Lots of changes for the 2014 season

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Re: Lots of changes for the 2014 season

Postby spencerforhire » Thu Oct 23, 2014 7:06 am

I will answer Art's questions first; the 3rd line coming out the back of the regulator is for the fuel pressure gauge mounted on the cowl. I have a Mallory 240 GPH gerotor fuel pump; it is hooked up with a return, but has it's own internal regulator that sends the excess fuel directly back to the tank. In the future I may run a 2nd line and switch to a front mounted 4-port regulator. That would keep the fuel much cooler; on hot, sunny days with long waits in the staging lanes I sometimes experience fluctuations in pressure that I have traced to the regulator experiencing "heat soak". The spring inside the regulator actually expands and lowers the pressure. Weird problem, now partially solved by moving the regulator away from the hot air coming from the electric fan.
The use of computer(actually just a timer) controlled throttle stops does indeed make for a strange sight, especially in a class like Q/R where almost everyone has one. At most tracks, Quick Rod runs an 8.90 index and some of these dragsters have upwards of 2000HP and are capable of mid 6-sec runs at over 200 MPH. Slowed to the index, they still post big MPH numbers as high as 180, in a class that a unrestricted car would barely break 150. If you watch carefully, not all of them are configured the same way; some close the throttle a whole bunch immediately after launch and then snap open a few seconds later, usually after the trans has shifted into high gear. Others do engage a little later and come back on slowly. A friend of mine used to race a 1000HP BBC powered Datsun 240Z in Hot Rod with a 10.90 index; the car, capable of mid 8's without the throttle stop, spent 4 or 5 seconds right after launch just idling down the track and then yank the front wheels after it was out about 500ft. I actually heard an unknowing spectator tell him "once you get the bog out of that car I know it will be really quick". We just about wet ourselves laughing!
The "fleet"-
72 Vega HB Drag Car -383/'Glide/9"(9.35@146.19)(5.94@117.28 1/8th)
77 Vega Estate wagon- project(someday)will have TPI305/T-5, S-10 spindles/axles
76 Vega GT- 400/4spd/9" retired from active duty(rusty)
06 Silverado 2WD ex.cab daily
03 Silverado 2WD ex.cab (retired)
06 Haulin' 20ft enclosed car transporter
06 GMC Canyon Shop truck
07 Colorado project( 5.3 4L60e swap)
99 Saturn SL1- wife's car
01 Saturn SC2- son's project
07 Saturn Ion Redline project
and 4 more Saturn "parts cars"
Note- the very act of listing all of these has made me realize I have some kind of problem.....

Visit http://www.spencerforhire.ca
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Re: Lots of changes for the 2014 season

Postby chevyart » Thu Oct 23, 2014 11:46 am

spence that is the pump im using on my vega . line is going to go right from pump into top or my stock gas tank, over in the upper corner where the returning fuel wont bother anything. art
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Re: Lots of changes for the 2014 season

Postby spencerforhire » Thu Oct 23, 2014 3:39 pm

Art- when I switched to the Mallory return-style pump, I hooked the new -8 return line to a spare hole in the top of my fuel cell. This created a serious problem with fuel aeration(foaming). I had to extend the return all the way down into the cell below the level of the fuel and point it at the front wall to stop the thing from foaming. When I first hooked it up without the extension line, it looked like a garden hose splashing into a bucket.
The "fleet"-
72 Vega HB Drag Car -383/'Glide/9"(9.35@146.19)(5.94@117.28 1/8th)
77 Vega Estate wagon- project(someday)will have TPI305/T-5, S-10 spindles/axles
76 Vega GT- 400/4spd/9" retired from active duty(rusty)
06 Silverado 2WD ex.cab daily
03 Silverado 2WD ex.cab (retired)
06 Haulin' 20ft enclosed car transporter
06 GMC Canyon Shop truck
07 Colorado project( 5.3 4L60e swap)
99 Saturn SL1- wife's car
01 Saturn SC2- son's project
07 Saturn Ion Redline project
and 4 more Saturn "parts cars"
Note- the very act of listing all of these has made me realize I have some kind of problem.....

Visit http://www.spencerforhire.ca
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spencerforhire
 
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Joined: Mon Jul 03, 2006 9:02 pm
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia

1972 Chevrolet Vega Hatchback

Re: Lots of changes for the 2014 season

Postby chevyart » Thu Oct 23, 2014 9:40 pm

spence im glad i inquired about this whole setup. one of our members had mentioned a while ago that he had to do the same thing with his stock tank setup(same setup as mine). didnt really think this could be a problem. now i know . i will make up some sort of tube extending down near the bottom to stop the foaming. do you have a good ideas how and what i should make up. thanks art
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Posts: 1964
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Re: Lots of changes for the 2014 season

Postby spencerforhire » Thu Oct 23, 2014 10:04 pm

The extension tube in the fuel cell is an 8" piece of -8AN aluminum hard line. Flared and hooked to the bottom of the return line's bulkhead fitting with the appropriate flare nut. 5 minute fix.
The "fleet"-
72 Vega HB Drag Car -383/'Glide/9"(9.35@146.19)(5.94@117.28 1/8th)
77 Vega Estate wagon- project(someday)will have TPI305/T-5, S-10 spindles/axles
76 Vega GT- 400/4spd/9" retired from active duty(rusty)
06 Silverado 2WD ex.cab daily
03 Silverado 2WD ex.cab (retired)
06 Haulin' 20ft enclosed car transporter
06 GMC Canyon Shop truck
07 Colorado project( 5.3 4L60e swap)
99 Saturn SL1- wife's car
01 Saturn SC2- son's project
07 Saturn Ion Redline project
and 4 more Saturn "parts cars"
Note- the very act of listing all of these has made me realize I have some kind of problem.....

Visit http://www.spencerforhire.ca
User avatar
spencerforhire
 
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Joined: Mon Jul 03, 2006 9:02 pm
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia

1972 Chevrolet Vega Hatchback

Re: Lots of changes for the 2014 season

Postby chevyart » Thu Oct 23, 2014 11:44 pm

spence i did make a little bo-bo where i put the return bung. i put it on the front driver side corner, not on top, but on the side of the tank, all the way near the top. problem now is there would need to be a right angle tube going down to bottom and screw it into the bung,, but no room to screw it into bung and have it go down.if i had put it on top i could have used a straight tube down. now i need a trick line to get down there and screwed into the bung.need a fix and i dont know any trick way to get it in and fastened. the bung is female pipe thread for size 8an fitting. thanks art
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Re: Lots of changes for the 2014 season

Postby chevyart » Thu Oct 23, 2014 11:45 pm

PS any way to go straight in a little and fog the returning fuel? art
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Re: Lots of changes for the 2014 season

Postby beakerztoyz » Wed Nov 19, 2014 12:59 am

sounds like you had a good season, and I agree with Zeke on the throttle stop thing, i get that guys run them to prevent breakage and be super consistant but from a spectator point of view it really doesnt seem like real racing I suspect the only reason they let that class run in national events is to give the crowd an opportunity to go for lunch... or wander the pits.

any changes planned for the 2015 season or are you just gonna stick with what ya got?
1980 notchback sunbird... 355
1980 monza spyder.... v8

If I woulda known then what I know now....I never woulda got an h body
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Re: Lots of changes for the 2014 season

Postby spencerforhire » Wed Nov 19, 2014 8:22 am

Of course I have a whole bunch of great ideas for next year, but the constraints of time and money may not allow all of them. First on the list is a looser converter; the 4600 RPM I'm seeing now on the trans brake is not really enough. I would think 5300-5500 would help the car launch harder. One of the series I race in has FTI Converters in Florida as a major sponsor; I may send them one of mine to have loosened up or cough up for a whole new unit custom built for my combination.
Steeper gears on the wish list as well; 4.30 in there now, and I'm only seeing a hair over 7000 RPM at the stripe. HP peak is at 7500 and it's seen 8100 once when the Powerglide didn't shift. A switch to 4.56 might be too big a jump, but I recently found out that Richmond Gear now makes a 4.44 ratio. Also there is room to adjust finish line RPM with tire size; 14.5/32's on there now, but they're worn out anyway, and I have room for as big as a 15/33. The gear decision may wait until the spring; of the four tracks I run at, two may be switching to 1/8 mile. That changes everything. And of course the converter and gears may require the installation of the wheelie bars; haven't really need them yet, but........
Along with the new slicks previously mentioned, I need new Front Runners as well; 300+ passes and they're bald. Didn't realize you could actually wear out front tires on a drag car.
I really should change the front end fiberglass and install a larger aero scoop(all of which I have) and paint the whole car; everyone else seems to like the black primer, but I'm getting tired of it. I can envision green with wild multi-colored stripes, but black with flames has been sneaking into my dreams. This is more a problem of time than money; a long, long time ago I used to do custom paint.
There is also some frame surgery I should get to; the 4-link in there doesn't have enough adjustment holes. In order to install the proper brackets, I need to change a straight section of the main 1 5/8" frame rail to an "S" curve.
The good news this winter is that the motor and trans need NOTHING done to them; 110 passes this year with zero problems. The spare motor might get it's long overdue refresh I've been promising, but that should be nothing more than a quick hone and gaskets, rings & bearings.
Also some minor things that need to be done that I've been putting off; I'd like to try and move the seat back a little farther and maybe drop the steering column a bit. Ergonomics are so important; gotta be comfortable in there. Fuel pressure regulator needs to be relocated; I've been fighting fluctuations in fuel pressure for 3 years(constantly needs adjusting). It's not any where close to the headers, but is getting hot from the air exiting the fan.
And a hundred more little jobs; hope I can get to all of them. Its a long winter(first race is the end of May), but my business takes a lot of time and attention away from the Vega. Got to make money to spend money; life is cruel.
The "fleet"-
72 Vega HB Drag Car -383/'Glide/9"(9.35@146.19)(5.94@117.28 1/8th)
77 Vega Estate wagon- project(someday)will have TPI305/T-5, S-10 spindles/axles
76 Vega GT- 400/4spd/9" retired from active duty(rusty)
06 Silverado 2WD ex.cab daily
03 Silverado 2WD ex.cab (retired)
06 Haulin' 20ft enclosed car transporter
06 GMC Canyon Shop truck
07 Colorado project( 5.3 4L60e swap)
99 Saturn SL1- wife's car
01 Saturn SC2- son's project
07 Saturn Ion Redline project
and 4 more Saturn "parts cars"
Note- the very act of listing all of these has made me realize I have some kind of problem.....

Visit http://www.spencerforhire.ca
User avatar
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1972 Chevrolet Vega Hatchback

Re: Lots of changes for the 2014 season

Postby Monza Harry » Wed Nov 19, 2014 10:55 pm

Spencer BLACK with FLAMES! :th: (from the guy with the REAL imaginative plain red Monza :lol: ) Green is bad luck in racing superstition, if that sort of thing matters to you! Good luck and can't wait for updates. Harry
I'm not a hoarder I'm a preservationist 78 Monza Spyder (~Soon(ish +/- I guess) To Be 2+2 with Spoilers)
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Re: Lots of changes for the 2014 season

Postby beakerztoyz » Thu Nov 20, 2014 12:58 am

I've never been a fan of the flat black thing.... I think green with wild stripes would look cool, and i know all about having to make money to spend it... at this point I'm still trying to make enough to try drag racing.. thanks for the update it sounds like you got this racing thing right figured out :th:
1980 notchback sunbird... 355
1980 monza spyder.... v8

If I woulda known then what I know now....I never woulda got an h body
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Posts: 344
Joined: Sun Feb 18, 2007 1:02 pm
Location: southern alberta

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