It's the #1 reason I didn't want a Racetech, many Ractech's have had broken uprights.

quote:

Originally posted by SCDIV1:
I'd have to agree with you Ed but there are lots of other brands that have also....

It's no coincidence though when multiple cars break in the same place....as mine did....

That was some find when I spotted that...just doing a casual overall day off and routine car look over and service.....

Turned into a lot of work but it all went fine....

I think they take more of a beating being transported, than anything else.

I think they're gonna change up their approach with bladders, once it's repaired.

Costellllo was telling me they didn't utilize one bladder for a short ride to Bradenton once. He said never again, the shocks were hot on the car when he got to the track.

I always used a bladder under the drivers area and an added tie down on the chassis at the back to limit shock movement.

My car cracked front uprights and front lower frame rails both sides.

No tie down up front, rubber wheel cradles

Straps over the slicks and not a lot of air in the bladder but just enough to keep it under the car.

You’ll get different answers from different people on their experiences.


My old 215” 4 link never had a single issue as far as I know and is still out there from 1997 or so when it was new.

If dragsters didn’t break up front, the guys doing front suspensions would never have engineered and built that option. There was obviously enough interest that some builders offer their version.

quote:

Originally posted by SCDIV1:
I always used a bladder under the drivers area and an added tie down on the chassis at the back to limit shock movement.

My car cracked front uprights and front lower frame rails both sides.

No tie down up front, rubber wheel cradles

Straps over the slicks and not a lot of air in the bladder but just enough to keep it under the car.

You’ll get different answers from different people on their experiences.


My old 215” 4 link never had a single issue as far as I know and is still out there from 1997 or so when it was new.

If dragsters didn’t break up front, the guys doing front suspensions would never have engineered and built that option. There was obviously enough interest that some builders offer their version.

Do you know anything about 4 link dragster springs? Talked to Ray Millers Penske shock builder yesterday, he uses 10" 140 or 9" 150 rate springs for 4 link cars 200-250 lb drivers.

I've got a 125 rate spring on the way for a Ray Miller car aluminum block, 100 lb girl who just had a baby, so exact weight is unknown lol.

10" 125 rate spring sound about right, same Penske shocks?

I'm hoping they're not too stout, I think the 4.30-4.40 Ray miller car I do the trans, has 125's on it, same Penske dampers. He's around 200 lbs.

My car had Afcos behind the rear. A 14” shock and I believe I used 110’s or 115’s and definitely no more than 125’s and that’s what I used on my old car with cheaper shocks

I liked to be able to push my car down in back without a huge effort

Played with shocks pretty often on both ends without any big aha moments.

Iron block 150lb driver 1900+ lbs

The shocks and springs were new not long ago.

The newer version of Afcos had a bigger range of adjustment by a lot from my original 2003 versions.

quote:

Originally posted by SCDIV1:
My car had Afcos behind the rear. A 14” shock and I believe I used 110’s or 115’s and definitely no more than 125’s and that’s what I used on my old car with cheaper shocks

I liked to be able to push my car down in back without a huge effort

Played with shocks pretty often on both ends without any big aha moments.

Iron block 150lb driver 1900+ lbs

The shocks and springs were new not long ago.

The newer version of Afcos had a bigger range of adjustment by a lot from my original 2003 versions.

10 4 thank you. I'm thinking we'll be perfect with 125 rate spring, cantilever in front of the rearend, 100 lb driver, aluminum block.

I found a 8 lb lithium battery worth having, guy with the 4.40 dragster I do the trans uses it with a house of pain starter. Says his car starts better or as good as any, 2 years now.

I'd love to get two 45 lb batteries out of this car, and replace with one 8 lb lithium battery.

quote:

Originally posted by SCDIV1:

I don't even recall what my Full Tree delay setting was.....1.115 comes to mind.

1.115 delay is .015 green on a .370 Pro Tree.

1.130 delay is .000 on a .370 Pro Tree.

1.100 delay is .000 on a .400 Pro Tree.

1.000 delay is .000 on a .500 Pro Tree - Super Street.

1.030 delay is .000 on a .470 Pro Tree - Super Street.

I can add and subtract.....LOL

I learned math the old school way in the 1950's !

None of this new math BS....

For Pro Tree .370 racing launch RPM is/was higher..

Some tracks as I said were usually NO issue....Numidia.....Maple Grove...Atco....most of the time...

quote:

Originally posted by SCDIV1:
I can add and subtract.....LOL

I learned math the old school way in the 1950's !

None of this new math BS....

For Pro Tree .370 racing launch RPM is/was higher..

Some tracks as I said were usually NO issue....Numidia.....Maple Grove...Atco....most of the time...

That rule of thumb info was more useful back in the 1990's, when BBC 454's were big engines. I'm sure you remember it now.

Early 90's I drove 2 different cars for a couple years

'81 Camaro 454...strut front end ladder bars
'69 Camaro 454...strut front end 4-link
Both ran 9.20's at around 145 aluminum GM heads.....

NO delay box allowed at that time here in this Div.....

Used rpm off the bottom bulb and won S/P in both cars at my local track....
Used a plate stop at one race going 10.0's at over 140..

Beat the legend...Jim Harrington in the final after deeking a guy who should have known better but didn't know I had a T-stop on the car.....His big mistake lifting when he went by me.....OOPS....LOL

Delay boxes killed me !! Never had the same success off the top as I did off the bottom....off the foot or a button...

Frank Mark had the first top bulb delay box I ever saw around 1989 ??....and he won a ton of races back then...than the boxes were banned for a couple years

Island Dragway was home to many killers.....maybe a small track but you weren't gonna win if you were not on your game....

To me the best era ever.....NO DELAY BOX !!! We raced for peanuts dollar wise but didn't much care....

I don't care what the purse is. I'd rather have a low entry fee so I can afford to race every weekend.

I think Orlando has the best Super Pro race program going in Florida.

$85 entry $3,000 to Super Pro winner.

$25 buyback.

$85 gets you through the gate & onto the racetrack.

Good people.

Lords Prayers, National Anthem and it's on,,,, Americana.

JW Performance Transmissions, BLP Products, SUMMIT Racing sponsored.

Restrooms spotless clean, smooth return roads, immaculate tower, state of the art LED Compulink tree, Giant LED scoreboards, good food, perfect prepped track surface.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mike Rietow,

quote:

Originally posted by SCDIV1:
Early 90's I drove 2 different cars for a couple years

'81 Camaro 454...strut front end ladder bars
'69 Camaro 454...strut front end 4-link
Both ran 9.20's at around 145 aluminum GM heads.....

NO delay box allowed at that time here in this Div.....

Used rpm off the bottom bulb and won S/P in both cars at my local track....
Used a plate stop at one race going 10.0's at over 140..

Beat the legend...Jim Harrington in the final after deeking a guy who should have known better but didn't know I had a T-stop on the car.....His big mistake lifting when he went by me.....OOPS....LOL

Delay boxes killed me !! Never had the same success off the top as I did off the bottom....off the foot or a button...

Frank Mark had the first top bulb delay box I ever saw around 1989 ??....and he won a ton of races back then...than the boxes were banned for a couple years

Island Dragway was home to many killers.....maybe a small track but you weren't gonna win if you were not on your game....

To me the best era ever.....NO DELAY BOX !!! We raced for peanuts dollar wise but didn't much care....

Maybe not, money had more purchasing power in the early 1990's.

If you raced for $1000 to win Super Pro in the early 1990's as example, like Sunshine paid, you were actually racing for $2280 in today's money.

If you could make $2280 in a few hours drag racing today, that's a decent lick.

Sunshine had a 33 race Super Pro Championship season, it paid the bills.

All the big money today, divide it by two. That's the real amount.

A $5 grander is really paying $2500. Sunshine paid $1300 to win in 1999, $700 to runner up.

$1300 in 1999 had $2325 in purchasing power today, so that translates to Sunshine paid $2325 to win Super Pro in 1999.

Figure it like this. Was it peanuts?? I'll bet it wasn't.

I have no idea how your Florida tracks could have paid the money you say back in the old days or today for that matter....

We raced for $500 or sometimes less at Island
Etown was the same $$
Unless it was a big special event or a gamblers race as it was rightly called....
I raced Jim Harrington in the final of a S/ST (.400 tree) race in 1984 and it was $1000/$400 at Etown and they had 3 races that year that paid that purse in all 3 Super classes...

The most $$ I ever won at Island in Super Et was $750....
We did have some gambler races for $100 to enter and maybe $5 grand to win, winner take all.....Just give the money to Frank Mark.....LOL He's double entered and buyin back.....and usually getting that $$

Atco was the only track with big $$ races regularly...

Island tries everything they can to keep weekly racing going but participation is weak.....guaranteed purses, bonus $$, buybacks.....

I won at Island around 1991 and there were over 100 cars in Super ET.....Those days are long gone....

quote:

Originally posted by 1320racer:

quote:

Originally posted by SCDIV1:

The Racetech dragster cracking, breaking issues are pretty common.

edited for correctness

Thats because they havent ever heard of filler rod....

quote:

Originally posted by SCDIV1:
I have no idea how your Florida tracks could have paid the money you say back in the old days or today for that matter....

We raced for $500 or sometimes less at Island
Etown was the same $$
Unless it was a big special event or a gamblers race as it was rightly called....
I raced Jim Harrington in the final of a S/ST (.400 tree) race in 1984 and it was $1000/$400 at Etown and they had 3 races that year that paid that purse in all 3 Super classes...

The most $$ I ever won at Island in Super Et was $750....
We did have some gambler races for $100 to enter and maybe $5 grand to win, winner take all.....Just give the money to Frank Mark.....LOL He's double entered and buyin back.....and usually getting that $$

Atco was the only track with big $$ races regularly...

Island tries everything they can to keep weekly racing going but participation is weak.....guaranteed purses, bonus $$, buybacks.....

I won at Island around 1991 and there were over 100 cars in Super ET.....Those days are long gone....

$1000 in 1984 is $2850 today. Translated you raced local for nearly & $3,000 in 1984.

Sunshine packed em in every Friday night, that's how they paid it.

I remember long before I raced, a ride through Tampa, just about every Service station/gas station and auto parts store had a doorslammer on a open trailer, headed to Sunshine that night.

There was over 100 Super Pro cars in Orlando, probably 150 last weekend for a local race.

Packed to the gills all classes. Few big money all star racers too.

I got my azz tore out the frame rails 2nd round by a young gun in a 4.70 dragster, Costelllllo says did a lot of Jr dragster racing.

I'm gonna have to take a different approach with these young guys.

Lots of food stamps, ebt cards and welfare in NY/NJ. We have a good governor here in Florida for drag racing/independence/freedom.

He does his job protecting the prosperity, property and pursuit for happiness of Floridians - what it takes for drag racing to occur.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mike Rietow,

quote:

Lots of food stamps, ebt cards and welfare in NY/NJ

You forgot about the millions of people with BIG BUCKS here in NY/NJ that could care less about racing these days..

NY and NJ is sure as h-e-l-l not just the cities with the people you are pointing to...

You also forgot about all the retirees running each other over and driving into swimming pools Florida has and none of them care about racing either...LOL

I've been to Englishtown when there were so many cars they literally closed the gates to new entries...
Sat waiting to make a run for hours and hours...

Yes once upon a time there was usually some kind of drag race car at every gas/service station but NONE of that exists today or for many, many years..
The people you find in gas stations don't even know what drag racing is and can barely speak English

Enjoy what you have down there for drag racing because it will be gone probably not that far in the future....same as everywhere else....

The Land is way more valuable for other purposes...

quote:

Originally posted by SCDIV1:

quote:

Lots of food stamps, ebt cards and welfare in NY/NJ

You forgot about the millions of people with BIG BUCKS here in NY/NJ that could care less about racing these days..

NY and NJ is sure as h-e-l-l not just the cities with the people you are pointing to...

You also forgot about all the retirees running each other over and driving into swimming pools Florida has and none of them care about racing either...LOL

I've been to Englishtown when there were so many cars they literally closed the gates to new entries...
Sat waiting to make a run for hours and hours...

Yes once upon a time there was usually some kind of drag race car at every gas/service station but NONE of that exists today or for many, many years..
The people you find in gas stations don't even know what drag racing is and can barely speak English

Enjoy what you have down there for drag racing because it will be gone probably not that far in the future....same as everywhere else....

The Land is way more valuable for other purposes...

You deserve what you tolerate.

Our governor ships the replacement migration to their owners - The Demonicrats.

The last pushrod engine drag racing probably will be done in Florida. We're all a bunch of misfit, transients with a low tolerance for Bullchit.

How we ended up here.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Rietow:
There's no argument here, everyone knows this is fastest mph 6.40 et on the planet, 23 sbc n/a.



This is second fastest mph 6.40 et.



Both records set with Brodix Track 1 heads out of the box.

Why don't you show an ALL OUT pass with what you claim instead of some DIPPING into the 5s BS??
Your car doesn't weigh what you claim and those heads aren't out of the box!
You have an average at best motor and car PERIOD!

my sbc with out of the box afr heads has been 109mph at 3400 lbs, but it actually ET's what it's supposed to.

saying you have the fastest mph 6.40 car is kinda similar to winning the 100 yard dash at the special olympics.