[60man]

Work on the 60' (traction) and the lower ET's will come !
Your car is heavy..like mine..Get some tires and traction aids.
There are a buch of "New Drag Radial's" out there. Check out the MT ET Street Radial. I use Hoosier radial SLICKS but have a friend who's impressed with the MT ET Street radials..shop around. One thing....radials perform better at higher air pressures rather than lower pressures...makes for a more stable ride going through the traps..
I run 38 total with my KRE 74cc (310cfm) heads but I also run C12 racing fuel..go easy with the timing...the trick is to run as much initial timing as you can without going over the required total...you can also reverse that to aid the traction problems..alter the advance curve in the dist......
FWIW

[BruceWilkie]

Get that car hooked up! It will be the best improvement you can make. Mid 12 times or better with no other changes. In a high 12 car .10 gain in 60 ft can be .2-.3 sec on the other end. With your combo 30- 32 total timing should be all you need with pump gas. DO NOT tune till you hear pinging!!!(you could already be detonating and doing damage to your bearings, rings or pistons before you hear it) Set total timing for best mph. Set curve for best et. You cant get best ET without traction. Set jetting for best mph avg (avg day temp, barometer, and altitude). Safer rich than lean. DO NOT change engine parts until you have got the best out of your current setup with traction or you will be wasting time and money.

[cb78]

these are all great ideas and I can`t wait to try some out. again, thanks for the help. I wish E-town wasn`t cancelled tomorrow.

[Cliff R]

FWIW, every set of KRE aluminum "D" port heads have wanted right at 30 degrees total timing, regardless of engine size, compression ratio, etc.

It's near impossible to determine how well your car is going to run till you find decent traction. We've ran on tracks with little if any starting line traction, and ET/MPH is all over the place.

Late last year we ran on a track late in the season with near perfect weather conditions.....and annialated the tires all the way thru first gear, bouncing off the rev limiter at 5800rpm's till we shifted to 2nd. We still went 11.70 @ 118mph!.........Cliff

[cb78]

yeah, I guess traction`s everything. looks like tires are next in line.

[70judgeconv]

By the way there was just racing today at e-town not many cars but no show vehicles. I got there late but most people got 8-10 runs. Conditions were pretty good though.

[cb78]

yeah, I know. don`t remind me. my friend called me from there and said there were a few cars there. I couldn`t risk it. the forecast called for snow. I guess there wasn`t any?

[David Holmberg]

A 2200 converter is way too small, try a 3000/3200 and you'll see a big difference in the ET. (with traction)

[cb78]

I`d like to, but this is mainly a street car and I`m worried 3000 might be too much.

[gjn]

Originally Posted by cb78

I`d like to, but this is mainly a street car and I`m worried 3000 might be too much.

I thought the same until David Kawallek let me drive his 81 TA with a Continental tight 10" that stalled at 3.2k. I went home and ordered one the next day. It will creep in drive on level ground. I think they are well worth the money. A few other friends have driven mine and can't believe how tight it is....until they put thier foot to the floor

[grandville455]

Yep same here put a 3200 continental tight 10"in my 4800 pdr and it creeps in drive also and u nail it lookout! driving down the highway at 65 with my 3.42's i think its around 2800 maybe? its the best conv i have ever owned and it will knock i am guessing with traction .2-.4 off your e.t....

[cb78]

will it be ok with my 200r4 and lockup on the highway? I have 3.42`s also.

[gunmetalgray67]

I ran 16 inch Trans Am rims on my 76 TA and had the same traction problems. Try some CalTracs and look into their new spring setup or other companies springs (Vette Products makes a monoleaf encased in fiberglass). What kind of shocks are you running?

My 60 ft. times were in the 2.3 range. 14.7's at 100 MPH Hazing until half track. (245/50/16s just woulnd't hook) Tried my buddies Hoosiers (28 inches tall with about 5psi), but with the 2.41 it would hook and then bog pretty bad even backfire thru carb. About the same times just slower MPH.

400 with stock 6X's, Hooker Headers, 2 1/4 mandrel bent exhaust purcahsed from Sears catalog, Performer intake, stock Q-jet,TH350 with shift kit, and 2.41 (yes 2.41) rear, shifted out of 1st at 1000 ft. mark. crossed the line at around 3500 RPM in 2nd

Car Weight was 3880 lbs. without driver and 1/4 tank before filling at track for traction. No power windows or locks, and a/c compressor removed but still had stuff on firewall and stock 3 core radiator. Later added 4 core (not sure of weight difference) 16 inch TA rims are actaully pretty heavy. I actaully drove car everyday with full toolbox and spare parts and tire and I checked it at work on trucking scales at 4320 with me (170 lbs. at the time)

[cb78]

I`m running koni classics. real stiff. and global west leaf springs. the cars not setup for the 1/4 mile.

[Ron H]

Cal Tracs or slide a links will get you into the mid 1.7's 60's at least and that should equate to low 12's overall. If you do alot of street driving but not racing, get a set of Radial slicks for the track and giddy up.

[cb78]

will do.

[77TA]

Forget the Caltracs if you not going to put slicks on it. If you are then get a set they work great but you'll be P#@# in the if on radials.. IMHO...but it may be different with a auto.

The slida links are said to be better for radials from what I am told with the built in cushion. I ran my car a couple of weeks ago at a club race on regular Dunlop GT Qualifiers.. right after getting to the track after a 200 mile drive about a hour cool down and with 35 psi in the tires shocks set stiff... on a good track and a gentle clutch release and roll in on the gas netted a 1.84 60 foot.. bogged it with no spin ran a 7.74 1/8 mile .... Car went south after and slowed for some reason after that run.

I run caltracs and it was most consistent with them backed off letting the rear squat ...practice some more I bet you can get in the 1.9's or high 1.8's if the track prep is good.

Good luck and just have fun !!!

[critter]

Just another thought, if you want to run street tires look at having heat in the tires without trying to get it there via the burn out. I may be stupid but here's my theory.

77TA and I drove to that track together. Even driving through the rain, the tires are building heat and it was the kind of heat that saturated the tire. The longer he sat at the track, the more it cooled. With the fully saturated tire heat the whole tire was able to "flex" better and take the shock of the launch and torque hit.

So, for giggles and grins, if you ever get the chance to drive it in and make a pass as soon as possible after you get there, it would be interesting to see how well it hooks.

That said, I've run slicks and drag radials on my car. Slicks are more consistent and hook HARD! Drag radials can hook as well but there's a fine line between the hook and the spin. Depending on the DR brand the burnout is the key. I run the MT DRs and they like a long smokey burnout. Then they'll hook like a slick in auto trans, 462 TA. If you don't get a good burnout, forget it. They'll spin like a street radial.

[69Goat1]

I can hook a street radial - either car I take - drive in or tow in - it doesn't matter - it's all in the foot and the carb linkage

[69Goat1]

Originally Posted by 77TA

on a good track and a gentle clutch release and roll in on the gas netted a 1.84 60 foot.. bogged it with no spin ran a 7.74 1/8 mile .... Car went south after and slowed for some reason after that run.

Maybe it was because you were jackin with it so much at the track - I figured you would have the engine pulled next time I turned around - still can't figure why you were working on it so much because all you had to do was beat a stock Iron headed 428 with a hydraulic flat tappet cam in the exact same kind of car... glad you finally had to work at it