Junkyard Formula Poll

[BBR]

Deals pop up, but you can't fiddle fart around. You gotta strike. My first set of TFS heads were bought second hand new off the corral for well under retail and the guy threw in a set of arp head bolts. The second set were used from Craigslist and needed quite a bit of fiddling to get he IH right on all the valves.

[CDMBill]

They'd make my junk short block feel inferior . . . .

SCJ's are great . . . and if I was trying to hit "the number" "on motor," I'd be seriously thinking P51s (which is basically Kaase's ported SCJ in cast form).

But isn't anybody a little curious what a set of free "anvil" heads, some lousy Harbor Freight die grinders, and a big sack 'o power adder in the hands of a complete jackass can do?

It might not be a Hindenburg-sized fail . . . For example, nearly a decade ago, Trevor Cornwell used even more worthless EFI heads and managed to push a non-Mustang Fox 460 into the 11.40s . . . with 2.73 gears, a tiny camshaft, and a way-less-than optimal power-adder set-up.

http://www.undrprsr.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=42

More gear, more power adder, more camshaft, and better castings ought to be worth another half-second . . .

Besides, E7s aren't exactly flow monsters, yet many 302 racers have power-added 'em into the tens, such as MMFF's first season "Hooligan Hot Rod" http://www.peregrinesupercars.com/Hooligan%2093GT.htm

(Note: this is the flip-side to a discussion Beagle and I had on Bangshift, in which he was waxing eloquent about the potential of home-ported Explorer heads and I was championing the "checkbook rodder" aftermarket aluminum. Irony, sweet irony!)

Who would be wielding the dread HArbor Freight die grinders's? Porting iron heads isn't fun, I've done it. Once. If its hair shirt time build an FE with iron heads. Otherwise the BBR recipe is hard to beat. And, more torque means less rear gear is necessary. Short race tires and tall road tires can be a substitute for an overdrive trans too. Then you can run a C6 or a C4 with a proper bell housing. But, you are burning daylight now and it'll take money to buy back the time that's slipped away in the mean time. Good luck!

[Beagle]

you take about 8 pounds of iron out per side on the exhausts, 2 on the intakes, and most of it goes right up your nose. Plan on about 80 hours of blowing black snot. RHP has some decent guides if you can take the a.d.d. approach to reading. I'm VERY curious what a set of D3ve's will do. I'm not willing to start over and go with D0ve's, or maybe I am. It means a cam change and I want to see what the 20.00 ebay school bus cam will do for mine.

Headers are the big expense in this swap. Watch 429-460, corral, 460.com for used ones if you are a broke ass unemployed guy like me and 300.00 is still a lot.

3.27's and the BBF's propensity for torque may well get you booted for no roll bar. You're still running manageable RPM at 70 and seriously, the cost in gas difference between 10 mpg and 15 mpg will not justify an overdrive for a "Test" car... stick it together, get some miles on it, see if you like it. Put 28" tires under it for the road, 26x9 slicks if you don't think it has enough gear on the track.

And here's where I probably lose another 5.00 .... I dare you. I double dog dare you. I don't think you can do it. I'll be there with my tow truck mill and iron heads and mine will outrun yours. 5.00 says you won't do it.

(that , in theory, should end this poll... hahahahahaha.)

[greenXpress]

Speedy, get something together and on the road. My BIGGEST mistake last year (and I had many), was not deciding which combo I wanted to go with. Bunch of e-bay finds laying around and two or three different plans of attack, along with some family emergencies and I found myself testing at 4 different tracks on 5 consecutive days (during Drag Week). Was not happy at all with my runs and couldn't do much about it since my shop was back at home. Would have been even worse if my junk left me stranded. I'm doing what Bill & Beagle suggest. Tall for the highway and shorter slicks for the track. Will continue till I get a gear vendors.
Get er done.

And Beagle, can't wait to see what a school bus cam will do. I'm in a school bus twice a day.

[BBR]

And here's where I probably lose another 5.00 .... I dare you. I double dog dare you. I don't think you can do it. I'll be there with my tow truck mill and iron heads and mine will outrun yours. 5.00 says you won't do it.

(that , in theory, should end this poll... hahahahahaha.)

[quick 52]

if you want overdrive put a 700r4 in they will hold up to 450hp and a little hose to... I have one behind my bbf and has been there four year's did burn up the converter lockup clutch once doing wot lockup will work 20 or so passes then they start slipping

[poison gas]

I run 28" et streets racing, and had 29" tires for the drive but they were coker piecrust cheater slicks(no tread) that wasnt fun in the rain. I now have 30" tires with tread. I run 3.55 gears and will keep that gear. I am going with more stall though. Smallblock with good heads and spray is not much diff than my supercharger combo. If you have lots of sbf stuff, and don't want to mess with rollbars, use what you have, but JUST DO IT.

[38P]

Plan on about 80 hours of blowing black snot.

I have an OSHA-approved respirator and I'm not afraid to use it (BTW, a respirator is a handy item when you have to change the poopy diapers of your spawn/grandspawn)

3.27's and the BBF's propensity for torque may well get you booted for no roll bar.

I haven't given up on the roll bar just yet. But if I don't have a solid deal done by Memorial Day, I'll have to go 11.50s. The gear is going to be 3.55 (although I have some 3.73s . . . but Bob Holmes or someone else got me thinking this is an "endurance" race with a few special high-speed sections thrown in and I should keep the revs down with factory parts.)

And here's where I probably lose another 5.00 .... I dare you. I double dog dare you. I don't think you can do it. I'll be there with my tow truck mill and iron heads and mine will outrun yours. 5.00 says you won't do it.

I should just mail the money now . . . .

[38P]

Speedy, get something together and on the road. My BIGGEST mistake last year (and I had many), was not deciding which combo I wanted to go with. Bunch of e-bay finds laying around and two or three different plans of attack, along with some family emergencies and I found myself testing at 4 different tracks on 5 consecutive days (during Drag Week). Was not happy at all with my runs and couldn't do much about it since my shop was back at home. Would have been even worse if my junk left me stranded. I'm doing what Bill & Beagle suggest. Tall for the highway and shorter slicks for the track. Will continue till I get a gear vendors.
Get er done.

And Beagle, can't wait to see what a school bus cam will do. I'm in a school bus twice a day.

Good advice! I just hope you'll tow my junkpile over to the shoulder when it blows up.

BTW, I may be using some John Deere Blitz Black on portions of my heap . . . . http://blitzblack.com/

[38P]

I run 28" et streets racing, and had 29" tires for the drive but they were coker piecrust cheater slicks(no tread) that wasnt fun in the rain. I now have 30" tires with tread. I run 3.55 gears and will keep that gear. I am going with more stall though. Smallblock with good heads and spray is not much diff than my supercharger combo. If you have lots of sbf stuff, and don't want to mess with rollbars, use what you have, but JUST DO IT.

Piecrusts are bitchin. (and kinda expensive).

Beagle talked me out of SBF with all the carnage pictures . . . and now that there's a fiver on the line, I'll need all the power I can muster up. No replacement for displacement (at least at this budget level . . . cue the "use an LS" fan club).

[BBR]

I'll be there with my tow truck mill and iron heads and mine will outrun yours. 5.00 says you won't do it.

Sooooooo that begs the question...... What exactly is the status of your car?!??! pics or shenanigans!

[38P]

Sooooooo that begs the question...... What exactly is the status of your car?!??! pics or shenanigans!

Sitrep, 148 hours before the 2013 DW Driver's Meeting: Status -- FAIL. Emergency "Plan B" initiated.


So why did the plan to build a "junk" 10.80 BBF turbo car out of a non-Mustang Fox in less than four months fail?

Perhaps it's obvious, but essentially because I ran out of parts, time, money, credit, endurance . . . and working lawnmowers (Yes, one still has to perform all of the other mundane homeowner chores in addition to the build) . . . .

Certainly a completely bolt-together SBF turbo Mustang could have worked with such a late start. Or an "all motor" or nitroused 460 Fox. Or a simpler 11.50 car. Or possibly a drag-only car that doesn't have to hold together for thousands of highway miles. Or perhaps a "big budget" car assembled by a team of professionals on a pristine original "core."

But not a complex oddball amateur build that started with a cast-off, should-have-been-crushed body and worn-out, sludged-up engine. Not one that required fabrication and modification of "bolt-on" parts at every turn. Not one that generated scores of unbudgeted expenses on virtually a daily basis. Not one that required so much safety equipment for the last seven-tenths of a second of E.T.

(And not one that costs so much . . . Unlike that "$9,000" turbo BBF Maverick in the November 2013 Car Craft, my receipts total twice as much . . . and there's still more spending ahead before my wreck ever turns a tire under power)


So now, it's after Labor Day and I've got a flat wallet and two non-running cars.

The rear suspension of "Plan B" is disassembled . . . stopped cold by a weird OEM third-arm bracket bolt that won't come close to fitting the Steeda "Competition" Upper Adjustable Trailing Arm mount (surprisingly the selection of grade Metric hardware at Lowe's on a national holiday is somewhat deficient) . . . Replacement ZEX nitrous pieces that are still in the shipping box . . . Worthless 18" drag radials that haven't seen the light of day since DW '12 . . . .

It's another year of being on the "outside" looking in at the Quick 32 and the hot "class" cars . . . .

See y'all Sunday . . . .

[greenXpress]

Great try at it Speedy. You forgot to mention the tornadoes, and storms this past year. On the bright side, the a/c will come in handy along with the cup holders. If you happen to see an old guy in a green truck stopped on the side of the road .........