thoughts and advice for a newbie to drag racing?

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Hyperballsmcgee

Hyperballsmcgee

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alright so I got a '74 scamp. 340 swapped into it, it's easiest for me to just list everything.

what's it got?
- comp magnum cam
- edelbrock performer rpm intake
- edelbrock 4bbl, don't know what cfm
- accel super stack coil.
- stock manifolds, true duals that dump about a foot behind front wheels, no mufflers or crossover pipe

my plans?
- low compression, so considering putting a single carb miniblower on it.
- msd ignition
- currently my DD, but will soon be a weekend cruiser, with a trip to the strip every month or so.
- building for 1/4 mi or 1/8 mi
- car loses tons of power through rear end, but I will have another thread in the drivetrain tech section.
- what heads should I look into?
- is it worth it to do all the work to put headers on it? (car is A/C and P/S)
- only done street races and got smoked nearly every time. I'd rather race on a track but right now the car is embarrassingly slow.
- 17 years old, and my dad hasn't drag raced since before he met my mom over 25- 30 years ago, so looking for some advice from people with modern experience.
- not looking for a "quick fix". I know that going fast takes alot of time and alot of money, and I want to do it right.
basically, what I'm asking is do you have any thoughts or suggestions? anything I should do or at least give some thought to doing?
 
rear gear ratio? and axle type? 8.25, 8.75 etc...
automatic trans? converter?

are headers worth it? They are as basic as hotdogs and hamburgers at a BBQ. Yes it is worth it. I guess I should ask which manifolds?
look on right front foot of carb and get the number off of it 1405, 1404 etc that will give you cfm. probably 625...
 
Gears around 4.30 ratio, converter if automatic, and headers.
Get the car as light as you can if you are serious about racing.
 
it's a tf727 but the flipped sprag stories scare me, plus I'd rather have a manual so I plan on swapping for a 4 speed. rear end I have no idea other than it's small and spins one wheel. that's gotta go.
 
Take what you have , get to the track and figure out how to race.
There is a lot more to it that seeing green and mashing it.
Our last car was a little soft off the line....when the last yellow lit , it was time to go. Like the first hint of the last yellow. Some wait till they are getting sunburned from that bulb........each car will be slightly different.
This put the car in the low teens for a bulb.
It's best 60' was a 1.61 but typically 1.65 - 67.
Figure out how to get your best light. A softer combination will be much more consistent and give you a better shot at going rounds.
Once you get the car out of it's own way , hold it to the wood and run it out.
Do this for every time trial. If they are close to each other , I take the best one and base your dial in off of that.
Have fun , win a couple trophies and get a handle on how the game is played.
Then get aggressive about performance and maybe step up to a cash class.
But remember consistency is your friend. The more repeatable your car is , the more laps you'll be making and the more fun you'll be having.
 
4 speed? good luck being consistent with it....hope you have deep pockets, sticks are good at finding the weak link.
 
If you are wanting to make a race car don't do the 4 speed, VERY expensive to make strong and VERY hard to make consistent (consistency helps to win races). The 727 is a great trans, very strong, just don't do any stupid stuff with it (e.g. 1st gear burnouts) and it will handle anything you throw at it. I have a 727 in my 10 second strip/street car...no issues. If I were to do it all over again, I would go with a 904 trans. The 904 takes less power to run, which usually gets you 1-3 tenths quicker than a 727 (depending on the combo).

Your car doesn't have to be fast to be a good bracket racer...heck, one of the guys I race with at my track drives a 16.7 second dodge Omni...and he is 4th in points.

Make a plan for the car, and stick to it...that's my best advice. All the parts should complement each other. For a bracket car, you want consistency and reliability...doesn't have to be the fastest (but that is nice too :-D).
 
How slow is it right now ? If you don't know take it to the track and run it .
 
If your worried about having a slow time then don't. I was a nervous wreck thinking my car would be super slow but I am glad I ran it to get a base time. Go get a time then headers, converter, and gear and tires. It's all about money. Have fun and go race it.
 
Go and get the car to leave the line consistently and run a number. Work on reaction time and go win some rounds.

There's a guy here that has a 13.50 car that makes a bunch of money every year because it's deadly consistent and he cuts great lights.
 
At 17yrs old, take your time and get the car right for what you're looking to do. Keep it a auto trans and slowly add the parts you need as time and money allows. I could care less at this point how fast it is compared to other cars, it really doesn't matter. Just build and learn as you go. I started a few years earlier then you, but with some experience while building it, driving it, help from Dad, friends, and this site, in a few years you'll have a great running car with a build that you can call your own.

Be safe, Have fun........and good luck. You have your whole life ahead of you to play with these old cars that we love. :thumbrig:
 
Run what you've got and learn to cut lights and run consistent. I know you want to go faster, but if you want a chance to win races you need to learn with what you've got for a while. In general, the faster you go, the tougher the competition, so unless you want to go out 1st round every time you need to first learn how to race. Don't be a duck, make the other guy go "d*mn, I've got to be on my game, this kid is tough". Beating the other guy in the other lane is much more fun than just going fast.
 
I just started drag racing my self with a 318 powered 1969 plymouth valiant. I have a 727 and won my first two bracket races. I am not real fast, I won the 8.9 class 1/8th mile. I would have to agree and say throw some slicks on it and make runs. I made over 30 runs my first race and another 30 or so this past time. It takes a bit to get comfortable, so make some runs and figure out your routine and make it second nature. Slicks, headers would be first. Then rear end gearing, spool. Not sure your rules but a driveshaft loop for me was a must. I am no expert yet but the more runs you make the better you will be and you will learn what your car needs by seat time.
 
inertia said:
Remembering not to do long 1st gear burnouts is like remembering not to put it in park or reverse doing 70 on the freeway...
Click to expand...

Why? In the water box? I am asking because I do not know and I do my water box burn out in 1st...
 
Conch27 said:
Why? In the water box? I am asking because I do not know and I do my water box burn out in 1st...
Click to expand...

I have never experienced, nor know anybody in the years I have been racing,, but apparently they explode,,

willie_b_003.jpg


I also have done many 1st gear burn-outs, not knowing of this problem.. here's the link.. it's a "sticky" in the trans section,, and scares the snot outta some folks,, its good info..

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=2167
 
It is the jarring from once you get out of the water and it grabs that damages the sprag.......that or when you lift after coming out of the water on dry track , where it jars it the other direction.
Similarly , down shifting into 1st is supposed to be a large no -no.
2nd gear burnouts cure that.
 
As other's have said Race what you have-learn to cut a light, learn how to top end race. I have seen guys win big money with 14.00 and slower cars. You have a better start than most do
 
yea no first gear burnouts,yes they do explode,the sprag let go and the damage starts going to the front ,had this one come through the floor on me
 

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flyfish said:
If you are wanting to make a race car don't do the 4 speed, VERY expensive to make strong and VERY hard to make consistent (consistency helps to win races). The 727 is a great trans, very strong, just don't do any stupid stuff with it (e.g. 1st gear burnouts) and it will handle anything you throw at it. I have a 727 in my 10 second strip/street car...no issues. If I were to do it all over again, I would go with a 904 trans. The 904 takes less power to run, which usually gets you 1-3 tenths quicker than a 727 (depending on the combo).

Your car doesn't have to be fast to be a good bracket racer...heck, one of the guys I race with at my track drives a 16.7 second dodge Omni...and he is 4th in points.

Make a plan for the car, and stick to it...that's my best advice. All the parts should complement each other. For a bracket car, you want consistency and reliability...doesn't have to be the fastest (but that is nice too :-D).
Click to expand...


You might want to argue the point of Stick Shift drag racing with Angilo....or any of the rest of the United Manual Transmission Racers....I have seen more consistency out of some of those guys than I have ever seen from a slush box.

(Tell Angilo I said hey!)

The biggest modification you can make is to get as much seat time as you can in whatever you can. Sharpen your reaction times, learn to consitently stage and burnout. Learn how the track changes with the weather and cars. Tighten the nut that holds the wheel and you'll go far!
 
Hyper-Performance said:
You might want to argue the point of Stick Shift drag racing with Angilo....or any of the rest of the United Manual Transmission Racers....I have seen more consistency out of some of those guys than I have ever seen from a slush box.

(Tell Angilo I said hey!)

The biggest modification you can make is to get as much seat time as you can in whatever you can. Sharpen your reaction times, learn to consitently stage and burnout. Learn how the track changes with the weather and cars. Tighten the nut that holds the wheel and you'll go far!
Click to expand...

Haha! Yeah, Angelo just won the UMTR street stick category a few weeks back down at Edgewater. He also won sportsman 2 weeks ago at Lucas oil (where I race)...I took him out first round with my 0.007 light and 0.01 MOV, but he bought back in and won the whole thing....pretty cool :D. The race before that I lost to him second round....I had him on the tree with a 0.003 light....that one was ALL my fault :banghead:... I broke out by 7 or 8 thou. It is hard to judge the stripe on REALLY slow cars like that. That little Omni is no duck, that's for sure.
 
flyfish said:
Haha! Yeah, Angelo just won the UMTR street stick category a few weeks back down at Edgewater. He also won sportsman 2 weeks ago at Lucas oil (where I race)...I took him out first round with my 0.007 light and 0.01 MOV, but he bought back in and won the whole thing....pretty cool :D. The race before that I lost to him second round....I had him on the tree with a 0.003 light....that one was ALL my fault :banghead:... I broke out by 7 or 8 thou. It is hard to judge the stripe on REALLY slow cars like that. That little Omni is no duck, that's for sure.
Click to expand...

Are you talkin about the edgewater in cincinnati?
 
I'm still mad I didn't make it up to that race :(. Edgewater is starting to go downhill though.
 
The engine you have should be pretty fast as it is. You might want to screw around with your timing a bit, and light weight advance springs in the distributor if you don't have them already.

Then get a sure grip in there, with some nice gears if possible, probably 3.50 or 3.73 if you want to drive on the highway. you could do 4.10s but highway driving will stink.

with a sure grip and everything you have now, you should be in the 14s in the quarter mile pretty easily.
 
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