The Official Hot Rod Thread - Part 4: Burnouts for Distance

[femurphy77]

I started autocrossing in the 90’s and got into track racing (BHF, Joliet Autobahn, etc) soon thereafter. I’m no pro test driver but I’ve driven my fair share of cars in that environment and I can’t say I’ve ever understood all the anti FWD sentiment. One of my favorite track racers was a modded ‘08 Mazdaspeed3, over 300hp through the front tires. I did much more than just hold my own in the Audi/BMW club I ran with most of the time. Every format has its own dynamics, as well as positives and negatives, and there are even more idiosyncrasies by make and model. I’ve of course had RWDs and AWDs too, but I would just adapt.
¯\_( ツ)_/¯ I’m not racing at some pro level where the equipment is the limiting factor; as the saying goes, the most important part in the car is the nut behind the wheel. I always got a kick out of the guys who show up at my level with a fire suit, racing shoes, and other $$$ equipment, of course in an S4 (or M3, more often) and scoff at my little japanese appliance until they ended up watching my taillights disappear into the distance.

I learned the value of “run what ya brung” as a little kid going to the strip with my uncle.

It's not so much an "anti FWD sentiment" as much as it's a comfort level issue. I've successfully hung the tail out on many a racetrack in high performance RWD cars so I can predict their response to input from the steering wheel on the floor (gas pedal). My only experience with FWD is stone stock street cars that have too many times left me headed straight for the curb I'm trying to power my way away from.

I'm hoping to get back into Autox soon with a new CP car "All" if have to do to it is paint it and re-assemble it.

 

[bobzilla]

It's not so much an "anti FWD sentiment" as much as it's a comfort level issue. I've successfully hung the tail out on many a racetrack in high performance RWD cars so I can predict their response to input from the steering wheel on the floor (gas pedal). My only experience with FWD is stone stock street cars that have too many times left me headed straight for the curb I'm trying to power my way away from.

I'm hoping to get back into Autox soon with a new CP car "All" if have to do to it is paint it and re-assemble it.

I grew up with both. Learning tail out on RWD cop cars/pickups and tail out FWD cars on the gravel roads. . . . On track I'm more comfortable with FWD. Actually, I'm FASTER in a FWD over RWD. I've spent more time in them. But hanging the tail out is fun no matter which end is powering the car.

 

[gregkl]

I had the Dodge Charger 024. I call it the original “fast and furious” car. I used to like smoking Mustangs of the era and other V8 equipped cars that were laden with smog controls, low compression, etc.. When that turbo hit boost it broke the front tires loose. It was a hoot to drive. But man talk about build quality. They don’t make em like that anymore. Thank God!

 

[femurphy77]

I had the Dodge Charger 024. I call it the original “fast and furious” car. I used to like smoking Mustangs of the era and other V8 equipped cars that were laden with smog controls, low compression, etc.. When that turbo hit boost it broke the front tires loose. It was a hoot to drive. But man talk about build quality. They don’t make em like that anymore. Thank God!

I had a Shelby Daytona at one time, another "wish I still had it car", and I got pretty good at shifting it quick enough to keep the boost up at each shift. In fact it was pretty common to see it spike to 16 or so psi briefly on upshifts but I digress. Several guys I worked with were into Mustangs, Camaros, etc and several of them had to test me. Much to my delight I was able to take all but the more serious cars in the stoplight duets. Of course there were never any witnesses so they would always deny it so I'd offer to prove it with witnesses but curiously enough there were never any takers.

That little 2.2 turbo was an excellent motor, would have been interesting to see it with some mods.

 

[gregkl]

I had a Shelby Daytona at one time, another "wish I still had it car", and I got pretty good at shifting it quick enough to keep the boost up at each shift. In fact it was pretty common to see it spike to 16 or so psi briefly on upshifts but I digress. Several guys I worked with were into Mustangs, Camaros, etc and several of them had to test me. Much to my delight I was able to take all but the more serious cars in the stoplight duets. Of course there were never any witnesses so they would always deny it so I'd offer to prove it with witnesses but curiously enough there were never any takers.

That little 2.2 turbo was an excellent motor, would have been interesting to see it with some mods.

Mine was the Shelby version also.



Man are they ugly looking back now!

 

[femurphy77]

Mine was black:

 

[Drewski]

I had a Shelby Daytona at one time, another "wish I still had it car", and I got pretty good at shifting it quick enough to keep the boost up at each shift. In fact it was pretty common to see it spike to 16 or so psi briefly on upshifts but I digress. Several guys I worked with were into Mustangs, Camaros, etc and several of them had to test me. Much to my delight I was able to take all but the more serious cars in the stoplight duets. Of course there were never any witnesses so they would always deny it so I'd offer to prove it with witnesses but curiously enough there were never any takers.

That little 2.2 turbo was an excellent motor, would have been interesting to see it with some mods.

Yep, Mustangs and Camaros/Firebirds were definitely the cars of choice for the stoplight warriors back then. Mid 90s I took a different route in the "sleeper" quest. I ordered a Dodge Dakota RWD with the 318, 5 speed and a performance axle, and went Mustang hunting. It got some minor upgrades (headers, exhaust, throttle body, other under the hood mods I don't quite remember) for even better power and then a mild drop, some fatter tires and cosmetic enhancements which I suppose made it less of a sleeper. Still, that truck was a hoot and surprised more than its share of drag racer wannabes. I just wish I had more pictures!

 

[femurphy77]

Yep, Mustangs and Camaros/Firebirds were definitely the cars of choice for the stoplight warriors back then. Mid 90s I took a different route in the "sleeper" quest. I ordered a Dodge Dakota RWD with the 318, 5 speed and a performance axle, and went Mustang hunting. It got some minor upgrades (headers, exhaust, throttle body, other under the hood mods I don't quite remember) for even better power and then a mild drop, some fatter tires and cosmetic enhancements which I suppose made it less of a sleeper. Still, that truck was a hoot and surprised more than its share of drag racer wannabes. I just wish I had more pictures!

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Yeah I've actually considered hunting down a clean version of a 360 powered variant as a back up vehicle. I'll probably end up with an early '00's LS powered single cab short bed instead. There's just too much choice out there nowadays when it comes to choosing a sub $10k back up vehicle that's capable of bringing a smile to your face.

"Honestly honey I'm going to drive it as is! No I'm not looking at the catalogs trying to decide what my first mods will be. . . . .HONEST!"

 

[ChristianPatriot]

Yeah I've actually considered hunting down a clean version of a 360 powered variant as a back up vehicle. I'll probably end up with an early '00's LS powered single cab short bed instead. There's just too much choice out there nowadays when it comes to choosing a sub $10k back up vehicle that's capable of bringing a smile to your face.

"Honestly honey I'm going to drive it as is! No I'm not looking at the catalogs trying to decide what my first mods will be. . . . .HONEST!"

If I was a single guy, my daily would almost assuredly be an LS powered single cab shortbed stepside. Probably with a cheap turbo kit on it

 

[jeffsqartan]

If I was a single guy, my daily would almost assuredly be an LS powered single cab shortbed stepside. Probably with a cheap turbo kit on it

It's not hard to become single, my friend. In fact, buying that truck would probably help speed up the process.

 

[bobzilla]

If I was a single guy, my daily would almost assuredly be an LS powered single cab shortbed stepside. Probably with a cheap turbo kit on it

You get single, I'll hook you up on the shortbed stepside with real floors and cab corners.

 

[Bigtanker]

Ok. This was really interesting. Different diesel engine designs from the early-mid 1900's. What worked and what didn't. A "Triangle" 18 cylinder 2 stroke diesel. Yeah.

 

[jeffsqartan]

You get single, I'll hook you up on the shortbed stepside with real floors and cab corners.

Hold on a second. What kind of hook up are we talking? I want a new daily. (I kid, I kid. I am NOT in a spot to buy a new car lol)

 

[femurphy77]

If I was a single guy, my daily would almost assuredly be an LS powered single cab shortbed stepside. Probably with a cheap turbo kit on it

For some reason I'm not surprised.

 

[Jaybird1980]

Folks I may have screwed up.
Agreed to do spark plugs on this crappy Ford 4.6.


So when this pile arrived I took a quick look around on it and noticed something.



Yes that's the exact way it looked when I took the intake tube off. New coil attached to nothing but the wiring harness. So it lead to a conversation in which I learned that "they had a friend try to change them, but he didn't have the "special socket needed".

 

[femurphy77]

I won't buy anything with that family of engines because of the spark plugs breaking off in the heads or launching into the hood issues. I'm guessing they've corrected it by now but I still bought an LS powered pickup a few years back.

 

[femurphy77]

Well we didn't do anything real cool this weekend but we did take the Galaxie out and put a couple of hundred successful miles on it. Worked on installing the oil pressure and temp gauges up under the dash instead of laying loose under the hood where they've been since I first started getting the engine running.

Also actually worked on some racecar issues today, nothing spectacular but did strip the old "R" model front apron that was on my old racecar in preparation of doing some minor fiberglass repairs to it. The Galaxie is doing pretty good so right now we're going to drive it for the rest of the season in preparation for some more work on it this winter including replacing all of the rubber in the rear suspension, replumbing the rear brake lines and installing a fresh powder coated rear end housing and brake components. I also want to confirm that the firewall is water tight before installing the new carpet in the car.

I scored some original bucket seats for it this spring but obviously they need reupholstering but even though they are factory seats Ford had variances between bucket seat cars and bench seat cars that required adapter brackets. The seats came with one and I just finished fabbing up the second one today. We'll pull the bench seat out, get the buckets dummied up in the car to ensure I've fabbed the brackets right then I'll throw them in the box with the rest of the stuff waiting for the powder coater. Once that's done I'll haul all of the seat parts to an upholstery shop and have them finish rebuilding the seats and get them installed.

Now that the weather is turning a little more mild I'm planning on getting to the racecar and getting it completely primed and get everything but the roof and and quarters painted their finished colors so I can start putting it together. I'm starting to think that I "might" actually be able to start the damn thing before the new year.

 

[GLOCKMAN23C]

 

[Jaybird1980]

The turd I posted above was a disgusting mess. I found out why the "friend" thought they needed a different socket.

The channel the plug is recessed down into was packed full of mouse crap and who knows what and you couldn't even get a socket on the damn thing.

Yes that's mouse packed on the plug.

There were plenty of warnings before hand like a half dozen of these repellent bags. (Clearly don't work)

I had to make a tool to grind up the out of PVC before it would blow out with air.

I'm with femurphy. I would probably never own one of these things, at least definitely not a 3v. That's the only way this one could have been worse.

 

[Jaybird1980]

Well that POS is back for a simple oil change. Easy right? Wrong!

4 hours to get the filter off. What the hell is wrong with people.some of it's Ford's fault for putting it in that stupid ass spot, but mostly it's some idiot who put it on last time. I swear they used loctite.


Oh yeah, and this nice surprise. How the hell are you supposed to check your oil.