I finally brought my 69 Malibu out to the track to see what it could run. It was also my first time ever racing was expecting better numbers. I had 5 runs and ended up with a
¼ R/T 60ft 330ft mph
15.833 .503 2.684 6.912 89.28
15.771 .347 2.586 6.810 88.80
17.876 .291 2.586 7.716 81.12
17.366 .278 2.755 7.441 79.73
16.759 .370 2.480 6.956 80.16

My set up is
Pistons
sealed power, feral mogul
Cam
270 comp cam
194 heads
z/28 springs
30 over
standard crank
cleavite 77 bearings

Performer rpm and a 600 carb
Headers flowmasters 60 series
350 tranny, stock rear
New tires

I was learning as I went along but feel something is wrong. I was not representing Chevy very well, loosing to imports! I think I was having traction problems because when I got home I was scraping of a lot of rubber. So my question is does anyone have a similar combo and what are you running? My goal is low 14s high 13s do you feel this is possible with my set up?

What rear gear ratio?

Don't fret, your first outing and you did OK. Work on those 60's! Are the secondaries working properly?

10-bolt,
Back in the mid 90's I had a similar set up in my '73 Chevelle , Stock heads , .030 over 350 , Edelbrock intake and carb ( 600 cfm ) , HEI , and a cam my dad had from years ago , similar specs to the comp 270 though. I had a 350 trans w/ a shift kit and a 10" converter ( 2500 - 2800 stall ). My rear end was a 4.10 limited slip. I was also dissappointed in the performance , the best 1/4 was 15.1 around 90 mph w/ street tires. However , when I would race on the street I never lost to the z-28's and Mustang's of that era 86-95 , they were running in the high to low 14's when tested by a professionl in the magazines. I finally realized that I wasnt that great of a driver at the track. Try some 4.10's and a 10" stall to help your combo out. I loved them.
Godd Luck , Mitch.

As Gene,said work on your 60 ft./launch technique
A stall convertor and 3.55-3.73 gears would help out much,plus some sticky tires.

10-bolt,
Back in the mid 90's I had a similar set up in my '73 Chevelle , Stock heads , .030 over 350 , Edelbrock intake and carb ( 600 cfm ) , HEI , and a cam my dad had from years ago , similar specs to the comp 270 though. I had a 350 trans w/ a shift kit and a 10" converter ( 2500 - 2800 stall ). My rear end was a 4.10 limited slip. I was also dissappointed in the performance , the best 1/4 was 15.1 around 90 mph w/ street tires. However , when I would race on the street I never lost to the z-28's and Mustang's of that era 86-95 , they were running in the high to low 14's when tested by a professionl in the magazines. I finally realized that I wasnt that great of a driver at the track graemlins/sad.gif . Try some 4.10's and a 10" stall to help your combo out. I loved them.
Good Luck graemlins/thumbsup.gif , Mitch.

Sorry about the double post.

Yeah, you really have to work on those 60ft times man. I'm cutting 2.3's with a pegleg 225/70/R15 and a 3.08 rear. You can do better man. Doing a 2.7 is pretty much a burnout throughout the 60ft. Is it that you are burning out, or is your car kinda weak? No offense, just curious. Just ease into the throttle if you have to. You should see some better times. Looking at your MPH i'm really doubting that you'll be able to hit even a high 14 though....usually you would be trapping around 95mph or so if you could/do hit high 14's. Stick with it though....you'll get her there. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

What size engine, how much comp, etc do you have?

What Size is the engine?
What compression?
Dished or flat top pistons?
What is the casting number of those heads?
What cc is the combustion chamber?

That cam should be ran with a 9.5-10:1 compression

What tube size do the headers have?
How large is the exhaust pipe?
Does the exhaust bend over the rear end?
What gear ratio?
How tall are the tires?
Stock torque converter?

I would recommend a 10inch 2800-3200 stall, 3.73 gear, and a Holley 650DP carb.

1 5/8 inch headers and 2 1/2 exhaust tubing and mufflers.Contrary to belief 2 1/4 tubing is too small,quieter yes,but also restrictive.
If the exhaust bends over the rear end it needs to be mandrel bent as when the pipe gets compression bent it gets closed off and reduced in size creating a bottleneck and a restriction
=Loss of ET.

Mandrel bends cost quite a bit more but if you want performance it is either that or have the exhaust end right before it goes over the rear.

Most cars run well below there potential the first time out. With you mph you should be able to run low 15s. I would try tires first, something like a drag radial. From looking at you setup it looks to be a solid mid 14 second potential(maybe faster). I would put tires on it and try to tune it to get better times. I would think it should go better than 89mph. One concern I have is its mph slowed down on every pass. If you don't know the reason I would try to find one. Slowing down can sometimes indicate something bad is happening inside. Look at the oil pressure, maybe take the oil filter off and cut it open to make sure everything is OK.

Ignition timing/advance curve, carb tuning, and launch technique are the places to start. Don't change anything else until you get those three things worked out.

How heavy is your car? Try shaving some weight, remember each 100 lbs. you shave is worth a tenth of a second in the quarter.

I don't think you'll be able to cap off 13s with 89MPH. I do however think that it has the potential for some 14 second passes. Your 60' times are pretty high. Try and cut them down to a consistant 2.3-2.4 range. Shaving a .1 off of your 60' time is usually good for shaving off .2 at the end of the 1/4 mile. You'll also want to start fine tuning your motor if you have not done so. Check the timing, check your plugs etc.... There's always more tuning to be done to a motor.

The engine is a 350sbc with flat top pistons and 10:1 compression. The headers are summit ceramic coated,2 1/2 flowmaster out the back.The tires ar 255/60/15. I think I was pretty much burning out through the 60ft. I jumped on it too hard,and will try to go lighter in the begging. Also how does the r/t affect the race.I understand that it doesn't affect your time. I had the motor tuned by a mechanic and he put on an adjustable vacuum advance and told me he got as much timing as he could.(I think he said 29 but not sure) He also replaced some of the rods and went through my carb. He is a friend and is really into muscle cars. He is recommending a new converter,355 gears and a posi unit. But I think my set up is capable of running low 15's as it is. 71chevy0192 what are you running with your set up?

Did you drop the air pressure in your tires? I would run 20-22 psi when i was running with street tires.

I run 24 up front and 25 in the rear.

I run 45 up front,,,max air pressure,less rolling resistance.

You tune your car at the track not at home and maybe you should try another mechanic, one that specializes in high performance because with that setup you should have no problem running in the 14s.

I ran the max load up front and had alot of steering problems.I droped it down it it drives alot straighter. I have alot of trust in this guy,who has been racing for a while and am shure the problem is something I have been doing or did. I wish I could go out this wed. night,but I have a lacrosse game.

I would suggest practicing at the track a little more to get your 60ft. down and your shift point correct. Have you thought about dyno testing? It might be expensive, but a lot can be learned. Good Luck.

10bolt, were you running at the Redding dragstrip? If so, what does your car look like? I was there. Silver '71 Chevelle.

If you don't have a posi, I'd get one and add some 3.55 gears (unless you drive a lot of freeway miles). I have the same size rear tire as you (BFG Radial T/A) and had to ease the car off the line to prevent tire spin. Once past the "tree" I could bury the throttle. It takes patience, but just concentrate. Don't worry about the car in the other lane. How'd your car pull on the top-end? Did power fall off at a certain RPM or did it pull all the way until you shifted? Get your 60-ft time down and you'll see your 1/4 mile time drop quite a bit. These guys will help you dial your ride in.

You had fun though, right?

I had a great time at the track and am hooked! I was at infineon raceway(sears point).The car really does well at the top end and has the problems at the start.I will try some different launching techniques and save to beef up the rear.
thanks for all the help

If you have trouble running max tire pressure up front, you better get to an alignment shop before you end up on your top. Besides that, I think minimum tire pressure nowadays is 35-44 on most tires.

Just curious,
Are you leaving on the last yellow light?
If you wait until ylu see the green, your gonna be late.

When you bring your 60ft time down, everything else will look better also.

Dwayne

With reaction times like these, I don't think that 10bolt is waiting for the green light to come on. If anything, he's leaving too early. darn consistent lights for the 1st time out though!! Nice job.


R/T
.503
.347
.291
.278
.370


Originally posted by New68SS:
Just curious,
Are you leaving on the last yellow light?
If you wait until ylu see the green, your gonna be late.
Dwayne

I run Kelley P255 60/R15 tires on the rear of my car with 36psi in them at the track. I cut consistent 2.01 -2.02 60ft times on street tires with an open differential 3.36 gear and leaving off idle easing into the gas. I think if you lower your tire pressure with a radial tire in the rear it will not get enough contact patch to hook. Lowering tire pressure usually makes a radial tire cup in the center thus losing contact. I would increase tire pressure and ease into the gas about halfway off idle then nail it about 40ft out.

I just had an alignment done,and had steering problems.My mechanic told me to drop the air pressure to 24 to get more contact on the ground. After dropping, it rides alot better. My first time I did leave at the green,but someone came up to me and told me to leave on the last yellow.

Unless your car is on one awesome diet I think 24psi I way too low for the front. Tires have to be cupping. I wouldn't suggest anything less then 30psi. For front tires you can sometimes over inflate them at the track to run fastest.

Just for comparison. I was running a 305 with stock HO heads, RPM Intake, 650 Holley, 214/224 cam, 1 5/8" headers. With a TH350, 3000 Stall and 3.08 peg leg. In my 66. My 60ft was down around the 2.30s range. My mph was usually in the 91-93mph range. So I think you might be down alittle on power. Check fuel pressure, timming and all the other good stuff. I think mid 14's should be possible.

Later
Steve

No mechanic should tell you to drop air pressure below the recomended tire pressure to cure a problem with steering.The front end alignment if done right should solve that problem,these cars are way to heavy to drop air pressure that low in the front tires.

10bolt, I'd find a different wheel alignment shop. If the car doesn't drive correctly with the pressure up there is something screwed up in the front end. Somethings out of line or it would drive the same with high or low tire pressure and Rapid Robert is right 24 lbs is too low for tire pressure if your wheels aren't too narrow for the tires you have on them. Anyhow, out of line front ends and low tire pressure cause excessive tire wear also and overheat a steel belted radial.

Are you spinning the tires when you leave?
If you are spinning excessivly, you will not run better times until you get control of that.
Borrow some slicks and try again.
Remember to get them hot the firs run, then just dust them off from then on.

Your reaction and 60ft times are pretty consistant. Good job for first time out.

Originally posted by 67chevelle509:
With reaction times like these, I don't think that 10bolt is waiting for the green light to come on. If anything, he's leaving too early. darn consistent lights for the 1st time out though!! Nice job.


R/T
.503
.347
.291
.278
.370


</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by New68SS:
Just curious,
Are you leaving on the last yellow light?
If you wait until ylu see the green, your gonna be late.
Dwayne </font>[/QUOTE]Uh, 67Chevelle, most tracks are now posting R/T from .0, not the old way of .400 or .500. He should be able to do way better than high .2's and .3's. Also, no one answered his question about R/T and E/T. Reaction times have little to do with E/T's, they just let you lose races.

10bolt - I had to tear the engine out and replace it do to it eating two camshafts, but I was running a 14.8 with really restrictive exhaust. That was also my first time out to the track. The guy I got the car from had this for an exhaust setup....

1.5" tube headers &gt; 2' 2.5" &gt;flowmasters w/ cherry bombs attached to them ( graemlins/clonk.gif ) &gt; 2" all the way out the back.

Real smart guy. lol He said the neighbors were complaining that the car was too loud before.

It was a 331 backed up by a TH350 with a 2K stall and shift kit, followed by open 3.08 gears. Not exactly a drag setup. ;)

Good point, my bad. Our local track only went to the new numbering system starting this year, so my brain hasn't been re-wired yet.

thanks for the reminder.
67chevelle509


Originally posted by tpshea:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by 67chevelle509:
With reaction times like these, I don't think that 10bolt is waiting for the green light to come on. If anything, he's leaving too early. darn consistent lights for the 1st time out though!! Nice job.


R/T
.503
.347
.291
.278
.370


</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by New68SS:
Just curious,
Are you leaving on the last yellow light?
If you wait until ylu see the green, your gonna be late.
Dwayne </font>[/QUOTE]Uh, 67Chevelle, most tracks are now posting R/T from .0, not the old way of .400 or .500. He should be able to do way better than high .2's and .3's. Also, no one answered his question about R/T and E/T. Reaction times have little to do with E/T's, they just let you lose races. </font>[/QUOTE]