Last Friday I finally took my ’71 Chevelle to the drag strip. This was my first time ever going down the track. What a rush it was. This was at the Redding Drag Strip in Redding, CA. I drove up there with Beaux (Midnight Marauder) from San Jose – 250 miles one way. Did zero tuning. Lifted the hood for tech and that was the only time I lifted the hood at the track. Here are my times (in order from first run to last):

Reaction 60ft Mid 660 MPH ET
</font> 1.041 2.566 82.27 9.559 102.97 14.302</font> 0.978 2.294 83.95 8.922 104.64 13.608</font> 1.177 2.242 83.95 8.840 103.93 13.530</font> 0.809 2.224 84.27 8.770 104.65 13.442</font> 0.917 2.205 84.11 8.747 104.41 13.436</font> 0.767 2.174 84.11 8.728 104.64 13.409</font> 0.553 2.169 83.95 8.713 104.6513.389</font>As you can see my times got better with each run. I shifted at 6,000 rpm. I lowered the tire pressure from 29 to 20 psi after the 4th run. I also did more of a brake stand too. I have no traction out of the hole (255/60/15 BFG Radial T/A’s) so I have to ease the throttle until a little past the “tree” before putting the hammer down. At the 1-2 shift I lose traction again. The other problem was at 6,000rpm I get really BAD pinging. Never noticed it before. I’ve pulled 6,500 rpms in the past on the street. Any suggestions? I’m pretty stoked with the results. Most people I talked to said I wouldn’t crack the 13s. My combo:

350 bored 0.040. 9.98 compression (from Pat Kelly’s program). DCR of 8.5. Holley 650 DP, Edelbrock Performer RPM heads, Edelbrock Performer RPM Air gap manifold, 1.6 Harland Sharp roller rockers, Comp Cams XE 268 cam and matching springs, retainers, locks, TH-350, B&M 2000 holeshot, Currie 9” with 3.50 gears. The combo dynoed on a chassis dyno at 258hp@ 5800 and 326tq. @3200 (with 10-bolt open rear).

What do you guys think of my results? For what I have, I think the times are pretty sweet. I had a ton of fun and just glad to have gotten deep into the 13s. Do you think I could hit 12s with slicks and fixing my pinging problem?

Nice times graemlins/thumbsup.gif
With traction,high 12's should be no sweat

Congrats! I think those are some pretty nice times for such a mild set-up. Especially in a heavy Chevelle with street tires. I think 12's are going to be stretch unless you've got some extra power hiding somewhere. Even with slicks I think your 60's will only drop into the 1.90's. But 13.0's are a definite possibility. Keep on tuning!

It was a blast and the car ran like a champ, both on and off the track. Also consider that SB is turning a 9 inch, so theres a little more frictional power loss. Clean car, guys, I tell ya and....hot smokey damn, it gets DRIVEN. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Plus, you could flip that car over and eat off the underside. :D

Not to mention, right before the races started two F-16's lined up at the airport rigth behind the track and took off side by side, then circled over us. That was a kick arse added bonus.

In any case, it was a very cool trip and I was stoked to see that sucker finally run down the 1320. So was the toothless guy in his late 80's stang that came over and chatted with Al. "Uglier ya are, the faster ya gotta be!"

That's pretty sweet...I hope I can get my combo to go as quick.

Damn, I am impressed that you got seven runs! Most we ever got at Famoso was four. Sounds like its a runner Alan put some ET streets on it with some 110 octane ane you should dip into the 12's.

Rick graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Dang Al. That's right respectable times you got there! You should be good to put a bunch of Stangs on the trailer. Yeah, your hooked now.... ;)

Try some 110 octane fuel. Get some wider tires. That's my $.02.

Alan, man, you sure fell into the 'groove'. Great runs. With street slicks ( a 60'well under 2.0)you might dip into the 12's!

Wouldn't crack the 13's huh!? graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Sounds like exactly my kind of ride. Old reliable , 300 mile trips and a bit of a surprise at the track! That makes a top flight Chevelle in my book! graemlins/beers.gif

I would check the timing curve again. Never did run a motor up to 6000 in neutral ( well, none that lived to tell), but I'd almost want to see if the timing curve wasn't overadvancing at a higher rpm. You definitely don't want to hear that sound at high R's!

ooooppppss I just saw that Rick Bandy beat me to it.

Well, you certaintly kicked my ass!!!...and that's that i've got a stroker!?!?? lol...Well, i haven't taken my 71 to the 1/4 mile yet, but so far, the best i've muster'd up is an 8.80@79mph...According to my Virtual Engine Calculator, I should be running a 13.73@99mph :confused: redface.gif :mad: .....I look pretty lame next to you man.....anyways, congrats on the times, and keep up the good work!!! graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Alan, Great job. I'll bet money that you'll be in the 12's with a pair of slicks and bump the timing back enough to get rid of the rattle. Keep up the good work.

Rob

whoever told you that your combo couldn't run 13's needs to lay down the crack pipe. that is a very nice combo, IMO. only thing i think you could benefit from would be a little looser stall and some drag radials. gear would help too, but if you must drive that far to the track your 3.50 gears are probably already a slight pain. for a street 350 you have all the right engine componets, IMO. i had a pretty similar combo in my 71 a couple years ago and though i never ran 1/4mi the best 1/8mi was an 8.56 but i had a 4.10 posi rear, 3000 stall, and sticky tires. you have better cylinder heads than i had. i knew i could've gained some power with some decent heads. just something to for you to think about, when i mentioned a looser convertor and tires would help you, my combo went 1.76 60ft tmes. if you could get your car to 60ft like mine did, you'd be solidly into the 12's. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Originally posted by m71:
whoever told you that your combo couldn't run 13's needs to lay down the crack pipe. I admit, that was me ;) j/k, Alan, your car does run really good man graemlins/hurray.gif

As everyone else said let's get slicks on that sucker and see if it can shave a couple more tenths off of it. Also, put a 100 shot on that sucker and dip into the low 12's for sure...

Way to go :cool:

Thanks for all the graemlins/thumbsup.gif guys! Appreciate it. I'm definitely hooked on drag racing now. I should have gone years ago. This TNT night was part of the Kool April Nites car show up there in Redding, CA. Beaux and I went for the show and had a little side fun smile.gif .

I'll look into the timing issues. Hopefully that'll solve my problem. I hope to get some steel wheels to mount slicks on before the next track day. See if I can get this little mouse motor in the 12s! I do think a higher stall convertor would help though. I'd rather not go with a deeper gear, as the 3.50s are bear enough on the freeway for me. I'll try for 12s with tuning and tires before I change any major components out. What's funny is I slapped this motor together nearly 6 years ago without much clue as to what I was doing. I fine tuned it over the years with a cam change, head gaskets, roller rockers, air gap manifold, carburator, etc. I'm just surprised as heck that it did so well at the track. Hopefully the 12s will be realized :D .