BUILD THREAD Street/Strip Cutlass Build: Race it, break it, fix it, repeat.

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Kwik_Cutty88

Royal Smart Person
Nov 22, 2011
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I know your probably talking about your present combo but as I said earlier a cam would surprise you there is a lot left.

I agree. I'm sure a cam/head change would go a long way with this engine. I'm more interested in a possible cam change a small shot of nitrous later on. But for now, just lighter wheels/tires, battery in the trunk, line lock, and a AFR gauge for carburetor tuning.
 

lilbowtie

Comic Book Super Hero
Jan 7, 2006
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Bracketchevy 1221 brought up consistency, I'd like to share the bad beat we took last time out. We took the truck to the fall shot-out at Dragway 42 Sept 13 thru the 16th. 4 days of racing w/ a Gamblers race Sat night (5 races). The truck always runs on it's number - and my son was .001 to .012 the whole weekend. He had one flyer @ .028 and won that race. We never made it past the second round in any race.

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The race below we lost by .0002

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Kwik_Cutty88

Royal Smart Person
Nov 22, 2011
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That is incredible. There are times where I get the itch to try some bracket racing, and then I realize I'd be quickly shot down lol. But hey, if you never try you can't learn right?

I need to do more research on launching also. I'm interested in how I can improve on the way my car leaves, with the current setup I have. Or minor changes like shocks, sway bars, etc.
 

paul.m

Master Mechanic
Oct 20, 2018
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Thats a darn nice car you have there young man ! And your doing some nice upgrades . I like the stance ! I have 235 60 15 on 15 x 8 rims in front of my 79 malibu and they scrub on hard bumps and tight turns , although i have heard some guys on here say they didnt have that problem
 

bracketchev1221

Royal Smart Person
Jan 18, 2018
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That is incredible. There are times where I get the itch to try some bracket racing, and then I realize I'd be quickly shot down lol. But hey, if you never try you can't learn right?

I need to do more research on launching also. I'm interested in how I can improve on the way my car leaves, with the current setup I have. Or minor changes like shocks, sway bars, etc.

You got to start somewhere, go out and try bracket racing. It's stories like the above that make it interesting. I've lost as many races as I won just like that. And others, well I put myself out. I was in the lanes getting ready to run a 7.40 dragster that beat me once before by .0005. So I said I am going after him. Well, short story, I took .005 out of the delay box and proceeded to go -.005 red.

As far as launching the car at the HP level you have, you should be able to make some fairly inexpensive changes to see gains in 60'. I was able to get my Chevelle into the 1.40's with comp engineering 3 way front and rear shocks, moroso trick springs and the stock rear sway bar.
 

lilbowtie

Comic Book Super Hero
Jan 7, 2006
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There are times where I get the itch to try some bracket racing, and then I realize I'd be quickly shot down lol. But hey, if you never try you can't learn right?


By all means go for it - I thought you have been bracket racing. You will have a lot more fun when the playing field gets equaled. You can't judge the race we went to because when you throw that kind of money out there you get the best of the best. We ran into the wrong people at the wrong time. It really wasn't our day when when your worst package is .018 (.034 for the .028 bulb) and you can't advance. You have already tested and learned a lot - at your power level the recommendation I would make is you do everything the same, same, same, same - launch RPM - tire pressure - engine temp - trans temp - how you stag - burn out - fuel on board - shift points, you get the idea. You don't need your quickest 60ft or ET, just consistent. You also need to monitor and track the weather(keep a log) and track the wind, your driving a brick. I'm sure you have seen the changes that makes. The day you made all those passes you were hot lapping according to your time tickets which isn't good for consistency. That being said you should be able to put your 60,s on top of each other (launch RPM and stag critical) . Get into a bracket race at your local track, it will be fun.
 
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Kwik_Cutty88

Royal Smart Person
Nov 22, 2011
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Coastal North Carolina
You also need to monitor and track the weather(keep a log) and track the wind, your driving a brick. I'm sure you have seen the changes that makes.

Funny you mention that, I started entering all my time slips and other data into excel a few weeks ago. I need to keep track of wind speed though. I tried to plot some of my data (scatter plot, with a line of best fit) but the graphs weren't meaningful. There is either not enough data points to make a correlation, or there may be just no correlation at all. I attached a copy in PDF format if you're curious (you may have to zoom in a bit to read it).
 

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Kwik_Cutty88

Royal Smart Person
Nov 22, 2011
1,173
662
113
Coastal North Carolina
Thats a darn nice car you have there young man ! And your doing some nice upgrades . I like the stance ! I have 235 60 15 on 15 x 8 rims in front of my 79 malibu and they scrub on hard bumps and tight turns , although i have heard some guys on here say they didnt have that problem

Thanks! I actually have a set of 15x8's that I plan on refinishing for the street. I have run a 15x7 with a 235/60/15 in the front. No rubbing issues. The 8" might be a different story depending on your backspacing and ride height.
 

Kwik_Cutty88

Royal Smart Person
Nov 22, 2011
1,173
662
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Coastal North Carolina
I have been looking for a used set of lightweight wheels for the front for a while. I couldn’t find anything decent in my price range. I finally bit the bullet and just did a set of Jeg’s wheels for now. These are 15x4. I’m hoping to shave 40-50 pounds off the front with these. My current street front wheel setup weighs 50lbs each! Now I just need to find a set of 26x4.5 bias ply front runners.
 

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