A Body LARGE bolt pattern rear brakes
John; there are no dumb questions; I appreciate your interest.
Those tires are B.F. Goodrich T/A Drag Radials, 26"-tall and 8" wide. It was the biggest tire I could fit in there without mini-tubbing it, or raising the car excessively. They don't hit anywhere, but they're really close on the inner fender panel.
You're 100-percent keyrect on scoping out the lug nut situation. I'll do that forthwith!
Insofar as axles go, I used to have a '64 Valiant with a mid-12-second 340 motor. It was a 4-speed car. I ran a 2.49:1-geared cast iron (A-333?) stock ratio '71 Duster 4-speed with a 3,000-pound Hayes pressure plate that had the counterweights cut off for a clean release at 6 grand. It worked like a charm, and I could power shift that thing unerringly, and did, for about 3 or 4 years. It was a piece of cake.... not slick-shifted, but nevertheless, was really easy to shift. I had put a coulple of longitudinal braces on the firewall to keep it from moving under the stress of that clutch, which took a pretty healthy amount of foot pressure to release all the way.
I ran some soft-compound (I think they were #140) M & H Stock Eliminator 7" slicks (that's how long ago it was; Stockers had to run 7" tires!) that were 29" tall, and I had a 4.56 Sure Grip (489 case) and some slapper bars, which worked great on the concrete where I usualy ran (commonly known as I-35).
I left at 4,000 rpm and it would only spin about 4 or 5 feet... probably was 60-footing somewhere in the low-1.7's....
Ran that car a LOT (maybe 50-75 times) of times like that, and the stock axles never complained. In fact, I have't seen a stock 8.75" axle break, but I know they do.... I just haven't been there for it.
This automatic car with 8"-wide tires has a fairly tight converter, and the stock 2.45 1st gear (it's not a 999.) I have a 4.10 Sure Grip final drive for it (3.55 in it right now), but I am wondering if the stock axles might not be okay, since that other set took such abuse (ALL of my racing was on brushed concrete, with much better slicks than I have now), and the "sidestep-the-clutch" driving technique I used with that ol' '64 Valiant never seemed to damage anything. This car is only about 200 pounds heavier, with a 2,500-rpm stall-speed 318 converter. If they VHT the track really well, it wouldn't slip a tire without the blower, the last time I ran it. Haven't run it blown, yet; that could change... My 60-foots were 1.91, unblown. Lookin' to improve to maybe high 1.60s-low 1.70s with the Vortech.... We'll see....
I'm on a "fixed income", and it's not "fixed" all that well; I have a spare set of stock axles that I bought out of a Pick-and-Pull, and will take them with me when I race. I think I just might get away with this, all things considered; what do you think, John? I'll be interested to see what you think about this problem.
Bill, in Conway, Arkansas
John; there are no dumb questions; I appreciate your interest.
Those tires are B.F. Goodrich T/A Drag Radials, 26"-tall and 8" wide. It was the biggest tire I could fit in there without mini-tubbing it, or raising the car excessively. They don't hit anywhere, but they're really close on the inner fender panel.
You're 100-percent keyrect on scoping out the lug nut situation. I'll do that forthwith!
Insofar as axles go, I used to have a '64 Valiant with a mid-12-second 340 motor. It was a 4-speed car. I ran a 2.49:1-geared cast iron (A-333?) stock ratio '71 Duster 4-speed with a 3,000-pound Hayes pressure plate that had the counterweights cut off for a clean release at 6 grand. It worked like a charm, and I could power shift that thing unerringly, and did, for about 3 or 4 years. It was a piece of cake.... not slick-shifted, but nevertheless, was really easy to shift. I had put a coulple of longitudinal braces on the firewall to keep it from moving under the stress of that clutch, which took a pretty healthy amount of foot pressure to release all the way.
I ran some soft-compound (I think they were #140) M & H Stock Eliminator 7" slicks (that's how long ago it was; Stockers had to run 7" tires!) that were 29" tall, and I had a 4.56 Sure Grip (489 case) and some slapper bars, which worked great on the concrete where I usualy ran (commonly known as I-35).
I left at 4,000 rpm and it would only spin about 4 or 5 feet... probably was 60-footing somewhere in the low-1.7's....
Ran that car a LOT (maybe 50-75 times) of times like that, and the stock axles never complained. In fact, I have't seen a stock 8.75" axle break, but I know they do.... I just haven't been there for it.
This automatic car with 8"-wide tires has a fairly tight converter, and the stock 2.45 1st gear (it's not a 999.) I have a 4.10 Sure Grip final drive for it (3.55 in it right now), but I am wondering if the stock axles might not be okay, since that other set took such abuse (ALL of my racing was on brushed concrete, with much better slicks than I have now), and the "sidestep-the-clutch" driving technique I used with that ol' '64 Valiant never seemed to damage anything. This car is only about 200 pounds heavier, with a 2,500-rpm stall-speed 318 converter. If they VHT the track really well, it wouldn't slip a tire without the blower, the last time I ran it. Haven't run it blown, yet; that could change... My 60-foots were 1.91, unblown. Lookin' to improve to maybe high 1.60s-low 1.70s with the Vortech.... We'll see....
I'm on a "fixed income", and it's not "fixed" all that well; I have a spare set of stock axles that I bought out of a Pick-and-Pull, and will take them with me when I race. I think I just might get away with this, all things considered; what do you think, John? I'll be interested to see what you think about this problem.
Bill, in Conway, Arkansas