NickD said:
From the Sick The Mag Facebook page:
"Bryant Goldstone has thrashed through a sleepless night to replace a torched head on his Javelin and he finally got on track at 3pm here at day four of Drag Week. It’s a loose run but by our calculations this 7.111 gives him a 6.833 average, while Alex Taylor’s earlier 6.799 gives her a 6.850. There’s one day to go and it’s game on!"
And he just came back up and ran in the sixes, so he has some breathing room now.
NickD
MegaDork
9/19/24 3:51 p.m.
eastsideTim said:
NickD said:
From the Sick The Mag Facebook page:
"Bryant Goldstone has thrashed through a sleepless night to replace a torched head on his Javelin and he finally got on track at 3pm here at day four of Drag Week. It’s a loose run but by our calculations this 7.111 gives him a 6.833 average, while Alex Taylor’s earlier 6.799 gives her a 6.850. There’s one day to go and it’s game on!"
And he just came back up and ran in the sixes, so he has some breathing room now.
Yep, just saw that. 6.54/223mph.
It is very hot out here today, at least humidity isn't bad. Finnegan is out, and Goldstone and Taylor are still both in contention for overall win.
NickD
MegaDork
9/20/24 1:09 p.m.
"Drama here in the final day of Drag Week. Bryant Goldstone just made his first pass but there was a problem with the car and it slowed to a 7.88. That will NOT be enough to win if he can’t make a quicker pass later…"
Goldstone's gotta go faster if he wants to hold onto the lead.
NickD
MegaDork
9/20/24 1:20 p.m.
eastsideTim said:
Finnegan is out...
I know they said that they had a misfire that they could not seem to cure. I wonder if they issue ran deeper than expected. I gotta say, I used to think 426 Hemis were the E36 M3, but now I agree with David Freiburger's view on them; shockingly fragile, expensive to build, expensive to fix, hard to get parts for, and not that big of a performance advantage. The only time a Mopar won Drag Week, it was Eddie Miller's Duster and it did so with a big nitrous Mopar Wedge. (And poor Ford guys have no Drag Week overall win to their corner)
In reply to NickD :
They used to be, but now it's just a very old architecture. And it seems like if you want to step up above an LS, purpose built big block chevies are a lot cheaper to build.
Finnegan broke a rocker arm and support. "Glitter bomb in the dry sump tank" per Finnegan and not enough parts to fix.
NickD
MegaDork
9/20/24 1:50 p.m.
In reply to eastsideTim :
Yes, the 426 Hemi is old architecture, but guys are going plenty fast on conventional big block Chevy platforms (Cleetus did 6.30s on his old twin turbo 540) and that engine platform is just as old. It seems like a lot of the Hemi performance even back in the day was pretty overstated. 440 Wedge motors would run with, or even outrun, the 426 when they were new.
Was able to capture a competition bye for the first round of the tremec stick shift shootout. Ran a 12.89@112. Horrible 60' time and could have been a 40-50 pass if it acted right. Awaiting second round.
In reply to Ranger50 :
Think I got a few photos of you in the second round. If they're any good, I'll upload when I get home tonight.
And holy E36 M3. I won second round! Other guy left before the tree was activated. 12.96 on that pass.
On to round 3!
NickD
MegaDork
9/20/24 3:05 p.m.
In reply to Ranger50 :
In racing, sometimes it's better to be lucky than fast.
Mr_Asa
MegaDork
9/20/24 3:16 p.m.
NickD said:
eastsideTim said:
Finnegan is out...
I know they said that they had a misfire that they could not seem to cure. I wonder if they issue ran deeper than expected. I gotta say, I used to think 426 Hemis were the E36 M3, but now I agree with David Freiburger's view on them; shockingly fragile, expensive to build, expensive to fix, hard to get parts for, and not that big of a performance advantage. The only time a Mopar won Drag Week, it was Eddie Miller's Duster and it did so with a big nitrous Mopar Wedge. (And poor Ford guys have no Drag Week overall win to their corner)
Any of Ford's Godzilla engines shown up yet? Wonder how well it would do and if there is enough aftermarket for it yet?
NickD
MegaDork
9/20/24 3:26 p.m.
Mr_Asa said:
NickD said:
eastsideTim said:
Finnegan is out...
I know they said that they had a misfire that they could not seem to cure. I wonder if they issue ran deeper than expected. I gotta say, I used to think 426 Hemis were the E36 M3, but now I agree with David Freiburger's view on them; shockingly fragile, expensive to build, expensive to fix, hard to get parts for, and not that big of a performance advantage. The only time a Mopar won Drag Week, it was Eddie Miller's Duster and it did so with a big nitrous Mopar Wedge. (And poor Ford guys have no Drag Week overall win to their corner)
Any of Ford's Godzilla engines shown up yet? Wonder how well it would do and if there is enough aftermarket for it yet?
Cleetus MacFarland had one with twin turbos and a Lenco in a Fox-body. It was fast, like mid-7s with ported OEM heads, OEM block, OEM crank, sheetmetal intake and a cam. But the aftermarket wasn't quite there yet at the time. They hurt the internals a couple times, then finally were able to get rods and pistonsm and then it seemed like it was constantly pushing head gaskets out, even with head studs and upgraded gaskets. If the aftermarket continues, that's a pretty cool motor, because it's basically an LS, but big block-sized. In fact, GM LS lifters drop right in the block, and they were running aftermarket LS lifters in it.
NickD
MegaDork
9/20/24 4:11 p.m.
And Goldstone is changing the transmission in the Javelin. That dude has to be exhausted, but he just will not quit.
And lost on a red light as the clutch pulled me through the lights.
NickD
MegaDork
9/20/24 6:41 p.m.
NickD said:
And Goldstone is changing the transmission in the Javelin. That dude has to be exhausted, but he just will not quit.
He got it changed, blasted a Hail Mary 6.59 and won it. Can't say he didn't earn that one.
NickD said:
In reply to eastsideTim :
Yes, the 426 Hemi is old architecture, but guys are going plenty fast on conventional big block Chevy platforms (Cleetus did 6.30s on his old twin turbo 540) and that engine platform is just as old. It seems like a lot of the Hemi performance even back in the day was pretty overstated. 440 Wedge motors would run with, or even outrun, the 426 when they were new.
A lot of that was because the 426 Hemi was more or less a homologation special and they were great in street trim but they really needed to be wrung out to work well. And the Hemi chamber was great for airflow but at the expense of piston weight and combustion quality thanks to the huge domes needed to get any compression.
They're awesome with twin plug heads... and forced induction so you can run pistons with less dome and therefore compression.
Interesting about the fragility. I guess 413s are hard to come by because they would crack out the main webs in service. Pull an engine for low oil pressure and you'd find that it was all leaking out through the cracks in the block. Presumably the later blocks were strengthened. Still a lot better than the 427 SOHC Fords that maybe only got one or two drag passes before you had to hold the oil pan up with a floor jack when you were changing the engine between rounds
sources: listening to old farts who drag raced in the 60s
NickD said:
NickD said:
And Goldstone is changing the transmission in the Javelin. That dude has to be exhausted, but he just will not quit.
He got it changed, blasted a Hail Mary 6.59 and won it. Can't say he didn't earn that one.
Wow, that's impressive. I left a smidge before 3:30 so I missed it. When I walked by the pits, they were still working on it, and Alex and Dennis had not packed up yet, so I assumed they were going to follow him into the staging lanes if he made it in time.
A few shots of Ranger50 (let me know if you want them in higher res):
And a few others I liked:
Mr_Asa said:
NickD said:
eastsideTim said:
Finnegan is out...
I know they said that they had a misfire that they could not seem to cure. I wonder if they issue ran deeper than expected. I gotta say, I used to think 426 Hemis were the E36 M3, but now I agree with David Freiburger's view on them; shockingly fragile, expensive to build, expensive to fix, hard to get parts for, and not that big of a performance advantage. The only time a Mopar won Drag Week, it was Eddie Miller's Duster and it did so with a big nitrous Mopar Wedge. (And poor Ford guys have no Drag Week overall win to their corner)
Any of Ford's Godzilla engines shown up yet? Wonder how well it would do and if there is enough aftermarket for it yet?
Godzilla? Not yet because it's just too new. Can easily do the LS things to it and make LS power.
BBF could win overall but it's hampered by the offerings. I mean any street corner, aka competitors, have parts for a sbc/bbc, if you break it. You can't build a bbf the same way as a sbc/bbc from an engine builder perspective IMO. A BBF can easily handle/make 3k hp with factory style heads and not the a460/c460 style. Plus you won't work on it excessively every day.
The next problem is a chassis. And meaning more of what you go with. The difference between unlimited and unlimited iron is body material, besides that, same rules. So do you find a ford or run some other brand? Look up Keith or maybe it's Kevin Hargett (edit: Ryan hargett). They are building a 69 Camaro "pro mod" aka unlimited class, powered by a coyote. The Galaxie is a "big" car but it's body on frame unlike a fairlane/mustang/falcon unibody. Remember there are still some rules. Lol.
If I wanted to win overall with a Ford, I'd run a conventional cj/scj style headed aluminum blocked BBF running a 4.5" square motor, turbo400, on like a 33x16 slick, with twin 88's stuffed into some Ford vehicle shell, maybe even a pickup.
NickD
MegaDork
9/21/24 8:29 p.m.
Ranger50 said:
Mr_Asa said:
NickD said:
eastsideTim said:
Finnegan is out...
I know they said that they had a misfire that they could not seem to cure. I wonder if they issue ran deeper than expected. I gotta say, I used to think 426 Hemis were the E36 M3, but now I agree with David Freiburger's view on them; shockingly fragile, expensive to build, expensive to fix, hard to get parts for, and not that big of a performance advantage. The only time a Mopar won Drag Week, it was Eddie Miller's Duster and it did so with a big nitrous Mopar Wedge. (And poor Ford guys have no Drag Week overall win to their corner)
Any of Ford's Godzilla engines shown up yet? Wonder how well it would do and if there is enough aftermarket for it yet?
Godzilla? Not yet because it's just too new. Can easily do the LS things to it and make LS power.
BBF could win overall but it's hampered by the offerings. I mean any street corner, aka competitors, have parts for a sbc/bbc, if you break it. You can't build a bbf the same way as a sbc/bbc from an engine builder perspective IMO. A BBF can easily handle/make 3k hp with factory style heads and not the a460/c460 style. Plus you won't work on it excessively every day.
The next problem is a chassis. And meaning more of what you go with. The difference between unlimited and unlimited iron is body material, besides that, same rules. So do you find a ford or run some other brand? Look up Keith or maybe it's Kevin Hargett. They are building a 69 Camaro "pro mod" aka unlimited class, powered by a coyote. The Galaxie is a "big" car but it's body on frame unlike a fairlane/mustang/falcon unibody. Remember there are still some rules. Lol.
If I wanted to win overall with a Ford, I'd run a conventional cj/scj style headed aluminum blocked BBF running a 4.5" square motor, turbo400, on like a 33x16 slick, with twin 88's stuffed into some Ford vehicle shell, maybe even a pickup.
Using a Pro Stock Truck Ford Ranger would get you an aero package that the OE spent time sorting already. That was a factor when Larry Larson built that S-1], he could get a PST front clip and not have to develop an aero front end from scratch.
In reply to NickD :
Aero? Pfffft. It's about being cool with a brick.