What it really takes to run 10s....Or 11s, or 12s...etc.

I blame the "Fast& Furious" movies with Vin Diesel and the late Paul Walker constantly spouting off about "10 second" cars. The reality is very few people outside of  Pro Stock drag racers have actually driven a car that does the 1/4 mile in 10 seconds or less. David Frieburger-former editor of Hot Rod said a few years ago "If you think your car can run 12s but you've never been to the track, then your probably running in the mid-13s."  Truer words were never spoken. Most people don't know that 1/10th of a second is worth roughly one car length in a drag race. So if your buddys Subaru WRX-which according to Car and Driver runs the 1/4 in 14.1-and a guy in a Buick Grand National beats him by three car lengths-that means the GN is running 13.8. On paper-3/10ths doesn't look or sound like much of a difference. But it is. If a car was a full second quicker-say The Buick GN we just talked about ran up against a new 435 hp Mustang GT that runs 12.80s according to C/ D-it would be a totall ass-whippin'. Ditto if the Mustang ran up against a Hellcat Charger that runs 11s off the showroom floor. 10 car lengths in 1320 feet?  Thats not a race-thats total annihilation.  Anyhow I'm going to lay down what it really takes to run the 1/4 mile times that people talk about. You may be surprised.  # 1. 14 second cars. Cars in this bracket are usually fun daily drivers. They look cool, their fast enough to back up the image-you don't have to take crap from little boys in Honda Civics or soccer moms in V8 Cherokees-the engines idle smoothly, the seats are comfortable and the suspension doesn't rattle your fillings loose. Examples would be '80's and 90's "5.0" Mustangs, LB9 and L98 Camaros and Corvettes, '70's T/A's with a 4-speed ( or an automatic with an axle-ratio change ). Others would be "entry level" musclecars-like 340 Dusters, 351CJ Mustangs, 389 GTOs, 396 Chevelles, 383 Road Runners, etc.  #2. 13 second cars. These are great, fun hot rods. Cars in this bracket are usually a light car and have a warmed over small-block with a little extra mechanical advantage-i.e.-a Nova with a warmed-over 350 and a 4-speed  with 3.73:1 gears or an automatic with a higher-than-stock stall speed converter. Or a medium weight car with a mild big block-440 Road Runners, 454 Chevelles, 455HO GTOs and Firebirds, etc. They can certainly be driven every day-but increased fuel consumption causes most people to relegate these to weekend cruisers. # 3. 12 second cars. Nitrous can yank a 13 second car into the 12s, but the real glory is to run it "on the motor" which means "off the bottle". To do that you'll need at least 400-450 hp, which means a stout small-block or a warmed-over big block. You'll also need to put all that power to the ground so you need 3.73 or stiffer gears, and because of the bigger cam you'll be running to make all that power you'll either need a stick or a 2,500 rpm converter with an automatic. You'll also need some bigger tires and some type of traction aids-a posi rear end, traction bars or a pinion snubber, etc. Drivability? Sure these cars are eminently streetable-but the loud exhausts,choppy idle, drag race-oriented suspension and the motor buzzing at 3,500 rpm on the freeway don't make them very viable as daily transportation. # 4. 11 second cars. Barring something really light with 350 hp-i.e. a 2,400 lb Datsun 240Z with a small-block Chevy in it or a 2,200 lb Factory Five '33 Ford Kit Car with a 302 Ford-to run 11s you'll need at least 500 hp, which is why you don't see too many 11 second cars without a blue bottle in the trunk. Sans nitrous-that means a small block with a blower or a very healthy big-block. Also most dragstrips require any car that runs the 1/4 in 12 seconds or less (although some have gone to 11.50 ) to have an 8-pont roll cage and a driveshaft safety loop.  It also probably means some upgraded drivetrain components. Sure, you can buy a 500 hp 383 Small-Block Chevy crate motor and stuff it in your '86 Monte Carlo SS or '85 IROC-Z Camaro-but guess what-the T-5 BW 5-speed only has a 280 lb ft torque rating. They break behind 190 hp L69 305s if you run them hard enough. Ditto for the 200R4 slushboxes and 7.25 rear ends. So you'll have to upgrad the tranny to a Muncie 4-speed or a Richmond 5 or 6-speed, or to a TH350 / 400. You'll also need a stouter rear axle-these GM 7 1/4 rears used in 82-92 F bodies and '78-88 G bodies break behind 305 Chevys and 307 Oldsmobiles wheezing out 150 hp-what's going to happen when you lean on that 500 hp monster? So you can see your making a serious committment to speed. Daily driver? NO!!!  Sure, you can drive it to the store-but do you really want to take the kids to soccer practice in it? "Be careful climbing over the roll cage honey, and don't step on the nitrous bottle..."  Puhleeze.  # 5. 10 second cars. Sure you could build a 12 second car and put a 300 hp nitrous system on it. Is that rich asshole in the next lane in a 650 hp ZO6 'Vette or 707 hp Hellcat Charger or 600 hp Nissan GTR going to wait while you back up your timing,and arm your nitrous system, or he just going to stomp your ass when the light turns green?  So to have a true "10 second car"-your building a race car with liscence plates. What else would you call something with an 8 or 10 point roll cage, powered by a 12:1 compression, 500+ inch, 600+ hp big block backed by an automatic with a 4,000 rpm torque converter and a trans-brake? Seriously-think of the 720 hp GMPP 572 inch crate motor-that's about the power level you'll need-and you'll need a stout car to put it in-a '70's Camaro or Chevelle with a roll cage and an upgraded rear end-a GM 12 bolt or Currie 9 inch with 4.30 or stiffer gears-and you'll need a B&M or TCI built TH400, and you'll need some serious traction aids-ladder bars or maybe even a custom 4-link setup. Drivability? Sure, anything is drivable depending on what the driver is willing to tolerate. But honestly-even with 4.56:1 gears the cars 60 mph cruise rpm is still going to be below your 4,000 rpm converter's stall speed, so how far toward the grocery store can mom go before she burns up the tranny?  So the next time some clown claims his car runs 10s or 11s or 12-demand that he produce a timeslip from a dragstrip. Chances are he can't, and he's full of shit. Hope this helps people out. Mastermind
                      

Hollywood needs to mine some old gems....

I remembered a book I read in high school-It was titled "Wheel of A Fast Car" by W.E. Butterworth. It was written in 1969, I think I read it about 1976. It would make a great action / coming of age movie. The main character is a 17 year old boy from New Jersey who tries to outrun the police one night in his Triumph TR4. He can't outrun the radio-and eventually they catch him. He loses his driver's liscence, his college scholarship, and his girlfriend over the incident. His exasperated mother sends him to live with his uncle for the summer. His Uncle is a Nascar racer from North Carolina. He gets put to work on his uncle's pit crew, meets his cousin Dewey who is a "good Ol' Boy" also on the crew. He learns a lot about life and what's really important. There's a lot of racing action and it's a great story. I'd much rather see something like this than another "Fast&Furious". Or if they must do re-makes, what about "Little Fauss and Big Halsy?"  This one featured a young Robert Redford and a young Micheal J. Pollard as motorcycle racers / buddies who want to race the big race ar Sears Point and have a falling out over a woman-a young Lauren Hutton who was totally naked in a couple of scenes. Johnny Cash did the soundtrack-and one of the songs "Wanted Man" was written by Bob Dylan and was a huge hit for Cash that year. It had great racing action and great dialogue-Redford's philosophizing is as good as anything Tarantino can come up with. Pollard's transformation from hero-worshipping geek to a man to be reckoned with is excellent. The look on Redford's face in the last shot says it all. Another good one would be "The Seven-Ups". This little known gem starred the late Roy Scheider as the head of an elite N.Y. P.D. unit-they investigated crimes where the penalty was 7 years in prison or more. Hence the title. An informant of Scheider's was kidnapping gangsters and collecting ransoms from them. There was some good suspense, and a great car chase between two Pontiacs-a '73 Ventura driven by Scheider and a '73 Grand Vile piloted by Bill Hickman-who also drove the Charger in "Bullitt". Anyhow-there's good stuff out there-they just need to think outside the box. Mastermind    

Like Cheech and Chong said...If it looks,smells and tastes like dogshit...

Had someone try to "Correct" me and tell me that the modern GM LS Motors are NOT Chevys. Huh? As I recall the first ones were introduced in the 1997 Corvette, the 1998 Z/28 and Trans-Am and 1999 Chevy / GMC trucks. They have been used in millions of Chevy / GMC trucks for the last 17 years as well as various Chevy and other GM models, and 2009 and later Camaros. If that doesn't make them a Chevy, then what the hell are they??  Way Back in the '70's, because of smog laws, GM started playing musical engines-guess what-the 305 V8 in your '79 Cutlass was a Chevy, not an Oldsmobile! The 403 in your California-emissioned Trans-Am was an Oldsmobile, not a Pontiac! The 3.8 liter V6 in your LeMans was a Buick. The 2.5 liter "Iron Duke" 4-cylinder in your Chevy Citation was a Pontiac, not a Chevy! Pontiac and Oldsmobile are no more. And there hasn't been a "Real" Pontiac V8 engine built since November 1977. ( A bunch of L78 400s were stockpiled for '78-79 Trans-Ams. )  A "Real" Oldsmobile 455 hasn't been built since 1976 or a 350 since 1980. The anemic 307 V8 in some Cutlasses and Buick Regals in the '80's was Olds designed-but they've been defunct since 1988. The 3.8 V6 that powered millions of GM cars in the '90's was Buick designed.  After the restructuring of GM following the big crash of 2008, only Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac remain. The Northstar engines in some Cadillacs are Cadillac-engineered, but the LS motors in the CTS-V, and Escalades are CHEVYS!!!!  After the merger with Daimler-Benz-the Chrysler Crossfire was basically a re-badged Mercedes SLK 230!!!  The 4.7 liter V8 used in Dodge Dakotas and Jeep Cherokees was a Mercedes design!! It may have said "Magnum" on the air cleaner-but it had zero in common with the '92-2003 318 / 360 Chrysler engineered V8s, or the 2005 and later Hemis!!  The V8 in Volvo S80s and other models was actually designed by the Yamaha Motorcycle company!!  Anyhow-I don't want to ridicule anyone-but do some research and have your facts straight before you try to "correct" someone on something they said, that they have researched!!  Mastermind  

More Projects to avoid like the plague....

Here's some more projects that even experienced mechanics and fabricators shouldn't take on. There's a reason that you've never seen certain vehichles on the cover of Car Craft or Hot Rod or Street Rodder. A good example would be '50's Buick, Olds or Pontiac offerings. They are good-looking cars-many people think they are more attractive than the much more wildly popular '55-57 Chevys. However-there's problems if you want to restore / modify them. The first problem is until 1957 or '58 the Buick, Olds and some of the Pontiacs didn't have a modern open driveline. ( Chevys did from '55 on. ) The problem this presents is the old Hydra-matics don't shift above about half-throttle, and wouldn't stand up to even the mildest-say 350 hp-modern V8. You can't just swap in a TH350 or 400 or a Muncie 4-speed or a T10 because the mounting points on the crossmember are different and the old "Torque-Tube" driveline and huge Pumpkin rear end aren't compatible. The only alternative is to fabricate a transmission crossmember, fabricate a driveshaft, and swap in a modern engine and tranny and a '57-64 Pontiac or other similar rear end.  By contrast-a '55 Chevy has a modern u-joint style driveline, and a Powerglide is the exact same length as a TH350 and has the exact same rear trans mount and driveshaft yoke / u-joint!!  If your swapping manuals-the old Borg-Warner T-85 three-speed is the same length and shares the rear trans mount location with the later T-10 4-speeds. The rear axles on them are pretty darn tough-and if you "Gotta Have" a 700 hp Rat Motor-Currie will sell you a bulletproof Ford 9 inch posi rear with the proper GM mounting points. See the difference-putting a modern 350 / TH350 or even a 454 / TH400 is practically a bolt-in for a '55 Chevy. Putting a 350 / TH350 or 455 / TH400 Buick into a '55 Buick would require custom fabricated parts from the motor mounts to the rear end!!  And what about body parts? I mentioned in an earlier post that it's easy to get doors, hoods, fenders, 1/4 panels etc for the Chevys, but not so for the other 1950's GM offerings. Let's say the body on your '55 Oldsmobile is really straight and rust-free. Great!! Where are you going to find taillight lenses or a grille for a '55 Oldsmobile?  1961-63 Pontiac Tempests and Buick Skylarks have the same problem. They were light-under 3,000 lbs, and they were good-looking cars. However-they had the transmission / rear axle assembly at the rear and had independent suspension. Pretty advaced stuff for 1961. However-the trannys would barely hold up behind a 326 Pontiac V8 with a two-barrel. If you want to swap in a 389 or 400 or 455-forget it. You have to custom fabricate a crossmember, and driveshaft and swap in a rear end out of a later Nova or Firebird and re-locate the leaf springs. I've seen a few 455 powered Tempests with this setup in the now-defunct "High Performace Pontiac" magazine, but not many. It's just too much trouble-most people just get a '64 and later model. The same goes for early Mopar stuff. Sure you can get anything you want if your restoring a '68 Charger or a '69 Road Runner or a '71 Challenger. Where are you going to get a 1/4 panel or a door for a 1960 Dodge Dart?  Or a '63 Plymouth Fury or a '64 Dodge 330?  Where are you going to find interior trim parts for a '66-67 Charger?  If your restoring any Ford other than a Mustang, Cougar or T-bird your going to have some trouble. Where are you going to find headlight doors for a '69 Galaxie XL?  Early Falcons and Comets make good drag racers because of their short wheelbase and lightweight. Where are you going to get a hood for a '64 Comet? Or a tailgate for the cute little Falcon-based Ranchero?  The bottom line is you can restore anything you want if you throw enough money at it. But if you want to have a car that's not a money pit-it might behoove you to do a '64 GTO instead of a '63 Studebaker Avanti or a '69 Chevelle instead of a '69 Rebel Machine!!  That's all I'm saying. Mastermind    

Some "Thou Shalt Nots" From Mount Olympus....Or wherever the Musclecar gods live....

Got some flack over the last post about stuff you shouldn't invest in. Hey-your all grown-ups-if you want to pour thousands of dollars into some pile of shit money pit-go ahead. I just felt it was my duty to caution people against it. And I'm going to do it right here. # 1. A rare car missing a key component is not a "deal" at any price no matter how low. Obvious examples would be a Hemi-powered Chrysler vehicle missing the Hemi engine, or a Boss 302 Mustang missing the "Boss" engine. Others would be a '63 Fuel Injected Corvette without the Fuel-Injection System, or a Super Duty 421 Catalina sans the Super Duty engine, or a 427 Thunderbolt without the 427. Get the picture?  Do you really think you can restore such a car and make a profit or even break even? If you do-like that country song- "I've got some oceanfront property in Arizona" # 2. Avoid cars with major rust damage, or fire or water damage. They are usually more trouble than their worth and are endless money pits.  99.99% of the time your better off just spending more money for a better car to start with. # 3. Pay more for the fucking car you want!!!  I get so tired of people whining that they bought a bench seat, column-shifted, automatic, drum braked '68 SS396 Chevelle because it was "All Original" or a "Good Investment" when they really wanted a 400, 4-speed, bucket seat, hood tached, disc braked, '68 GTO!!!  Why would you buy a 350 / Automatic '69 Camaro if you really wanted a 4-speed,302 Z/28 model?   # 4. Lower your sights a little. I get so tired of people whining that they can't find their dream car. I shit you not-I have had to restrain myself from physically slapping people who lust after say-an LS6 Chevelle- that have turned their noses up at pristine L78 / L89 396 11:1 Solid-lifter, aluminum head / aluminum manifold, 780 Holley, 4.11 geared, positraction, 4-speed, Cowl Induction 1970 Chevelles in great condition at reasonable prices because it's not "Exactly what they were looking for". I have seen Mopar freaks turn up their nose at a gorgeous, rust-free, Hot Rod Magazine cover quality 440 / Six-Pack '70 Charger at a dirt-cheap price because the 440 block wasn't "Numbers-matching". I've said before that a guy I knew wanted a Shelby Mustang and turned up his nose at a 1966 Mustang GT with a 225 hp 289, the Pony interior, the Rally-Pac guages,factory air, factory front disc brakes,and the "California Megaphone" exhaust with date-coded mufflers intact-for $2,300!!!  Because "It's still Not a Shelby". I'm not even a Ford guy and I bought the damn thing and sold it for a tidy profit a couple months later!!!  Get over yourselves, people!!!   # 5 A friend of mine said it best- "A rare Turd is still just a Turd."  No one cares about your 305 powered 1980 Corvette, or 301 powered 1979 Trans-Am, or two-barrel step-down engine, or three-speed stick, or two-speed automatic, or bench seats, or drum brakes, or whatever. "Rare" does not automatically mean "Valuable."  A 390 / 4-speed, '69 Javelin AMX is valuable. A 360 / Automatic, '74 Matador is a piece of shit that no one cares about!!  See the difference?  Mastermind      

A "Deal" isn't always a deal....especially if you can't find parts at any price...

I talk to so many people that buy weird stuff and then are frustrated because they can't get parts to fix it. And when I say weird-I'm not talking about some "moon rock". A good example-do you know that no one makes replacement grilles for 1972 Gran Torinos? So if you want to buy one and it has a smashed grille-What are you going to do? Drive around in an otherwise pristine car with no grille? And where are you going to find a used one 44 years later? This is why you should avoid cars with body damage unless their something REALLY popular. Yes, getting a 1/4 panel for a '69 Camaro is no problem. Getting fenders or doors for a '55-57 Chevy is no problem. But what about for a '69 Javelin AMX? Where are you going to get a fender for a '56 Oldsmobile?  # 2. Avoid cars with obsolete powertrains, unless your a mechanic and are planning an engine / transmission swap anyway. A 1964 Buick Skylark is a good-looking car and maybe a nice change from the Chevelle / GTOs that everyone fights with machetes for. There are zero parts available for the 300 Buick V8, and very little for the 2-speed ST300 ( read Powerglide ) tranny. The obvious thing would be to swap in a later model 350 / TH350 combo for a great prformance upgrade-but then the car's not original is it? And what if your not a mechanic? How are you going to get a 1968-77 350 Buick engine and matching tranny out of a junkyard, and since it came from a junkyard-chances are it needs rebuilding, so who's going to rebuild it, and put it in your car, and at what cost?  See what I'm saying? You may think a '68 Firebird with a 215 hp Overhead Cam Six-Cylinder engine is a neat car. It's certainly unique, but where in the hell are you going to get parts for a 1968 OHC Six? Not your local Napa or autozone store!! Not the Pontiac dealer-there are no more Pontiac dealers!!!  The engine was based on the 230 / 250 inch Chevy six that was in thousands of cars and trucks-the bottom end and block is pretty generic. But even Chevy dealers aren't going to stock the OHC specific stuff.  And what if it's got a cracked head? Or intake or exhaust manifold? Where in the hell are you going to find an OHC head for a car that was rare when new, and has been out of production for 48 years? I know Offenhauser made intakes for 6-cylinder engines and Hooker made headers for them back in the '70's-but who stocks them in 2016?  # 3. Unless you are a great mechanic whose very good at welding and fabrication- avoid cars with obsolete suspensions,rear ends and brakes. I talked to a guy who wanted to buy his elderly neighbor's Studebaker coupe and put a 472 Cadillac in it-a modern day "Studillac". Great Idea-in theory. I asked him-what motor mounts are you going to use? What transmission crossmember? Do you think the stock 4-wheel drum brakes will stop the car safely with a big power infusion? If so-where are you going to get brake shoes and hardware or maybe wheel cylinders or a master cylinder for a 1953 Studebaker??  If the brakes are bad or inadequate-what are you going to replace them with? Yes, Summitt and Jeg's are full of disc brake conversion kits for '55 Chevys and '60's Novas and Chevelles, A,B,and E-body Mopars, and popular full-sizes like Chevy Impalas and Ford Galaxies. If your restoring say-a '66 Olds 442-any suspension or brake upgrades that fit a Chevelle will fit the Cutlass.  But who  makes one for '53-55 Studebakers??  No one!! Now you could just put a Camaro or Chevelle front clip on it and have modern disc brakes and power steering, but do you have the skill and the shop space to actually graft a subframe from one car to another?  Ditto for the rear axle-Where are you going to find a ring and pinion or bearings for a '53 Stude? If it needs replacing, what are you going to replace it with? Currie offers 9 inch Ford rears with GM mounting points if you had a Camaro or a GTO or a Buick Grand National, but nothing for Studebakers!! You could probably adapt a GM 10 or 12 bolt-but that would take a lot of measuring, cutting and welding. And are you going to run leaf or coil springs?  # 4. Avoid cars that were Turds when new that you can't improve without extensive modification. A perfect example would be an '80-81 Turbo Trans-Am or Formula Firebird. They were dogs when new because they couldn't manage the timing, fuel flow and boost with a 1980 distributor and Quadrajet carb. And the 301 is a lightweight "economy" motor that shares virtually nothing with the larger Pontiac engines. So going to fuel injection and turning up the boost or using a bigger Turbo isn't an option because the bottom end couldn't take it. It would blow up the first time you leaned on it. And there's no aftermarket parts to "beef" them up. So the way to more power is (A) Swap in a 400 or 455 Pontiac V8, ( B ) Swap in a small or big-block Chevy-this would require a tranny change as well as Chevy engines have a different bellhousing bolt-pattern than BOP engines, or ( C ) Find a wrecked Buick Riviera or Bonneville SSEI from the '90's and pirate the Supercharged 3.8 liter V6 and wiring. None of these options is easy or cheap. If you want a fast disco era T/A-then buy one with a 400 Pontiac or 403 Olds V8 and play with that. At least there's tons of Aftermarket parts available. Another would be the '79-84 carburated Buick Regal T-Types. They just didn't work for the same reason the Turbo T/A's didn't The Ignition and the Carburators were never right. When GM came out with Port Injection in 1985-that's when the Grand Nationals burst on the scene with their blistering performance. If you want an '85-88 GN then buckle down and pay the price for one-they command a King's Ransom.  But forget the '84 and earlier ones-there's no cost-effective way to make them run. So think hard before you buy something rare or obsolete-there's a reason for that!!    

Let's see some '40's,'50's,'60s and '70s NASCAR Tributes.....

I was looking at a book showing the history of NASCAR and realized in stark constrast to today's cookie-cutter cars-( They all look like a Toyota Camry, whether their supposed to be a Ford Fusion or a Chevy Malibu or whatever ) that the old ones has serious, distinctive style. The 1949 Olds Rocket 88 stock car piloted by Buck Baker looked totally badass. One of those with a snarling 455 under the hood would be way cool. The late '50's Pontiac, Buick and Olds offerings don't have the cult following of the '55-57 Chevys so building a Nascar-themed late '50's BOP car shouldn't outrage too many people. And if you "gotta have" a tri-five Chevy-like I said in an earlier post-Woodyz Hot Rods is selling new '55-57 Bodies and chassis under liscence from GM. Some '60's models that would be cool-# 1. Full-size Pontiacs. High Performance Pontiac Magazine had a feature on someone who copied Fireball Roberts 1962 Catalina that won Daytona. It looked totally badass. In fact any Pontiac from 1960-68 would work-with 389,400,421 or cubes under those long hoods they could back up the image.  # 2. Full-size Fords. The book showed a 1965 Galaxie Stock Car. It was way cool too. And since most of the big Fords of this era had 390 cubes under the hood-they'd have the power to back it up. # 3. "Oddball" '70's Replicas. Lot's of people have done Chargers like Richard Petty's '74, and Chevy Monte Carlos like Darrel Waltrip drove. ( PHR's "Project Talledega" ) I'd like to see an AMC Matador like Mark Donohue briefly drove, or a Mercury Cougar done like the one David Pearson drove for the Wood Brothers. Or a '78-79 Dodge Magnum. Or a '77 Cutlass like King Richard drove when he retired the Iconic '74 Charger. It would be nice to see something other than Camaros, Firebirds, Mustangs, and Chevelles. Mastermind