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Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Sweet. Sounds great.
Did you uncover any further engine details?
What all went into the overhaul? The heads were done previously no?
Did you determine the final CR?
IIRC, the cam was a bit of mystery too.
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Originally Posted by skinny z
Sweet. Sounds great.
Did you uncover any further engine details?
What all went into the overhaul? The heads were done previously no?
Did you determine the final CR?
IIRC, the cam was a bit of mystery too.
Looking forward to some time slips.
So my trouble that i was chasing all last summer was a cracked block. So i had a new block put together with all of my existing parts. I also had the engine dyno tuned. The owner of the place said their dyno is really tight, and reads about 10% lower numbers than anyone elses dyno. That being said, my engine made 476hp and 478tq. He said on any other dyno, it'd make around 525. It was also dynoed on pump E85. Anyways, absolutely everything was checked out, measured, etc. It has an Eagle crank and Eagle H beam rods. There was a part number on the cam, but no name stamped on it. Heres a couple pics of the build sheets they gave me. Compression ratio is 11.21:1. So its not what the previous owner hyped it up to be, lol. They rebuilt my carb, too, and said it was full of Ethanol residue. I can't wait to get to the track next weekend! It was running 7.70's before and being dyno tuned and clean carb, I'm expecting quite a bit more out of it.
The engine also has 1.6 and 1.5 Crane roller rockers
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Our races were canceled Saturday due to rain, so they had them on Sunday. I took the car all the way to the final round, and then broke out by .0059 seconds. All of my family was there, and I wanted that win! I sure tried!! The car is SUPER consistent. Here's some launch pics..
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Not sure if these will do anything as far as e.t. is concerned, but thought they might help out the aerodynamics?? Havent seen blackouts for these things in YEARS...
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Nice wheels up pictures.
Recap? What do you have for suspension upgrades? Struts/shocks, springs, sway bars? Looks like some drag racing specific stuff under there.
As for the blackouts, I've always liked the look but not the hardware that fastens them.
Any detailed pictures?
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Originally Posted by skinny z
Nice wheels up pictures.
Recap? What do you have for suspension upgrades? Struts/shocks, springs, sway bars? Looks like some drag racing specific stuff under there.
As for the blackouts, I've always liked the look but not the hardware that fastens them.
Any detailed pictures?
It's all Spohn adjustable rear suspension components. Koni drag shocks, and drag springs. The car launches perfectly level. Whoever set it up evidently knew what they were doing.The rear end is a Currie 9 inch.
I'm going to put taller rear gears in it. It has 3.90's and I'm not even getting into third gear by the end of the track
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Originally Posted by dagwood
It's all Spohn adjustable rear suspension components. Koni drag shocks, and drag springs. The car launches perfectly level. Whoever set it up evidently knew what they were doing.The rear end is a Currie 9 inch.
I'm going to put taller rear gears in it. It has 3.90's and I'm not even getting into third gear by the end of the track
Before you make a gear swap, it would be interesting to see how the car performs in a 1/4 mile. Any tracks close to you?
For sure the shocks and springs are helping that launch. The trans brake doesn't hurt either!
What do you figure your flash stall is? Or better still, what RPM do you see when on the brake?
For the sake of conversation:
Your 1/4 Mile ET is 11.87 seconds computed from your vehicle 1/8th ET of 7.49 seconds.
Your 1/4 Mile MPH is 112.78 MPH computed from your vehicle 1/8th MPH of 90.95 MPH.
(Courtesy Wallace Racing).
Are you still running the 28.5" tall tires?
A quick calculation based on your 3.90 gear, those tires and ~8% converter slip puts you at about 5900 RPM at the strip for that theoretical 1/4 mile MPH.
In an ideal drag car setup, crossing the stripe just past peak HP RPM is what you're after.
That said, what's your RPM at the top of the 1/8th? You may be in an ideal spot now without the unneeded gear shift.
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Originally Posted by skinny z
Before you make a gear swap, it would be interesting to see how the car performs in a 1/4 mile. Any tracks close to you?
For sure the shocks and springs are helping that launch. The trans brake doesn't hurt either!
What do you figure your flash stall is? Or better still, what RPM do you see when on the brake?
For the sake of conversation:
Your 1/4 Mile ET is 11.87 seconds computed from your vehicle 1/8th ET of 7.49 seconds.
Your 1/4 Mile MPH is 112.78 MPH computed from your vehicle 1/8th MPH of 90.95 MPH.
(Courtesy Wallace Racing).
Are you still running the 28.5" tall tires?
A quick calculation based on your 3.90 gear, those tires and ~8% converter slip puts you at about 5900 RPM at the strip for that theoretical 1/4 mile MPH.
In an ideal drag car setup, crossing the stripe just past peak HP RPM is what you're after.
That said, what's your RPM at the top of the 1/8th? You may be in an ideal spot now without the unneeded gear shift.
The 1/4 mile tracks are all a 2-3 hour drive from me. The car was previously raced at quarter mile tracks in Minnesota.
This year I am running 28x10.5x15 Mickey Thompson ET Drag Slicks. I haven't measured their overall height, but I'm certain they get taller when I go faster judging from pics.
Im running around 6,500 rpms through the traps in 2nd gear. My enging makes max hp around 6,200 rpms.
My converter holds at 4,500 rpms on the Trans brake
I didn't know if the car would be any quicker if I was around 6200 rpms in 3rd gear while crossing the finish line?
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Originally Posted by dagwood
The 1/4 mile tracks are all a 2-3 hour drive from me. The car was previously raced at quarter mile tracks in Minnesota.
This year I am running 28x10.5x15 Mickey Thompson ET Drag Slicks. I haven't measured their overall height, but I'm certain they get taller when I go faster judging from pics.
I'm running around 6,500 rpms through the traps in 2nd gear. My engine makes max hp around 6,200 rpms.
My converter holds at 4,500 rpms on the Trans brake
I didn't know if the car would be any quicker if I was around 6200 rpms in 3rd gear while crossing the finish line?
That, I think, is about as good as it gets.
I can't imagine being able to accelerate quickly enough to get through all three gears with the current platform.
That would be 112 in the 1/8th?
I'm thinking that's better than 130 in the 1/4 all else being equal.
There's some math that can work that out.
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Originally Posted by skinny z
That, I think, is about as good as it gets.
I can't imagine being able to accelerate quickly enough to get through all three gears with the current platform.
That would be 112 in the 1/8th?
I'm thinking that's better than 130 in the 1/4 all else being equal.
There's some math that can work that out.
What I meant was if I went with like a 5.13 gear, if the car would go through the traps around the same rpm but in 3rd gear instead of second gear. The trap speed may not be much different, but would the car get to that speed any quicker by being easier to pull it down the track with the lower gear ratio?
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Originally Posted by dagwood
What I meant was if I went with like a 5.13 gear, if the car would go through the traps around the same rpm but in 3rd gear instead of second gear. The trap speed may not be much different, but would the car get to that speed any quicker by being easier to pull it down the track with the lower gear ratio?
Provided you can hook it up, I would say that yes, it'll be quicker to the 1/8. It would have to be really.
But this would mean to me that you've built a dedicated 1/8 racer. You can see you'd be out of steam for a 1/4 mile charge.
A 5.13 gear at 6200 in 3rd (1:1), is about 93 MPH.
All of that said, it is theoretical. Your HP, RPM bandwidth and weight will all play into this.
Some real world examples have demonstrated zero change in ET or MPH with a gear change.
In summary, I guess it all depends...
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Well, I had my car back at the track on Saturday. I made it to the final round AGAIN.....and lost AGAIN, lol. I ran a 7.486 off of a 7.48 dial. The guy that won ran a 7.582 off a 7.58 dial. And he got me on the r/t as well. It was neck and neck all the way down the track.
I'm sure wanting to get a win! Ive ran the car in 4 races since ive had it, and have made it to the final round THREE TIMES and haven't won. UGH.
Anyways, I had two personal bests on Saturday. The lowest R/T that I've ever had in my life at .0002 and my quickest ET so far with the car at 7.39
The car sure works great! I need to set the valves again before it goes to the track again.
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
That's awesome!
Having a good look at that launch keeps the wheels turning in my head about what rear tire do I go to next.
I've always had some measure of a D.O.T. tire, whether it was for class rules or the convenience of driving to and from the track. BFG drag radials. McCreary Road Star treaded slick (best ever). MT ET Streets. (although the ET Street bias ply were quite the adventure on the highway).
I'm at that crossroads once again.
Is it MT Radials? Hoosier QTP (DOT bias ply slick)? The Hoosier appeal to me in that the track is generally not well prepped for Friday night test and tune. My understanding is that the radials like a prepped track and prefer to dead hook. The Hoosiers on the other hand incorporate some measure of wheel spin and while not the look of your wrinkle walls, work much the same way.
Do you have any side on video of the tire during launch? That would be interesting to see.
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
I got a win!!!! Ran a personal best 7.37 and also ran two 7.38's that night. Best rt was a .004. It was the Tall Corn Open at the track and they had some badass custom trophies made for it. It was awesome!!
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Originally Posted by ironwill
A couple of things:
*Good job on the win; congrats!
*I like that license plate.
*Cute little kid!
Thank you!!!
The little girl is my 2 year old granddaughter. Her other grandpa is a buddy of mine and owns and operates the dragstrip. There will be a Jr dragster in the future!
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
THATS AWESOME!
First win must feel huge!
Not too long ago is when you acquired this car, and here it is doing that!
Those are good E.T.'s too, its actually right where my car goes all-motor 7.36, so your know that it feels quick in the seat.
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Originally Posted by IROCZman15
THATS AWESOME!
First win must feel huge!
Not too long ago is when you acquired this car, and here it is doing that!
Those are good E.T.'s too, its actually right where my car goes all-motor 7.36, so your know that it feels quick in the seat.
Heck yeah! You've got a runner as well!
My car is gonna get a gear change over winter. The 3.90 has gotta go!
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Early grandfathering I can relate to. Had my first before I was 40! My advice: start early, start often and have the sense not to start again!
As for your gear change, if I've a few minutes over the weekend (I've got the new engine install if all goes to plan) I'd like to see the cause and effect with a drag sim program I've used. I've experimented with it to see what changes were needed to optimize the engine I had. Didn't take a whole helluva lot to get a mid 12 second car (@ 3600lbs) into the 11's.
It would be interesting to see how your gear change would play out.
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Originally Posted by skinny z
Early grandfathering I can relate to. Had my first before I was 40! My advice: start early, start often and have the sense not to start again!
As for your gear change, if I've a few minutes over the weekend (I've got the new engine install if all goes to plan) I'd like to see the cause and effect with a drag sim program I've used. I've experimented with it to see what changes were needed to optimize the engine I had. Didn't take a whole helluva lot to get a mid 12 second car (@ 3600lbs) into the 11's.
It would be interesting to see how your gear change would play out.
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
I can gather up the info needed from your thread but if you want to help the cause, I'll be looking for the following specs.
Weight w/ driver
Launch RPM
RPM range: minimum seen on the shifts and max revs.
If you've a decent stall converter, RPM shouldn't drop below the stall point. The sims work it that was for the most part.
Rear tire diameter
I see you have a TH350.
Current gears are 3.90?
Changing to?
Best ET.
Best MPH.
There might be more.
EDIT: More...60', 330' ET and MPH.
Or a time slips(s) of your choice.
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Originally Posted by skinny z
I can gather up the info needed from your thread but if you want to help the cause, I'll be looking for the following specs.
Weight w/ driver
Launch RPM
RPM range: minimum seen on the shifts and max revs.
If you've a decent stall converter, RPM shouldn't drop below the stall point. The sims work it that was for the most part.
Rear tire diameter
I see you have a TH350.
Current gears are 3.90?
Changing to?
Best ET.
Best MPH.
There might be more.
EDIT: More...60', 330' ET and MPH.
Or a time slips(s) of your choice.
Best ET 1/8th 7.37
Best ET 330' 4.68 no mph at 330' at my track
60' 1.54 seconds
3.90 gear
28" slicks
TURBO 400, not TH350
Car weighs 3,120 w/o driver. 3,380 with me in it
Im going through the traps around 6,700 rpms or so in 2nd gear
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Originally Posted by dagwood
Best ET 1/8th 7.37
Best ET 330' 4.68 no mph at 330' at my track
60' 1.54 seconds
3.90 gear
28" slicks
TURBO 400, not TH350
Car weighs 3,120 w/o driver. 3,380 with me in it
Im going through the traps around 6,700 rpms or so in 2nd gear
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Do you have a HP estimation and RPM? Pretty sure it's buried in the thread somewhere but I can't find it.
Some quick modelling is showing a more MPH in the 1/8th than the 91 you've indicated. It would seem my HP inputs are probably off. Either that, or you may be blowing through the convertor and not getting the power to the ground. Have you managed to see what RPM you drop into after the shift? I would think no less than the stall but it could be well above. (FTR: The new Yank equipped Monte Carlo, despite having a 700R4 and a really wide 1-2 gear split, wouldn't drop below 5k at any point. That's despite a 6500 RPM shift equalling 3400 in 2nd. Add 10% slip for 3800 with the old convertor).
With the wheels up pictures at the look of the slicks on the launch, I'd say traction isn't an issue so I can dial in your 60' easily enough.
Keep in mind though, that should you do the gear swap, traction may become a problem but I can simulate around that.
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
My engine dynoed 476hp @ 6,300 rpm's. The engine builder told me their dyno is "tight" and shows around 10% lower numbers than other dynos.
I guess I've never paid any attention to what the rpm drop is between shifts. The stall is around 4,600 to 4,800 ish and i don't think it drops below that
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
OK. With 476HP on the dyno I can work with that until I can corelate your time slips vs engine output. Typically I see a reduction in actual as installed HP when compared to the ideal dyno numbers.
That said, it'll be a bit before I can get back to this. I'm putting my own engine together (and hope to have at least between the fenders by tomorrow's end) and I really should get back to it! It's fighting me every step of the way though.
Re: Bought a mostly strip/kinda street car. 1986 Camaro
Originally Posted by skinny z
OK. With 476HP on the dyno I can work with that until I can corelate your time slips vs engine output. Typically I see a reduction in actual as installed HP when compared to the ideal dyno numbers.
That said, it'll be a bit before I can get back to this. I'm putting my own engine together (and hope to have at least between the fenders by tomorrow's end) and I really should get back to it! It's fighting me every step of the way though.
Good luck with your project! And THANK YOU for playing with my numbers!!!
06-11-2023, 02:30 PM
but making it a family affair is awesome nonetheless! 
