Tips for a Pure Stock Drag winner.....

Had a guy ask me how I would build a car to be competitive at the pure stock drags. The good thing about this series is you can run anything that was available as an option on that model year car. For example if you want to stuff a Mopar Performance 426 Crate Hemi into a '71 Charger and run it, you can. It doesn't have to be a numbers-matching Hemi car. Or if you have a six-cylinder, three-speed '69 Nova-you can swap in a 350 and a 4-speed, because that combination was optional that year. On the other hand-you can't put a 455 in a '68 GTO-the largest engine available that year was a 400. The other good thing is carbs and intakes can be the original "type." In other words a '70 Z/28 can run with a 3310 Holley, but it doesn't have to have 1970 date codes-it can be a new or rebuilt one you bought at Summitt Racing last week. Ditto for manifolds. You can buy a "Six-Pack" manifold from Edelbrock and run it on a '69 Super Bee-it doesn't have to have 1969 date codes or a Chrysler part number stamped on it. This helps keep costs down. The other way it helps is for example if you have a '77 Trans-Am with a 400 Pontiac-you know the '75-79 intakes have a restrictive throttle opening that really limits power above 4,500 rpm. You can run the earlier '67-74 manifold that will allow the engine to pull hard to 5,800-6,000 rpm because it's the same "type"-a cast iron intake that mounts a quadrajet. Any how-here's my tips on building a winner. # 1. Choose your model year carefully as this has a big impact on the engines you can run. For example if you want to run a big-block Chevelle-it might behoove you to run a '72 model instead of a '69. The reason-you can run a 454 in the '72. The largest engine available in 1969 was a 396. All other things being equal-obviously the 454 is going to run much faster than a 396. Ditto for Pontiac Firebird owners. You can run a 455 in a '76 Trans-Am or a '74 Formula but a 70 T/A or Formula would be limited to a 400. However-in some instances it works the other way. For example you could run a 428 in a '69-'70 Mustang, but in a '72-73 you'd be limited to a 351C. You could run a 396 in a '68-70 Nova, but you'd be limited to a 350 in a 71-74 model. You can run a 440 or a 426 Hemi in a '70-'71 Challenger or 'Cuda, but you'd be limited to a 340 / 360 in '72-'74 models. However-having the larger engine options isn't the be all and end all. A light '69 Cutlass with a 350 built to W31 specs  with a 4-speed and 4.33:1 gears is going to be quicker than a '73 442 with a 455, a TH400 and 3.23:1 gears. A stripped-down '69 383 Road Runner will run quicker than a 5-mph bumper laden-heavy '73 Charger with a 440. So choose your model / engine / trans combo carefully. # 2. All other things being equal-always build the lightest car you can. For example-a 396 Nova is going to run quicker than a 396 Chevelle simply because a Nova is about 600 lbs lighter. A 340 Duster is going to run faster than a 340 Road Runner. In fact a lighter car with a smaller engine may run faster than a bigger brother. For example-a light, 3,400 lb '65 GTO with a 335 hp 389, a 4-speed and 3.55:1 gears will run faster than a 4,070 lb 1971 GTO with a 335 hp 455, a 4-speed and 3.31:1 gears. A 2,800 lb '66 Mustang with a Hi-Po 271 hp 289 will run faster than a 3,660 lb '72 Mach 1 with a 266 hp 351C-even though all 4 cars technically have the same amount of power. # 3. I love powershifting a 4-speed as much as the next guy. However-the key to winning is consistency-and I don't care who you are-an automatic with a stall converter and a shift kit is going to launch better and run more consistent e.t.'s. The auto is going to launch and shift at exactly the same rpm every time. No one's that good with a clutch and shifting. We all fry the tires off the line occasionally, or miss a shift here and there which can easily cost you a race. If you have a stick-shift car and want to race it-by all means have fun. I'm just saying that hard-core racers will tell you-automatics are more consistent. Which brings up....# 4. Traction. A ton of horsepower doesn't do you any good if you can't put it to the ground. 60 foot times are critical, and especially big-block cars-even with an automatic can fry the tires off the line. So get a limited-slip rear end, and you may have to play with wheel offsets to fit the largest tires you can in the stock wheelwells, and play with shocks and springs to get the best combination for traction. You have to decide how hardcore you want to be. For example-your '78 Z/28 with subframe connectors, drag radials, "Trick" front springs, and 90 / 10 shocks, may launch like a Pro Stocker, but you won't be playing "Cat and Mouse" up a curvy country road with some guy in a stock suspension Trans-Am or Mustang GT. Your sacrificing a lot of real-world good handling for dragstrip grip. # 5. Tuning. Ignition timing and Carb Jetting can be crucial. Bad tuning can cost you as much as 50 hp. Where the track is can affect this. A car that runs great at sea level may be over-rich at 5,000 feet. # 6. Driving technique. You have to play with launch rpm, and shift points to see which nets you the fastest times. A friend with a "5.0" Mustang ran a 15.20 dropping the clutch at 3 grand, frying his tires and powershifting at 5,700 rpm. He ran a 14.72 by slipping the clutch at 1,800-2,200 rpm, walking it off the line, and short-shifting at 5,000 rpm. And depending on the engine's torque curve you may run faster shifting gears at different rpms. For example my brother's GTO has a TH400 that shifts automatically at 5,800 rpm. However he runs his fastest e.t.s by manually shifting it at 6,200 rpm 1-2, and 6,500 rpm 2-3. My 403 Olds-powered '77 T/A would pull to 5,400 rpm- ( it had headers and a Holley Street Dominator intake ) but it ran the fastest e.t.s when I shifted at 4,900 rpm 1-2, and 4,400 rpm 2-3, because of the lazy stock "smog" cam that made massive low-end torque-325 lbs ft at 1,600 rpm-but dropped off drastically above 4,000. Now if I'd had a hotter cam-it probably would have run faster by shifting at 5,500. See what I'm saying?  Anyhow-if you want to run the Pure Stock drags-these are good tips. Mastermind