drag car

[BlackGTO]

Anybody care to give their thoughts, pro's and con,s on which car to go for for drag racing, 72 LeMans or a 69 Firebird. Any idea on weights. Thank you, Vince

[Ron Ward]

Re: drag car

Both good choices. The early Firebird shares all the cool suspension parts with the early Camaros, the engine bay will accommodate a plethora of powerplants, ranging from turbocharged inline 6 cylinders to 600+ cubic inch nitrous-fed monsters. Goodmark and Year One both offer a complete selection of body panels and trim products to finish it off in a like new state.

The LeMans shares the same platform as the Chevelles of that era. The factory 4-link suspension, in my opinion, offers more tunability with aftermarket control arms than the Firebird's leaf sprung rear end. With a full frame under it, the LeMans offers better rigidity right off the bat over the Firebird's unibody construction, but at the cost of added weight. As with the F-body, the LeMans will hold just about any engine you wish to put in there, including a Duramax with a little shoehorning....

So, I say do what is within your budget and have fun. Either choice is going to be a cool car. Good luck with which ever one you decide to use.



Ron

[Eric68]

Re: drag car

Firebird, no hesitation whatsoever.

Lots more parts and cheaper. Many more proven combos to start from. Remember, aside from sheet metal and drivetrain, the Firebird is basically a Camaro.

The Firebird will weigh 3200-3300 max in drag race trim. If you really lighten it up 2800 is pretty reasonable. Lemans is quite a bit heavier.

[MadmanMark]

Re: drag car

I'm kind of partial to the 1st gen firebirds. I love the amount of space upfront in the engine bay and the lighter weight.

I found this web link that has good summary info for a lot of musclecars: http://books.google.com/books?id=aoj...ummary_s&cad=0

Looks like Eric is about right on, but the weight depends on the model. I think the shipping weight of a 2dr 69 hardtop is somewhere close to 3000lbs (w/o driver or fluids). The 72 Lemans is likely closer to 3700lbs. That's about a 0.7sec advantage for the bird.

The full frame and suspension options for the Lemans might handle extreme power better, but I'd think you could modify the bird to handle whatever you can squeeze in there.

[yellomalibu]

Re: drag car

You can fit a lot more tire under the Lemans without alteration... but then there are some people going awfully darn fast on small tires if you get the suspension tuned right...

If it's going to be a street-strip car, get whichever one you like better; they both can be made good, consistent racecars. In bracket racing, as you probably know, speed isn't nearly as important as consistency.

I like the looks of the bird better than the Lemans... and it is a lot lighter, so it will be faster with the same drivetrain as the Lemans.

[JeffMcKC]

Re: drag car

The Bird is the Word, its a bolt on go fast car. Eric hit all the points

[mcat]

Re: drag car

i vote 'cuda

[nosnerd]

Re: drag car

what ron said...


al

[Fordplay0621]

Re: drag car

Firebird cause it's Cooler.

[Robert1320]

Re: drag car

Anybody care to give their thoughts, pro's and con,s on which car to go for for drag racing, 72 LeMans or a 69 Firebird. Any idea on weights. Thank you, Vince

Lighter with the same power is faster.
I vote for the bird, ultimately it is your choice and your ride.

But,a single turbo 400 Poncho in the bird would be real fun!

[BUBBA]

Re: drag car

i vote 'cuda

talked to vince he said he wanted to go fast and not break...

[Monster]

Re: drag car

I vote for the '69 Firebird.
Also, seems like it would be much lighter and more fun.

Why not start a poll ??

[Fastorange]

Re: drag car

Both cars are very nice, I always ask my self, hows the fram from one to the other? will you have to cut or mod one? is one rusted away more than the other? How fast do i wana go? will i be tubing or caging the car?

I will say this. when im in the staging lanes at the track. I see a lot of nova's and camaros. Its because they have very good weight transfer. but its all in what you like and what you wana spend.

[mcat]

Re: drag car

i vote 'cuda

talked to vince he said he wanted to go fast and not break...

tea bag!!!!!

[ss427]

Re: drag car


Don't know how fast you're planning on going, but a couple of things to think about; the leaf spring cars
work, no doubt, the bird will be faster $ for $, But the coil spring car will rock-n-roll ya. I'm talking about
at least semi- well sorted stock chassis. The coil car will "feel" faster.
Value wise, the bird will always be worth a bit more, + easier to sell...