tell us your WORST ET

[khan0165]

Alrighty,
here's to all you Street-Machine, Strip-Machine, and All-Out-Race-Machine, owners...
We always hear about our best ET and mph runs, but never about the bad ones.

WHAT's THE WORST ET/MPH YOUR MEAN-MACHINE HAS RUN?
- be honest
- excuses are welcome (don't be afraid to get creative... like "there was a circus in town, and an elephant ran on the track and got in my way")
- also tell us your best ET/MPH from the same car, on the same tune

My 83 GP with 350sbc has run a worst of 15.0sec @ 99mph, flat out... Best of 12.9sec @ 108mph (on slicks), and 13.5 @ 102mph (no slicks). In all fairness, I suck, and normally can't muster much quicker than 13.5sec at the track I go to, even on slicks.

 

[RITTER]

In my '89 Firebird Formula 305 TBI 700R4, my first run at US 131 dragstrip in MI, I went 16.5 with like a 2.1 RT at like 87 mph

My very next run I loaded up the throttle while holding the brake at the line and still had like a 1.4 second RT and had a 15.9 ET at 89 mph

That is the only car I have taken down a dragstrip

 

[FE3X CLONE]

My '87 with 455, TH-2004R and 3.73 gears ran a 15.9@89mph its first time out.
I got beat by a freaking Volkswagen BUG!!! :evil:

But in my defense...

1) It was my first engine build/swap ever. So the engine was actually pretty stock even though I thought I souped it up a bit. I listened to too many people about how easy it is to over cam an engine and ended up going too small. Did nothing to the heads and found out later they were the worst stock heads Olds produced for the big blocks. 🙁

2) Was using stock exhaust manifolds in the 442 style cat-back exhaust system. Super restrictive.

3) TH-2004R had been rebuilt about 4 years prior but I didn't beef it up for the 455. It started slipping 3 days after I swapped the 455 in. It lasted an entire year doing all kinds of crazy, jerky things until I was fed up at the drag strip trying to beat a Mustang and finally took out second gear for the most part.

4) I had a stock, non-rebuilt Q-jet with no tuning.


Over the years I replaced the trans, changed intakes, carbs and exhaust and manged to get it down to a best of a 13.9@99mph.
Heck, to show how restrictive the exhaust was one day at the track I ran a 14.7 and about halfway down the track the exhaust popped loose from where the catalytic converter used to be. My next pass I just left it as is and ran a 14.2! LOL

Oh, I have another one. Not my car but my brother's '81 Cutlass Supreme. Stock 260 Olds engine, TH-350C trans and 2.29 gears. He ran 3, count them 3 passes and each one of them were the exact same time! 20.5@65mph. LOL
I always told him if he wanted to make some money to just leave it as-is and bracket race the thing.
We swapped in a 403 which was my second engine build and he ran a 13.2@102mph.

So my current 455 is my third built and I'm hoping to touch the 11's!

Moral of the story...don't give up. The more you build, the more you learn and the faster you go!

 

[DrRansom442]

right now, I'm not sure if I could push the 81 down a 1/4 without stopping .... imagine THAT E.T.

 

[khan0165]

In my '89 Firebird Formula 305 TBI 700R4, my first run at US 131 dragstrip in MI, I went 16.5 with like a 2.1 RT at like 87 mph

My very next run I loaded up the throttle while holding the brake at the line and still had like a 1.4 second RT and had a 15.9 ET at 89 mph

That is the only car I have taken down a dragstrip

my first car was a beater 78 Camaro, with a 4bbl 305... I never raced it (I was afraid of the brakes), but I think it would have run a 18sec at 82mph.

my next car was a 83 Camaro, with a 4bbl 350... I never raced it (bad brakes again), but I think it would have run a similar time to your 89 Firebird.

my 83 GP is really the only car I've done any racing with, so I'm very NOVICE... Maybe now that I'm out of school, I'll be able to build me something even quicker once I get settled and save some money

 

[RITTER]

If I can get a decent running carburetor on my Regal and get her tuned in real good, I will take her up to the Mooresville Dragstrip this summer and run her in the 1/8 mile

 

[patmckinneyracing]

The only car I've taken down the strip thus far was my 80 malibu. I was running pretty much the same setup I am now with a edelbrock performer, summit .442/.460 cam, 202/160 iron heads, TH350 with 2000 stall, and 7.5 3.73 posi gears. Problem was I was testing out a Holley Projection TBI setup and did not read the fine print stating "For stock applications only". I ran a 14.7 @ 92mph my first pass in my life with a .7 RT. The second pass I pulled a 14.5 @95mph with a .5 RT. The worst part about that whole day was the coordinator on the track bitched about my burnouts. First time he said I did not burn enough, then second time he said I burned too much. I kept telling him I was running street tires but he kept telling me to go into the water trap. Another stupid thing was he kept telling me to put my helmet on when my car wasn't running fast enough for me to have to wear one. But I did it anyway.

The engine is designed primarily for good torque response and I swapped back to a 600 eddy carb and she dances real good now. Makes good power but is at 4000rpm at 70mph. That is why I'm swapping over to a 700r4 trans so I have plenty more rpm to make power and not be revving the crap out of my motor at the end of the track.

 

[khan0165]

So my current 455 is my third built and I'm hoping to touch the 11's!

Moral of the story...don't give up. The more you build, the more you learn and the faster you go!

I've been following your build thread, and I think you'll be close to the 11s for sure. You've got quite the car there!

Some of the Buick guys here are running 12.5sec on 4spds behind their heavy mod'd 455s. Given the awful condition of the track we run at, they usually hit high 11s on good tracks... The 12.9sec my car ran, was at a good track 2hrs out of town.

 

[khan0165]

The second pass I pulled a 14.5 @95mph with a .5 RT.

0.5 is an amazing RT, good man!
my best ever I think was 0.508sec

yep, that 700r4 will be nice... I'm running mine with 3.42 gears. I bet your 3.73s will be bang on for good power/torque delivery in the top end.

 

[patmckinneyracing]

patmckinneyracing wrote:The second pass I pulled a 14.5 @95mph with a .5 RT.



0.5 is an amazing RT, good man!
my best ever I think was 0.508sec

yep, that 700r4 will be nice... I'm running mine with 3.42 gears. I bet your 3.73s will be bang on for good power/torque delivery in the top end.

The second pass I pulled a 14.5 @95mph with a .5 RT.

0.5 is an amazing RT, good man!
my best ever I think was 0.508sec

yep, that 700r4 will be nice... I'm running mine with 3.42 gears. I bet your 3.73s will be bang on for good power/torque delivery in the top end.

My old man was making fun of me cause I stared at him in the stand all the way down the track like an idiot. It was funny cause I was racing his buddy in his 69' Charger RT/SE running a stout 440. He was surprised that my malibu was neck and neck with his charger till about 3/4 of the way down the track and the top end on his 440 would pull ahead of me. He got a 13.5 and I got the 14.5.