Been called out by a crappy BelCamino

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VonCramp

VonCramp

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A guy I know is calling out my street '69 Cuda to run him in the 1/4 mile. His pile of junk is an unsafe bondo'd up 55 Chevy unwittingly converted into a El Camino. I have started lovingly referring to this death trap as the BelCameltoe. It's running fiberglass doors and a fiberglass tilt frontend. Small block 327 with dual quads and cameltoe heads. Open headers. 10" slicks. 4:11 with gears welded. A powerslide trans too.
My car (for those don't already know) is a '69 Cuda 383 four speed fastback. I am running a 340, with pro comp heads and intake and that huge carb they sent with the package deal. 3:91 gears with sure grip. A833 4-speed 18 spline a-body trans. Hooker headers. Orange box, and Mopar Performance dist. We have both ran at the 1/8 mile and run very similar times. The only reason I didn't obliterate him is because 1st and 2nd gear are nothing but tire smoke. My 60' time is a cruel joke (mid 2's) The cool looking Firestone bias ply tires just don't grip. I forgot to mention I am running tiny 2 1/4" exhaust with 3" flowmasters dumped at rearend. I didn't do this exhaust. It is all I had from my previous Barracuda. Now, I know you fellow Mopar lovers don't want me to loose to this rolling 55 orange vomit-nightmare. So, I need some tips to beat him and not disgrace ma' Mopar!
First, what slicks or cheaters slicks (preferred) and size can I use on my 15x7 torque thrust rear wheels to actually get some kind of traction? I have been told that the taller the better for my 3:91's at the track. Second, is it recommended that I remove the exhaust for the track, or is some back pressure good? Is octane booster and advanced timing going to even make a difference? I'm looking for any edge that can help me beat him. Curious as to the junk I am racing against ... Look it up on Instagram under bobbycliett. My ride is under VonCramp.
 
Get you some slicks and go whoop his ***.
 
I was actually shocked the first time I tried slicks! Holly crap! I came out of the burnout box - cought traction, and my head "snapped" back! I slammed on the breaks thinking I was going to launch in to the car in front of me staging? 18 LB's of tire pressure- 1/2 second off my quarter mile time day one. There a double edge though- quick of the line, but sketchy at top speed.
Have fun! !
 
good set of 8-9 inch slicks run your air pressure around 10# and see what she does. should jerk you pretty good when they grab. I ran 9" slicks on my 69 383hp Bee 4 spd running 4:11's and it would shoot outta the hole pretty damn good. Good Luck and go kick his a$$ Jim
 
I prefer 15-18 psi in my slicks but get rid of the exhaust put on 3" collectors and 16-18" of 3" pipe will give you enough back pressure for an extra 5 horses
 
All the above are good ideas, but you can always ignore him. Does it really matter if you beat a big pile of crap? You have a nice car, enjoy it!
 
dcdriver said:
good set of 8-9 inch slicks run your air pressure around 10# and see what she does. should jerk you pretty good when they grab. I ran 9" slicks on my 69 383hp Bee 4 spd running 4:11's and it would shoot outta the hole pretty damn good. Good Luck and go kick his a$$ Jim
Click to expand...

Ten seems a bit low to me. Probably a little hairy at the top end with that low of pressure. I have qtp and run 18. The car doesn't slip a inch and it feels like street tires at 100 mph!

Also clean out the car and ditch the spare and jack. It's not much buy it makes you think you will go faster which always helps. And remember to go on yellow!
 
Slicks is the answer!!!!But you need some test hits on them before you go chasing that guy.

Right now the clutch isn't slipping, the tires do.......with slicks you my need to learn how to slip the clutch, just a little bit more, or launch at a higher rpm, to keep from bogging of the line.

Go Get him!!!!!:burnout:
 
It will go like this. He red lights, followed by your red light, then
you run him down :)

[ame]http://youtu.be/CWyBazrrHOo[/ame]
 
If your 1/8 mile E.T's are close and you are spinning badly and he is running slicks, it won't be a contest. I would by some good drag radials (cheater slicks) so you can run them on the street.
 
dump the clutch off the line in 2nd gear instead of first gear.
 
IQ52 said:
All the above are good ideas, but you can always ignore him. Does it really matter if you beat a big pile of crap? You have a nice car, enjoy it!
Click to expand...

x2.
I see you red-lighting as the car rolls forward out of the pre-stage light as you rev it to 5K, then when you dump the clutch a Ujoint, the clutch disc, or the rear let's go... lol. My 340 did all of those, on full radials (no drag radials back then), on the street. You have to find the weak links before you really can get consistent with a stick car.
 
With a clutch car, better to use bias ply slicks as opposed to radial. Radials do not recover from spinning on the hit as well as bias ply. With a non-adjustable clutch, which I assume you have, try to get a few turns of the bias ply tire on the hit to save drive train parts. Something needs to give, either the clutch or the tire. Adjust tire pressure to get a little slip on launch. Also, try to lower the launch RPM to soften the tire hit if needed.

The front end needs 4" to 6" of free travel to allow the car to pitch rotate weight to the rear and plant the tire. Single adjustable front shocks set to fully loose extension will help greatly. If running rubber bushings in stock UCA's, try lubing them up to reduce friction and/or binding.

Removing the front sway bar helps loosening the front end travel and reduces front end weight.

If no traction aid device in the rear (Cal Tracs), try clamping the front spring segments.

After making any changes to your car, make sure to get some practice hits in so you know how it reacts. If you remove the exhaust and/or air cleaner, the carb will probably need jetting up.

If you can launch and shift, you should have no problem showing him your tail lights. Good Luck!
 
Street days..... Swap meet Hoosier or McCreary street stock tires (dot approved), NOS power shot. Hook it, and book it!
 
I agree with 6pak2go, with a 3.91 gear run a 26x8 or 8.5 or 9 inch slick to keep the rpm's up through the traps. Air the slicks up to 18 to 20 pounds, you want the slicks to turn 1 to 2 revolutions so come out about 1000 rpm below red line if you come out to low and or with too little air in slicks and you dead hook you will break something. This advice is only for stick cars, automatics are a whole different animal.
 
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