Help me hook this thing up... I have the Chevy guys gunnin' for me...

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I mean we've all raced our Chevy Friends that talk a lot and we know what we're doing and get up to the line and we're all comfortable and they don't know what they're doing and their fumbling around at the line and then all of a sudden- POW!! you're gone and they're going oh crap and slamming the gas pedal floorboard and spining their tires and trying to get traction and missing gears.
 
j par said:
Yes I was talking about the original posters Buddies. If his Chevy buddies are anything like my Chevy buddies they talk a lot of big talk but when it's time to come out to the track they have no idea what they're doing. And my point was just going to be taking a daily driver and getting some experience at the track. And getting comfortable with lining up. I would say nine times out of 10 if you give a guy a 12 second car with a lot of experience he'll beet the guy with the 10-second car that has never actually had it at the track.
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:thumbsup:
 
j par said:
Yes I was talking about the original posters Buddies. If his Chevy buddies are anything like my Chevy buddies they talk a lot of big talk but when it's time to come out to the track they have no idea what they're doing. And my point was just going to be taking a daily driver and getting some experience at the track. And getting comfortable with lining up. I would say nine times out of 10 if you give a guy a 12 second car with a lot of experience he'll beet the guy with the 10-second car that has never actually had it at the track.
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Or, it could be a buddy of mine`s hi 8 second vega ! ''Oh it was a camaro!" LOL I found some pics of my old 406 vega, but can`t post on here. It went 10.28 best pass? street driver/ porcshe eater.
 
I am no expert on getting her to fly but what I have is

SS springs 002/ 003
4.30 gears
4 sp (passon hemi Od)
418 w2 heads (estimate 450 lbs/ft at 2 grand)
I went direct to nitto drag radials 325 50 15.
Rancho 9 way adjustable set at full firm. Front calvert adjustable shocks set on middle setting. With 5 inch wide front tires and 26 tall.

Car has been mini tubbed with 10 inch wide dog dish rims with caps.
On the street it hooks DAMN hard and sucks the breath out of you. I leave about 10 feet of light rubber on the road at clutch dump.

Neighbour and his 327 camaro dissapears when I am out. His buddies trans am with a 383 stroker has yet to be found on my street since I put the dart on the road. So I like to believe they are living in fear and none of them have yet to mention their cars to me since I put the dart on the road and that has been 2 years
13568805_10153510504111986_1222169558427460337_o.jpg
.
 
dodgedifferent2 said:
I am no expert on getting her to fly but what I have is

SS springs 002/ 003
4.30 gears
4 sp (passon hemi Od)
418 w2 heads (estimate 450 lbs/ft at 2 grand)
I went direct to nitto drag radials 325 50 15.
Rancho 9 way adjustable set at full firm. Front calvert adjustable shocks set on middle setting. With 5 inch wide front tires and 26 tall.

Car has been mini tubbed with 10 inch wide dog dish rims with caps.
On the street it hooks DAMN hard and sucks the breath out of you. I leave about 10 feet of light rubber on the road at clutch dump.

Neighbour and his 327 camaro dissapears when I am out. His buddies trans am with a 383 stroker has yet to be found on my street since I put the dart on the road. So I like to believe they are living in fear and none of them have yet to mention their cars to me since I put the dart on the road and that has been 2 years
View attachment 1715109250 .
Click to expand...
kick *** !
 
Valid points Jpar. Talk is cheap.
I'm not a 'racer' although I have raced a few times at our local 500' track and more times than I care to admit on the street when I was younger. I'll be fine. They're not 'racers' either.
Correct Bob, the Camaro (beautiful car) is tough. Pretty sure he has one of these in it... and the fella knows how to drive. It's a standard though so there's room for error there and he's not running sticky tires, 2 potential advantages. I was thinking MT SS tires for mine.
I'm posting these questions to get my combination as good as it can be.
Now about the trans and gears... :)

famous bob said:
the 502 crate motors are dogs. the bigger stroker , kinda depends. The big small block is probly the one that`ll get you You need traction, headflow, cam, compression, and did I say heads ?
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j par said:
Yes I was talking about the original posters Buddies. If his Chevy buddies are anything like my Chevy buddies they talk a lot of big talk but when it's time to come out to the track they have no idea what they're doing. And my point was just going to be taking a daily driver and getting some experience at the track. And getting comfortable with lining up. I would say nine times out of 10 if you give a guy a 12 second car with a lot of experience he'll beet the guy with the 10-second car that has never actually had it at the track.
Click to expand...
 
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Chassis and converter are HUGE when running a "street" car.

I'd put a well built 904 in it instead of the 727. Probably be .15-.20 quicker and weigh less. 904's don't explode like a 727 either.

Converters are NOT like they used to be. Spend money on a good piece. Get a 8 or 9.5 tight converter. A good builder can make them flash and still be tight on cruise. I'd run as much as 4000 for flash behind that engine. Throw the cam manufactures recommendations out the window, that's lightweights that don't want run hard

Lots of time tied up in the front suspension. Concentrate there and you will get the car to hook. Plenty of stuff can be done that's free.

I hate the SS spring look. I run lowering blocks on those all the time. Stink bug makes it harder to hook. Get the rake somewhat level, back a smidge high, and it will transfer better. Good shocks are great for tuning. Even the caltrac shocks work well with ss springs.

Yes on frame connectors, wouldn't spend a minute installing torque boxes.

If the engine makes the power it should, 11.20 or better shouldn't be out of the question with a great hooking car. Get it to run a 7.00 1/8 is not a bad spot.
 
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Yeah I can't stress it enough if nobody's really drag racing officially and I mean going through the wet box at the track, going up to the light at the track, and staging at the track.
I believe you would have a massive Advantage just getting the car all together and not saying nothing to your buddies and going down to the track a few times and taking six or seven passes each time. Get used to officially drag racing the car not just hot roding it around town and your neighborhood. my two cents....
Also I can't stress this enough - "HAVE FUN"!!!
 
Nice set up.Lite car,cant go wrong with a converter around 3000+. We all have the same friends,cars.69 chevelle 460 BB 465 HP to Rear wheels, 411 gears ,Z06 427 vette 435 hp to rear wheels. 2016 challenger 392, slowest,I run a 419 stroker, All steel with only 391 gears and DRAG radials . If two of them change their tires to Drag radials, its a closer race.Only 18 degrees initial,and 91 octane. To punish them I up the degrees and 94 octane.MY NOS is ready next.
 
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That motor can probably run 10's? You don't need mini tub, l believe you can fit a 10.5 tire under it without mini tub. Cal tracks will help a bunch. Control the rear with double adjustable shocks.
 
Add headers and put and air gap on my combination and its a mid 11 sec car. Rear suspension consists of 1 inch over arch rear leafs(not helping car is over sprung for the track) kyb gas shocks and the rear bands removed from the leaf spring. No pinion snubber. 4:10 gear crosses the stripe at 6400 rpm On a f-70 14 redline 6" tire 26.5" tall. Converter is where it's at PTC 9.5 set up to run the little tire. flashes to 3200ish? A moderate drag radial with good shocks and good converter. Soft springs and control it with the shocks, but soft springs on the street can be problematic.
 
crackedback said:
Chassis and converter are HUGE when running a "street" car.

I'd put a well built 904 in it instead of the 727. Probably be .15-.20 quicker and weigh less. 904's don't explode like a 727 either.

Converters are NOT like they used to be. Spend money on a good piece. Get a 8 or 9.5 tight converter. A good builder can make them flash and still be tight on cruise. I'd run as much as 4000 for flash behind that engine. Throw the cam manufactures recommendations out the window, that's lightweights that don't want run hard

Lots of time tied up in the front suspension. Concentrate there and you will get the car to hook. Plenty of stuff can be done that's free.

I hate the SS spring look. I run lowering blocks on those all the time. Stink bug makes it harder to hook. Get the rake somewhat level, back a smidge high, and it will transfer better. Good shocks are great for tuning. Even the caltrac shocks work well with ss springs.

Yes on frame connectors, wouldn't spend a minute installing torque boxes.

If the engine makes the power it should, 11.20 or better shouldn't be out of the question with a great hooking car. Get it to run a 7.00 1/8 is not a bad spot.
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Cracked Back chimed in,follow his advice: Had a few conversion with him , he doesn't post often.. But when he does ,man is spot on ..
 
dodgedifferent2 said:
I am no expert on getting her to fly but what I have is

SS springs 002/ 003
4.30 gears
4 sp (passon hemi Od)
418 w2 heads (estimate 450 lbs/ft at 2 grand)
I went direct to nitto drag radials 325 50 15.
Rancho 9 way adjustable set at full firm. Front calvert adjustable shocks set on middle setting. With 5 inch wide front tires and 26 tall.

Car has been mini tubbed with 10 inch wide dog dish rims with caps.
On the street it hooks DAMN hard and sucks the breath out of you. I leave about 10 feet of light rubber on the road at clutch dump.

Neighbour and his 327 camaro dissapears when I am out. His buddies trans am with a 383 stroker has yet to be found on my street since I put the dart on the road. So I like to believe they are living in fear and none of them have yet to mention their cars to me since I put the dart on the road and that has been 2 years
View attachment 1715109250 .
Click to expand...

I love the ratty beater look.
 
Ottmundr said:
Naaaaaah! Not at all, wiping the track times off the window would be a good start to making it a sleeper...
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Ottmundr said:
Naaaaaah! Not at all, wiping the track times off the window would be a good start to making it a sleeper...
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NaaaaaaaaH!! its a great Look I Love It !! Gives it the Authentic wanna be look LMAO :confederateflag:
 
j par said:
-- _ _ _ _ I would say nine times out of 10 if you give a guy a 12 second car with a lot of experience he'll beet the guy with the 10-second car that has never actually had it at the track. --
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-- I agree -- BUT -- Watch out for The Guy Who is a frequent Street Racer.
 
That “434 Small Block Chevy Ultrastreet Pump Gas Engine” Guy is down the block from me, Literally. I can here his dyno’s from my job. (Half way between him and myself.) If he has that 434 small block, vs your engine, your down a mere 20 cubes and have half of his camshaft and a lot less head flow. Your gonna get creamed vs the drag engine.

Your “street engine” looks fine. I wouldn’t worry about how you’ll match up. I’d brush it off as completely two different builds.

In order to come close to competing, remove and throw away the Edelbrock heads and step up to fully ported W2’s, a ported intake and a race solid roller with something north of [email protected]/.600 on a 108/106. 1.6 rockers. Get a bigger carb like a 950 cfm. A full manual trans brake 904 and converter to match the new lighter weight of the car after the diet plan is done. (Under 3K with you in it at max.) Mini tub the car with as wide as a tire as possible with Cal Tracks and Viking adjustable shocks.
 
I'll do everything I can to make it as difficult as possible for him (and my other bowtie brothers) with this engine. I'll take the advice and go from there :)
You're right, they're completely different builds but I still want him to fry the tires while I hook and go... or him to blow a shift as I quickly bang secong gear!
If that's wrong I don't wanna be right! haha
Cheers

fyi; I acquired the engine cheap, including the heads and intake. I decided to go for the stroker because of this forum... and here we are!
I have other projects... like my son! He's 1 year from driving and we have to get his car happening pretty quick (pic). Leavin it patina with a new chassis 327 auto 8.8... should be fun too.
Thanks again

rumblefish360 said:
That “434 Small Block Chevy Ultrastreet Pump Gas Engine” Guy is down the block from me, Literally. I can here his dyno’s from my job. (Half way between him and myself.) If he has that 434 small block, vs your engine, your down a mere 20 cubes and have half of his camshaft and a lot less head flow. Your gonna get creamed vs the drag engine.

Your “street engine” looks fine. I wouldn’t worry about how you’ll match up. I’d brush it off as completely two different builds.

In order to come close to competing, remove and throw away the Edelbrock heads and step up to fully ported W2’s, a ported intake and a race solid roller with something north of [email protected]/.600 on a 108/106. 1.6 rockers. Get a bigger carb like a 950 cfm. A full manual trans brake 904 and converter to match the new lighter weight of the car after the diet plan is done. (Under 3K with you in it at max.) Mini tub the car with as wide as a tire as possible with Cal Tracks and Viking adjustable shocks.
Click to expand...

31 yard.jpg
 
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First off Magster65, your Dart is beautiful!
You've received some good info here. The main thing with a stock Dart is tire fitment.
I think you're gonna be limited to a 255 tire without moving springs and possible mini tubbing. Getting a 275/60/15 in there should be your goal. At the track I run a 275/60 M/T Pro Drag Radial in the mid 10's on 92 octane with 3.23 gears, but it's a 500" engine. The 275 works great. I use the old factory leaf springs that came on the car but I had one new leaf added to each side, cost only $50 each.

If you can move the springs in and run a Caltrac system you should have no problem hooking up with a good tire. A 3.55 gear would probably work fine, 3.73 at the most with a stroker I would think, and a short tire. I run a 3.23 in my car because even a 3.55 was kinda miserable on the highway but that's only my opinion/preference, everyone is different.

Good luck and feel free to ask questions!
 
Thank you :)
Your Duster is awesome ProSport!
Thanks.
Sadly, due to my blown budget and a growing number of (customer) projects piling up at our shop I'm going to do this in stages.
I want to be on the road this spring so this is where I'm at...
Thinking for now, in the back, I'll put the 3.55 posi in, squeeze in a 245 tire (255 if I can), get my big bolt axles and drums / brakes figured out, use the stock springs and I'll get or make some traction bars. I'll get some adjustable shocks now too. I'll get back to it next winter... or the year after that when I retire! :)
I'd like to tub it but imho I don't think it's the right thing to do to a car this 'untouched'.
Appreciate the input, thanks again!

20161126_135922.jpg


ProSport said:
First off Magster65, your Dart is beautiful!
You've received some good info here. The main thing with a stock Dart is tire fitment.
I think you're gonna be limited to a 255 tire without moving springs and possible mini tubbing. Getting a 275/60/15 in there should be your goal. At the track I run a 275/60 M/T Pro Drag Radial in the mid 10's on 92 octane with 3.23 gears, but it's a 500" engine. The 275 works great. I use the old factory leaf springs that came on the car but I had one new leaf added to each side, cost only $50 each.

If you can move the springs in and run a Caltrac system you should have no problem hooking up with a good tire. A 3.55 gear would probably work fine, 3.73 at the most with a stroker I would think, and a short tire. I run a 3.23 in my car because even a 3.55 was kinda miserable on the highway but that's only my opinion/preference, everyone is different.

Good luck and feel free to ask questions!
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the compliment. I agree that's too nice of a car to cut up, same reason I won't tub mine. If I wanted a bigger tire I would get a different car. I think you'll be able to get a 255 drag radial in there, and you're 3.55 will be fine with the stroker.

Don't be afraid to go the cheap route like I did and have one leaf added to the front segment of each spring, only $50 per side. It strengthens the front segment just enough that you don't need a traction device or a pinion snubber. I did have to add one inch lowering blocks since it raised the car up some but that's no big deal.
Good luck with it!

I also added rear disc brakes to my 8.75 with a very affordable bolt-in kit from Right Stuff Detailing, I bought the kit from Summit Racing. Part number MDCRDM1.
 
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