I'm Gonna Build A Dragster!

BlueNorther, I figured you had lots of experience. Glad you got a job. I've got 10 years on you so there's still plenty of time for you to hit the strip.
Yes, Berry is going strong. They do lots of cams for pulling trucks and tractors.

Yesterday we had a break in the rainy weather. I made two 100 foot runs up the driveway. Left a little rubber on the pavement even at less than half throttle. Still don't know if second gear works and now the rain has returned. More delays.

Which TransGo shift kit did you use?

the TF-2 street an strip kit or the full manual TF-3 kit?

if it's the -3 full manual kit, you can test 2nd and 3rd gear sitting still in the garage with the tires on the ground. the full manual kit is set-up so the trans is in whatever gear you choose.

with the engine idling, pump up the brakes good n tight and put the shifter into 2nd gear it should engage and drag the motor down some, and you can try revving the motor slightly to see if it's engaging the 2nd gear band.

you can also test the stall speed of the converter by pumping the brakes as tight as possible, putting the shifter in 3rd gear, and momentarily going full throttle, the converter will go to max stall speed for a second or two. don't hold it wide open more than a few seconds or you could damage the converter or high gear clutches. the TF-2 kit won't allow such shenanigans as it is set for auto shifting.

we use to do the high gear throttle test all the time to keep tabs on the health of my race converters. this test works because the trans in high gear doesn't have the torque multiplication of low gear to over come the brakes.

some tricks I used to use to not blow away skinny hard tires like you are stuck with in this class.

when running a three speed auto, was to over-cam the engine killing off some low end torque. (more duration than ideal)

running headers (short runners) designed for a stick car, with no/or very short collector extensions, to kill even more low end torque.

having used Holley 4bbls. in this scenario, I would use a 50cc accelerator pump on a vacuum secondary cab with small to medium shooter size to carry a long duration pump shot off the line and down the track to the point where rpm was high enough.

and on really slimy tracks in pre-concrete launch pad days, I would even start in second gear and run it as a 2 speed. this was all in the days before trans brakes, when I was doing 2000 rpm foot brake launches.

remember these are hard earned secrets, so don't share them;-)

I made a simple scoop.
Made another 100 foot driveway pass. About half throttle, no bog or miss. Left two rubber tracks for about 30 feet. Just a slight burn. It appears that I have first gear in first and second. Will check the adjustment of the shifter tomorrow.
BlueNorther, if I ever run this thing enough to get it stabilized, I can use many of your suggestions to make it quicker.

I like the scoop, but would make one small mod to it.

see that brace at the front? if you were to take an air nozzle and aim it at the middle of that bracket with your right hand and put your left hand above the scoop opening and pull the trigger on the nozzle. I think you will be surprised at the direction of air flow. it has to create a lot of turbulence at the opening.

a 1-2" extended lip of the front opening forward, will kill any turbulence from that bracket.

oh and make a foam plug to shove in there when in storage, so the squirrels and other varmints don't build another nest in there.

Okay, BlueNorther, you are appointed as Unpaid Technical Advisor for the dragster. You are right about the scoop so I added a flair on all four sides. Thanks for pointing out the problem.
No squirrels shall enter this scoop!
I found a problem with the shift linkage. Ran it on jack stands and appears I now have all three gears.

looks great, and good find on the shifter linkage.

now all you need is some time on the strip minus rain.

The video is short and not very well done, but here's proof it runs with the 3 one barrel carb set up. Actually feels like it pulls strong. This is at less than half throttle.

CLICK ON PICTURE

It's alive! Sounds good!

lookin' good, soundin' great!!! now get to the race track before the snow starts flying.

OOHH, sweet six banger sounds [cl[cl love it !!

What the guys said. Now we need some footage at WOT.

.

any news on the transmission, or non-transmission?????

This is the state of affairs as of tonight. The black trans is the one I took out. The aluminum one is a good (assumed) used unit. Looks very clean inside. I put a restrictor in the 1-2 shift gallery. Everything else is stock. I just want the thing to go down the drag strip repeatedly. then making it faster will become a priority.

I agree, getting across the finish line with everything functioning is priority #1.

it's been a bunch of years since I was inside a TF.

the black one is the modded trans with the TF3 kit and rebuild?

I'm not following on why you would put a restriction in the stock valve body of the silver trans.

if it's fairly clean inside and doesn't smell like burnt ATF, I would put it together completely stock and try it in the car.


When the black trans was in the car was the kick down cable hooked up to the throttle linkage and adjusted for full throttle? or was the kick down valve inside the valve body blocked for full pressure? Torqueflites will melt down quickly if the cable is not dealt with correctly.

This is a "removal pic" not a "reinstall pic".

I goofed with the black trans. The first several runs I had the kick down lever in the forward position. That is probably why it smells burned now. The restricter goes in the case and helps prevent a over ride of band and clutch engagement. I don't know much about it, just repeating what I've been told.

The silver one is very clean inside. I ran compressed air checks and the bands and clutches engage. I'm hopeful this one will work ok.

glad to hear the silver trans seems to be usable as is, for testing at the track.

I used the term cable, but it is actually solid linkage on the kick down rod to carb with adjustment for full pressure at full throttle. which is also the signal for 3-2 and 2-1 kick downs, or as some call it passing gear.

for the purpose of getting it down the track, use a piece of mechanics wire and tie it wide open to the rear cooler line fitting temporarily. it will shift hard into reverse and low but will live. the best would be to set up linkage to control the pressure to a more livable level at idle.

now get it out to the track before it starts snowing.

Throw a manual valve body in that trans and get rid of the kickdown all together....best bet for a race car.

ronnysplymouth said:

Throw a manual valve body in that trans and get rid of the kickdown all together....best bet for a race car.

Click to expand...

I agree here. Been there-done that. It won't shift tied wide open. Think about it, it will think you want it in passing gear all the time.

Ronnysplymouth, yes that is a good suggestion. I am trying to determine if I should go "all in" with the current car, go back to my 406 powered Crosley or build a true front engine dragster. As a result, I don't want to put much more money in this one til I see if it will be fun to run.
Figured out today that the trans I had in it was a lockup version and I had a non lock up converter. Still, I'm sure I messed something up when I put the TransGo kit in the valve body. If I like running this car I'll get a Frank Lupo converter and a Cheetah valve body. But that stuff is over a thousand bucks.
The new tail housing seal is here tomorrow so I should be back racing in the driveway by the end of the week.

A good internet friend in Canada runs a slant 6 dragster. He doesn't like to shift so he has put in a modified governor that shifts automatically at just over 6,000 rpm. He pulls the kickdown on full for the run and backs it off on the return road. Uses a lawn mower cable and lever.

Here's one of Don's runs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RrGDPXOQtI

Picked up a rear seal and shoved it in the tail housing today. Went to put the torque converter on and smelled the burnt fluid. That got me thinking.... I'm gonna suck out as much ATF as possible from the converter. Do any experienced transmission guys here on RRR think that is sufficient? If not, what do you recommend?