Drag Race Cars

[DaveHess]

In the 3rd Gen (No Engine/Trans) forum, I posted pictures of the gauges in my '03. In that thread you can see a large photo of my race car. I would love to see what other TDR members are drag racing, their engine combo, where they race, etc. I'll have to post pictures of mine later as I do not have any right now in digital media.



Dave

 

[DaveHess]

Let's get this party rollin'

View attachment 73875



View attachment 73876

 

[surfbeetle]

#ad


Here's mine at Carlsbad Raceway years ago doing a 14 sec quarter mile.

 

[RHestand]

Dave, Nice looking car.

What eng. /drive-train combo do you run? Also ET & MPH?

I have a lot of pictures of my drag racing days, but unfortunately, I don't know how to post them.

I started drag racing in the early 60's with a 51 Ford bus. cpe. , with a 331" Chrysler hemi, Howard solid lifter cam, 3-twos, 4. 11 locked rear-end, 7" M&H racing slicks. = low 13's @ just over 100MPH. This was also my daily driver, if it wasn't broken.

I raced this car for 2-3 years just outside Phoenix, AZ. Chandler Raceway?

Then there was a several year dry-spell, new house, married, etc.

Then in the 70's I raced a 55 Chev. 210, with a 365HP/ 327" small block, Muncy 4 speed, 4. 11 posi, etc. = Low 12's at about 110 MPH, daily driver. Fremont Dragstrip, Fremont, CA.

Then due to kids, starting my own const. bus, etc. , no more racing untill the early 90's.

My oldest son and I built (with pretty much the same stuff as above), and started bracket racing a really nice 60K orig. mi. , 455" Pont. GTO. = High 11's & 115MPH. This car became too fast to legally race WO a roll-bar and other safety equip. (It was too nice of a car to do that to), so we retired it, and built a 65 El Camino.

This car we built to specs. to legally run down in the 9. 0s with a full roll cage,and all the required safety equipment.

We installed a 502" Chev. big block crate motor, Turbo 400 racing trans. , 4. 10 -12 bolt spool, etc. = 11. 0's at around 125MPH, street legal. Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma, CA.

We had a huge amount of fun racing this car in the NHRA Div. 7 ( CA, AZ, NV, Baja, etc. ) racing series. We raced this car untill the end of the 2000 season.

We were preparing the car for the start of the 2001 season, when suddenly my son and racing partner fell seriously ill with a congenital heart defect, that he was born with. He never recovered and passed away in late Nov. of 01.

I still keep my NHRA competition lic. and racing number current (# C777 ) so just in case, maybe I'll get back into it. I do love the sport.

Who knows, I might even build and race my current 12V. But then again, it's my daily driver.

Ray

PS. Sorry, this post turned out to be longer than first intended.

 

[Simplysmn]

here is a picture of my motor I have to get a smaller pic of whole car so far first time down track I did a 13-56 @99 mph RT stunk motor is a 2332 with 48 IDA's n 9. 9 compression car is good for low 12's even high 11's driver isn't as of yet still street driven on Fri night's

TheSamba.com :: VW Classifieds - Best of both world's street car-drag car are some pictures of car and whats been done to it

 

[DaveHess]

Ray: First off, you have my deepest heartfelt sympathy for the loss of your son. It looks like it has been 8 years for you but I am sure his memory remains in all you do. I would have to add as soon as I read your first couple of lines involving the 331 I was intrigued!



Mine is a 1973 Plymouth Scamp that was a completed "restification" project. It had a 318 2bbl and air but I got tired of people making fun of me at cruises. This car was running somewhere in the 17's at that time. Anyhow, I started stripping it down and building the engine up and finally went all race and bought a 1970 340 out of a wrecked Duster. The engine is in pieces right now but as a 10. 5:1 engine, it ran 11. 504 at 114. 876 at Hallsville, Texas. Moved to ND and went 1/8 mile racing in Minot. The best there was a 7. 501. Then the A727 pump let loose. That was 6 years ago. Right now I've got a new 340 on the stand. Brand new 1977 casting W-2's to handle the valvetrain duties. Mopar Performance 2. 02/1. 60 valves with Diamond Racing springs and Comp Cams Titanium 10 degree keepers and locks. Hedman Huslers will handle the exhaust. I bought an Indy 360-3 intake and put a "warmed" over Holley 750 Double Pumper on top. The cam is a Comp Cam mechanical unit but I have forgotten the specs. The pistions are Ross pices in the 12. 5:1 domed variety and connected to Eagle H-beam rods. The crank is a forged factory piece. I use a Fluidamper on the front and an ATI Treemaster 8" converter resides out back. The Transmission is a Rick Schmidt built A727 with lots of toys inside. No transbrake but a full reverse pattern manual valvebody. The rear end is a Chrysler 8-3/4 with 4. 88 or 5. 30 depending where I race. I use Mopar Performance Super Stock leaf springs and 6-cylinder torsion bars up front. The front shocks are Lakewood 90/10's and the rears are 50/50 long Mopar Performance. The front brakes, master cylinder are Strange Engineering. I am hoping for mid-10's. The interior is gone except for a Jaz racing bucket and Autometer Gauges. The ignition system rides shotgun to me and is an MSD 6AL hooked up to a MSD billet distributor and MSD 8. 5mm wires. A Holley Blue feeds the 750 and a S&W Race Cars 10 point cage keeps me safely inside my Simpson 5-pt harness. I wear a 2 piece firesuit and use a Simpson Voyager helmet. Just got my renewed Comp License today after a 5 year hiatus. I kept for a year after the transmission broke. (H435)

 

[MMeier]

One of my buckets o' bolts !!

'72 Vega, worn out SBC 350/ T350/ 12 bolt with 4. 11's. Runs low to mid 12's depending on weather. Race at LVMS, PHX area tracks, and Fontana, Cali. Will be @ Fontana next Sunday for PSCA. Hope to get out more next year with it! If I get a yob anytime soon, might get a new crate engine for it... like to get into the high 10's to play with some of the faster cars in the classes I run.

 

[Simplysmn]

Nice car you have there Mark

 

[Simplysmn]

here is a wild E ticket ride in a 1100 lb car it's a 2442 with a 780 Demon carb pushing 24lb of boost 380 hp at rear wheel's and it can pull the front tires up in all 4 gear's

 

[MMeier]

Nice car you have there Mark

Thanks Val, come down to Fontana next Sunday and see if i can go some rounds !!:-laf

 

[surfbeetle]

Simplysmn, nice car. I had the same style linkage on my IDAs, it was Deano Dyno Soars. I ended up switching to the Berg Shroud mounted linkage because I was sick of the linkage getting out of adjustment when the engine temps changed. The Berg linkage made it easier to sync the carbs and keep them sinked. Also, my carbs were reversed of the normal setup, my mixture screws faced the fan shroud rather than out toward the wheels, made them easier to get to. And I say again, a very nice car.

 

[DaveHess]

Mark: That is a sweet looking Vega! I'd love to stage up against you (talking a little trash :-laf). I'm shooting for mid-10's. My goal is be able to run S/ST and go to Brainerd for a National event. At least once in my life, I want to be able to say I qualified at a National. I have no illusions of coming home with a Wally.



Surfbeetle and Simplysmn: You guys will have to explain your setup to an old front engine mauler like me. I am very intrigued!

 

[Simplysmn]

Hey Dave you have to look at it like this we use the HP that we have to push just like a frontengine car but we weigh a lot less my car run's right at about 1750 with me in it

(350) lb of that is me but I am not your normal vw driver either to say I drive from the back of the car sum;s it up my engine is a 84mm crank by 94 mm piston= 2332 cc but vw's are air cooled why they are so much fun is power to weight ratio is awesome I have gone up against alot of v8 car's on the street and needless to say when I finish with them there jaw is draggin the ground trying to figure out why they got beat so easy

the worst one's are the big fancy vette driver's that paid 60+ grand for his car and yeah there fast but traction comes into a major factor light weight and good traction and you end up with a Rocket for a car . there are several VW Dragster's that have gone down into the 7 sec range in a 1/4 mile pretty amazing how fast you can get a little air cooled engine to turn . All I can say is if you ever get a chance to go watch a VW drag day or event you will walk away with alot of respect for theses little car's I think thats what keep's the Fun Factor in them .



Val

 

[painekiller]

heres mine. its a 1969 Buck GS California. Buick powered and naturally aspirated best run to date is 10:10 @ 130. I think with a bigger carb. it will dip into the 9's. i race at our local track Thompson Raceway Park in Thompson Ohio. been to Norwalk many times, went for Pinks all out last year and if you watch Pinks all out you will see my car a few times also been to Beechbend in Kentucky, dragway 41 in Indiana, Quaker in Salem Ohio, Cecil dragway in Maryland, National trails in Ohio, Indianapolis raceway and im sure there are some im forgetting.



also included are a couple pics of my pit crew (wife) cleaning the wheels.

 

[surfbeetle]

Dave,

Val's right. Mine had a 1835 cc engine that is 69mm stroke by 92mm pistons. Compression ratio was 12. 5 to 1. Had to run high octane in it and also plumbed in external oil coolers with electric fans to help cool it. Val and I have 48 IDA Weber carbs, one on each side of the engine. Basically one 48mm barrel for each cylinder.



Currently, I am transplanting a 2 liter turbo motor from a subaru into it.

 

[Simplysmn]

Hey surf If I remember right u r not in Cali ? I was going to say if you were I know a shop in Escondido that when it comes to turbo stuff he's 1 of the top guy's he's the one that fixed my motor the right way and didn't screw me over Nice bug by the way

if I don't sell mine it's going EFI turbo

 

[DaveHess]

Hey Val. I already have a lot of respect for you guys. In fact I would call it a healthy respect. I completely understand the Vette spankings you can put on. The pitch rotation with the engine hanging behind the rear tires has got to be near perfect for hard launches. My car is 51/49 weight split front to rear and launches nice. If I apply the same mind set I do to your VW, I'd be worried about the bumper dragging! Is it hard to make the car go straight on a hard launch with the front end being so light?

 

[surfbeetle]

Val, yes, I am in San Diego County. What shop are you thinking of? Dave, yes with a hard launch the front wheels can come up from time to time. I have dragged the exhaust more than once. When doing a hard launch, the bugs tend to squat down very hard and the front gets light.



A friend of mine had a bug that would rev higher than the alternator could handle, when racing at night, the lights would go out just before he would shift, then the car would squat and the exhaust would spark as it hit the asphalt. A pretty funny sight to see.

 

[DaveHess]

Doug, Doug, Doug, Doug, Doug... . Don't take this wrong. But it is a little difficult getting away and staying away from the pictures of your car and "crew". Okay, mostly the "crew" :-laf. Especially the "crew"... ... . You know, please don't be offended by this, but when I was growing up in the '70s (at least in my hometown), there were two things that kept us boys busy, Girls and Cars! Glad to see someone still puts the two together! Tell her nice job on the wheels but I think she missed a spot... Get back to us when they are done right... ... .

 

[DaveHess]

A friend of mine had a bug that would rev higher than the alternator could handle, when racing at night, the lights would go out just before he would shift, then the car would squat and the exhaust would spark as it hit the asphalt. A pretty funny sight to see.

That would be so cool to watch! I love drag racing and I don't care what's doing it. I love watching these 8 year olds running these Juniors. I bought one for my son when he was 8. Won his first race out of the box without a clue what he was doing. Just proves, it's better to be lucky than good. Anyhow, he runner-upped his next two races then told me he didn't want to race anymore. I smiled and told him I understood but it broke my heart. And the bank. That's why my car has sat for the past 5+ years.