Taking the Charger down the strip tomorrow! Tips / Suggestions?

[resq302]

from the first run!





This smile did not leave my face the whole day!




Charger drew a crowd and most people could not believe that I was running something that nice down the track!  More than one person also said it was the nicest car at the track!

[cudaken]

 Brain, Charger is sure grip right? What sizes are the rear meats, look like a 235 from the pictures Charlie posted. All so what if any tips did you use?

Having fun and not breaking anything is a good day. If you decided to keep up your quarter mile quest I am sure you will get it into the low 15's if not high 14's.

Main thing I would look at first is traction. Full tank of gas may have helped. I know you where told not to have a lot of gas in the tank for your passes, but in your case it may have helped.

When I had my first warmed over engine in my 68 Road Runner I use to leave my 70 pound toll box in the trunk to help it to hook up.

You can all gain a little traction by unbolting the front sway bar links. Better weight transfer to the rear.

On you gauge fluctuation, try replacing the dash transformer that is under the dash. Gauges work on 6 volts (think it is 6) and the transformer drops the power down. I have had that problem before and the new transformer stopped the fluctuation.

Cuda Ken  

[resq302]

Ken,

If I remember right, the tire size of the BF Goodrich Radial T/A's are 225/70R14.  I tried to lower the rear tire pressure down to 26 from 32 psi which did not seem to have any effect.  I had about 3/4 to 1/2 tank full of gas.

As for the gauge, I have changed the voltage limiter over to the RTE solid state one so I doubt that is the problem.  Also, if one gauge did it, the voltage limiter would make all of the gauges do it, not just the one.

Here is a video that allpar.com member and fellow NCPC Skylands Region member took of us going down the strip.  Of course it is of the second run where I missed second gear.  I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for that!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hq58382dls5yd1d/MVI_0660.MOV

[Cooter]

Brian, remember about NOS electronics and parts in general.  Just because they say NOS  doesn't ness. Mean they were new and UNUSED...many of the NOS parts showing up for sale are problems removed from vehicles and stuck back in the boxes for warranty purposes.


You done good for the first time out. Every time take the Dart to the track I break more money than it costs to run.

[resq302]

That could also be why I didn't do as good as I thought I was either since I knew if something broke on the car (something big) that the car would sit and would just annoy me and eat me up that I broke the car.  Granted, I wasn't babying it down the track as I had it floored the whole time but was also keeping an eye on the tach so as not to red line it either.

Did the video work?

[XH29N0G]

Video works.  Looks like fun.

[resq302]

Fun is working on the car.  Taking it down the strip was like unleashing a beast!

[1974dodgecharger]

Fun is working on the car.  Taking it down the strip was like unleashing a beast!

NICE saying...  

Dig the pics...looks like a blast....

[TexasStroker]

Very cool...glad you enjoyed it!  I wish there were more folks that would actually run their cars at the track.

Hopefully you can get all the little stuff fixed and can make the next event date to mark improvement etc...An awful lot is just learning the car, how to launch, and of course the ins-and-outs of the tree etc.

I almost guarantee your lock rod clip broke off...That is the little plastic piece that slides over the rod and pops in on the other side..They are cheap, just kind of hard to find (at least for me).  I have had that happen so many times, lol.

Thanks for posting the pics and hopefully you will inspire other guys with nice restos to open their rides up a bit...Track is safer than most city streets!

[resq302]

Only downfall about racing is I am not covered by my classic car ins. should something happen like that Viper.

[dual fours]

I know you smiled so much your cheeks hurt, tis a rush ain't it.
Now you can try different setups, tips / suggestions and find the sweet spot, the after thoughts now are what makes the different in the future.
Your next question your ask yourself is, Just how far will I go for a faster time, and is it worth it, or just run what ya brung and have fun?
There is just so many variables with a street car.

Thank for the photos, I'm sure more photos will surface on u tube.
The track is safer I agree.
THINK ABOUT THIS, the year is 2013, 44 year old technology doing what it was made for, looks so awesome on the strip along side the Challenger, with very close times I see.
NOW THINK ABOUT THIS, the year is 1972, can you picture the looks of a 69 Charger along side a 1925 Dodge something or other?
Wonder what a 1925 Dodge's time would have been, no where close to the Charger.
Now tell me what cars are the greatest ones made, then, now and later!


 

[PlainfieldCharger]

I know you smiled so much your cheeks hurt, tis a rush ain't it.
Now you can try different setups, tips / suggestions and find the sweet spot, the after thoughts now are what makes the different in the future.
Your next question your ask yourself is, Just how far will I go for a faster time, and is it worth it, or just run what ya brung and have fun?
There is just so many variables with a street car.

Thank for the photos, I'm sure more photos will surface on u tube.
The track is safer I agree.
THINK ABOUT THIS, the year is 2013, 44 year old technology doing what it was made for, looks so awesome on the strip along side the Challenger, with very close times I see.
NOW THINK ABOUT THIS, the year is 1972, can you picture the looks of a 69 Charger along side a 1925 Dodge something or other?
Wonder what a 1925 Dodge's time would have been, no where close to the Charger.
Now tell me what cars are the greatest ones made, then, now and later!


 

Great perspective!!

[resq302]

Found one of me at the 6 min mark. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB58uowRQIU

[TUFCAT]

There was some good racing in that video. I was surprised that the late model Mustang beat the Challenger (in a pairing right after yours)...he was hauling balls.

[dual fours]

Would have been neat to see lights and siren going down the strip .
Wonder what his time would be?
See more then a few jumped the lights
Thanks for the link ResQ302

[resq302]

Yeh, I still don't know why the NJ State trooper showed up.  Maybe he is into cars also?   Its not like the track is right on the main road so he must have had a reason to stop in.  Maybe it was to take an accident report for the Viper which again seems strange since it was on technically private property.

[triple_green]

Two years ago my son raced my 68 stock 383HP Charger with 3.23 sure grip and automatic trans. (28 inch BFG radial T/As)

He ran 3 times and got times between 15.0-15.3 at just under 90 mph. I made him keep it in D the whole way. He practiced his starts ahead of time in a empty parking lot. He did well with not too much wheel spin.

[BrianShaughnessy]

Only downfall about racing is I am not covered by my classic car ins. should something happen like that Viper.

The Viper isn't covered either...     if you wreck on the track it's your own problem unless you buy special insurance just for the track.   Normal policies don't cover it either.


Congrats and glad you had fun...    I stayed home obviously   

[resq302]

Yeh, I didn't think the Viper would have been covered.  I wonder if AAA would have covered the tow since we saw a AAA flad bed tow truck on the way in when we were heading out.

I wonder if an automatic would get better times than a manual car?  I know when I had the car chasis dyno'd back in like 2003 or so, they said you lost about 100 hp due to the manual trans and rest of the driveline.

[triple_green]

BTW, Your car is outstanding!

[resq302]

Thank you Triple Green.  A lot of hard work, time, money, and pride went into restoring this car.  People at the track could not believe how clean the engine compartment was.  Then I told them to look under the car and I think their jaw hit the floor.  They couldn't believe that I actually drove this car in to the drag way.

[RJS]

Brian go out to the garage and see if your getting full throttle.
A 383 in a heavy car with a 4 speed isn't the "hot" setup for drag racing but should go a bit quicker.
Look at all the simple things before you go back to a track.
Glad you had a ton of fun!
Ron

[resq302]

Ron,

When I had the carb rebuilt I made sure the butterflies were opening all the way up per the rebuild spec.  I think a lot of it had to do with my tires spinning when I was shifting.

[Lord Warlock]

Track days can be fun, but reality sucks when finding out how slow the cars actually are in the quarter.  You must have some elevation there in NJ, times look to be a little slower than i would have expected.  I know my one experience at a track wasn't quite what i expected, I was hesitant to launch hard with my 04 cobra fearing snapping an axle 1000 miles from home, and even with a .28 RT still only managed a 13.18 as my best run of the day in memphis TN, did it all in full street trim, street tire pressure, and full interior/spare tire in car etc.  Car was tuned with mods enough to run low 12s, but not unless i was harder on it than I wanted to be.   I was leaving at the last yellow and 60ft times were just under 2.0, i kept having problems getting into 2nd or 3rd all night, (a binding linkage issue with the pedal linkage that didn't get resolved till after i got home, trans had just been rebuilt so blame couldn't go there)

Looks like you got to run your friend with the black challenger, looks like a classic (script on fender) so it likely had the 5.7L v8 in it, it should be capable of running mid to high 13s.  

Stock 440 chargers with 3.55 gears were timed as low as 13.9 back in the 60s magazines.  Hemi powered chargers with 4.11s made it as low as 13.5, some of the other hemi mopars were faster than the chargers seemed to be.  Personally i'd be happy if i could break the 13s in my charger, I'd expect to get a 13.55 or better with the challenger r/t i have, times would be a bit quicker down here at sea level, especially if the weather was cool this time of year.

[firefighter3931]

Just saw this Brian....I should look in this forum more often 

Cool stuff 

The first trip to the track is allways a humbling experience.  A 4 spd with stock size tires makes it even more difficult and you need some seat time to get used to shifting under full throttle as well as finding out the ideal launch technique for your car. 

Next time you take her out ;

-Lower rear tire pressure to 20 psi (better traction)
-Full tank of gas (More weight over the axle = helps traction)
-Increase front tire pressure to 45 psi (less rolling resistance)
-Loosen front swaybar end links (increases front end rise = better weight transfer to plant rear tires)


Glad you had fun....racing is a blast ! 



Ron