Just got word from Scott Tiemann and Dan Jensen that the camshaft that was in the orange L-88 Corvette my wife was driving at Stanton passed tech with flying colors. The specs are available at: http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=CRN-968561&N=700+400078+304821+115&autoview=sku Summit is where I got the cam. Just give them a call and you can get a reproduction Blueprint Musclecar cam that was ground to the original L-88 Chevrolet factory specs just like I did. The rest of the engine was built to NHRA Specs and was opened up after the PSMCDR racing was all over. There was quite a crowd while we tore off the intake, one head and one exhaust manifold and pulled the cam. The engine wasn't ported or polished and was within certifiable specs. Anyone that wanted to could see the insides could see for themself. I just didn't want to have another whole year with anyone thinking there was any funny stuff going on. The only thing that was done to the Corvette since last year was changing the factory side pipes (sorry Donnie) to a mandrel bent 2 1/2" undercar exhaust system. The mandrel bends came from JC Whitney and were cut-and-fit because nobody makes a ready made system. The 2 1/2" system flows just over twice as much as the 1 3/4" side pipe system. Throttle response and the top end improved unbelivably. Sorry that I cant promise everyone the improvement that this car got since last year, but then you probably dont have as "sucky" a exhaust system as this car had. If anyone has any other questions they can call Dan @ 1-517-647-2474 or Scott @ 1-517-647-2433 . [edit] Dan's computer is down so you gotta use the land line. Rumour has it that there is somebody else (not me !) is building a certifiable GM A-body for Martin next year. It is expected that it will be able to outrun all the certifiable Mopar 440 and hemi cars. Fair warning, you have until next June to get ready.........
Congrats Terry. As I have cert'd cars before I appreciate the effort it took you to do this and others do too. You bass boat captians sure have your cars running. Jimmy and your family sure have them dialed in. I think Larry did a good job piloting a 12 second car for the first time also. Even though his LS6 gives away some performance to the L88's they all sure do look great romping down the track that fast. Donny you must be thrilled three fiberglass tubes qualified in the top four this year. Even if they do not run "sucky" side pipes. Congrats again. Mark
Terry, don't say sorry to me I gotta say sorry to you for not suggesting a set of the Sweet Thunder sidepipes, 2.5 inchs in, 2.5 inches out This is probably the best thing that has happened in years, running the number and then handing over the camshaft ! That took stones ............ but one thing Terry, proper board Etiquette to tell the doubters to "Cram Walnuts" ....what exactly that means I do not know, but after you do I then pen a theme song on your behalf that Brian sings at Casey's Holiday Party.
I thought it was "Cram it with Walnut's" o No: Congrats Terry. My-my, how far we've come in 6 short years. I remember a heated discussion in the Hotel parking lot at Brad Rising's 1st or 2nd race, and several of us were in agreement that if an L-88 Vette ever showed at one of these event's, it would be the "be all, end all" WOW, who would have thought that we would see 3 at one event ou: Even if they're NOT Musclecar's, they sure are damn quick. :3gears: Let's start that whole thing on banning Corvette's again :beer Who's with me :laugh:
Julie & Terry, Congratulations on your certification and for having a car that runs that well :TU: :3gears: Lon
Hey Terry, Congrats on a perfect day for ya. Maybe you could post what kind of vaccuum reading you get with that camshaft for Gonzo's and Ralph's sake. Peter ou:
BBC'S like L-88 and ZL-1'S with a factory camshaft WON'T pull hardly any vacuum at 900 or 1200 RPM'S. @900 RPM about 5" TO 6". @1200 RPM about 7" TO 8". .
I gotta say Terry, you pegged the hero meter not only pulling a head and the intake but pulling the cam and handing it over at the race no less! No time for a converter swap or anything. Just too cool! :TU: I wonder if any other brands battling for low ET are going to join the trend. o No:
Hold on, I didn't pull the engine apart and hand the lumpy bumpstick over to be a hero. :Brow: Not totally...... I built the vette in 05 for my wife to drive, and have a little fun. After all, I race and our son races. May as well get her into the program too. :grin: She had only been down the track 3 or 4 times before Staton in 05. (unless you count driving the kids to school :laugh: ) After hearing about the times JJ'S was laying down, NOO WAY was I going to turn the Vette loose the first or second race. I wanted her to get used to it. I ran the total timing @ 26-28 in 05 at Staton and in 06 at Martin. Oh yea! the sidepipes. She likes the sound and the look, but I knew they would also SLOW the car down a little?? After Martin 06 I asked her if she was ready to go a little faster, She says, YEP! First get rid of the sidepipes, order mandrel bends, mufflers, and two sticks of 2 1/2 pipe. Get to work, also add a little timing. (boy was she mad when she first saw the Vette without the sidepipes!) That brings us to Staton 06. All that was changed from 05 to 06 was the exhaust, a little more timing and oh yea, a new set of plugs. Well after a few passes with the new found POWER! I was approached by a couple of guy's (no names). They said to me 3 different times, That is not the same car that was at Martin. I said, "Shore is. Just changed the exhaust". They laugh at me and said, Could they bring there car to Indiana and get the same power gain with ONLY an exhaust change. After the 3rd time I told them, THAT'S IT, I'VE HEARD ENOUGH! I TOLD YOU WHAT I CHANGED AND YOU'RE STILL CALLING ME A LIAR! I also over heard a few guys saying I was running a smaller than stock cam, so I felt that the only proof was to pull the engine apart and certify it and then go one step farther than anyone else has and pull the stick out, give it to Scott to send to the cam doctor to clear the air! Did I want to pull the engine apart after the race when it was still HOT? NO! :af: This is all for fun (mostly) but when you are being called a liar, to your face and behind you back it's not much fun. (oh wait a minute I did have a BLAST! ) For the ones who stood behind me, Thank you! :TU: For the ones who did not, Well, we'll be back next year! :moonu: :laugh: .
Terry, not that my word is any good, but it is WELL known how bad sidepipes are.......Hell, see my thread that was posted BEFORE the Stanton race: http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=111069 There are horse power killers, for sure. But if Julie wants them back, goto http://www.sweet-thunder.com/ and order a set of the GNM pipes, they are the same as what is on my car, Jim Karam's car, and Ken Reibel's car......
hmmmmmmmmm. I've been thinking about this topic for several days, and want to toss out an idea here...... It takes a lot of time and prep to get a car ready to compete, and to show up half torn down BEFOREHAND, and then assemble it at the last minute, seems kinda rushy rushy... especially if it's running great, before you tear it down, just to Cert the thing.... soooooooooooo..... How's about giving the racers the option of tear down, AFTER the event, like Terry did?? NASCAR, NHRA, and IHRA do it that way, why not PS?? JH
I suggested this to Dan at the event.I offered to leave my car with him until he had time to tear it down to "certify" it. Then I thought........thats pretty selfish of me to impose on his time to tear it down AND be responsible for the car while its in his care and control. Felt like a goof after I thought about the demands I made. We (racers) should undress the car either before or after the event...at the event like Terry did. Hats off once again to Terry and family. If you know you're legal............show me....prove it! Winners must accept close scrutiny.
It is to bad we live in an age a man's word can not be good enough like in Terry's case. Good job Terry but to bad you had to do a tear down in less than desirable conditions and further more to prolong your trip home. Look forward to see that vette back next year. You could sell some of those "t" shirts also, i laughed my :moonu: off.
Well said. I've always liked to believe that there was an unspoken honour amongst P/S competitors... but I guess we 14 second guys live in a dream world. I could turn this into a tangential tirade, but that would not serve the greater good. In the end, Terry's extraordinary efforts helped restore some of that faith.
