squirrel's 55 chevy

[squirrel]

Re: squirrel's 55 chevy

thanks again guys!

I took the car into town tonight to fetch some old Ford parts for that Model A I'm working on....seems to stop a bit better, less pedal effort...not quite like power brakes. It'll do. Definitely worth spending $40 on.

[Blazerteam]

Re: squirrel's 55 chevy

Havent noticed your posts in the last month.Waay cool pics of your project.Must be relieving to have a car in primer in such easy climate ;)

[squirrel]

Re: squirrel's 55 chevy

Since I took my car to the races and ran 11.25, I've been thinking about what it would take to get into the tens.....you know how it is.....

From playing with an old drag racing program, it looks like I have the combination set up pretty well, so I probably need to look at losing some weight, and maybe making some more boost. I found a few heavy things on the car that I could change relatively easily. Changing the drive ratio gets kind of expensive, though. I need to by either two pulleys, or a different belt and one pulley. I guess I could shop around for used pulleys and see what's available.

I'm thinking about running my Centerlines next time I go to the strip, that should knock about 40 lbs or so off. Also I have those 3.5" Super Tricks, and a friend has a pair of skinny Auto Drags, so I could get some front runners, that should help too. The old aluminum slots are heavy.

I was also thinking about putting some more aluminum on the car...brake master cylinder, radiator, etc. And maybe finding a lighter battery. I could take out the pass/rear seats too, although the front seats are a pain to unbolt.

I really don't want to change anything on the motor, it's too nice as a street car the way it is. And I want to keep the creature comforts...cruise, heat, stereo, full upholstery.

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: squirrel's 55 chevy

Since I took my car to the races and ran 11.25, I've been thinking about what it would take to get into the tens.....you know how it is.....

....

I really don't want to change anything on the motor, it's too nice as a street car the way it is. And I want to keep the creature comforts...cruise, heat, stereo, full upholstery.

I like the way you think. I don't know enough to say how much weight you'd have to ditch to slide down into the tens, but it'd definately be pretty awesome.

[squirrel]

Re: squirrel's 55 chevy

roughly a tenth per hundred pounds. There are some other things I could play with too...

[SuperBuickGuy]

Re: squirrel's 55 chevy

I'm too lazy to re-find your race post - but wasn't your reaction time .17something? trust me, I'm not a tree jockey, however perhaps the first place to start would be to copy Steve's Christmas tree and practice reaction times

[fahrenschnell]

Re: squirrel's 55 chevy

I am definitely in agreement about the weight....With that big beautiful blown big block out front I would focus on losing weight up there.....Like the things you already mentioned.....also look at mounting the bumper with aluminum brackets....that can save some serious weight....think of things like that.

Awesome Car BTW....

Seth

[squirrel]

Re: squirrel's 55 chevy

I'm too lazy to re-find your race post - but wasn't your reaction time .17something? trust me, I'm not a tree jockey, however perhaps the first place to start would be to copy Steve's Christmas tree and practice reaction times

that won't help the ET....but it will help win races

[CTX-SLPR]

Re: squirrel's 55 chevy

I vote lighter wheels, aluminum bumper brackets, lighter battery, and maybe an aluminum radiator fogged black. The aluminum master cylinder would probably be a good idea but it kinda clashes with my idea of the vibe of the car. Any crossmembers you can make out of tube, steel sheetmetal bracketry or paneling that could be refabbed out of aluminum? Drilling lightening holes would be in the vibe of the car if you did it right but I think you're not up for that kind of reduced structure.

[squirrel]

Re: squirrel's 55 chevy

Sounds good....although I'm not up to making structural parts out of aluminum, and the trans crossmember I have is pretty light (it looks scary).

I even briefly considered putting some fiberglass on the front, but I don't know.

I think I can get a plastic/aluminum radiator that will bolt in for about a hunnerd bucks new! although it has those wonderful plastic tanks.

I was even looking at the blower drive, I could go to a 2" belt and probably lose 10 lbs, the drive stuff is very heavy.

[Scott Liggett]

Re: squirrel's 55 chevy

One piece 'glass front clip, straight axle. and no interior...........

I think you're quickly reaching the decision to whether this a street car or a race car. If you don't want to gut it, or spend $1000's on lightweight stuff; your only other choice is to increase power. You and I never discussed the details of your engine or it's bottom end, but the easiest way is to turn up the boost.

None of us can answer those questions. It's your car and you have to live with the results.

[BangShift McT]

Re: squirrel's 55 chevy

Shoot for the lighter wheels first. As much as I love the American's on your car, those suckers are heavy. At least some track-only wheels and tires. I really wouldn't mess more with your car, like Scott said, you're right on that fence of street vs. race car.

[Brian Lohnes]

Re: squirrel's 55 chevy

I'm too lazy to re-find your race post - but wasn't your reaction time .17something? trust me, I'm not a tree jockey, however perhaps the first place to start would be to copy Steve's Christmas tree and practice reaction times

Clock starts when the car moves. In theory you can sit with the green light on for minutes and still rip off a 10 second pass.

[squirrel]

Re: squirrel's 55 chevy

I'm going to keep the suspension the way it is, I did put some lightweight Wilwood brakes on a it a few years ago. I'll probably be lucky to get rid of 100 lbs total....so playing with boost is next on the agenda, if needed. And that won't get too crazy either, 10 psi is all I'd go.

[SuperBuickGuy]

Re: squirrel's 55 chevy

be careful with boost - I played with boost and burned a hole in a piston..... my mistake was not following DF's advice and using Nitros in the place of an intercooler.....