After returning to drag racing after a LONG layoff, I built a 360 powered 66 Valiant, raced a bit, and lost ALL the time. It was a far cry from years ago when I raced a 64 Signet /6 auto car. I need your help. My income is such that I can't build the ultimate /6 car, but I can afford to build possibly a deadly consistant, street class, 1/8 mile bracket racer. In my area, street class is the ALL OTHER class. You don't have to be particularly fast, just consistant (obvious?). Early A bodies in my area are getting abit pricey, but 70+ cars aren't that bad yet. What car, engine combo, gears, etc. would you put together for the 1/8th mile (and please keep the pocketbook in mind)?

Personally, if it is going to be an 1/8th mile drag car only, I would find the cheapest body I could, probably a 4 door A body. I would run a 225 and 904, and watch the swap meets and classifieds for a cheap 8-1/4 with the most gear I could find. Headers, intakes, and converters turn up all the time too. Put the biggest tire under it you can stuff without cutting and it should hook on a frozen lake.

If the class has no minimum ET you have to run, I would shoot for being as slow as possible until I could afford to go faster.

I won a lot more with box stock Slant cars than I have ever won with anything else.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

Thanks for the quick response. The Dart I raced years ago was built by someone else. The only mods that I knew of were a Holley 2-BBl and Clifford Headers. It may or may not have had a gear in it. I never turned the tires on starting line. As I recall the tires in the rear were wider than the front. Bucket seat car, push button shifts. It actually had the Dart back end, but a plymouth front end of some sort.

I'm glad you mentioned a gear in your response. I think the Dart may have had more than stock gearing. Many people I raced commented later that the car's launch blew them away. Don't know how....it was so darn slow.

My wife and I would alternate driving the car. People would return to the staging lanes, see the car sitting there....suddenly remember they left something in the pits, and wait until another can lined up to race me. Felt pretty good.

I never thought of the 4-door idea. Maybe.....

Ya gotta think about it a little.
A slow car that is consistant has a number of advantages.
A) While your motoring down-strip, the fast guy is sitting there with
his slicks cooling down.
B) If his is an auto trans, his motor is "loading up".
C) If there's any water at all left on his tires, where is it going to
go?...the contact patch.
D) That driver is getting antsy......your car is getting awfully far away.
E) When he does get a green, that "antsy" attitude is going to manifest
itself in an attempt to cut a great light........RED LIGHT!
F) If he does do okay at the start, he doesn't lift, and blasts through
the traps with a breakout.

I saw this so many times, 25 years ago, when a buddy and I were racing a '68 slant Dart, and it was turning 18 seconds in the quarter.

It takes a good driver to keep his head on straight under those conditions. I'm with 'Zilla......get yourself a "Grandma" four-door, slant and auto, some rather steep gears, and make it deadly consistent.

Roger

I agree. When I drove the faster cars, I always loved to race a slower car though. He had the first opportunity to red light.....

Keep the stuff coming. I need all the help I can get.

I won a lot of races with basicaly a stock Slant engine. Headers and four barrel. But i built a race car. Cut the weight down to 2400 lbs put in a 8 3/4 430 gear. The was not real fast about a 9.10 car in the 1/8 and about 15.30 in the 1/4. But it was a dead on car did not have to worry about traction and fun to drive. I have won races with that setup and not have to take the hood off all day. But i wanted to go faster. then one has to solve some problems and watch out for others. Thanks Ron Parker







It Aint Over Until I Win

My brother in law just got 3rd place in Pittsburgh wih slant6ram's 20.5 sec scamp. if he hadn't red lighted in the semis who knows?

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I've had some success with my 19 second Duster bracket racing.

And Zilla is right, it drives the other guy NUTS to see you going down the track and they almost always redlight.

One time the track got my dial in time wrong (17.52 instead of 19.52) but I failed to notice it until I got halfway down the track. But the other guy redlighted and I was in to the next round!

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82 D150-225/727
02 Dakota-3.9/5 speed
87 GMC C7000-8.2 Detroit Diesel/5+2

Although I raced a 64 Signet earlier, I have my sights on between a 70 and 72 Duster or Dart. Any idea what these weigh in comparison to a 63 to say 66 Valiant? For the time being the car will be a relatively stock, but I want a model that I can expand on in the future. Thanks for everybody's input thus far.