First Time Drag Racing Video

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gradedcatfood

1972 Plymouth Duster 440
Joined
Feb 9, 2016
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Hey guys, thought I'd share a video of my first time drag racing with my home built 72 duster with a 440 BB.

Ran a 12.6 at 109 mph. I can do better though, it sat on the rev limiter near the end and I need some cal trac bars. It was a total blast!

This was at Fontana CA street legal night 4/4/2018 (my 24th birthday)

 
Tough look'n car! Nice pass! glad your having fun. keep tweek'n, and that ET slip will continue to drop. If it sat on the rev limiter, you might find the car to go faster with less gear. 440's in a A-body don't need a lot of help getting going :D

Keep us posted!
 
Awesome congrats, it's always way cool to see you younger guys getting into the car stuff. Awesome car it will only go faster!
 
What was your rev limiter set too, what gear and tire size are you running. What did the car 60 foot?
 
The rear of the car squatted instead of the body separating from the tire. You need some better springs and adjustable shocks for sure.
 
Fisher said:
What was your rev limiter set too, what gear and tire size are you running. What did the car 60 foot?
Click to expand...

Rev limiter was set to 5700 (could bump that up a tad), 4.10 rear gear, and a 29 inch tall tire (had it down to 20 psi, not sure if that matters)

Car did a 1.921 60 foot. The rear leaf springs are stock 46 year old stuff and the rear shock are some cheap non adjustable (I think gasomatic?) stuff. Front shocks are 90/10 cal trac.

Thank you all for the kind words!
 
Fisher said:
The rear of the car squatted instead of the body separating from the tire. You need some better springs and adjustable shocks for sure.
Click to expand...

This is where I will show my ignorance. I always thought you wanted the rear of your car to squat as that means you got proper weight transfer to the rear.

Would you please explain to me why you want the body to separate from the tire? The more I think about it and the more I watch the video of that challenger, what you said sort of makes sense but would I think I may be missing something. Thanks!
 
The car should lift and launch forward. Mopars have a distinct way that they leave the line. They tend to push the rear end into the pavement and lift the body. Yep a 1.92 sixty foot is pure wasted energy. I have Afco rear leafs, They were designed to replace the factory Super stock Mopar springs. Nothing wrong with super stock springs, except they have a life span and will wear out. I also run Rancho RS9000 10 position adjustable shocks. I have 340 torsion bars up front with Strange engineering 9 position adjust able shocks. Mind you i have taken 125 lbs off the motor with aluminum components plus a glass hood. So my big block is the same weight as an all steel small block.

You can spend money on Calvert split mono leaf springs and the caltrac bars if you wish, the ride on the street is pretty harsh and you should back the bars off for street driving. Caltrac bars dont work worth a crap with multi leaf springs, they were designed to work with the mono leaf split spring.
 
Can be confusing to explain in text, but think about it; If the tires are separating from the body during launch, then that means the tires are being planted into the track.
 
gradedcatfood said:
This is where I will show my ignorance. I always thought you wanted the rear of your car to squat as that means you got proper weight transfer to the rear.
Click to expand...
If you own a Chevy, then yes.

Would you please explain to me why you want the body to separate from the tire? The more I think about it and the more I watch the video of that challenger, what you said sort of makes sense but would I think I may be missing something. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Rear the MoPar Chassis book.

A MoPar on leaf springs should do what that Challenger did.

You might want to try less air in the tires. S/S springs or cal trac set up. Drag shocks in the rear. Frame connectors.
 
gradedcatfood said:
Rev limiter was set to 5700 (could bump that up a tad), 4.10 rear gear, and a 29 inch tall tire (had it down to 20 psi, not sure if that matters)

Car did a 1.921 60 foot. The rear leaf springs are stock 46 year old stuff and the rear shock are some cheap non adjustable (I think gasomatic?) stuff. Front shocks are 90/10 cal trac.

Thank you all for the kind words!
Click to expand...
ok, but let me say this: You can 60 ft much better with your current set up. I had factory stock leafs on a '74 Dart Sport with 275/6015's drag radial. I did low 1.8's 60ft. I did add cheap slapper bars (here come the haters.. LOL). They lifted the back end about 2" when i came out of the hole. the hole car lifted. I also was able to run about 32 psi pressure in the back tires, which will roll better than 20 psi. Car put all the power I had to the ground. If I'd had more power, it would have stuck. You don't have to spend 2000 bucks to hook a car. Not a car that's in the 12's....
 
gradedcatfood said:
Rev limiter was set to 5700 (could bump that up a tad), 4.10 rear gear, and a 29 inch tall tire (had it down to 20 psi, not sure if that matters)

Car did a 1.921 60 foot. The rear leaf springs are stock 46 year old stuff and the rear shock are some cheap non adjustable (I think gasomatic?) stuff. Front shocks are 90/10 cal trac.

Thank you all for the kind words!
Click to expand...
I shift my motor at 6300 rpm, no rev limiter as i have a 275/60/15 drag radial, and 3.73 gears so will go through the top end at 5200-5300 RPM. Have not been to the track yet, hoping to go this summer.
 
Ahhh this is all very helpful info. Thanks everyone for chiming in and will let you know next time I go out or when I can afford some rear suspension upgrades!
 
Since this was your first time drag racing do not spend more money yet. Make a few passes at different rpms 1500, 2000, 2500 and see how the 60' changes. Get a friend to video the rear suspension and shoe polish a mark for wheel spin ID.
 
Post no.7 vid>>>>>Yes thats a guy called "Tig" races over here, 860hp+ Indy 580ci, 29.5"x4.10's, caltracs and 9.6's@140>3950lbs. May look good but not necessary in my opinion, its a brkt car.
 
Last edited:
gradedcatfood said:
Hey guys, thought I'd share a video of my first time drag racing with my home built 72 duster with a 440 BB.

Ran a 12.6 at 109 mph. I can do better though, it sat on the rev limiter near the end and I need some cal trac bars. It was a total blast!

This was at Fontana CA street legal night 4/4/2018 (my 24th birthday)

Click to expand...
Looks like you are a natural on the light :thumbsup: Good job leaving first :)
 
Fisher said:
I shift my motor at 6300 rpm, no rev limiter as i have a 275/60/15 drag radial, and 3.73 gears so will go through the top end at 5200-5300 RPM. Have not been to the track yet, hoping to go this summer.
Click to expand...
I would not race it until you add a rev limiter (especially with sticky drag radials).

Just food for thought...Years ago I snapped a u-joint coming off the line and my motor smacked the rev limiter before I could react and let off. The rev limiter saved my motor from possible destruction...or in my case most certain destruction...I was spraying it that day.
 
What type of rev limiter? The msd chips tend to come in early for what they are labeled. I would slow the rebound down on the front shocks. I see it transfer weight top out and drop the nose. If you have traction issues smooth is good. If you had adjustable rears you could bump the compression up to get some body seperation.
 
As long as it doesn’t wrap the leaf spring up, which is not very common on an A body, springs that let the car transfer weight like your’s is good. Now you control that movement with the shocks.
 
Here ya go! set the bumper 1/2 inch from the leafs, your trunk will come up about 2" when you come out of the whole, applying pressure to the tires like 200 lbs is in the trunk. Much better options out there, but for under 50 bucks you will get the motion (body separation from the tires) you are looking for .
Summit Racing 770501 Traction Bars Universal 28" Length Steel Yellow Pair 190861015807 | eBay
My favorites (for the money) were sold at MAS. Their in house version replaced the shock mounts and clamped by the front eye on the leaf. A whopping 29.95 :D Closest thing to a caltrac you could find.... all for 29.95 :) Too bad you can't get them now....
 
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