Pat Kelley
Oct 16th, 03, 1:29 AM
Sometime back I swapped out the TH 350 for a 2004R in my 66 EC. With the 350 I never seemed to get better than about 10 mpg under any conditions. Last week I towed the 67 to the Division Finals at Southwest Internation Raceway (SIR) in Tucson from LA and got 13.5 MPG while towing. Needless to say I am pretty happy with this. In addition to the trans swap, I leaned the cruise mixture 8% and bumped the timing up 2º. On the way to Tucson, I drove at 60 mph because of some trailer sway. On the way back I shifted some weight and was able to maintain 65-70 mph, even on the long grade on I 10 from Indio to Banning (a grade from below sea level to almost 3000 ft). The engine got to 220º but cooled down as soon as the road leveled out. I'm more than happy with the new trans.
As for the event, I went out in the first round. It was a very close race with me taking the strip by about 3'. I had a .034 (.534) light to my opponent's .031. I dialed a 12.33 (SIR is about a half second slower than Pomona) he dialed a 10.57. I watched him coming up on me strong and the strip getting closer so I was hesitant to lift. The race ended in a double breakout with him closer to his dial. A 12.289 for me and a 10.548 for him. I should have hit the brakes at the last moment and let him go by. However, I really didn't expect to breakout.
Deciding on a dial was tough. On T-N-T day the car ran in the mid 20's (12.24, 12.25, 12.25). During time trials I had a 12.27 in the morning and a 12.33 in the afternoon. The next morning (the day of eliminations) I ran a 12.35. So I dialed on the previous afternoons pass (12.33). I never even considered dialing below 12.30 since the DA was very close to, and some times over, 6000'.
BTW, Team Irwindale came in 5th, although I can't say I contributed to that.
PS, I've posted some pictures of both the 66 and 67 on my site. As soon as I have them scaned, I'll post some launch pictures. I got air under the front left tire smile.gif .
As for the event, I went out in the first round. It was a very close race with me taking the strip by about 3'. I had a .034 (.534) light to my opponent's .031. I dialed a 12.33 (SIR is about a half second slower than Pomona) he dialed a 10.57. I watched him coming up on me strong and the strip getting closer so I was hesitant to lift. The race ended in a double breakout with him closer to his dial. A 12.289 for me and a 10.548 for him. I should have hit the brakes at the last moment and let him go by. However, I really didn't expect to breakout.
Deciding on a dial was tough. On T-N-T day the car ran in the mid 20's (12.24, 12.25, 12.25). During time trials I had a 12.27 in the morning and a 12.33 in the afternoon. The next morning (the day of eliminations) I ran a 12.35. So I dialed on the previous afternoons pass (12.33). I never even considered dialing below 12.30 since the DA was very close to, and some times over, 6000'.
BTW, Team Irwindale came in 5th, although I can't say I contributed to that.
PS, I've posted some pictures of both the 66 and 67 on my site. As soon as I have them scaned, I'll post some launch pictures. I got air under the front left tire smile.gif .