Currently have a 81 Z-28 with a 355 (Home Ported World S/R Heads, 1.94/1.5, xs268 solid cam(230/236@.050 .477/.488 net lift), Dart dual plane intake, Holley 650 DP, 1.5 Roller Rockers.

Tremec TKO 5-speed with 3.42s and Nitto Drag Radials. Currently car runs 13.4@102.9mph with 2.0 60ft times(still spins). I'm planning different mods and was hoping I would be able to pull off a mid 12 pass. What do you guys think?

Plans-
-Replace 3.42 to 3.90s in rear(would go from crossing line at 4,600 to 5,300- I shift at 5,800 and with the 3.42s I'm shifting like RIGHT before the finish line)
- ET Streets or ET Drag Slicks(should be good for .3 tenths I would guess)
-Carb mods(Proform 750 main body and shaved throttle shafts)
-AFR 195 Cylinder Heads. Would boost Compression .3 to 9.8 static.

What do you guys think? Eventually I would like to go to a hydraulic roller but projected funds don't look like they will allow right now.

I figure the slicks and gears alone will get me into high 12s, but how much will the AFR heads shave off? I know i'll be giving up a little low end torque compared to my 170cc heads, but its a manual and I can adjust shift/launch points accordingly.

Thanks for the help.
Nick

Nick,

With all sincerity and from a little experience, FIRST put the tires on, and ONLY the tires....make 10 to 20 passes before attempting anything else. This will give you your true baseline and the basis for all other modifications and to truly tune your car. I am willing to bet you hit the high twelves with the tires only AND....that there is still 0.1 seconds in ET that you have not found yet that could be achieved for less than $30 with fine tuning...

The Proform mod would be next, never heard any bad press about that mod.

Save the money on the heads, If you did a decent port job you can get mid 12s with those.

i like all the ideas you have, although i've heard that the proform main body doesn't seem to be all they hype it up to be. i'd get the car hooked up first then throw some gear at it. you might reach your goal with just that, although i do believe that the AFR 195's would make a measurable difference in hp, reaguardless of how good the port work is on the S/R's.

The ProForm Mainbody Works, Period!

Brian, have you done comparos with the proform main bodies vs stock? i only know of one guy personally that has tried one, and had mixed results. some other fellas at maliburacing.com tried the proform and said it really didn't make any measurable diffrence on their cars. ??
i've thought about trying one myself, but didn't want to waste a bill if it doesn't make a noticable gain.

That was no dig at you BTW, if you took it that way.

Not me personally, my fellow racer, rick did the comparison while the carb was still on his car. I'm currently using the carburetor he put together with the proform body.
It works well.

I believe Rick saw nearly 2 tenths with the proform body, i'll ask him next time out to double check.

I'm happy with this carburetors performance.

Keep in mind Nick, that's a darn heavy car, nearly the weight of a full size A body and around 500 lbs heavier than a 1st Gen Camaro.

Gearing = torque multiplication, so that'd be my first move, and then slicks. Heads for sure will add HP, and you likely won't notice the carb body/milled horn at all.

What are you using for a traction device? Does Calvert racing make a setup for that body style? If they do, after you change tires I'd add a pair of Cal Tracs or at least a pair of Cheapo Lakewood Traction bars. Good Luck smile.gif

Originally posted by ACE841:
What are you using for a traction device? Does Calvert racing make a setup for that body style? If they do, after you change tires I'd add a pair of Cal Tracs or at least a pair of Cheapo Lakewood Traction bars. Good Luck smile.gif I have a set of Cal-Tracs on there now, as well as subframe connectors, and no front swaybar. I'm thinking of 90/10s and drag springs but at the level I am looking at I can't justify it yet.

Thanks for the tips guys. As you suggest my #1 goal for next year is getting this thing to hook and I just can't seem to do it with the Drag Radials.

What is a 103mph usually good for if I get an 'optimum' 60ft time(which I would guess is 1.75-1.8)?

i can't imagine why your car won't hook with the set up you have and drag radials. my buddy has the same set up as you as far as suspension and tires but he's hooking a 540bbc to the tune of mid 1.40 60ft times, and he also runs 103mph.....IN THE 1/8mi.

Originally posted by m71:
i can't imagine why your car won't hook with the set up you have and drag radials. my buddy has the same set up as you as far as suspension and tires but he's hooking a 540bbc to the tune of mid 1.40 60ft times, and he also runs 103mph.....IN THE 1/8mi. I think there are a few reasons. 1- I have Nittos and while they are good on the street, it seems the guys with BFGS at my track are the ones hooking better. 2- Track prep isn't great and 3- I have a manual so it has a tendency to shock the tires harder then an automatic.

I clearly recall buying the M/T ET Streets for our car. The rep asked me what kind of ET and MPH we were running, which was about 13.7 and 100+MPH at the time. He paused and said, "These tires will take a full second off your time."
I thought, "Uh-huh...okay." I bought the tires anyway, because it wasn't hooking worth a nit, and something had to be done about it.
Of course, a year later my brother hammered down a 12.5 ET.
Your setup sounds pretty good. I'd say that tires and hooking it would be first on the list. With what you've got under the hood I'd think that just the tires will put you in the 12s, and the gears should have you doing even better. Our combo has a 3.37 rear gear in it to do the 12.5 quarter.

I hav a 80 camaro That will hook great most of the time, Completely stock susspention, but I do have slicks, They aren't bad for street driving unless you want to really hug corners.