So, I finally hit the Great Lakes Dragaway this past Friday. Not crowded at all, great weather, and nothing broke For those unfamiliar with my combo, I have an all steel 68 Skylark with a 455 that's .038 over, JE forged pistons, oil mods, clearenced and balanced, ported iron Stage 1 heads, TA 413 cam, rhoads lifters, TA headers, SP1 and an 850 cfm demon, DUI HEI ignition, and NGK UR5 plugs (thanks Larry, worked great). Behind it is a Jimmy built TH400 with a transgo kit and 2800 rpm stall, which I shifted myself. Suspension is all stock replacement except for slightly stiffer springs and UMI rear control arms. I ran 255 wide M/T Drag Radials in back. The weak link and final part to change now is the rearend. It's still the 8.2 in. 10 bolt with an open differential. It also had no air bags in the springs. Regardless, I launched fairly consistently all night, except for one run of burning the right rear all the way past the 1/8 mile. I just punched it to half throttle and rolled it on from there for best results. Here was my best time slip: 60' 2.108 330' 5.721 1/8 8.628 MPH 84.93 1000' 11.121 1/4 13.219 MPH 107.62 I was pretty impressed with the car. The car is all steel, full interior. Only lightened bits are an aluminum radiator and intake and the car was an A/C car, but the compressor and condensor are out. I weigh 165 lbs. Given this, what kind of horsepower and torque do you think it's making? Also, I'm going to throw in an air bag to get me in the 12's, but I have an 8.5 10 bolt that will be rebuilt in the near future with a posi and either 3.42 or 3.73 gears. What will that get me? 12.40's perhaps? Finally, the first pass I made was with my dad, which added another 250 lbs, yet, the mph was still 106.86 on a 13.479 second pass. Could this small gain be due to gearing, as I came through the traps in 2nd gear around 5700 rpm. I was also running mufflers on the first pass, and switched to open headers for the fastest pass. Does it have more mph in it? Sorry for the long winded story, but just trying to get all my questions out there. Thanks as always. Jon S.
It sure sounds that there is more in it, but not in MPH. The ET time can be much lower. Get the POSI in for starters, if you drive a lot on the highway stay with the 3.42 gears, and if not 3.73 gears tops. Get some 275/60/15 dragradials or slicks and you will be in the 12s ET's !
we need the weight of the car and driver ............ i typed mine in and got this........ Horsepower Results - 1/4 Mile Method Your buick wildcat weighs about 4700 pounds and can complete a 1/4 mile in about 15.12 seconds. That means that you've got about 268.74 HP at the wheels, and about 349.36 HP at the flywheel. scott
Well, I was sort of hoping for any insight into the weight of the car. Like I said, all steel, A/C car missing the condenser and compressor, and an aluminum intake and radiator. I weigh 165. I thought it was odd that even with my 250 lb. father in the car, the mph was still roughly the same at about 107. What do you think?
There is a scale on the return lane at Great Lakes. Next time you're there, pull onto it and weigh the car and make a note of how much gas you have in it, how much stuff you have in the trunk, etc. And if someone is there tending to the scale he can weigh the car with you in it.
i have been told every 100lbs is a tenth of a second so your dad should have slowed you down by .25 seconds scott
With that 13.21, I wanted a 12 second pass under my belt... So, I went back this Saturday and got it. 60' 1.919 330' 5.464 1/8 8.371 MPH 84.84 1000' 10.865 1/4 12.961 MPH 107.93 All I did was add a pair of Air Lift airbags and added a burnout into the equation. Nothing quite like a 12 second pass with a 2 series gear and an open diff. I made 2 more passes and headed home, as I figured I had my 12 and I didn't want to keep trying my luck with full throttle launches on that 8.2 inch 10 bolt, lol. NOW it's time to get to work on that 8.5 10 bolt that's lying in my garage... On a side note, I weighed the car. 3830 with me in it. Fastest MPH was 108.42. According to the calculators, that's 381 rwhp. What am I making flywheel? I have a flex fan on it, TH400 with no lightened parts in it, and an 8.2 inch 10 bolt. 510? Here's a short video of the 12.961 in and out of the car. I run open headers at the track. I pick up a bit of mph, but it's mostly just for the fun of it. The car is actually very quiet on the street with the dynomaxes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLWlQqKDQt0
The ancient rule of thumb says 481. Really it's a matter of how much is used up due drivetrain/accessory losses. Devon
Yea, a little gear and manually shifting (or setting governor up to shift) at 57-5800 should do you fine. Don't know your carb setup, but with an 850 and a 'lil tuning you could be looking at that 12.40. :3gears:
Well, I'm currently running an 850 annular barry grant carb and I was manually shifting it at 5500 from 1-2 and coming through the traps in 2nd around 5700. I know I need to richen up the carb, as my a/f ratio is around 13.5-8:1 I agree with the gearing though. I'm thinking 3.42's, since the car does see the highway and 3.73's would likely make me miss cruising at 75 at 2500 rpm too much.
Jon, there aren't many who could pull those numbers out of a peg-leg rear. Looking forward to what's next. Devon
cool! You should come out to Byron and race with the GS club this Sunday (July 11). We will be there all day.
Thanks for all of the kudos. I appreciate the invite Bill. I'll do my best to make it out to Byron. Haha, I guess that dyno session in '08 wasn't all that useful. I figured my gear and that tire warp at about 165 mph played into the readings. It's definitely making a whole lot more than 307 rwhp, lol.
Local guy runs 12.55 consistantly with his full interior 69 skylark. His MPH is 106 highest i saw. I think he has tall gears though 3.73? Launches with one wheel dangling. You have some serious power there, just need a suspension setup and a good shiftkit. A freind of mine built a 468 olds recently, that car also traps at similar MPH your getting. I realize its and olds but these BOP engines behave similarly. The dyno pull to 5000 rpm suggested 365hp and 550 ft lbs to the wheels. Set up that suspension right and i beleive you can run a low 12 second pass. Quick car, nice work.
Hi folks, Just wondering about the theoretical total top speed of his car with his current gear--145 m.p.h? Ranger Aiken, SC
