racing the ranchero

rommaster2":2im0cq2b said:
Are you running the turbo?? If not with that 1 barrel especially you are at a severe disadvantage at anything other then to 60ft. Of course my falcon which is slow slow slow can keep up with a 5.0 to 60 feet, but nobody considers that :(.

i dont have a turbo on this engine, but my 1 barrel is much bigger than the stock one, i also have a very hot igniton system and moded exhaust
 
bubba22349":16anr88w said:
Downey isn't so far I am off 605 at lower Ausza. I think you would be looking at the mostly likely area for the stubble in the accelerator pump. Could be a little late or not quite enough of a shot of fuel or sometimes it's too early and or too much of a shot you would have to experiment some. Other area that might need some work would be the advance (mech.) in distrib. usally works better if it’s quicker. How dose your Ranchero hook any chassis mods? Do you have a shift kit in the trans? Traction bars etc. If I could see it leave from a stop could help you with the chassis setup several simple changes would get it hooking up better.

it hooks good on the street when i gas it on a green, i dont have any chassis mods but i put my tire psi to 25
 
i just built a new taller carb spacer 1/4" thick, my carb hat does'nt fit anymore but i dont seem to have the bogging anymore and i have way better throttle responce, why oh i forgot to add i have a mild cam that starts pulling around 2000 rpm
 
Is there room to go with a 1 1/2 to 2 inch high on that carb spacer? Do you run a front sway bar? If so you could disconnect or remove it now or when you get to the track. Allows the front end to rise and transfer more weight to rear. A set of stiff 50/50 rear shocks helps and some 90 /10 or 80 /20 on front or just an old worn out set of shocks also helps front end rise. The front shocks are not something that you want to use for full time Street driving though. If you pre assembled them and made sure that your current shocks would unbolt before (clean up threads of dirt & rust etc.) then would be easy enough to change when you got to the track. You could also add some spring clamps to front section of rear leaf springs to stiffen them up some and decreases the wrap up from the torque you can make them out of some ¼ steel strap and drill a hole for a bolt on each end. Is a good move on the rear tire pressure also you can add some to front tires so they roll easier extra 5 psi or more. To take it further a tall narrow tire on a 15 x 4 rolls even easier too, less drag again not for full time street use cuts down on handling i.e. cornering. If you have the drum type brakes check to see that the shoes are not dragging and back them off until there is no drag when you get to the track. Shed as much weight as you can from front end and to the inside of cab i.e. spare tire, jack, tools and all other non-essentials. If you want to go even further put in just one bucket seat for you and remove the front bumper. Also check the front end alignment especially the toe in with steering box on height point (centered) ideal setting is with you or your equivalent weight on the seat and front end raised 1 inch with a 1/16 inch toe. Couple last ideas you could make a torque strap for engine from some 1/8 or 3/16 steel about an inch wide is good, cable or a chain works too this is so that your transferring all the torque it can to the chassis. If you know how to check your C4 trans band adjustments, with an adjustable trans module you can add a little firmer and quicker shift too, and you should only use the type F fluid less slippage. Hope some of this is useful to you if you have never run at the drags before can fill you in on the tech inspection, rules, staging, and cutting a good light etc.
 
You do want a little air in them try around 40 to 50 psi not so much that it is raising the back up real high just about level or with a very slight rake above the front end. If you are not getting good traction at the right rear tire getting the opposite side front corner up with some spring spacers will help. Do you have 64 or a later 67 up trans? Old racers trick to shift all three gears on the pre 67 Ford trans take off in Low move shifter up to D (green dot) then quickly pull liver back down to L this holds it in second until you put it into D again. You can also swap in the much better 67 up select shift valve body.
 
yep ive got the green dot, i didnt know it was able to stay in 2nd, so its 1st, d, then 2nd? also what happens if i make a thicker carb spacer
 
Yeah the trick is to start in Low then when you are ready to go for second i.e. the cams at peak torque and starts to lay down or if using a tach about 100 or so RPM over). Then move shift lever to Drive (you don’t want to stay in D) immediately pull the lever back into the low position this locks trans into second gear if you leave it in the D position or wait to long the trans short shifts and goes into High. Then when you reach your target RPM move lever back to Drive for the shift into High gear. It will only take you a little practice to get the timing down right for the second shift. Later on I would still recommend that you swap in the 67 up valve body when you have the time it's the much better solution and you can find them for dirt cheap. Making the shift from first to second faster it's a simple bolt in project add a shift kit will shift even faster and reduces the trans wear over old style valve body. The taller spacer adds to the manifold plenum volume, lots of engines will make a little more power with a 1 to 2 inch spacer under the carb. Any chance you could shoot some videos of the car's launch? Seeing how the chassis is reacting would be a big help in guiding the finale settings to get the best times out of it.
 
the cam is the wild card in this, otherwise your setup is the same as mine i have a msd powered duraspark 2 and a 2 barrel into an adaptor. biggest difference is mine has a 3.80 rear gear and a 5 speed. its fun on the street but theres not enough topend for a race like this.

I love these straight sixes though (i mean why else woudl i be building one *shrug*) i still think the honda will win cause your 1 barrel may be bigger then stock but i doubt its big enough to make a large enough difference at this point. The automatic is another factor, what rear gear are you running? To put it into perspective my gfs civic only has like 110 ftlbs of torque at like 5,000 rpms however its also got like 4.56 diff gear so it makes up for the difference a bit to get it into the higher powerband.

You just gotta do it and let us know :devilish:
 
i think i have the shifting down, im going to build a torque link to hold the engine down, im starting to think i have a chance, my ranchero is faster then my grandmas accord
 
64 200 ranchero":vt8jnvdo said:
i think i have the shifting down, im going to build a torque link to hold the engine down, im starting to think i have a chance, my ranchero is faster then my grandmas accord

With your grandma driving it?
 
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