd like to get more miles on this car sometime soon, and of course I'd like to get some timeslips at the track too. Finding free time is hard to come by recently

 

A couple of quick questions for you:
You race through the full exhaust is that right?
What is it exactly?

 

Sorry, just saw this message now. I ahev not been getting hte TGO notifications to my email address anymore, I gotta fix that!

I do use the full exhasut all the time. I no longer have a cutout anywhere int eh system and I don't unbolt any of it anymore; it all stays in place. I have removed it an ran open headers, but certainly no need to do that again.

Ebay chineese style long tube 1.75" headers. I cut off the collectors before they neck-down to 2.5" and at the 3" diameter point I welded on v-band connectors. I then home0built a Y pipe which is 3" diameter on both sides with lots of pie-cuts and TIG welding. These three inch pipes merge to a 4" Y collector and then a mufflex 4" mandrel bent system. It currently has the 4" straight through magnaflow muffler, but I am starting to want a different exhaust note from the car. Possibly thinking about a Hooker 4" muffler; I had a hooker aero chamber 3" muffler on the car for 17 years (and liked the sound better but that was with my TPI and a cutout). After the magnaflow muffler I have the mufflex single-outlet 4" turn down that I tucked up tight under the bumper.

I can get plenty of pics if you would like

 

Went to the track last weekend for the Nostalgia Spring Event. Street drove the car there, loaded with gear, long line to get in, packed house. I went into the N2 bracket group for 10.0-10.99 cars since I planned on using the bottle after a shakedown all motor pass. Everyone was allowed to get two test runs, which is what I hoped for. Jerry was also there that day, running his chevy. First time testing out the new UMI drag bar and not relying on the rear air-bags to compensate for body roll. I lowered both of those airbags to 5 psi and left them there until it was time to drive home after the event. Used the same EFI tune all day, and kept the Koni yellow rear shocks set at a soft 1.5 setting. Put more air in the MT drag radials at 19.6 psi and 19.4 psi. Made no adjustments to the new drag bar; it is set in a zero-preload setting currently.

Pass 1:
Simple All-motor pass, shakedown after the winter off season.
Foot-braked the car to 2331 rpms, and it launched good. Shifted 1-2 at 6329 rpms and then after only 1.2 seconds climbing in 2nd gear it shifted into 3rd (datalog shows it happened at 5668 rpms of second). It was a long slow haul in 3rd gear but I crossed the stripe at 6168 at the finish line. Still ran a decent e.t. and nothing else on the car was problematic.

Timeslip:


Datalog:




Track photo:



Dashcam video:





Pass 2:
Turned the bottle on for the 150 progressive shot.
Foot-braked the car to only 1717 rpms and let it fly to a 1.36 sixty foot! Shifted 1-2 at 6399 rpms and then shifted into 3rd at 6254 rpms. Activated the converter lockup at 6126 and the car crossed the line at 6355 rpms. I noticed during the run that nitrous bottle pressure dropped heavy from 1000 psi to almost 675 psi at the end of the run (can be seen on the top gauge of my A-pillar gauge cluster in the GoPro video). I had some issues with the purge solenoid/button earlier in the lanes, but it worked before the run to get line pressure down before the run; it was a brand new bottle just filled. Not too worried because the car ran within two hundredths of its personal best, so I knew I was on the right track to hopefully set a new pb. But I was stunned by the 1.36 sixty foot and can even cut that down more I think. The odd transmission issue from last run didn't happen again either.



Timeslip:




Datalog:



Dashcam video:



GoPro video:



Launch video in slow-motion:






Pass 3 (Round 1 Eliminations):
Kept the tune the same, everything the same in hopes of duplicating that run with steadier bottle pressure and going 10.5x. So I dialed in a 10.57 after talking with Jerry who steered me back from the greedy 10.52 I wanted to dial-in.
Launched the car lower in the rpm band, at only 1407 rpms and it launched great again, with another 1.36 sixty foot. However, when the two front tires came down, they sent a reverberation through the steering system that had me pedal the car and drive through it. Shifted into second at 6445 rpms in the rev limiter, and I also over revved 2nd gear a bit too but while in 3rd it never got the converter locked up and finished at 6433 rpms. Regardless, the other car broke-out on the dial-in and I got to move on to round 2 for another chance at a 10.5x slip. FYI I did do the UMI ball-joint relocation kit and had all the alignment dialed in last spring, so I'm surprised it shook those front wheels like that (see slow-motion video). Nitrous bottle pressure held consistent throughout the run and the trans didn't quick shift 2-3 again either.



Timeslip:



Datalog:



Dashcam video:


GoPro video:



Slow motion launch video showing front tires shaking for a while!:






Pass 4 (Round 2 Eliminations):
Same tune, same everything. None of the other problems from previous runs had yet repeated, so it was time for something new to happen! Footbraked to 2618 rpms (too high) and went 1.38 sixty foot. In the process, I got too excited and earned a red-light, definitely knew it too. I Shifted too high at 6394 rpms, shifted 2-3 too high also at 6339 rpms, activated lockup higher than usual at 6229 rpms, and while lockup was slowly coming on, I was just getting into the revvlimiter while on the nitrous button. AFR's were good on both gauges, but at 6394 rpms and about 10 feet from the finish line, it made a pop and shot out a real fast fireball from the sniper and I saw it through the hood! Of course I got off the throttle, looked at every gauge I could, shifted into neutral and watched the dash. Engine actually decelerated fine and I drove the car totally unscathed back towards the pits. Was fully prepared to cut the engine off if I noticed anything else awry. Got my timeslip and was thrilled to see a new PB 1/4 mile et, of 10.588, because I have been stuck in the 10.6's for 3 long years. Checked some stuff over on the car while jerry and I packed up tools. Aired up the tires and the air-bags, and drove the car home without any sign of any of the 4 different issues I had experienced earlier.


Timeslip:



Datalog:



Dashcam video:



GoPro video (with fireball under the hood):














The oxygen sensor readings from the new sensor are definitely much more in range with what my eye needs to see. The UMI drag-bar is already proving itself well worth it too. Only one time during the day did the car experience the key/ignition/starter no-crank, and I had about 40 key cranks of the car throughout the day. I did buy a replacement Powermaster Max Torque starter and its in the garage, but I'm dragging my feet on blindly putting it in until I keep troubleshooting the issue more. I definitely have to take the header off to get the starter job done, so that takes some time.

I drove the car over to the local car show and elsewhere and son I am going to try to get it shined up for the GM nationals event in Carlisle which is about 2 weeks away. I am not in the display this year, just going to go as a normal showfield car. I will be checking the spark plugs, steering system, and some other stuff, after I switch the wheels.

 

I'll soon be building another timing curve for the new engine and have been studying timing maps from here, there and anywhere.
I went so far as to buy new engine simulation software (Performance Trends Engine Analyzer basic) as they will give timing recommendations based on engine architecture and running conditions (fuel type, air temp, et al.).
Your map posted above is interesting. How what it developed?

Seeing as my engine vacuum approaches 0" Hg at WOT redline (or nearly so) I suppose one could extract your "curve" from the 100kPa line in the table above. So that's 34° at 3000 RPM, then 37° to the end if I'm reading that right.

This is contrary to what my software is suggesting and also counters some "higher levels" of thinking from engine pros. Your curve reminds me of my early (and up until now) days of "all in" by 3000 RPM. Give or take.

 

Oh wow, I am missing replies on the TGO forum. Something must be turning them into Spam. I'll try to fix it; sorry I missed your post.

WOW that is an OLD timing table, I am guessing 3 or years ago? I no longer run anything close to that. I am at 34 deg timing at WOT. Here is a photo of the timing graph I have been using for at least the last year. Definitely feel free to let me know your suggestions and technical advice too.

[







Drove the car out to Carlisle last weekend, for the GM Nationals Event. It was the 40th Anniversary of the IROC-Z event as well as the annual Thirdgen Nationals event so I was glad to go.

Prior to the trip I changed the drag wheels out, installed the front sway-bar, checked all spark plugs, tightened a belt, and some other mechanical related to-do tasks. Also did my once-a-year detail, clay bar, polish, wax, buff and general cleanup on the car. The car made the 3 hour (140 mile) trip out there with only one single issue.. the speedometer stopped working after about 35 miles. I pulled over to check if the mechanical cable pulled loose from the dash gauge, but it seemed intact so I just drove on all the way to the fairgrounds with no mph. Decent turnout for the Friday portion of the event. I was not involved with any of the IROC display this year, I was just parked in the showfield grass. Watched some Autocross stuff and walked the show a bit with some buddies. While driving to the hotel at night, the speedo briefly worked for a mile or so, but then went dead the rest of the trip. I was totally satisfied about that knowing its either a pinched cable or torn gear tooth or something fixed another time.

Saturday (Day 2) was a much better turnout, but it was also pretty damn hot. I drove the car in the Thirdgen parade which probably had 40+ cars in it. They did autocross runs again and an exhaust sound competition also, Stayed there all day until about 6 pm when I headed home. Still with no speedometer, but the car drove fantastic. Even though bad road construction issues, dead-stopped traffic, and heated ambient temps, the car was freakin great. And not even one single time did the ignition/starter issue pop-up, and I probably had about 25-30 successful key-on cranks over the two days. The GPS logged 326 miles during those two days. Good event.

Some photos:

 

Thanks for the updated table.
I'm looking across the top couple of rows. That would represent WOT correct? 100kPa.
That's the area I'm trying to develop although in an analog way.
I've been talking to many people, all with greater levels of experience than my own, about what curve, or shape of curve really, is going to deliver the best performance.
I started the conversation by asking for EFI tables of similarly built engines. The responses are impressive.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...fi-tables.html

A couple of things have given me reasons to rethink my previous approach.
One is the need for reduced timing at the peak TQ RPM. My understanding here is that at the highest VE, as in cylinder filling, the charge is at it's densest and as such, requires less timing than before or after that peak.
That's one thought.
The other is that the engine can use more advance steadily past peak torque and on to the redline. Somewhere around 1-1 1/2° per 1000 RPM seems to be an accepted practice. Naturally you don't want to exceed what's thought to be the maximum before further performance isn't gained but it gets one to thinking that the "all in by" approach might not be suitable. All of this is assuming the engine hasn't an issue with detonation.

You can see how this can work in tandem. In your table, it might be that at 4000 RPM, 34° is too much. Not in a detonation sense but rather in a greater TQ result (think of the spark as happening too soon and working against the piston). From a reduced peak TQ advance it's then an easy climb from 4000-6800 adding that 1° per 1000 RPM. If best timing at 6800 is seen with 35° of advance, 4000 might see 31 or 32°.
2° might not seem like much but the big guys I see are always sneaking up on it 1° at a time.

Difficult to work through at the dragstrip as the variables of that kind of real world testing would make a cause and effect analysis difficult. Changing weather and track conditions come to mind. A dyno where you can lock in an RPM and add or remove timing under WOT would really tell the tale.
Anyway, I'm working away from the "all in by" scenario which was generally accepted as full advance by 3000 (with a NA 350 in this power range). Now I'm going to work with somewhat less at peak TQ and try to dial in that 1° per 1000 past peak to see where that gets me. Not exactly easy with an old school distributor (Think modifying weights and springs and testing. Repeat as necessary.) A digital box in my future though.

As for the car show...I know one thing for sure. My 40 footer will never make the parade! They'd probably request that I park in the back somewhere!! It used to be a tidy looking little coupe but time, climate and an errant mini-van have all taken their toll. It is what it is. But if I'm fast, it doesn't quite matter as much. Fast first. Pretty later.

Thanks again.

 

ugh! I am still not getting email notifications about any TGO activity. I know its something with AOL mail, but I have been missing replies on so much stuff. Damn, sorry, I will get a reply back to skinny one day soon.



Otherwise,

I replaced the speedometer cable with a new one after finding that the old one was broke in two pieces. Test drove the car a few miles that day and it worked great. Packed the car up for the Camaro nationals, but I was only able to make it to the Saturday portion of the event. Left at 6 am on Saturday morning and got out to Morgantown, PA right around 8:30. Just a few short miles into the trip, the speedometer stopped working again. It stayed dead until about 10 miles away from the event. Also, It began to rain about an hour into the trip, and later became heavy rain which ended just a few minutes before getting off the highway for Morgantown.

The show was another good one, with about 614 camaros on site. A bunch were on display inside the Classic Auto mall building, and the rest were outside in different areas of the parking lot and grass. Had a good time chatting with various people. I really liked the design they had for this year's event, so I grabbed T-shirts for me and my son. Drove back to NJ with two buddies and we saw a scattering of camaros along the way. Aside from the speedometer issue, the car did fantastic. 217 miles in total as per the gps; and vehicle temperatures, pressures, mechanicals were all good.

I next will explore the back-side of the speedometer gauge in the dash and probably order a new light-green plastic "driven" gear to go in the tailshaft because its likely the hole is worn out. Not sure what is coming up in the next few months for the car, but I do plan on having the track rental in Mid-late October.

 

Quick question while you're on the subject.
What have you got for a speedometer? OEM? Curious as I need a new cable myself (again) but the replacement I bought, although spec'd for an 86 Camaro/700R4 is way too long. At low speeds it binds and releases causing the speedo needle to bounce. Now I'm looking for another replacement. IIRC, the catalogue I went through listed two lengths. When searching online vendors, I see the ATP Y815 is recommended rather than the Y814 in your picture.
Y814 = 61"
Y815 = 80"

 

I have the OEM speedometer yup, the one that goes to 145 mph. I used to have that long cable that you speak of, and that worked great until I redid the engine bay to its current "stripped down streamlined version" I didn't want a big looped cable in there for aesthetic reasons so I went with the Y814 which like you said, is 61" in length. Mine is pretty tight the way I have it routed and I'll have to rethink that, and maybe get the cable into the cabin somewhere else in the trans tunnel that gives it a little more freedom.


As for your post from a few weeks ago, I definitely have been informed of the "less timing at higher rpms" before, and I think i tried that at a track session or two. I will have to check my notes or my previous posts on this thread though. I do like the idea of not being all in too early in the rpm band. I can certainly make that change and maybe give it 32 deg around 3500 rpms and smooth the table out past that. Think thats a good idea?

 

Sounds like we're in much the same boat regarding speedometer cables. I wasn't sure at the time of purchase (maybe 2015) which length to get. I put my bets that longer was better than shorter in case the short was too short. As it is, the speedo needle jumping may not be cable related so that needs be verified. Short vs long will be a game time decision.

As for timing and your question, "think it's a good idea?". The short answer is, it depends.
I've gone down the timing rabbit hole in a big way this time around. And this all before I get to the track.
The common theme from anyone I've talked with is that it's all combination dependent. That's nothing new. Those that I've talked to also due the bulk of the tuning on the dyno. Engine dyno specifically. Further to that, timing curves developed on the dyno can take days. This isn't about what's best at WOT and peak RPM. It's what's best at all RPMs.

I've previously gone the route of all in by x. And x generally being before peak TQ. Say 3000 RPM whereas peak TQ is probably more like 4000-4500. The people on the dyno (not all but some) have said that at peak TQ an engine "typically" will require less timing. Is that because VE is at it's highest, the intake charge the most dense and burns quicker? Seems so science wise. The amount of timing is found via testing. What you don't want is the ignition too soon and it's not risk of detonation (although that has to be considered) it's the combustion process reaching maximum pressure and working against the piston. There's an optimum crank angle where that should happen.
The discussion went on further and included the need for increased advance past peak TQ and onto the redline. Amounts like 1 to 1-1/2° per 1000 RPM looking to be common result. VE drops off, charge density is reduced and more spark lead is needed. Those two elements go hand in hand when you think about it.

Again though, it all depends. Do you have high compression and a small efficient chamber? Is it a large bore and a big piston dome? That'll all factor in. Even the definition of those variables differ from builder to builder.

I've got a little support from EA Sim software and interestingly, the timing they plot continues to advance to the end. Not sure how much faith I can put into that but the trends are supported by those guys that spend time on the dyno.

 

Two weeks ago I drove the car to Island for a Sunday daytime test-and-tune. I wanted some more action on the 27" tall Hoosiers (BiasPly, no rim screws) so when I got to the track they were bolted on and the MT drag radials I drove there on were removed. I had a few pounds less than a full nitrous bottle when I arrived, and I was intending to work on the car's all-motor 60 foot and timeslip and then later a few nitrous passes but knowingly shutting it off early (the 27" tires put me wayyy too far into the rev limiter before the finish line on the nitrous).


Pass 1:
All motor pass, Hoosiers set to 16.6 psi on each side, Rear Koni yellow shocks set to a soft 1.5 each. Forgot to fully empty rear air-bags, whoops! Footbrake launch at 2201 rpms, flashed to 4803, shifted 1-2 at 6238 and 2-3 at 6318, crossing finish line at 6181 rpms.

Timeslip:

Datalog:

Track Photo of my actual first pass:


Video:

See-ya mustang video:




Pass 2:
Emptied rear air-bags to near zero. Tires had heated up to be at 16.8 psi each so I left them there, no changes to shocks yet. Footbrake launch from basically idle at 956 rpms, flashed to 4686 , shifted 1-2 at 5978, shifted 2-3 6209 and the finish line at 6218 rpms.

Timeslip:

Datalog:

Video:



Pass 3:
Increased rear tire pressure to 17.4 psi each. My buddy John convinced me to make a fee "open loop" fueling runs so I did these next two passes with closed-loop comp turned off. Footbrake launch at 1851 rpms. Flashed to 4816, shifted 1-2 at 6374, 2-3 shift at 6216, and across the finish line at 6222. The AFR gauge on the holley dash and the newly remedied AEM afr gauge both displayed mid-12 afr readings by eyesight the whole pass and the run felt good overall. Actual numbers can be seen in datalog and also the gopro video. However, It is still not launching as expected with these tires, and the advice I soon finally paid attention to, is the rear LCA bar angle needs to be adjusted to take a more level angle for a bias-ply tire. I considered jumping under the car and changing a bolt hole, but I got carried away with other stuff and decided just to lower the rear shocks to a very soft setting for the next pass:

Timeslip:


Datalog:


Video:






Pass 4: Shocks were then lowered to a very soft 1.0 each, tires had heated up to be 17.8 psi so I left them there. I did another open loop pass because I liked what I had just seen on the datalog for pass 3. However, I double-clicked the button and did not get a saved datalog for this run. It was simple and smooth run, but still not in the 11.50's as I had hoped for.

Timeslip:



Video:

 

Pass 5:
Done with the all motor passes. Was not thrilled about the slower-than-usual sixty foot times but hoped I could have success with the Hoosiers and some nitrous, maybe a quick sixty foot launch and run the car out to the 1000 foot mark a few times. Launched at 1182 rpms, flashed the converter to 5001, shifted 1-2 too high at 6438 while off the button, shifted 2-3 again too high at 6432off the throttle and button, back into 3rd gear, then chopped the throttle and drove the rest of the pass on-motor.

Timeslip:


Datalog:


Video:



Pass 6:
I was a bit happier with the 1.43 sixty foot, but knowing this car has been in the 1.3's before, I wanted more out of it so I got right back in the lanes and hot lapped it; no changes to anything. Footbrake launch from 1966 rpms, it spun a bit and flashed up to 5154 and climbed to 6575 rpms when I got off the button and throttle to shift, back on it in 2nd, shifted into 3rd at 6235 rpms, climbed into mid 3rd gear while still on the nitrous, but got off the button and rode out the pass all motor finishing at 5577 rpms.

Timeslip:


Datalog:


Video:



Pass 7 :Knowing I would need to make a LCA change to get the Hoosiers to probably work better (but not wanting to do it and then un-do it very shortly in order to drive home on the radials) I decided to just put the MT drag radials back on for the rest of the day. The track also had made the announcement that they will be closing at 3:00 instead of 4pm, so I only had time for a few more passes. Set the radials at 19.6 psi. Kept the rear shocks at the low setting of 1. Footbrake launch at 2143 rpms, spun real bad, pedaled it, shifted 1-2 at 6419 rpms, 2-3 at 5909 and held the nitrous until 6083 rpms and chopped the throttle off exactly at the 1000 foot cone, dead-coasted the rest of the way to the finish line.

Timeslip:


Datalog:


Video:



Pass 8: Getting greedy and got right back into the lanes and made this pass just minutes later. Sat at the light for a few seconds and Footbrake launch at 2193 rpms, flashed to 5055, shifted 1-2 at 6306, shifted 2-3 at 6234, hit torque converter lockup button at 6025 and then got off the nitrous before crossing the finish line at 6202 rpms.

Timeslip:


Datalog:



Video:




Pass 9:
Lowered the rear shocks down to 0.5 settings on each side, Rear MT radials set to 19.8 psi. Footbrake launch at 1962 rpms, and the converter flashed to 5232. shifted 1-2 at 6443, shifted 2-3 at 6305 and while watching the nitrous bottle pressure gauge drop steadily during the run, I climbed through 3rd gear while finishing at 6244 rpms. You can see me point to the N20 bottle pressure gauge after the run, it got down to just below 800psi on that pass so the bottle was now no longer useable.

Timeslip:



Datalog:



Video:



Drove the car home without any issues. Of note, the DA was in the 1800-2300 range all day and the car stayed hotter than usual all day long. Not worried about that. Speedometer is fubar again, as can be seen during the GoPro video footage on the dash. Will re-do the whole assembly this winter.

I have some adjustments to do before the next track day, which will be the October 24 Track Rental at Island Dragway.

 

Why deflate the airbags?
Curious as I've just made a dragstrip return after a ten year hiatus and although running with zero tuning efforts, the new drag radials wouldn't hook. 1.84 was the steady result. I knew the car was squatting badly at the hit (totally stock suspension except for beefed up components and LSARB's plus the airbags). I concluded that the LCA's were at level statically and when I pinned it, the axle disappeared into the wheel house, unloaded the tires and the 60' went in the toilet..
What's your logic?

By the way, I'd be remiss if I didn't say your all motor passes are my personal goals. I'd like to see 11.99 @ 115 MPH, which in good air is entirely attainable.

If you care to look IROC, I've threads in this latest endeavor.
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/orga...t-yet-but.html
and
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/memb...ight-back.html (which I see you've seen).

 

I enjoyed reading up on your recent dragstrip action. I am definitely not a chassis tuner, and it takes me a while to get certain automotive concepts "drilled into my head" but from what I am learning, drag radials will benefit from a downhill angle (rearward) to get some bite and a bias ply tire wants to get pushed down on more so by the car's weight transfer so they a better being at a level or very slight downhill angle. Of course the torque arm angles, tire inflation and everything else is a factor as well.

I added the UMI drag-bar this past winter and stopped using air in the drag-bags to "assist" my oem weak rear sway-bar at the track. On my first outing I got a few 1.36 and 1.38 second sixty foots, which was way better and more predictable. So now I simply use the air-bag drag-bags inside the coil springs to help me during my traveling to the track. Since I take so much gear with me and street drive, I need to keep the inner lip of the rear fenders from striking the tire side-wall. I put 25 psi in each bag and it lifts the body up and gains a ton of wheel-well clearance.

I know you will soon be posting a timeslip of an 11 second pass, I hope its before the end of this year!

 

I need a reference for "downhill" vs "uphill" with respect to the LCA's but I think I get it. Downhill is a nose down attitude and uphill is the opposite?
Here's my understanding, and this is irrespective of the tire type. When we lower our cars, the LCA angle will assume a nose down attitude. At the hit, there's little to no leverage resisting the tendency for the car to squat. Squat will reduce the amount of weight that's transferred as the axle is trying to move away from the ground as the body is compressing towards it. Equal and opposite reactions if you will. When we install LCARB's, we want to try and achieve a nose up attitude on the arm. Most jump, as I have, to the lowest hole. Even with that, the arms are almost level (something I need to put an angle finder on and record). But when we pin it, the axle has greater difficulty in trying to get up into the wheel house. This in turn, as the front rises and the rear has nowhere to go, plants the tires. The balance of front and rear shocks is big player here too.
Now that said, your interactions with racers at the track has outstripped mine as I've done nothing (other than bench race and build) for the last ten years. Could very well be there's something in this for me to learn too. There's a long offseason and with no garage or shop, the car is wrapped up and put away until the spring. Plenty of time for research.
What I found at the track this year, with zero air in the bags, is that the radials would break loose almost as soon as I pinned it. I could feel it. I could here it. Back when I had the bags dialed in (and by the way I fully understand and appreciate your move to the drag-bar. That it's working for you gives me another option in my development path) the backend would plant itself. That effect started going away as my bias slicks faded with age. I'm hopeful that I can get these radials to hook. The track was well prepped so I can't blame any lack of traction on that. I've also stepped up the converter spec and am foot braking to about the same RPM as you and am seeing a similar flash stall. That's means far more torque to the tires than before. I have to resurrect my datalogger and build some records as you have.

As for an 11 second slip...the season ended here on Saturday. I got my baseline the week before and was content with that. Lots to do before the next outing. 11 seconds would be real stretch up here in the thin air. I was about 3/4 of a second down in ET whgen compared to a sea level. I'll have to go to the coast if I want any chance of 11's. But I'd settle for the corrected I calculated last time. 12.22 @ 111. If I could get that on paper, rather than fiddling with the DA of the day, I'd be happy. The I'd work on 11's!

I always enjoy your exploits. Keep them coming. There are a few here that actively post their racing results. I want to join that crowd.

 

sorry, to clarify... when I typed downhill, I meant from front-to-back which is the same as how you are describing nose-up (tail down)
and the nose would be the front facing mount of the LCA, which would be higher than the rear-mount ont he axle.