July 13, 2004 - The valves are set to Comp Cams specs., .030" Exh. and .028" Intake.  The ATI damper went on very easy, after heating it for 30 min. at 350 degrees in the oven.  Five quarts of oil was added and the oil filter was put on, after being filled.  The starter was put on the block. 

Items left to do:  1.  Prime engine with drill before installing the intake manifold and valve covers (close off the oil pressure sending line).  2. Install intake manifold.  3.  Install flexplate.  4.  Remove front cap from car. 5.  Move engine to car and install.  6.  Install water pump and fan motor.  7. Install Radiator and fill with water.  8.  Connect gauges.  9. Bolt up the torque converter. 10. Install the headers.  11. Install spark plugs and index.  12.  Install carb. and linkage for throttle-stop.  13.  Install distributor and wires, try to get the timing close to the starting position.  14. Connect starter and check battery connections tight and clean.  15.  Did I forget something?  16. Flip the switch, check it in park and push the button! 

After Start:  1.  Check Oil Pressure (70 PSI)!  2. Check for oil leaks and water leaks.  3. Set timing (35 degrees) and RPM (11 - 1200).  4. Check carb. idle mixture.  5. Warm engine to N.O.T.(145 - 160 degrees F). 6. Keep an eye on oil pressure (70 - 48 PSI).  7. Shut down and turn off all fans and pumps, let engine cool down to ambient temp.  8.  Start up again and warm up to N.O.T. and let it cool down again.  9.  After the third warm up and cool down cycle, take it to the track!   

July 14, 2004 - I called teammate "Big Man" Tuesday night, and asked for help putting the motor into "Mr. Skip".  He was suppose to come over at 10 AM and bring teammate James Richardson with him.  By 10 AM, we were all working on swinging the motor into the car.  Big Man and James were joined by Houston a little later, and between the four of us, we got the engine installed and started up by about 1:30 PM.  I have kept my record going for not being able to get the distributor in the correct location any time I build a motor.  This time I was one plug off.  I also checked all of the valves a second time after trying to start it and not getting it to fire.  After everything was located in the correct position, the engine fired without any other problem. 

The engine sounds just great, and very strong!  We completed my checklist, with the exception of resetting the valves, hot.  On startup, we had 74 PSI of oil pressure at 1100 RPM.  At 2000 RPM we had 84 PSI.  This is with Exxon Superflo 10W-40 oil.  The highest temp. that I got up to was 190 degrees, after running at 2000 RPM for just over 5 min. each time I ran it.  The oil pressure while the engine temp. was up at 190 degrees, and the idle speed was 1100 RPM, was 54 PSI.  This is great! 

We did get in the three runs before calling it a day.  I have two very small oil leaks from the oil pan, one at the very front, could be the main seal, and the other from the area between the oil filter boss and the pan.  Both leaks take a long time to form a drop.  

The timing pointer that I ordered from Jeg's, to fit a 7" damper, did not fit.  I must modify it slightly to make it work with my damper.  I had also ordered a set of degree strips from MSD that go on the damper.  These were installed and look and work very good.  The MSD set of degree strips come with strips that fit about 6 different size dampers. 

Friday I will warm it up again, set the valves and install the stud girdle.  I will change the oil to Mobil 1, 0W-40 just before leaving for the track.  That will be the last step.  I am planning to test in Eunice (Louisiana Dragway) on Sat., July 17, 2004. 

July 15, 2004 - Modified the timing pointer and installed.  Set timing at 35 degrees.  Found it set at 24 degrees, which is where it was running all yesterday.  Warmed up engine again, still sounds very good and real crisp when the throttle is cracked, instant response.

Spent the rest of the day fabricating the throttle linkage, with the Throttle-Stop installed.  This is the first time the Throttle-Stop has been installed on this car.  I had to make a "Positive Throttle Stop" to make sure my linkage does not move when the gas petal is on the floor and the Throttle-Stop Controller activates the Throttle-Stop.  (See old information on Throttle-Stop setting and "Positive Throttle Stop" installation from Jan. 2001)  I have a lot of work to do at the track to get ready to run Super Gas, 9.90 class in the LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES, August 12-14, at State Capitol Dragway.

Tomorrow I will complete the air lines and electrical hook up for the Throttle-Stop.  I plan to warm it up, set the valves, install the stud girdle and change the oil. 

July 16, 2004 - Too Hot!  Didn't accomplish a thing on the car.  Houston dropped by to listen to the engine.  It got his seal of approval.  His best comment was, "Revs like a small block!"
Looks like the best time to go to the track will be Weds. night at No Problem Raceway Park.

July 17, 2004 - Took my Grandson to a baseball game.  When I returned it was too late to go anywhere, and make the wedding at 4 PM.  I went to work on completing the installation of the Throttle-Stop lines and air valve. 

Mr. Eddie Fisher, purchaser of Masterpiece, stopped by to take a look at the new car.  I had to start it and let him hear the rumble of the BBC.  We talked for a while and he told me he has a new 383 SBC installed in the car, and Michael Jackson and Son stopped by his house and helped him set the valves and tune the engine when he first got it started.  Eddie is working slowly to make sure he has everything right before he brings the car out. 

I worked on several small items to help route lines under the hood and get everything cleaned up.  The throttle-stop lines are installed and so is the air valve.  I don't have any plans for work tomorrow.  Take a day of rest.  The wedding was nice, and the food and the company at the reception was exceptional.  Well worth the aggravation of having to attend the wedding and not go testing.

July 21, 2004 - Weds. I started up, let the engine warm up and then set the valves at Int. .028" and Exh. .030".  I had to go out on the Biondo web site to verify the directions to connect the hoses to my Throttle-stop.  The internet is great for looking up instructions.  No need to guess at anything. 
Test Time!  I put "Mr. Skip" in the trailer (first time I tested the trans. since removing the engine and putting it back) and took it to No Problem Raceway Park to test the overhauled engine.  The first pass, limited to 5000 RPM and shifting at 3000 RPM, netted a 10.01 sec. time at 123 MPH.  The track was very slippery, and I had 10 PSI of air in the tires.  Everything worked perfect.  Temps. of oil and water were normal, oil pressure was good and I could not find anything to complain about.  I lowered the air pressure to 8.5 PSI and made the second run, which was the best run of the night, at 9.58 sec. @ 137 MPH.  Not as quick as I really wanted, but after looking at the track temp. and the ambient temp. of 96 degrees @ 70% humidity, I decided this was very good.  The best runs on the 1/4 mile since the temp. has been at the ninety degree level was, 9.63 sec. @ 138 MPH, with a 60' of 1.364 sec.
The only thing that was different on the car from the Shreveport runs, was to raise the height of the wheelie bars from 6" to 7.5".  The best 60' time in Shreveport was, 1.397 sec. and 1/8th mile time of 6.13 sec.  Tonight, my best 60' was, 1.354 sec. with a 1/8 mile time of 6.06 sec.  This is an excellent improvement.  I will loosen the front shocks to allow the front end to go up a little quicker.  Tonight the car was on and off the wheelie bars several times in the first 100'.  Allowing the front end to come up quicker may "plant" the rear tires.
After looking at the plugs and finding them very dark, I made one last pass after changing jets from 96/98 to 94 square.  The time fell to 9.71 sec. @ 134 MPH (but the best 60' time).  This clearly shows I went down too far, or the wrong way with the jet change.  Everything worked just fine on all runs and I am very happy with the way the overhaul turned out.
I can go on vacation and know I have a good running car ready to try to hit 9.90 in Super Gas at the LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES, August 12-14, at State Capitol Dragway.

August 02, 2004 - Just returned from 7 days vacation in Daytona Beach, Florida, my hometown.  Relaxed, not a worry in the world.  Looking fwd. to the weekend of racing and getting ready for the Div. race.

August 6, 2004 - Attended Friday night Bracket Races at State Capitol Dragway.  My intent was to try to dial in the car for the Super Gas 9.90 bracket.  After insuring all the inputs were set to the correct numbers on the delay box and on the throttle-stop, I made the first pass.  I laid down a beautiful 9.864 sec. on that first pass!  Amazing for using the settings from the other car that were taken over two years ago.  Aren't records great!  The rest of the night was downhill from there.  On the 2nd pass I forgot to turn on the air.  On the third pass the air bottle went dry when the fitting came loose from the bottle.   On the third pass, which was another time trial, I locked everything out and made a all out pass, but only ran 9.62 @ 138 MPH.   The air was excellent and I thought the car should have been in the 9.40's.  I am very tired at this point and the track is about to close. 

August 7, 2004 - Attended the annual BMRT Picnic at State Capitol Dragway.  Everything was excellent!  We invited many racers from the metropolitan Baton Rouge area to come and enjoy the food and fellowship, and many of them were there.  The event was coordinated by Houston, James, Big Man, Lacey and Willie. 
I had a few things go wrong with the car that challenged both myself and Houston as to what the problems were.   Some of the problems were self-inflicted, such as, not checking everything before jumping to the conclusion that the problem was with the air/fuel supply.  I changed jets twice and the car got slower each time.  By now I am very hot, upset and frustrated!  Houston came over and offered to help, and when I said I was done for the day, he took over.  He checked the carb linkage and removed a plug to check the color.  He then checked the timing, which was set at 23 degrees, and not 35 degrees that I had set it when we installed the engine.  Houston remembered that I had had trouble keeping the distributor from moving some years ago.  When we installed the engine, I had put the hold-down clamp on in the correct orientation.  To get this one to hold tight, the clamp must be inverted and then tightened down (all we did was reset the timing and tighten it down).   By now, it is time for round one.  I ran a dragster and cut a .005 light and slowed to a easy win.  In round two, I ran Kevin Henry and cut a .003 light but the car did not run the number and I lost in a very close finish.  The timing had moved again!  In the trailer the car went and we enjoyed the rest of the day at the picnic.

There was one very bright spot during the weekend.  Mr. Wesley Roberson, NHRA Div. 4 Chassis Inspector, came over during the picnic and congratulated all of Bracket Masters Racing Team on the excellent job we were doing in the community.  He cited our work with kids and schools in the local area, the annual Louisiana Drag Classic, that we sponsor and our Media Book.  As many of you know, BMRT members volunteer time at local schools and we show our cars at Career Days in the Baton Rouge and Zachary areas.  We have worked with the East Baton Rouge School Board and specifically, Glen Oaks High School Auto Tech Program, for the past two years.  We are sponsors of the NHRA Youth & Education Services program.  We have also shown the cars and spoke in the community at different civic events and at local churches. 

August 12, 2004 - Started to work on the car again.  Have to find the reason for the drop from 9.60 in the first round to 9.70 in the second round.  First I checked the timing.  It was set at 35 degrees, just as we set it the last time.  I removed the distributor and checked the gear (meshed with cam) on the bottom of the distributor and a few other things.  The distributor hold down clamp was turned the correct way (upside down).  Everything sounded good and all the vital signs were normal. 

My focus is now on the throttle-stop and linkage, so I removed the throttle-stop and replaced it with a solid bar the same length as the throttle-stop (I will not run in the Div. 4 points meet this weekend).  I also checked the positive throttle stop that I installed under the gas petal.  The angle of installation of the stop under the petal may be a problem, especially when the foot is used to press the gas petal to the full open position.   I changed the angle a little to insure full throttle when pushed to the floor. 

I have noticed the car will not stay hooked on launch.  I can feel, and people watching can see, the car loading and unloading the rear wheels.  After talking a long time to Houston, my listening post and chief consultant, we decided to change the setting of the rear shocks.  I have the 12-way adjustable shocks set at the recommended #5 position.  We will change them to 3/4 full hard, or the #9 position.  This is closer to how the other car was set up.   We are going to raise the wheelie bars, again, if that does not work.  They are currently at 5.5" high to the bottom of the wheels.

I am installing a MSD Crank Trigger device.  I am mid-way through the installation, which seems to be really straight forward.  I have a couple of burned spark plug wires and the MSD cap has not been changed in a while so I will change them out. 

Tomorrow is the first day that I will go back to Mr. Lyons Auto tech class for the new school year.  We will continue with the assembly of the SBC engine that we started last semester.

August 13, 2004 - Attended the Auto Tech class and addressed one of the two Intro to Auto Tech classes.  The class is large and consists of both boys and girls.  They were very courteous and listened to my talk on the B. R. SMART Program and Bracket Masters Racing Team. 

Houston come over and took over the installation of the MSD Crank Trigger Device.  When he left, after about an hour, the car was running.  The device had been installed, air gap set, the distributor was "rotor phased" and everything looked good.  We set the timing at 35 degrees.  This thing is really easy to work with.  Setting the timing will be a breeze, and the timing mark under the timing light is "rock steady", as Aretha Franklin says. 

I also reset the rear shocks to the #9 position, from the #5 position.  This is towards the "hard" position.  I checked and left the wheelie bars at 5.5" high on each wheel.  

August 18, 2004 - Addressed the 6th hour Auto Tech class and obtained the list of parts needed to complete the overhaul of the 350 SBC engine that we started last semester.  Mr. Lyons attended a class on the new Toyota Hybrid auto, free of charge, during the first week of school.  This was a great opportunity for him and all Auto Tech instructors in this area. 

August 19, 2004 - Picked up the parts from Engine Parts Warehouse, courtesy of Mr. Dwayne Beaumont, Manager of the Baton Rouge store.   The engine overhaul, being completed by the students of Mr. Lyons Auto Tech Introduction class, is a Baton Rouge SMART Program project. 

  Thanks to Engine Parts Warehouse of Baton Rouge!

After delivering the parts to the school, I spent the rest of the day working on preserving the wood on my open trailer and painting the metal parts.  By the end of the day I had a new coat of Thompson's Water Seal on the boards and a new coat of white Starthane paint, with epoxy hardener added to the base coat.   All I need to do now is to check each wheel bearing and the electric brakes and it will be ready for parade duty (Mardi Gras) and the occasional moving duty that a open trailer is always called to handle. 

August 21, 2004 - Removed all four wheels from the open trailer and repacked the bearings.  Checked and adjusted the brakes on the trailer.  It is now ready for towing. 

I received a new set of MSD 8.5 mm spark plug wires for the new Camaro.  I will assemble them and get them installed during the coming week. 

I have been looking at some old data, specifically carb jetting ,during the Summer months a few years ago.  Seems I was only using 90/90 jets.  Lately I have been using 96/96 & 96/98 jets and it always seems rich.  I tried some smaller jets a few weeks ago, but it was in combination with some other changes and the throttle-stop testing, so I really don't know what the smaller jets will actually do.  I was running much quicker when I was using the smaller jets, 9.40's in the heat vs. 9.60-9.70's now, in the heat.  The only difference is (other than the body), the intake manifold was not port matched back then.  I wonder if port matching made that much difference. 

Upon closer inspection of my old data, when the car ran quicker I was leaving at 43-4500 RPM and the timing was at 40-42 degrees.  These two parameters were always the same to make the car run quicker 1/8 mile times and 1/4 mile times.   The starting line rpm of 43-4500 RPM is closer to the converter stall (4500).  I have been leaving at 3800 RPM, with timing at 35-36 degrees.  This may be some of the reason for the high 60' times lately. 

August 29, 2004 - After clearing my social calendar for the past week, grandson Jeremy is playing high school football and he had two games and a scrimmage, plus I had some church work and a banquet for a 90 year old friend of our family, Mrs. Ivory Boatner.  I completed installing the new spark plug wires.  The old ones read approximately the same ohmic value as the new ones, but they look better!  I also removed all the plugs and checked the gap at .045".

Sept. 4, 2004 - I did not take the car to the race, although it was ready.  I concentrated on the teams Jr. Dragster and Granddaughter Barbara Herbert.   There was plenty for me to do and things to enjoy.  For the first time, I really enjoyed the race.  Normally it's work, work and worry.  Today was different.  The Hospitality Breakfast turned into an all day cookout.  Viola and Reggie with breakfast, Rita and Big Man with neck bones, red beans, bar-b-que and many other items.  Star fixed red beans and rice and jambalaya that was real good.  Star also decorated a Bracket Masters Racing Team sheet cake with the team logo.  She set up a table that had different mementos dedicated to the racing team.  Star prepared over 350 individual cubes that featured many of the team members and their cars.  Each cube contained candy and mints.
Everything went just great at the track until the rains came.  We were into the later rounds in most classes and the purse was totaled and paid out to everyone that was still running. 
Tonight I am very tired.  I will post the photos and other information later this week after the final accounting is done on Tuesday at the track.     
I want to personally acknowledge all the racers that came over to me and said how much you enjoy coming to our race each year.  That also goes for the people that came over and said how much you enjoy the web site.  Currently the site is getting over 70,000 hits per month.  I know there are other racing sites that get many more hits, but we are proud of our accomplishments and we want to thank you for taking the time to look at our ramblings. 

Our team mate, James Richardson, did not make it to the race today.  His father was laid to rest today.  Many of the team mates visited with the family on Friday evening at the funeral home in Clinton, LA.  Our hearts and our prayers are with the the Richardson family as they continue on the path that God has paved for them.  God Bless You James and family.

Sept. 5-16, 2004 - Relaxed, refreshed and ready for the remaining racing in the year.  Most of the team members decided not to go to the Super Chevy Show this year due to all of the things that were going on in our area with the weather (Charlie, Francis, Ivan and Jeanne).  This Super Chevy Weekend has turned out to be great. 
I made a few changes to the car to see if the times would improve.  Changed the timing to 40 degrees, and the starting line RPM to 4300.  I also found out when I went from MSD Distributor to MSD Crank Trigger, I had to reattach to loop (green wire loop) that was cut on the MDS Digital 7 Plus ignition box that I run.  I also have the Dedenbear Transmission case that allows adjustment of the "hit" on the tires.  I checked this adjustment to make sure it was at full hit.  I changed the jets to 92/92 square. 
Friday Sept. 16, 2004 - Took the car to State Capitol Dragway and on the first run it ran 9.848 @ 134 MPH, which is very low.  Everything sounded and look good and the car handled very well.  On the 2nd pass I changed the jets to 96/98 and the times were; 9.648 @ 138 MPH, which was much better.  The 60' time was only 1.404 sec. and we attribute that to the track prep on Friday night (lack of).  All of the changes that we made after that run just proved to be worse.  Most changes were to tire pressure and we changed shock setting from 9/12 back to 5/12 (softer) to try to get the 60 ft. time back down.  We went from 7.8 psi air pressure down to 6.5 psi, but nothing worked.  I plan to change the timing and starting line RPM back to 35 degrees and 3800 RPM to take some of the strain off the engine and transmission.  I was able to run these same times with the lower settings. 
One area that we have not been able to solve is the loading and unloading of the tires when I leave the line.  We think our wheelie bars are set too low.  They are at 5.25 inches to the bottom of the wheels now.  We don't have any adjustment left to raise them, but they need to go higher.  I will have to send the car to the Chassis Shop to get that done.  I probable need about 2 more inches off the ground.  Observers say the front end is just barely picking up when I launch.  The front shocks are adjusted so they should let the front end come up quickly, but that is not happening.  The car stays on the wheelie bar wheels for approximately 15 ft. when the car leaves.  Every since the wheelie bars have been installed the 60 ft. times have been no better than 1.388 sec.  Before, they were in the 1.333 sec. range. 
I was the only car that was running in Super Pro Trophy Class at the track, so I got the 1st Place Trophy.  All the other Super Pro cars were entered in the money bracket at State Capitol.  They had approximately 15 cars in Super Pro last night. 

Sept. 18, 2004 - Returned to State Capitol Dragway for the monthly Bracket Money Races.  I returned the timing to 37 degrees and moved the starting line RPM back to 3800 RPM and set the tire pressure at 7.8 psi.  I also removed the air pan from under the carb just to see what difference that would make.  My first pass was 9.519 @140 MPH and 60 ft. time was 1.388, and 1/8 mile time was 6.05 sec. What an improvement!  The air pan was the major contributor to the time and MPH improvement because I have run with these same settings as late as the race in Shreveport.  Everything just felt so good. 
In the first round I won with a 9.53 @139 MPH run, letting up just before the finish line.  Then the bugs came back to haunt me.  The same problem that I experienced last night, the cooling fan stopped working sometime after that 1st round win.  When I got ready to go up for the 2nd round, I noticed the engine temp. at 180 degree.  Houston Hawkins did the troubleshooting again, as he did last night and found another broken terminal on the fuse block.  We got it repaired in the staging lanes, but the temp. only came down to about 150 degrees before I had to make a pass.  I normally start my burnout at 135-140 degrees F.  I had a 9.49 sec. dial-in and could only run 9.58 for a .038 MOV loss.  
This week I have three things to do.  Relocate my fuel pump to allow more travel for my wheelie bars, raise the wheelie bars, and install a new fuse panel for all my accessories.  I also need to troubleshoot why the air pan is causing me to lose power.  It should be helping with air flow to the carb instead of cutting down air flow. 

Sept. 27, 2004 - Warmed the engine and reset the valve lash to .022" on Intake and Exhaust valves (from Intake - .028" and Exhaust .030") . 
After thinking about cutting the wheelie bar top bar to allow the wheels to be moved up, I looked at the setup and decided to try to rethread the adjustment screw on the top bar to gain the added height.  I was able to get approximately two more inches of height.  The fuel pump did not need to be moved to get the additional height.  The wheels are now 7.25" to the bottom of the wheels.  If additional height is needed, the fuel pump will have to be moved and the bar will have to be cut, or the mounting holes relocated, which is an option. 
   
Tomorrow I will change the oil in the engine and the trans., grease the chassis, and install the new fuse panel.  I am still thinking about the air pan problem.  I may try to fabricate something under the hood scoop that will isolate the engine air from the intake air. 

Sept. 28, 2004 - Changed the oil and filter in the engine (20 runs) and transmission (67 runs).  Spent the rest of the day looking for a replacement fuse panel, which I could not fine.  After talking with Mr. Sonny, I have decided to use a 40 amp ckt. breaker for the fan, water pump and accessories.  I will use a 30 amp ckt. bkr. for the fuel pump (should be much lower).  No more fuses.  The ckt. breakers reset themselves.  

Sept. 29, 2004 - I removed the old fuse panel and installed the two new ckt. bkrs. in the same place.  Connected the MSD, accessories and lights to a 20 amp breaker.  I connected the fuel pump, fan and water pump to a 40 amp breaker.
Loaded up and took the car to No Problem Raceway Park for testing.  The only changes that were made from the runs at State Capitol last week were, Oil & Filter change, reset valves from .028"/.030", Intake and Exhaust, to both In/Ext at .022", and the wheelie bars were raised from 5 1/4", up to 7 1/4" to bottom of wheels. The first pass was perfect, with no unloading of the rear wheels!  The car laid out and had 1.355 sec. 60' time, with 5.995 sec. 1/8 mile time and 9.43 sec.@141.8 MPH.  That's what I'm talking about!  It felt good!
I started to make some changes to the jetting, but decided not to bother anything. I increased rear tire pressure from 8.5 psi to 9.8 psi, which is where I had always run my tire pressure at No Problem.  This track and Hub City stick better than some of the other places that I run, and I can take advantage of my stiff sidewall Mickey Thompson slicks and run the higher air pressure.  On the second pass, it felt even better.  It laid out again and I had a 1.344 sec. 60' time, with 5.978 sec. @ 115.36 MPH in 1/8 mile.  The 1/4 mile time was 9.411 sec. @141.86 MPH.  Both passes were from the left lane. 
I made one more pass, with no changes, except to put in 3 gals. of racing fuel to fill the tank.  This pass was from the right lane and ran 9.452 @ 141.49 MPH.  I could feel the tires turn over and it did not pull the wheels as it did from the left lane.  All three passes were straight down the track. 
I did not open the hood all night and I did not have the air pan under the carb.  The air temp. for the first run (9.43)was 90 degrees F and 48% Hum., DA = 2191'.  The second run (9.41) air temp. was 89 degrees F and 53% Hum., DA = 2118'. 
These runs are the best ever, Time and MPH, with the engine and trans. in this body.  The best 60' time in this body was 1.328 sec. at Atmore, AL, last year before the wheelie bars were installed.  I will sleep good tonight.  I'm ready for the Shreveport trip!

            Skip's Racing 4th Qtr. 2004

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