Dmac the wallace racing site has a conversion for 1/8th mile to 1/4 mile and they put you at 16.3 @85 mph. Your car would benefit huge from some steeper gears. But it sounds like a blast anyways.
Thanks Caleb…I was shooting for a 10 flat, that way I’d be in the 16 sec 1/4 mile. My plan this winter is to swap out the gears add limited slip, headers…and bigger exhaust, fingers crossed to get the ol girl in the 9 flat 1/8 mile!!
You’re definitely right about that. I actually think my biggest problem has been my “sticky” Michelin Pilot Super Sports. They work pretty well for autocross and road course, but have too stiff of a sidewall to get a decent 60’ time. The original BFG KDWS’s had a lot softer sidewall.
I enjoy all of the different kinds of motorsports I’ve done, and don’t know if I have a favorite. I would highly recommend getting out and either autocrossing (cheaper and slower speed) or getting on a road course (more $ and you go faster).
Both weekends were without slicks (3.00 gears single track rear) and thru the exhaust. Knocked off almost a sec, no great feat, but came in 2nd in sportsman and made 75 bucks…hahaha…I was giddy all the way home!
Lower gears and a Tru Trac would gain you the most benefit in the 1/8 mile.
Im doing an 8.8 swap and going 3.73. I dont wanna go to steep because in the summer I like to put some miles on the ol car.
I hear on not going too steep with the gears. I’m running 3.55 rears, and won’t go any steeper with highway speeds we have here in Metro Atlanta.
I think you hit the biggest point in all of this thread though. You wrung it out, improved by a second which in the 1/8 is a substantial gain, you had fun, and took home some money. You would have beaten yourself by a pretty big margin f you could have filmed the finish and replayed them simultaneously. In a quarter one tenth is pretty close to one car length so I wouldn’t be too disappointed in your net gain with a couple of mods.
If you have a 70 why do an 8.8 swap and not just build the 9"? They don’t pop up every day but you can usually find someone with a built center section they are willing to part with for a reasonable price.
Its gone faster, but these are representative numbers in street trim. (Full exhaust and DOT tires.)
Engine is original '69 351W (.030 over.) Stock compression, Crane mid-range flat-tappet hydraulic cam, TFS heads, Ford C9OX intake, 700 Holley. Drivetrain consists of a TKO 5-speed and a Detroit Locker with 3.60:1 gears. Aside from a set of CalTrac bars, suspension is stock.
Very respectable Jay!
Hello Caleb…its strictly a “budget” issue, or should I say lack of! The little island I live on a lot of the old parts are used up, worn out or destroyed and the fellas that have them want too much$$$$. anything I buy new needs to be shipped in and the shipping charges drive the cost of parts up thru the roof…
I could of bought a set of unused gears(4.10’s) for $150, then I would need a posi carrier. For 100 bucks I bought a 3.73 limited slip axle out of an Explorer (31 spline axles). another 100 bucks in brake parts and Im good to go! I dont think the ol girl has enough power to break an 8.8. I will hang on to the 9" in case my HP’s increase!, or my budget…lol
Rid yourself of the c clips if you use the 8.8. When we used to race my friend’s fox body we started breaking 8.8s the minute we got grip and that was w/ a stock 5.0 dropping the clutch at 2,800 revs. What we didn’t know back then was that the c clips were the weak point. They make a c clip eliminator kit for the 8.8 so here are a couple of links: https://www.summitracing.com/search/part-type/c-clip-eliminator-kits?N=4294825630&SortBy=BestKeywordMatch&SortOrder=Ascending&keyword=c%20clip%20eliminator
X2 on the c clip eliminators. They are a safety issue not just a weak point. 8.8’s are a really good budget rear, don’t get me wrong, but we don’t have the lightest cars and when you decide to go faster a stock one might not hold up. I think it will be worth while to wait and find a good deal on an assembled center section. That’s what i did. I don’t know how bad your shipping situation is though
I think you mean stock 8.8 axles can be a weak point. You can get aftermarket axles that are as strong as any that still use C-clips - Moser, for instance - and avoid the drilling/modifying and expense of a c-clip eliminator (old name full-floating hubs) kit. 200 4500 to 5000 rpm drag launches on sticky tires say so. I use Moser c-clip 31-spline axles in the blue V6 drag car.
Ford strengthened the 8.8 axles significantly sometime during the S197 Mustang run - 31 spline, but also better material in my opinion. When I replaced my well-beaten 2012’s stockers in 2014, there was only a small amount of twist up by the splines. Previously I had broken two right-side 8.8 axles, one a 28- and one a 31-spline, both at the starting line at New England Dragway. For a Cougar, I’d just freshen either the 8- or 9-inch that came in the car. You can, with a brief wait, get better axles made up to fit either anyway.
My Bullitt has 31 spline axles in it. The part number for the differential assembly is the same that the GT500KR’s used. A regular GT500 is very similar except it has a higher gear ratio (3.31 vs the 3.73 mine has).
I would agree that freshening up an 8" or 9" is a pretty good option. It takes a significant amount of power and sticky tires to break one of them. Lots of aftermarket parts available, too. I currently have a 3.70 traction-lok center section out of a pickup in mine. If I want to switch to “drag strip mode” I can quite easily switch it out to the 4.56 mini-spool 3rd member I’ve got laying around. It’s not that easy with an 8.8.
I haven’t run the one I just finished (obviously since I just finished it ) But my 68 went a best of 6.86 1/8 mile on NOS with 28x10.5 MT slicks 351 C
I Bracket raced it for years in the low 7’s
True, as long as whatever it is has 31 spline axles. I candy cane’d my 28 spline 9" axles on street tires with my 408C (~450-500 hp).
Most of the cars I was running were’t pushing what your 408 is, so I never broke any of my nines. I DID however have a couple of big block 4x4s that I brutalized and one whale of a car with a built 400 Cleveland that both took whatever I could dish out. But they WERE all 31 spline. Hard to beat a niner. Dana 60 rears are pretty stout as well, but they are mopar territory.
My Kat 1967 GT 390 car- 427 medium riser now has a best of 10.01 @ 132 mph.
Would love to see a picture of that car dozz302
Me too. Mine wouldn’t run 10s with your car pushing!!!