# Back in action ! NHRA



## mmcmdl (Feb 20, 2022)

Just have to love these machines .


----------



## mmcmdl (Feb 20, 2022)

Think you had a bad day ?  Bet this costs more than a carbide end mill when we FU .


----------



## matthewsx (Feb 20, 2022)

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!!!!


----------



## NCjeeper (Feb 20, 2022)

I went to the Zmax drag strip in Charlotte a couple of times when I was living there. So different than Nascar. The drag teams are friendly, and you can wonder the pits and talk with them. I really enjoyed it.


----------



## woodchucker (Feb 20, 2022)

I prefer Formula and Nascar. Even though I used to bring my car to the drag strip, I prefer turning.  I like that Nascar has added road racing tracks. Better than just going in ovals.


----------



## Janderso (Feb 20, 2022)

mmcmdl said:


> Think you had a bad day ?  Bet this costs more than a carbide end mill when we FU .


Will Statefarm pay for the damage?


----------



## Janderso (Feb 20, 2022)

mmcmdl said:


> Just have to love these machines .


Dave,
What/How has the technology changed in the top fuel funny car industry in the past 20 years?
The first time I experienced a top fuel event was in Fremont, CA back in 1973.
My friends and I were sitting in the stands, we had been watching all the races and then all of a sudden a very loud rocket went by.
"Did you see that?" Grinning from ear to ear, I had to remind myself to close my mouth and breathe.
HOLY Sheeeeit!!!!


----------



## pdentrem (Feb 20, 2022)

The power out of those engines is totally awesome! Estimated at over 10000hp. With all that nitromethane if the plug doesn’t fire, the engine will hydraulic. Note how the 1000 foot run has speeds surpassing the old 1/4 mile times.


----------



## Janderso (Feb 21, 2022)

10,000 HP from a piston engine.
I wonder what henry Ford would have thought about it??


----------



## mmcmdl (Feb 21, 2022)

11,000 HP on Hemi blocks . Wonder if I could shoe horn one onto a Cub Cadet ? 



__ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/401594491744625887/

I shouldn't have asked .


----------



## pdentrem (Feb 21, 2022)

Snow? What snow?


----------



## woodchucker (Feb 21, 2022)

pdentrem said:


> Snow? What snow?
> View attachment 397522


Oh cool, I would love to see that throw snow... maybe 1/2 a football field????


----------



## matthewsx (Feb 21, 2022)

Janderso said:


> Dave,
> What/How has the technology changed in the top fuel funny car industry in the past 20 years?
> The first time I experienced a top fuel event was in Fremont, CA back in 1973.
> My friends and I were sitting in the stands, we had been watching all the races and then all of a sudden a very loud rocket went by.
> ...


I watched drags at Fremont around the same time frame, maybe a little later. Those were good times, also raced my kart on the dirt oval there around 78 or 79.

John


----------



## pdentrem (Feb 21, 2022)

Here is a BB doing its thing.


----------



## Charles scozzari (Mar 27, 2022)

woodchucker said:


> I prefer Formula and Nascar. Even though I used to bring my car to the drag strip, I prefer turning.  I like that Nascar has added road racing tracks. Better than just going in ovals.


Just found this, what track did you go to and with what car.    times???????


----------



## woodchucker (Mar 27, 2022)

Charles scozzari said:


> Just found this, what track did you go to and with what car.    times???????


I grew up in Long Island, National Speedway if I remember the name correctly, If I remember it was 11s nothing earth shattering. The car was built for road racing. A 67 Camaro SS..
350, I don't know what tranny I had at the time, I had 7 different tranny's in there before my dad said to me , why don't you build a tranny for racing.  I had M21, 22, Borg Warner Super T10... Hurst, Schneider,  Edelbrock, Holley , traction bars, then converted to ... I forget to control the wheel hop...

I had a machine shop out on LI do my block and heads. My cam had been eaten up on one side of the lobes, so they filled and rebored the lifters straight. Apparently our great Made in America manufactures produced SH*t back in the day that everyone thought they were so great.. I had sticker shock by the bill.. but working since I was 13 helped pay the bills.... I had a roller cam, the machine shop made some recommendations that differed from what I planned, and I followed their lead mostly.

I am trying to remember the name of the road course in LI, out by the hamptons that I used to drive out to for road racing... damn memory, when I need something I can't recall, when I don't need it , it comes up. 

edit: Bridgehampton Raceway... damn.. I remembered the Hamptons, but could not remember it


----------



## mmcmdl (Mar 27, 2022)

The farthest we used to go was Englishtown and Atco . Now , we hit Maple Grove when we can , getting old sucks .


----------



## Charles scozzari (Mar 27, 2022)

mmcmdl said:


> The farthest we used to go was Englishtown and Atco . Now , we hit Maple Grove when we can , getting old sucks .





woodchucker said:


> I grew up in Long Island, National Speedway if I remember the name correctly, If I remember it was 11s nothing earth shattering. The car was built for road racing. A 67 Camaro SS..
> 350, I don't know what tranny I had at the time, I had 7 different tranny's in there before my dad said to me , why don't you build a tranny for racing.  I had M21, 22, Borg Warner Super T10... Hurst, Schneider,  Edelbrock, Holley , traction bars, then converted to ... I forget to control the wheel hop...
> 
> I had a machine shop out on LI do my block and heads. My cam had been eaten up on one side of the lobes, so they filled and rebored the lifters straight. Apparently our great Made in America manufactures produced SH*t back in the day that everyone thought they were so great.. I had sticker shock by the bill.. but working since I was 13 helped pay the bills.... I had a roller cam, the machine shop made some recommendations that differed from what I planned, and I followed their lead mostly.
> ...


Your Camaro ran very well. In that time frame 11s and low 12s were the numbers we chased, most cars then were in the 13s 14s. I think with shops other then Mc Betts, Jack Merkel, S&S, Vinny at Vitar Trans and some others the work was hit and miss then, Wonder if the track in the Hamptons you raced at was the old West Hampton raceway. As a kid we ran there. New York National (ran 4 cars at once) and Englishtown are all gone. A lifelong friend of mine Bobby DiMino owns and runs Nemidia raceway in Catawissa Pa. for the last 15-16 years, thats where guys go now, But it's a 3 to 4 hour trip from here so its an overnight deal. It's a different world now, we came up in a great time.


----------



## Charles scozzari (Mar 27, 2022)

mmcmdl said:


> The farthest we used to go was Englishtown and Atco . Now , we hit Maple Grove when we can , getting old sucks .





mmcmdl said:


> The farthest we used to go was Englishtown and Atco . Now , we hit Maple Grove when we can , getting old sucks .


Have you ran at Nemedia pa.  ????


----------



## alloy (Mar 27, 2022)

Back in the day when i was 18 I had a 69 chevelle ss396 4 spd. Was in the low twelve in the quarter.  If I didn't break I usually won.

I had a sticker on the back of my car trailer. It said "NHRA has determined that drags racing is contiguous and can be habit forming "

They were right.  I'm building a nova and I could have stuck with the 10 bolt rear but went with a Ford 9", yukon posi, and a set of lakewood slapper bars, along with a drive shaft safely loop.  Riverdale raceway is just two miles from me. 

After 46 years the "addiction " still pulls at me.

Thankfully my wife doesn't know why the Ford rear, and what the slapper bars do, or the safely loop.  She would probably have a cow if she did. She found out on her own what horsepower the ls3 has.


----------



## Cadillac (Mar 27, 2022)

I don’t know what they were doing back in the day but you can go buy a 10sec 1/4 mile car from the dealer and have the AC on. All for 100k


----------



## Charles scozzari (Mar 27, 2022)

396/375  M21 12 bolt I would think. In that time (1970) I ran the same drive train in a store bought black SS Nova. Then went down to a other high performance Chevy dealer and bought an over the counter LS6 short block new 291 heads 2nd design L88 cam 850 com Holley slapper bars and  and 488 gear. to run low 11s. those were great times. Everyone had what we call Muscle Cars now as daily drivers. The new LS series motors are  incredible, you plug them in and go 10/11s quietly with the air on at 3600 lbs. Your Nova Will run great with a LS3 in it. And yes, it certainly is habit forming. Enjoy your new build.


----------



## alloy (Mar 27, 2022)

Thanks.  Very soon I'll get to see what it will do.  I need to finished putting the passenger seat in, get the steering wheel on, put the trunk lid back on and take it around the block.  I'm waiting for Grundy to come through with insurance even before I attempt the first drive.  I'm a little cocerned about the hydro boost.  The pedal returns very slowly after the pedal is depressed.

After I drive around the block a few times then I have to get the front end aligned. For now I used a tape measure to try and get the toe set as close as I can.  Then I need to take it and get the tail pipes fitted and welded on.


----------



## Charles scozzari (Mar 28, 2022)

I have a hydro boost in my 1990 sq. body 3500 chevy crew and it took a while to get use to the spongy pedal reaction Thats an interesting swap. I know my sons 1983 Riv. convertible uses that system, but I have never seen that system swapped into other cars. I've been out of the loop to long.


----------



## alloy (Mar 28, 2022)

A lot of people use the hydro boost now.  I used it because the stock vacuum booster didn't clear the valve covers on the LS engine.  It was relatively  inexpensive but a ton of work.  Getting the brake push rod to line up with the boost unit was a real challenge.  I did however learn how to make up braided hoses fairly quickly.  I'd always struggled with them, but bought a KOOL TOOL installation tool and that made all the difference.


----------



## Charles scozzari (Mar 28, 2022)

alloy said:


> A lot of people use the hydro boost now.  I used it because the stock vacuum booster didn't clear the valve covers on the LS engine.  It was relatively  inexpensive but a ton of work.  Getting the brake push rod to line up with the boost unit was a real challenge.  I did however learn how to make up braided hoses fairly quickly.  I'd always struggled with them, but bought a KOOL TOOL installation tool and that made all the difference.


Wow, I thought maybe for clearance for the covers, Are custom headers needed ?. I see electric power steering is another upgrade. What year Nova. Thanks for bringing me up to date with the latest trend.


----------



## alloy (Mar 28, 2022)

Yes I've been through 4 sets of headers.  There was a set of hedmans with the car.  (The PO attempted to put a 6.0 LS in it.  He failed miserably)

Then I tried a set from speed engineering.  Biggest pieces of junk I've ever seen.  Then a set of stainless headers that hung 4" below the sub frame.  Then my final set (and most expensive  by far is a set of coated hooker blackhearts.  They fit pretty well but you have to use their engine mounts for clearance. The mounts are way overpriced and didn't fit. The frame adapter plates were way off on both sides.  I ending up making a new set of plates to correct all this. 

Most things I buy don't fit and have to be modified or re made, but that's the fun of it right?  Gives me something to do and complain about


----------



## Charles scozzari (Mar 28, 2022)

Hooker always seemed to need the least tweaking to work. After the first hole shot you'll forget all the trouble you had.


----------



## mmcmdl (May 2, 2022)

Watched the Nats down in Carolina yesterday , just can't get used to the 4 track set up deal . Rather see the head to head competition . Coming north to Richmond Va. in 2 weeks though , hope the weather stays cool .   Neighbor is running in both of these in SC dragster .


----------



## Charles scozzari (May 2, 2022)

I think the weather will be good. I have a lifelong friend who with his sons own Numidia Raceway in Catawissa Pa., was at a communion with them yesterday, I'm going out there the end May. Spent a lot of time their in the past, but just can't do the drive much anymore. I totally agree with you about running four lane racing. New York National ran four lane years ago, too much room for error, I hated it. Have you been there?.


----------



## snoopdog (May 2, 2022)

OMG, this post has done soo much good for my personal wellbeing. I thought I was the only dinosaur left, THAT even knew what a second design L-88 cam was. Remember grinding every other tooth off the sliders on the super T10 to speedshift, also remember changing 3 in the pits, in one day, just to make it to eliminations! Good days.


----------



## Charles scozzari (May 2, 2022)

snoopdog said:


> OMG, this post has done soo much good for my personal wellbeing. I thought I was the only dinosaur left, THAT even knew what a second design L-88 cam was. Remember grinding every other tooth off the sliders on the super T10 to speedshift, also remember changing 3 in the pits, in one day, just to make it to eliminations! Good days.


And run that ST10 On ford auto trans fluid, take the spare tire and rear seat out for at least a 1/2 second??????


----------



## snoopdog (May 3, 2022)

Charles scozzari said:


> And run that ST10 On ford auto trans fluid, take the spare tire and rear seat out for at least a 1/2 second??????


Dont remember on the fluid, probably straight 40valvline racing oil, no back seat or spare on that car. Seems like the Lenco ran atf, but my memory isnt what it was.


----------



## Charles scozzari (May 3, 2022)

I know, seems CRS is getting worse for me. Those pictures are great, love the Camaro shot. Thank's for posting them. Stay well.


----------



## snoopdog (May 3, 2022)

Charles scozzari said:


> I know, seems CRS is getting worse for me. Those pictures are great, love the Camaro shot. Thank's for posting them. Stay well.


At the time the picture was taken, of the camaro, it had a Nash in it, cured all tranny trouble.


----------



## Charles scozzari (May 3, 2022)

Excellent trans. for your Camaro or any stick car. Around that time after a few M21s (69/70s) tried a clutch turbo that didn't work out to well and then went to 400 turbo's. with better results all around. That said, I still love my 4sp's. still drive my 1975 H.O. 455. Trans Am, It's a dog. The HO only ment it's a 4sp 455. but I love driving it. It has a t10. Some early 75s. did have muncies, later ones had t10s.


----------



## mmcmdl (May 4, 2022)

https://m.facebook.com/kellykundraticracing/?ref=page_internal
		


I knew Jeff's daughter Kelly was getting into the nitro cars soon , but I was not aware of how fast she was doing it . She's climbing up the ladder pretty quickly . They live directly across the street . A racing family for years , Jeff sells oil at all the races and runs a few SC dragsters , Cathy runs a powdercoat business in which they own , and now it seems Kelly will be running Top Alcohol very soon .   And it takes me 4 days to change my F-250 rotors . 

FWIW , Jeff was my neighbor selling out his shop . I told him once he decided on what , where , when , and how much , I would list the stuff on the Craigslist , Marketplace thread .


----------



## slow-poke (May 6, 2022)

10s street car, I picked this one up in 1978 for $2k. The Z06 vettes are a long way behind me at the end of the 1320


----------



## mmcmdl (May 6, 2022)

I spotted that months ago on here !   Great looking Mustang .


----------



## Charles scozzari (May 6, 2022)

slow-poke said:


> 10s street car, I picked this one up in 1978 for $2k. The Z06 vettes are a long way behind me at the end of the 1320


You were fortunate to find this beauty when it was fairly new. Real nice car, and fast.


----------



## Charles scozzari (May 6, 2022)

mmcmdl said:


> I spotted that months ago on here !   Great looking Mustang .


Thank's for posting. Best looking fastback Mustang ever.


----------



## mmcmdl (May 24, 2022)

https://m.facebook.com/kellykundraticracing/?ref=page_internal

Heard Kelly passed her course and now can run T/A dragsters ! Congrats to her . 

Running for Garlits I heard , not sure .


----------



## Charles scozzari (May 24, 2022)

Thats quite an achievement, T/A dragsters.  WOW.  Low low 5s,   congratulations.


----------



## pdentrem (Sep 5, 2022)

John Force racing team set a new Top Fuel record. Brittany 337.75 mph 3.640 seconds 1000 foot run! Make me wonder what the last 320 feet would have yielded! What was the max g load!


----------

