Took the Scamp to the track for the first time and...

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Downtime!

Downtime!

Better With A Big Block
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all I can say is, at least she looked good doing it! Actually, for what she is (low compression 440 with a big cam), she ran right about where I thought she would. After fiddling with the Demon carb (don't get me started), we managed to get her down to mid 13's @ 99. D/A was good for Thompson for this time of the year (right at 1000 at race time) and the crew prepped a good track, so I can't blame it on anything but a fair amount of gear (3.89's), and not much power (calculator says right at 250). Still, it was a hell of a lot of fun, and it gave me a good baseline to work from. Trailering the car from Texas to Ohio was actually kind of fun too. Truck got 15-16 mpg the whole way, with a 16' open trailer and the Scamp in tow. Not bad for a 1/2 ton Ford with a gas engine.

Anywho, here's a couple of pics just for fun -

bb8_001.jpg


bb8_002.jpg
 
Thanks y'all!

We rent Thompson Raceway every year for a track day for our forum members. It's a great track with a cool history and the people there take really good care of us. It's our 8th year doing it (we call it the Buckeye Brawl) and our 6th year at TRP (used Norwalk previously, but when they got "Summitized" they quit returning our phone calls for renewal).
 
There is a cood rule of thumb with putting a car on the track. they always weigh more, cost more, and go slower than you expect them too...
 
Sharp Scamp! Mid 13's is a good start, or fine if that's all you care to run. I drove my Cuda with the old 360 that ran 13.60 for about 4 yrs. Had a lot of fun.
 
It's not too bad, but my Stang ran a best of 10.19 and I'd kind of like this one to be a little faster than that. Nothing a little time and money won't fix though!
 
Wow, I haven't been to TDR since racing a Mustang from 1995 to 2000!

Very pretty Scamp ya got there, I see 12's in it's future, or lower :)
 

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Love your Scamp Downtime! As my signature says..."Be safe, have fun". That's really what it's about.

Not knowing your combo, you do have about the perfect gear, even though it's a 9" :banghead:. Just kidding :poke:. I think that 99mph can definitely be tuned up without spending on any major changes/components. Enjoy your track time, and keep us informed on your progress. :thumleft:
 
Thanks y'all!

The combo is pretty simple. '78 440, stock rebuild, supposed light head work done, MP .484 cam, RPM intake, Speed Demon 750 carb and Schumacher headers. 3000 rpm stall in the 727 and 3.89's in the 9".

A good bump in compression will help quite a bit. Looking into new pistons to go with the Edlebrock heads I already have.
 
Where you hooking. Seems to me like that combo has a lot of potential...I'm not real familiar with that cam though.
 
Car dead hooked, couldn't get up on the convertor as much as I'd liked to though. 2300-2500 was about it. Track prep was good, we had full prep out to the 330, had 20 cars running all day. They redid the prep a couple of times for us and sprayed the pad when needed. I may have left a couple of tenths on the table, but it was my first time down the track in an automatic equipped car too.
 
Nice ET for the MPH. How'd it 60'? Around 1.90 ?

Tuning may show some improvements, likely ignition timing changes and jetting. When you go to have fun and not necessarily getting dirty, the et can stay where it is! :)

That engine is a perfect candidate for winding the cam way ahead. I've installed the 108 LSA 484's in smog motors at 98-100 before to get the dynamic compression up. Makes a big difference in low end power/tq/response.

Great looking car and nothing broke... that's always a good day!
 
I think you have a very nice combo as far as the bolt on parts. I do wonder about how efficient the converter is though? Tire diameter & rpm thru the lights may tell some information in that regard.

As you mentioned compression, it's always a possibility that you have one of the production engines with the pistons pretty deep in the hole? Add a fairly thick head gasket, and the cam duration with the .484, and it could be fairly deep in the 7's. The plus side is you can crank a ton of ign. timing into it and that will help mask that problem.

One other thing to ask is, do you know the weight in race trim with you in it? I ran the 13.5/99 numbers @ 3300lbs and came up with a round figure of 265HP. I know it sounds low by 440 standards, but actually may be a reasonable number considering the other factors.
 
To be fair, I have not even checked the timing yet (timing light died years ago). I'm planning on getting a new light this weekend and checking it.

Have a few parts to install and remove. New radiator and fans (Texas heat is tough on a BB Mopar!) and I need to get the rest of the underdash a/c stuff out of the car.

Did not get a chance to weigh her, but I'm assuming around 3200-3300. Tire diameter is 26" and she was spinning about 5600 through the lights, if I can believe that old tach.
 
The gear, converter, cam and motor should dig deep in the low 12's. The E.T. is low for the mph. It wont take much, and you will know when you find it!! Sure a good looking car! Glad you had fun!
 
Downtime! said:
To be fair, I have not even checked the timing yet (timing light died years ago). I'm planning on getting a new light this weekend and checking it.

Have a few parts to install and remove. New radiator and fans (Texas heat is tough on a BB Mopar!) and I need to get the rest of the underdash a/c stuff out of the car.

Did not get a chance to weigh her, but I'm assuming around 3200-3300. Tire diameter is 26" and she was spinning about 5600 through the lights, if I can believe that old tach.
Click to expand...

Cracked back,is referring to cam timing. Running the M/P Purple shafts advanced, in low comp.engines pumps up the cyl.pressure& torque....
 
Downtime! said:
Tire diameter is 26" and she was spinning about 5600 through the lights, if I can believe that old tach.
Click to expand...

Since I brought up the converter, those numbers look like something in the 10% range of slippage up top to me. Actually not too bad in my opinion.

That 5600 is about as high as that combo will make maximum power, so I agree with the others that timing & jetting can pick things up. Good tuning can build more torque thruout the rpm range, and that alone will get you some more mph & as a result, more rpm upstairs as well.
 
Thanks for all the help and advice. I've been an EFI guy for years now, this is the first carb'd car I've had in a long time. Looks like I need to brush up on those long forgotten skills again! LOL!
 
I have to admit, I have very little experience with running a RB engine in a A body. One thing that came to mind is, are you running a air filter at the track? And if so, how big is it? You're using one of my favorite hoods, but I really don't know what will fit under it.
 
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