MRL Performance NHRA IS/A 360

[Locomotion]

It's been a while, but it's coming together well. The Aspen was out with the new MRL NHRA legal 360 a few weeks ago at an 1/8 mile track at J/SA weight, which is near 3,800 lbs!. Had 3 TQ's to try and they all ran within several hundredths of each other. Best was with a 1 1/2" primary TQ at 7.66 - 87 mph. That's almost .3 under the 7.94 NHRA 1/8 mile index. That should translate into low 12's in the 1/4, where the index is 12.45, so it has met expectations with no fine tuning yet. The big TQ beat the 2 small TQ's by 1 mph in the 1/8 , so it should be even better in the 1/4. 60' times were in the 1.58 - 1.61 range.

I plan on being at the Gainesville divisional, just before the Gators, which has a test & tune before the race. Those will be the first 1/4 mile runs. With no "grade points" to use towards a national event entry and the field filled a while ago, I can't stay for the Gators. Just as well considering it's an untested combo.

I still have to get it all washed, waxed, decaled-up and double-checked.

Hope I pass tech and don't have any mechanical hiccups.

Thanks MRL! :thumblef:

 

[RustyRatRod]

Mighty cool car, Myron.

 

[318willrun]

That is a nice looking car......

 

[moper]

Stock is no "entry" class. I learned a lot from a Div 1 racer who's held records in 5-6 Stock Eliminator classes over the years. I'm surprised at the low rpm of the combo though. Granted my buddy as Ford, but he made peak power at 8200 with 9.1:1 and a hydraulic cam, stock iron intake, and stock Autolite carb. IIRC it peaked around 1.2hp/inch and was able to run up to 1. under the F/S index.
I should add - he now runs SS/GT with a 460 in a '95 Mustang... with a Thermoquad.

 

[Darter6]

Loco, That is one fine wagon. A local has one that he races in Stock class,does very well too. Your wagon,everything about it looks just right.For me, done up as a race car the wagons are the best looking of all the "F" Bodies.

 

[MRL Performance]

Its good to see it finally in the car and running. I hope you get those carbs ironed out, they were not happy. It would be a good idea to try it with a known good Holley 750/850 to see what it "can" run and that will give you a good idea where its at and where it needs to go with the TQ's.

 

[71gtdart]

View attachment IMG_6562.jpg

Love the wagon, Myron!!!

Not to steal your thread, but here is a pic of mine from saturdays test and tune
Ran a best of 6.95 at 97.68mph, and EGT said it was lean.

Probably could have jetted up and picked up a couple hundredths, but didnt mess with it since the weather will be warming up in the coming weaks, and would be going right back to where its jetted now.

I love the F body wagons as race cars. Very cool and different.

Good luck with yours. Hope you get her in the mid to upper 11's.

 

[justinp61]

Myron, what base are you running on that air cleaner?

 

[Locomotion]

Thanks guys.
The wrong air cleaner! It's is a drop-base K&N style with a BIG dimple for fuel pump clearance. Although the base cleared the fuel inlet fitting on the original newer TQ, it doesn't clear the fitting on the earlier style carb, which I will run. I'm working on options.

I wish I had time to try the Holley from my Dart Sport and had time to hook up the O2 sensor with my Autometer Ultimate DL tach. But that won't happen before the first race. Too much else to do.

The wagon kinda grew on me. It actually finished #2 to me in our "local" Stock/SS association a couple of years ago. Wagon was nose-heavy, but that got fixed with the class shuffle and it has NO blind spots! Mike did a good job building the engine. I just gotta fine tune it to get that 3,800 lbs into the high 11's. But consistency and predictability is top priority right now.

Darter6, I'm guessing you're talking about the Irving family? They have plenty of nice cars.

Mopar, I've been shifting around 63-6500. Hope I have time to figure out its' sweet spot. Also gotta figure out if the weight needs a 5.13 without over-reving at the finish. Starting with 4.86 & 94" circum. radials.

Gotta run....work early.

 

[70aarcuda]

The Irving has selves full of thermoquads....Could not believe it..

 

[crackedback]

Nice looking car!

 

[justinp61]

Myron if that's the base that came with that air cleaner they make spacer rings in different heights for it. Check out Speedway.

 

[Locomotion]

Myron if that's the base that came with that air cleaner they make spacer rings in different heights for it. Check out Speedway.

I've been working on a Summit order already! Just gotta watch the lid-to-hood clearance. Thanks.

 

[Jadaharabi]

Super Neat Car and a Super engine.

I've been wanting to race a stocker since the 70's, seeing what your doing with your car inspires me to get busy on mine again. A 360 Duster automatic is what I'm building. Hopefully I will be running this spring.

 

[perfacar]

hi the holley is not the answer. the T.Q and quadrajet are fine race carbs. it's not airflow , its fuel flow, the fuel curve has to be flat in order to make car fast. back in old days, with foot brake racing, the spread bore carbs were a tenth faster over the holley, reason was the smaller primary bores made car launch harder. the T.Q can be made to perform very well. fact , GM racers use q -jet carbs and run in 9 sec zone. it's like anything else, you make it work better. you flog it, find out likes and dislikes of the unit. that takes skill and expertise. just food for thought!!!!

 

[Sterling]

Nice car, good luck with it.I am presently building a 360 engine for NHRA Stock also. Very similar build, probably for H/SA. Waiting for a crank scraper now. I have a couple TQ's to try, I think that will be what tests me.

 

[perfacar]

actually, they are easier to work on. fuel inlet and needle and seat are critical for fuel flow into bowls. the inlet is way too small.

 

[Locomotion]

Thanks & good luck to you too. G, H & I are pretty popular classes. Is yours an Aspen or Volare? 2 door, I guess?

I thought the TQ would be my biggest issue too. But I was just starting to figure it out when I found a vibration that was much more obvious in the 1/4 than in the 1/8. Found it at the Gainesville divisional test & tune, which were my first 1/4 mile passes. Ran a 12.38 on the 12.45 index, then it fell on its face when I adjusted the air door the wrong way....but still ran a 12.45. All at 3,800 lbs., a little over the J/SA minimum. Unfortunately I had to withdraw from the event because of the vibration. Started swapping things out and looking at everything at the track and will continue at home till I find it. So I was "all dressed up" but couldn't stay for the "dance"!

 

[RustyRatRod]

You'll get it buddy. It will all come together for you. Taint a bad start at all.

 

[famous bob]

You'll get it buddy. It will all come together for you. Taint a bad start at all.

nhra class racing is a joke, if you ain`t a second under, you might as well stay home ! hope you get there, and a nice looking car too ! :banghead:

 

[Locomotion]

nhra class racing is a joke, if you ain`t a second under, you might as well stay home ! hope you get there, and a nice looking car too ! :banghead:

Thanks. It's no show car, but it should meet my needs.
While I realize it's expensive, NHRA much more so than in IHRA that I've done since 1999, you have to "race smart". I'll never be able to afford to go head-to-head with the top qualifiers in NHRA. That's why I chose a Stock class that has a lesser amount of cars in it - J/SA. I/SA and faster have quite a few all over the country. But because consistency, predictability, driving ability and dialing-in are actually bigger factors to win than the ability to run further under the index (except in heads-up match-ups), they will be my primary focus. Most of the time you don't have to be the fastest to win. I will, however, do what I can within the rules to run as fast as possible when time and resources permit. There always is a chance of coming up against another J/SA and I still like the challenge of figuring out how to go faster with all the restrictions.

Hard-core class racers will point out that Stock & SS are suppose to be performance based classes and this emphasis on the "bracket racing" aspect of it isn't in the true spirit of the classes. But the "index" is still a "minimum performance standard" that must be met. Most racers also have their own strategies to win, like sandbagging, for a variety of reasons. This is my "strategy" and I just hope that my "investment" can pay off to some degree. I've bracket raced since 1978 and run IHRA Stock since 1999. Becoming competitive in NHRA is a goal I wanted to achieve while I still can, physically and financially, even if I end up near the bottom of the ladder.

 

[perfacar]

NHRA stock requires you to think outside the box!!! it's a thinking mans class. it's not for the faint hearted or parts changers. takes a lot of knowledge and expertise to run stock. it's a lot of fun. no reason to stay home !!!!!!!

 

[mguner]

I'm surprised somebody hasn't told you that "X" pipe slows you down without mufflers.... LOL ;)

 

[Locomotion]

I'm surprised somebody hasn't told you that "X" pipe slows you down without mufflers.... LOL ;)

I welcome opinions for consideration, but they probably know by now that my mind is made up.

Actually, I have mufflers! I have Dynomax UltraFlos on my Dart Sport and prefer their sound by far. But I got their louder bullet style for the Aspen so there would be more room around the center section & driveshaft. Both are straight through, all 3" TTI stuff, and neither appear to be a restriction. Eventually I'll change it on the Dart too. Practicality overcomes preference in this case.

 

[Locomotion]

NHRA stock requires you to think outside the box!!! it's a thinking mans class. it's not for the faint hearted or parts changers. takes a lot of knowledge and expertise to run stock. it's a lot of fun. no reason to stay home !!!!!!!

Agreed, as long as you don't stick your neck out too far and run out of money before you can start winning some of it back!