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| 2009 |
| October, 2009 - We went to Dragway 42 on the 25th and broke #7 intake lifter on the first pass. That's it for this year. |
| September, 2009 - We went to Dragway 42 on the 1st... again, to no avail. We made 5 passes with low 1.30s short times, but never made it to the 330' timers. The back end washed out on every pass despite numerous changes to the suspension and tire pressures. We tried Norwalk Raceway Park on the 25th with similar results. |
| July, 2009 - We replaced the rockers, springs, spring seats, seals and retainers and headed to Thompson Raceway Park (TRP) on July 12. Based on some advice from our local Goodyear drag tire experts we tried a little less air pressure (8#) and a lot harder and longer burnout and... lo and behold... our hook problems went away! We made 5 launches in the low 1.30s, riding the wheelie bars and carrying the front end 50' - 55'. Now we're ready to start doing some tuning. |
| May, 2009 - We went to Dragway 42 on the 3rd,... to no avail. We made two passes and didn't get the tires to hook, but did break a rocker arm (see the blog on the 381" engine page for the details). |
| April, 2009 - As usual, M&M did a great job (the air pan is shown in one of the pics above). We trimmed the fender wells for tire clearance and are just waiting for good weather so we can go racing. |
| March, 2009 - We took care of some minor issues (replaced an O2 sensor and had Racepak repair the warning light on our oil pressure gauge), readjusted the clutch (the air gap was waaay off) and replaced the 25" Goodyear Front Runners with the 28" version. This helped the header and rack and pinion clearance (in case of more wheel stands) and also lets the suspension work much better. However, we'll have to see if the minimum clearance at the top of the fender well is sufficient... the fender wells may have to go. Finally, we scaled the car and adjusted the suspension, weights and ride height. The final results were good with the rear weights within 5# of each other. Then we dropped the car off at M&M Chassis Craft to get the wheelie bars and some minor sheet metal work. We'll pick it up the week of April 6 and then the car is ready to go racing. |
| 2008 |
| December, 2008 - We disassembled the front suspension and determined that the lower shock mounts were bent and the lower control arms were binding. We corrected these problems, revisited our desired ride height (we will need taller front tires) and reassembled the suspension. Now everything appears to be A-OK. However, we did decide to install wheelie bars... at least until we get everything dialed in. |
| October, 2008 - M&M Chassis Craft completed the repairs and we made it back to the track. Unfortunately, we went from wheel stands the last time out to frying the tires this time. Analyzing the video, it appears that the front end is to tight and not transferring the weight. Due to Ryan's work schedule, we probably won't make it back to the track until mid-November (if the weather holds out). |
| September, 2008 - We made some changes to the clutch,
carb and launch rpm and got back to the track on September 16. On the first
pass, the car did a wheel stand (about 3 1/2' - 4') and came down hard. It
dented primary pipes on both sides, smashed one of the O2
sensors into its primary tube, knocked the radiator out of its mounts
and bent the rack and pinion and its mounting bracket. We tried another pass to
see if the car would go straight, but it was all over the track and Ryan had to
abort the run. The good news is that, according to the Racepak data, the
aborted run was about 2+ mph quicker 5 seconds (about 550') into the
pass. The car is now back at M&M Chassis Craft for repairs. |
| August, 2008 - We had a few issues with the flywheel,
clutch and tranny. We needed smaller 12 point bolts to fit in the flywheel, a
shorter throw out bearing to have any play at all and had to have Liberty cut
down the splines on the input shaft 1/4"... at least the driveshaft fit! After
filling all of the fluids, the car is ready. At 8:43 pm on August 18, we fired up the engine for the first time since it came off BES's dyno on July 14, 2006. After the break in was complete, we dropped the car onto the floor and determined that the front ride height was too low (O2 sensor and collectors about 2" off the floor). We removed the front suspension, added bump stops and jacked the front springs up to temporarily fix this. We broke out the scales and after tweaking a little, it weighed in at 3111# (down 251# from last fall). Rear weight is 1455# (46.8%) with the left rear 9# heavier than the right rear. Then we got the front end aligned. On August 29, we finally got to the track (Dragway 42). We only got two passes in before the rain hit, but ran a 9.19/147.02 mph with a 1.31 60' and a 5.87/117.47 1/8th mile. We got a lot of good data and are looking forward to the next trip to the track. The video is on our "381 sbc" page. |
| July, 2008 - After dropping the engine in, we finished up the wiring, including all of the Racepak sensors. We have to shim the starter back from the flywheel and install the flywheel, clutch, tranny and driveshaft. Then check the corner weights, adjust the suspension accordingly, clean it all up and we're ready to rock and roll! |
| June, 2008 - We ran new front brake lines, bled the brakes and mounted the new aluminum radiator. That's everything on the car (until the engine is back in) except mounting the new tires. |
| May, 2008 - Most of our productive time this month was
spent on wiring, including: - wiring up the Digital 7 Plus ignition box - replacing the old incandescent warning lights (oil psi & H2O temp) and shift light with new LED lights - mounting and wiring up the new wideband O2 sensors We also picked up new Goodyear tires (Front Runners - 25x4.5x15, slicks - 29x11x15) |
| April, 2008 - With the exception of bleeding the
brakes, the car is buttoned up from the firewall back. This included: - mounting a new battery box and external terminals - running cables to the front - wiring fuel pump and relays - new rear brake lines - different shock brackets to lower ride height |
| March, 2008 - Accomplishments: - ground, sanded and painted all of the newly welded and/or bare metal areas - mounted ProStar 500 pump and ran new fuel line from the cell to the engine compartment - modified rear seat to co-exist with the mini tubs |
| February, 2008 - M&M finished up the 26 items on their to do list. The major noticeable addition to the list this month was "fit and fasten new 4 in. lift off cowl hood". Now the car is back at home waiting for us to complete our to do list (which isn't exactly short). |
| January, 2008 - M&M had to back up and do a
little trimming to find space for the headers. In addition, we added more to
M&M's to do list. - replace ladder bar rod ends - brace ladder bar brackets and cross member |
| 2007 |
| December, 2007 - Based on Goodyear's
recommendation, we needed 12" rims for the slicks and we needed another 1/2"
back spacing on the front to eliminate tire rub. So,we got new M/T ET Drag
wheels all around. We added the following to M&M's to do list: - straighten up drivetrain (crank, tranny, driveshaft, 3rd member) - re-do tin work around transmission tunnel - determine length and provide new housing and 40 spline axles (to fit new 12" rims with 4.5"bs) - install Pro Stock parachute, handle, cable, mount and anchor M&M is making progress, but doesn't expect to be done until sometime in January. In the interim, Rob Youngblood (Advanced Clutches) inspected our clutch and made recommendations for the setup for the new motor. |
| November, 2007 - We took the car to M&M
Chassis Craft and added the following to the to do list: - build stepped headers - make sure a diaper will fit between the new cross member and the oil pan - mini tub the rear wheel wells - re-install the coil over shock mounts and ladder bar mounts on the new housing We may still have to add a parachute. |
| October, 2007 - We made a November appointment
with M&M Chassis Craft to do the following: - add bars thru the firewall to the front frame rails - add mounting points for front and mid motor plates - replace front cross member to clear dry sump pan - install rack and pinion A couple other items may get added to this list, depending on time and budget. |
| September, 2007 - We installed the rebuilt clutch and the new disc and went to Dragway 42. The end result was a new best, 9.85/137.67. |
| August, 2007 - The flange on the new bellhousing and the starter for the 142 tooth flywheel both hit the existing headers. So we'll be using the old bellhousing and sending the Softlok clutch back to McLeod for a rebuild. |
| July, 2007 - We got the front end aligned. Now
we need to swap out the 13 year old MT 28x7.50 Sportsman tires (they're rubbing
on hard turns) for some Goodyear 27x4.50 Front Runners. Even with the new
Goodyears, we still had to tweak the fender wells a little. We went to Quaker City (Salem, OH) and made 3 passes (all quicker then our previous best) before the old clutch gave out. So we'll be replacing it with the new titanium bellhousing, 142 tooth flywheel and 8" clutch that we got for the heads up motor. |
| June, 2007 - We mounted the new master cylinder and proportioning valve, ran all new brake lines, bled everything and checked the brake pressure. BTW, Maria gave birth to a seond son, Vincent Michael, on June 20 (8 lbs 1.6 oz, 23")... everyone is healthy! |
| May, 2007 - We got the housing back under the car, re-adjusted the ladder bars (pushed the housing back a tad) and installed the new AFCO shocks. Our tweaking of the fender wells appears to have done the job as we were able to drop the body down about 1". The 4-corner scales confirmed that the TRZ tubular A-arms and the Strange brakes were worth 96 lbs (maybe a few more since I think Ryan has gained a couple of lbs), the suspension no longer binds up and straightening the axle housing allows us to move the car around without getting a hernia. |
| April, 2007 - The slicks were hitting the inside of the fender wells on both sides, so we got out the smoke wrench and the welders and did a little tweaking. |
| March, 2007 - Pro-Street Chassis straightened and braced the axle housing (it was out 1/4"+ on each side) and we got a new master cylinder and mounting kit from Steel Concepts. |
| 2006 |
| December, 2006 - We put a sub-panel in the new garage and ran electric and gas for the welders, plasma cutter, compressor and heater. But, we still have to move the Malibu and all of the tools. Plus, now that the strike is settled, Ryan will be getting off of the 7/12s in the next week or so. |
| November, 2006 - Well, Ryan and Maria (and Tyler) bought another house and we got them moved. But Ryan is still working 7/12s and the Malibu is still sleeping (although we did add a new set of AFCO double adjustable shocks and coil overs to the pile of "waiting to be installed" parts). |
| October, 2006 - We got zero done this month. Ryan has been working 7/12s since Goodyear went on strike and the Malibu has been sleeping. |
| September, 2006 - We ordered and received the Moser aluminum center section with a lightened 5.43 pro gear and 40 spline aluminum spool. We also got the TRZ tubular front control arms and QA1 Pro coil system and Strange brakes (front and rear). The Strange brakes came with 3 left hand calipers and 1 right hand caliper, but they quickly corrected that error. The control arms and front brakes are on the car, waiting for a new master cylinder and brake lines. We're not going to install the new gears until after we make a few passes (hopefully next month) with the new front suspension and the old motor. |
| August, 2006 - We checked the housing... it's bent. It has about 1/2" toe in. In addition, the pinion is offset from the transmission centerline by 11/16". We had already planned to shorten the housing about 1" on each side to accommodate wheels with less back spacing, so now we'll center up the pinion at the same time. We talked to Mark Williams, Strange and Moser about a new aluminum center section and axles and decided to stay with Moser. We also talked to Global West, BMR and TRZ about new front control arms and decided on TRZ due to weight and the option to have spherical rod ends rather than bushings. |
| July, 2006 - Over the past 13 years, this car has evolved
from a 13 second street car to a 10.0 second drag car. Unfortunately, it's
really a 9 second motor in a 12 second car and needs a lot of work before we
put in the new "8 second" motor. For starters, it needs the following: - 31 spline Moser axles replaced with at least 35 spline - stock brakes replaced all around with 4 piston aftermarket disk brakes - 5.00 street gear replaced with a 5.43 pro gear - a back brace on the stock 9" housing - fix a serious binding problem in the front suspension - a big diet |