Lebanon Valley Dragway Sept 25, 2011

[oldvettedad]

As you guys know I belong to a Nostalgia Drag Racing club, NETO (for North East Timing Organization, neto-nostalgia.com). Yesterday to my great surprise I won Nostalgia Eliminator (10.00 and slower, full tree). I had two runner up finishes but I didn't expect this. We had a good turnout, 15 cars. What was amazing to me was that this old fart who can't buy a good reaction time had .0 reaction times in all four rounds of eliminations. Really surprising because both time trials had .186 reaction times. Times that usually lead to a loss.
My best reaction time was a .001 (worth 25 points for best reaction time of the day) and my worst was .086. The car was consistent as usual running one 11.51, and then all 11.57's. Here is a picture in the winners circle.


With one race left at Atco dragway in October, I have a real good chance of clinching second place in the points.

I hope you don't think I'm bragging, I was just so overjoyed

[MostMint]

Winning races is always fun. How many events per year do you run with the car?

[oldvettedad]

Winning races is always fun. How many events per year do you run with the car?

This year we had 17 races scheduled. Two were rained (or should I say flooded) out, so we have 15 this year. We race in NY, (Lebanon Valley), NJ (Island Dragway and Englishtown) and PA (Maple Grove, Numidia, and Beaver Springs).

[oldvettedad]

Whoops! I forgot Atco, so thats one more in NJ

[ttamrettus]

nice work.

[TireSmoker]

With one race left at Atco dragway in October, I have a real good chance of clinching second place in the points.

I hope you don't think I'm bragging, I was just so overjoyed

Not bragging at all -- that's what this place is for, sharing the good and commiserating for the bad! We've posted a lot more for accomplishments that are a lot less!

What motor/trans do you have in that? Maybe post a few more pics.

-Dave

[oldvettedad]

Not bragging at all -- that's what this place is for, sharing the good and commiserating for the bad! We've posted a lot more for accomplishments that are a lot less!

What motor/trans do you have in that? Maybe post a few more pics.

-Dave

The car has an "interesting" combinztion. Not one anyone would build, but it kinda happened, and it turns out to be a pretty consistent car. The car itself was built for Super Stock Modified class with a 310 cubic inch chevy motor, 650 HP @8900 RPM. A 6 inch converter that stalls at 7500 RPM, a TH350 by Rossler with aluminum innards and a very low 1st gear, and a 9 inch Ford rear with 6.20 gears. We ran it like that for half a season. It ran good, but not as good as the fast guys. When we started to see bearing wear in the oil filter (external, Oberg type, worth the money) we pullrd the motor, the thrust bearing was just starting to wear. That was about half way through the 2008 season. My original plan was to run it as a Super Stock for one season, then put a bracket motor in it. Oh, I bought the car in Nov 2007 as a turnkey, had never raced this combo. In 2009, we just never got around to deciding what to build and doing it. So we raced my buddy's Camaro all that year. In 2010 we were going to build a 383 small block but wasted so much time the season was half over. Then we decided to take the motor from my buddy's Camaro and put in the Chevy II, and he would freshen up a 350 he had to put in the Camaro. But we needed a converter, my little converter would never lock up with this low horsepower motor (we think its about 400 HP). He found a converter in the basement at his shop that was brand new and probably was planned for an Impala Stocker another guy was building. We didn't know what it was, but called the manufacturer (it was a Boss Hog, never hear of them) and they said it was probably a 3500 to 5000 stall. So we used that. Long story short, the combo is a 327 chevy, low compression (runs pump gas) steel heads (not ported) flat top pistons, but with a solid lifter cam designed for NASCAR, a 750 CFM Quickuel built Holley, a custom built set of step headers from 2 inch to 2 and a half inch, TH 350 tranny, transbrake, 6.20 gear and a 14 x32 tire.
The converter manufacturer told us NOT to use the transbrake because this converter did not have anti balooning. But I use the transbrake anyway but keep the launch RPM to between 3000 and 3500 (I have a 3500 chip so it can't go more than that). I shift at 6500, and it is on the rev limiter (7500) before the end of the quarter mile.
Anyway the car has actually been very successful. In 2010, after we did this combo, my buddy drove it in the last 4 NETO races ( we didn't get his Camaro motor done and he was number 3 in the points). He won 2 of those races and finished second in the points.
This year I drove and after a rough start I've been prettty lucky. I have two runner ups and now one win, and a good cahnace to finish second in the points. If I coiuld only get better reaction times this car would be a killer.


This is the modified motor. It doesn't look much different than the 327 except the 327 doesn't have a front drive distributor and its not using the external oil filter.


This is the 327 just before we put it in the Chevy II


This is what it look like from the drivers seat


THis is the "office"

The car has been almost no maintenance. Adjusted the valves once. Finagled with carb a couple of times, just put in 2 new Optima batteries. Otherwise its make sure everything is tight and go race!

Here is alink to a video from earlier in the year. Th car doesn't look impressive because I can't spin that big tire, but it just leaves and goes.

http://photosbyjim.smugmug.com/Competit ... ZHLkN-A-LB

If you listen carefully you can hear it on the rev limiter at the top end.