Don "Big Daddy" Garlits is comming to KC!!

[TomO]

I just recieved a flyer on a event that is going to take place in KC on Oct 6 and 7th. It is called Muscle Car Reunion. NSS/F.A.S.T and front engine dragsters will all be there. The event is being held at KCIR and check out www.musclecarreunion.com for all the details.

TomO

 

[bubbletop1961]

Hey tomo. Your 63 would be perfect for the f.a.s.t. series. Sounds like a pretty cool event. May have to make an apperance, even if its with out the car.

 

[Tom Kochtanek]

We're planning on coming

James and I and a few friends are planning on coming out. He will be in the 1967 Charger, I'm bringing the new '62 409 Belair . A buddy picked up a nice Winnebago in Omaha (double dip!) and we hope to be out Friday nite or real early Saturday morning to get a pit side place for the RV and the cars . When will you guys be there?

Sounds like this will be a lot of fun with Nostalgia racing at it's best!

Cheers,
TomK

 

[bubbletop1961]

Man I completely missed this. I forgot until just now, How did it go. Id like to have seen you guys.

 

[Tom Kochtanek]

KCIR October 5-6-7 2007

Just got back from KCIR (Kansas City International Raceway). Took the new '62 BA 409 out for the first time. TomO showed up and gave me some support, but I was out after the first run on Sunday....

That said we had a great weekend, and I got a lot more experience with the "tree" and the new car . I still suck badly, not ready for NSS quite yet, but am game for another try at it. Plans are to return later in October for more "test and tune" and to support TomO in his quest to nail the top spot in the VAMP series in his 1963 Chevy. Next we need to get Tom set up with a 409 for that car .

I got to meet Don Garlits, my buddy James Schrader (some of you met him in Norwalk this past July) got to pit for Don when he fired up the Swap Rat (1965 hemi dragster), and I also met Arnie Beswick for the first time. See my note about Dyno Don's '62 BA which is now owned by Leland Ellerman of Salem, MO. That's the vehicle that has caused a bit of a ruckous in the legal circles with Don's daughter's thinly veiled plea for help in recovering the car that was never hers. (Please don't quarrel with me over this, talk to the new owner, I'm just passing the good news along. I know a number of you knew Don personally, so you may be aware of this drama as it has unfolded in recent months.)

What a good time we had in KC! We did Test 'n Tune Friday night, but there were sooo many Hondas and motorcycles (open track, twenty bucks buys in) that we only got two runs in from 7:00 - 10:00 PM. Saturday morning drew a huge crowd, probably due to Don Garlits, Arnie Beswick and other luminaries who graced us with their presence . The line for Big Daddy was long and constant throughout the day. He did a run down the track in the dragster under the lights Saturday night, a real thrill for us old guys... They even bump started the dragster just like in the old days!

I got just a few runs in Satruday, as the track was down for 1-2 hours cleaning up an oil slick. Of course, I was stuck in the queue waiting for my turn when that happened, no turning back. We sat around and BS'd for a few hours, then took up where we left off.

Sunday was competition day and that was cut short by rain, which spit about much of the morning, then came down later in the afternoon. I was "one and done " anyway, but wanted to see more racing. They did a great job of promoting this event, and the turnout was fantastic. Wayyyyyyy to many Mopars, I was the only 409 car. Heck with the verbal garbage, I'll get on to the pics, that's what you really want to see. I've got some shots of a range of things, including TomO and myself and my Belair in action (or lack thereof..).

Enjoy!

TomK

 

[chevytaylor]

Just got back from KCIR (Kansas City International Raceway). Took the new '62 BA 409 out for the first time. TomO showed up and gave me some support, but I was out after the first run on Sunday....

That said we had a great weekend, and I got a lot more experience with the "tree" and the new car . I still suck badly, not ready for NSS quite yet, but am game for another try at it. Plans are to return later in October for more "test and tune" and to support TomO in his quest to nail the top spot in the VAMP series in his 1963 Chevy. Next we need to get Tom set up with a 409 for that car .

I got to meet Don Garlits, my buddy James Schrader (some of you met him in Norwalk this past July) got to pit for Don when he fired up the Swap Rat (1965 hemi dragster), and I also met Arnie Beswick for the first time. See my note about Dyno Don's '62 BA which is now owned by Leland Ellerman of Salem, MO. That's the vehicle that has caused a bit of a ruckous in the legal circles with Don's daughter's thinly veiled plea for help in recovering the car that was never hers. (Please don't quarrel with me over this, talk to the new owner, I'm just passing the good news along. I know a number of you knew Don personally, so you may be aware of this drama as it has unfolded in recent months.)

What a good time we had in KC! We did Test 'n Tune Friday night, but there were sooo many Hondas and motorcycles (open track, twenty bucks buys in) that we only got two runs in from 7:00 - 10:00 PM. Saturday morning drew a huge crowd, probably due to Don Garlits, Arnie Beswick and other luminaries who graced us with their presence . The line for Big Daddy was long and constant throughout the day. He did a run down the track in the dragster under the lights Saturday night, a real thrill for us old guys... They even bump started the dragster just like in the old days!

I got just a few runs in Satruday, as the track was down for 1-2 hours cleaning up an oil slick. Of course, I was stuck in the queue waiting for my turn when that happened, no turning back. We sat around and BS'd for a few hours, then took up where we left off.

Sunday was competition day and that was cut short by rain, which spit about much of the morning, then came down later in the afternoon. I was "one and done " anyway, but wanted to see more racing. They did a great job of promoting this event, and the turnout was fantastic. Wayyyyyyy to many Mopars, I was the only 409 car. Heck with the verbal garbage, I'll get on to the pics, that's what you really want to see. I've got some shots of a range of things, including TomO and myself and my Belair in action (or lack thereof..).

Enjoy!

TomK

Hi Tom

How did your Belair run?

chevytaylor

 

[TomO]

All – It is very obvious to me that Tom K has the RACING BUG BIG TIME!!!! There are some big off season plans in store for the car and engine. NSS is the direction that is being discussed. I was lucky enough to see him make one pass and then the rain started in and shut down the event for good. For me it will be great to see how Tom’s racing plans unfold.

Tom K – Thanks to you and James from the lunch and adult beverages!!! I just killed me this weekend knowing that you guys were at the track just 5 miles away!! See you on the 27th!!

TomO

 

[Tom Kochtanek]

Room for improvement

I often joke that "the biggest room in my house is room for improvement" and it certainly applies here. I had a devil of a time getting the BA to escape from its shadow, must be driver error . Seriously, the times were slower than I had thought, but then we didn't do much prep other than fuss with the carbs and linkage, set the valves and check the fluids. Tires were stock street radials on 14" wheels. Grippage was not the issue here... she just didn't pull wildly like I thought she might...

Let's just say that Sunday morning I had dotted in "15.00"on the windshield next to my number for the Dial In. The best times I had done in test and tune (not much tuning went on, just four runs over two days) was 15.254 at 91.65 MPH. Sixty foot times were slow at 2.500. Here's one of my better runs:

R/T ... 113
60 ... 2.497
1/8 ... 9.860
1/4 ... 15.061
MPH ... 94.30

Unfortunately I was beaten in the first round by a 10 second car who zipped by me on that last stretch, even with a five second lead start. Gosh that hurt...

Rear is a 3.55 posi (I think). Tires were street radials, fourteen inch. 409 dual quad with 583 heads and Turbo350 three speed.

I set the valves at .018 (intake) and .024 (exhaust) and maybe that's a bit tight for this particular cam (which I have no specs on)?

Can't wait to to hear from you guys what to do next .

Cheers!

TomK

 

[Ronnie Russell]

Tom, Very simple solution. Take the engine out of the Impala and switch it with the BA. Install 4.11 posi, drag race street radials. Much fun for next summer.

 

[Dick MacKenzie]

Can't wait to to hear from you guys what to do next .

Cheers!

TomK

Tom,

First, I agree with Ronnie, You probably need more rear gear. What are the RPMs in the traps? Also, how is your suspension set up. I may have missed this but are you intending to do much driving on the street? If not you probably want to get the suspension fairly close to solid. It takes a lot of power to lift the front of the car and twist the rear housing.

 

[bubbletop1961]

Sound like you both are going to be at the 27th vamp race. Ill se about trying to get there. The car is still running so MAYBEE I can get it down there. There is a couple of things I need to do to it first. I guess I dont have any excuses.

 

[tripowerguy]

AW HA Tom K. That old bug jumped up and bit your behind. It will get worse because it is like dope you are always looking for that next high. I figure that by next year and 2 maxed out credit cards you'll be in the 12:00's with grease under your fingernails and a glazed look in your eyes. It took a while but if you stick around long enough it'll get you. Roy

 

[Tom Kochtanek]

Moving forward

Roy and TomO, you are correct, I have a new problem, and it's the good kind (unless you are my lovely wife ).

Ronnie and Dick, a direct swap would be much tooo easy, I've got to do something more challenging, or at least more complicated. I do take it for granted that the 460 cubic inch stroker 409 will get transplanted to some better-propelled vehicle, just not sure which one right now.

I think I'd like to get this one straightened out, and continue to assess what it offers with what I am just now beginning to understand what I want. I looked at F.A.S.T. and the Nostalgia Super Stock groups that run in the Midwest and both are possibilities. The "ST" in FAST is for "stock tires", and that's kinda interesting. But to go fast, N/SS is the route. Just gotta decide.

I guess I have to resolve myself that some poor car has to get cut up to do the rear correct (assuming N/SS) and then decide which one. James wants to do a 1961 bubbletop, and I've got two candidates, a Belair and an Impala. The Impala is the worse off and would be OK to do, and then my buddy would be happy (very important to me as well). He'll be spending a lot of time on it with me. Motivation is a key factor.

Also have a pretty crusty (IMHO) 1962 Belair 2 door sedan car on the premises. Bought it for the trim and the rear end. Good candidate for a modified car because it's already needing lots of structural and cosmetic repairs (rockers, quarters, pans, braces, trunk, etc.). Not sure I want to cut the "new acquisition" up, it's just too new to me for now. One long shot would be the 1962 BA sport coupe I've set aside from 4-5 years ago. Just a ton of corrosion, maybe perfect for a slighly tubbed car?

First things first. We're gonna continue sorting things out on the new '62 BA 409 post car, have some fun on October 27th celebrating TomO's emminent victory, and see where things go from there. Maybe we should have a Voting Contest to give TomK some direction for building a fun vehicle?

Dick or someone asked about "streetability" and since I've got that covered with the SS car, this new build can eventually be "single purpose". And we don't have a tach installed yet, so I have no data on shift points and RPM at the line, etc. Doing the rotations by hand we come up with about three-and-a-half turns to one, som probably a 3:55 posi, or whatever was in that area. Definitely not a 3:36 or a 3:73. Rear end is set up dead stock, with older shocks. 14" wheels and tires.

Here's my short list:

Fuss with the rear end -- gear ratio determination, then look into air bags, shocks, and wheel/tire combinations.

Look into exhaust. Tri-Y headers with no collectors running into four mufflers ending short of the rear axle

Check the throttle linkage and fuss with carbs.

Recheck valve settings. Do the normal plugs, fluids, etc. check

Get a tachometer hooked up to a newly slicked column.

Try to get into the 13s using the existing platform on October 26th-27th

Any other suggestions (short of putting the stroker in!).

Cheers,
TomK

 

[models916]

I agree

You can't drag race with a 3:55 gear and a heavy car. I run a 4:11 with 2800 stall on the street. If I was racing I would go to 4:56 or 4:88 with 30" or 32" tires.

 

[Dick MacKenzie]

When we were in school (million years ago )the first rule of hot street cars was "Gear it"! Most guys would put the big carb, new intake and headers on their engine and they would just die. Take a stock engine car and gear it and you'll beat the guy with stock gears and big carb every time. How much gear depends on how survivable the valve train is.

Next - stiffen the rear.

 

[Ronnie Russell]

Tom, Rear suspension is a big factor in goin quick. First , I would check with the sanctioning bodies ( NSS ) and see what is allowed to rear suspension. I don't think tubs are allowed. I would be interested to know myself. Rear end ratio and suspension modifications would make a big improvement with what you already have. Good luck, lots of decisions to make.

 

[Dond409]

rear gear

Tom,

Remember, I went 12.76 with a 3.55 rear gear. You need to get that car to transfer weight. Make sure the shocks are good. You want loose ones in the front and fairly tight ones in the back. Unless those mufflers are flowmasters loose all of them. Header collector extensions with those tri-y's. Fatride should chime in on those. Open up the valve lash on intakes .004. And lastly when you are staged getting ready to go, load the converter by leaving your foot on the brake and stepping on the gas, trying not to move the car until the light is on the last yellow. I hope this helps. This is some of the things I do with the wagon. Oh one more thing, Cool the car down between runs, go to the line as cool as you can get it.

 

[Dond409]

tire pressure

Tom,

I thought of something else. Tire pressures, The fronts should be up to 40 lbs. for less rolling resistance. The rears if they spin increase pressure in 2lb. increments. Don't exceed 40 lbs. You should notice you times increasing or decreasing. Remember also to only make one change at a time so you can tell if the change worked or not. Good luck

 

[dq409]

I wouldn`t worry about doing tubs.
You can get plenty of traction with a good set of tires on 81/2 inch rims. dq

 

[rstreet]

When we were in school (million years ago )the first rule of hot street cars was "Gear it"! Most guys would put the big carb, new intake and headers on their engine and they would just die. Take a stock engine car and gear it and you'll beat the guy with stock gears and big carb every time. How much gear depends on how survivable the valve train is.

Next - stiffen the rear.

With the gear that is in your race car I believe you when you say "GEAR IT"
Robert