Dyno Testing                    Barbara's Class Reunion

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Sept. 25, 2006 - Let me explain, Alvin will get the head back after the machine shop completes the setup of the springs and lapping in the valves.  That is what he wants.  He will complete the porting to match this head to the old one.  After that, he will flow test the heads.

Sept. 21, 2006 - I took the head over to Alvin's and we inspected it.  The quality of the work out of the box on this head is a marked increase over the old one.  The old heads were purchased in 1999, so this one has 7 years of improvements and innovations although it is the exactly the same model (Dart Pro-1 345).  The casting in general, inside and out, is better and it came with some very light port work in both the intake and exhaust, under the valves.  The cuts on the seats were blended and exactly what Alvin wanted.   After completing the inspection, I took the head over to Tim's Engines.  They will complete seating the valves, any necessary machining, get the correct spring height and complete the final assembly.

Yesterday, Willie, Johnell and myself took a trip to  No Problem Raceway Park to finalize the Louisiana Drag Classic with Pat.  Pat has been on vacation down in Mexico, just "relaxing and taking it easy".  

Mark your calendars!  The date for the 7th Louisiana Drag Classic is September 23, 2007.  This year racers were still coming with cars on trailers at 2 pm (after church), and the 1st round had already started.  Next year, the gates will open later, time trials will start around Noon or 1 pm, and eliminations will be later in the afternoon.  We can't control the weather, but it should be cooler.  Now if we could just get a good forecast and sunny sky.   We have a year to pray.

On the way back we stopped by Joe Louis' Car Care on Highway 1 in Plaquemine, LA.  This is the home of "The Bayou Boyz" racing team.  We had a good time talking trash and telling each other who has the better cars.  We had them outnumbered when we came in, but after a few phone calls, Joe rounded up about 5 of his members and it really got hot!  We also talked about forming an alliance between the two organizations that would benefit both teams, our respective communities, and kids on both sides of the river.  We invited the Bayou Boyz to become a part of our web site which would include profiles of all of their members. 

We would like to see some healthy competition between racing organizations.  As Willie mentioned on the radio show, there are a lot of racing groups in our community, with some real nice cars, that could represent their groups in some match races or team competition.   We can run for points & or trophies, not money, and keep the competition fun. 

Remember to come visit our team meeting.  Our meeting will be held Sunday, Sept. 24, 2006,  at 5:00 pm.  We meet at Shoney's, close to the intersection of Airline and I-12, in Baton Rouge. 

Sept. 20, 2006 - The head arrived today!  Unboxed it and everything is just as I ordered. 

Sept. 19, 2006 - I cleaned up all the bolts and removed the intake and cleaned the old gaskets off of them.  Sorted the valve train parts for the head that was removed.  Squirted the left bank of cylinders with 30W oil and turned the engine over.  Everything looks very good.  Received the new valve stem seals today.  The head should be here tomorrow, the bill arrived today along with the seals.  Alvin is waiting on his Superflo, it was suppose to ship today. 

Sept. 15, 2006 - My new Dart Pro-1 345 head shipped today!  I found one on the shelf at Summit Racing Motorsports Engine Shop.  Dart's first quote was 1.5 weeks, and that was after 20 other orders were filled.  I should have the one from Summit by Tuesday - Weds. and I can get in line at Alvin's for the porting work. 

Alvin is waiting on delivery of a new Superflo flow bench to replace the homemade flow bench that he has been using for the past few years.  My head(s) may will be one of the first ones that he tests.  Since I have waited this long, I may as well get him to flow both heads to see the difference, and possibly equalize them. 

Using a brand new head will bring a lot of factors into play that I had talked about in the past.  This is a stock head and is 119 cc.  The other head is 122-123 cc.  The other head has been milled at least .010".  That won't make a difference if the volume is the same.  I may have to use a different thickness head gasket and the push rods may have to be changed.  Push rods may not have to be changed since they only come in lengths that differ by .025", I think.  The other head had been cut to accept small valve seals for triple valve springs.  That will have to be done again.  The valves must be given a "Alvin" valve job, only the machinist and Alvin know what that is.

I picked up my engine from Tim's Engines today.  This is where it was dyno tested on June 28, 2006.  I decided to get everything back at the house and do the assembly myself.  That way I can be more in control over what is done, and I will be responsible for anything that goes wrong (or right).  That engine really looks good in my shop, even with only one head.  After I talk to Alvin, I am going to take the other head off to prepare for the flow bench test.  It just feels good to know that the bottom end is good.  I drained the oil and there was nothing on the magnet and the oil looked perfect. 

Sept. 14, 2006 - A disturbing fact was bought to my attention by a friend that did not attend the recent race sponsored by Bracket Masters Racing Team at No Problem Raceway Park.  They had been told that the race was closed to everyone outside of our racing team.  This is far from the truth!  Bracket Masters has been sponsoring races since the year 2000 and has never sponsored a closed race.  In fact, for the first three races our members were not allowed to compete in our races.  Today, our members are allowed to compete in a sponsored event if they pay the full price as the other racers in the class that they enter.   All racers, without regard to race, creed, color or sex, are invited to attend and compete in any event we sponsor or give (racing or otherwise). 

Bracket Masters Racing Team, Inc. has a diverse membership.  Our membership is open to everyone without regard to race, creed, color or sex.  We are currently trying to increase our membership and welcome individuals to join our organization.  You do not have to have a race car or be a racer.  We need many skills to help our organization advance.  We would like to have doctors, lawyers, accountants, laborers (skilled and unskilled), business persons, computer people (we need a backup webmaster, or a new webmaster), communications persons and journalist, along with anyone else that can help us.  

During the past ten years of our existence, we have worked to improve our community by working with several high schools and some of the middle schools, elementary schools and even with kindergarten children in our area.  We do this by contributing money, showing our cars, giving volunteer time in classrooms, speaking to the youth and acting as mentors for some of the children in our community.  We have a Jr. Dragster Program for youth from 8 to 17 years of age.  We have established a Community Benefit Fund which will help support our efforts in the community.  This is the work we want to advance.  If you would like to become a part of this effort, and have some fun with the race cars, please feel free to check us out!

Our meetings are held on the 4th Sunday of each month at 5:00 pm.  We meet at Shoney's, close to the intersection of Airline and I-12, in Baton Rouge. 

Sept. 12, 2006 - I personally talked to Dart today, for the first time.  After trying to weld up my head ten different times, and the seats failed the pressure test each time, they have declared the head is not repairable.  This is the same thing that happened to the local shop.  I have ordered a new head from Dart and they will not charge me for the failed repair. 

Sept. 10, 2006 (update)- Skip spent the day at the Louisiana Drag Classic taking photos and selling T-shirts and caps.  The racers that attended the event had a very good time.  The rain stopped just in time for the track personnel to get the track dried for time trials around 11:00 am.  We had two time trials and got into eliminations.  The clouds started to roll in around 3:30 pm, and due to the light turnout of cars, we were in the final rounds and some of the brackets were already complete when the rains hit.  Each winner and runner-up got a big trophy and money for their efforts.  Several special trophies were awarded.  Millet Racing took home the trophy for "Best Appearing Team".  Zubie Racing took home the trophy for "Longest Distance Traveled" and two awards were given to the teams that bought the most cars and people to the event.  These were given to "Arnold's Air Hogs" and "Bayou Boyz" Racing Team.  Thanks for the support. 

My heads are still not back from Dart, and there is no word on when they will be ready.  I gave the local machine shop a hard time when they took forever to get the heads back, and I was sure that Dart could do it much quicker, but I was wrong.   I just hope when I do get them back, they are correct.

All racers are invited to attend a special Sunday race event at State Capitol Raceway on November 19, 2006.  Bracket Masters Racing Team will host a race at State Capitol on that date.  We are looking for sponsors for the race.  A marquee sponsor is needed, along with class sponsors.   We plan to have Super-Pro, Non-Elect., Street, Motorcycle and Jr. Dragster.   We are currently trying to decide on having Quick-16 (eight dragsters and eight doorslammers) compete over the quarter-mile or the 1/8 mile. 

August 31, 2006 - Still no word on my head from Dart. 

Houston came over and inspected the car.  He gave a thumbs up for my work over the past few months and says the car looks good.  I put all of the parts on the front and suprise, the cowl did not fit any more after the windshield was replaced.  The trim around the bottom of the windshield also served to hold the cowl in position.  I had to fabricate a pad to go under the cowl to hold it up at the correct elevation.  The cowl is also the place where the back of the hood rests when it is in place.  Everything now fits as it should.  The car really looks good with everything in place.  It should really look good with a motor!   I can't wait to get it on the scales to see what it weighs.  It was at 3040 lbs. before all of the work to cut the pounds. 

Be sure to tune in Sunday, Sept. 3rd at 5:pm, on KQXL-FM (106.5) to "Major Topics" with Major Reginald Brown, Constable of East Baton Rouge Parish.  Willie, Houston and Tarrus will participate in interviews and take questions from the listening audience.  It should be a nice event. 

With the fuel costs going up, up, up, isn't it time we switched over to 1/8th mile drag racing?   Less fuel, shorter cleanups, quicker races, less broken parts, engines last longer. Another plus, we may get more Pro-Mod type race cars at our weekly (and special) events.  Most of those guys only compete at the 1/8 mile events.  NHRA may never go that way with their divisional and national events, but for the little guys (me) that don't run in those events, we can save a lot of money.   

We would like for all racers to come to the Louisiana Drag Classic on Sunday, September 10, 2006 at No Problem Raceway Park. There is a Sat. bracket race.  Overnight parking will be available at the track. The gates will open early Sunday Morning, around 9:00 am, with eliminations starting around 1:00 pm, after everyone has had two time trials.  This will be the 6th Louisiana Drag Classic.  The weather is getting cooler!

August 26, 2006 - Still no word on my head from Dart.

The price of racing fuel has skyrocketed in the past 2-3 months (I stand corrected, 2-3 years).  Unlike the price of fuel at the pump, racing fuel does not go up and down, only up to a new normal. 

In the Baton Rouge area, another racing business is closing, and some of their problem could have been due to the high cost of racing fuel.  Eagle Motorsports, in Denham Springs, LA, is closing on Wed. August 30, 2006.  The official reason given by one of the workers was, "Business has dropped so much since hurricane Katrina, we are not selling enough to stay open".  We are sorry to see Eagle Motorsports close.  Although they catered to the dirt track and oval track racers, they had a good selection of parts for the drag racer too.  God Bless Mr. Larry Arnold in his future business ventures.  Mr. Arnold was always very pleasant and helpful to everyone who came into his business.   

The effects of hurricane Katrina, a year later, has been life changing for almost all of the people on the Gulf Coast.  From Texas to Mississippi.  Everyone has been effected in some way.  Now we are looking towards the tropics at another hurricane that has set it sights on the Gulf Coast.  Hurricane Ernesto is projected to be a category 2 storm by this coming Wed. and will be probably come ashore Thurs. or Friday.  That will be just 3-4 days after the anniversary of Katrina.  East Texas, Western Louisiana, the Metro New Orleans area (including St. Bernard Parish) and the Mississippi Gulf Coast have not come anywhere near recovery from Katrina.  Well over two hundred thousand families are living in other states around the country as a result of Katrina.

We are praying for the weather to clear and conditions to be good for the Louisiana Drag Classic on September 10, 2006.  The race will be at No Problem Raceway Park and will follow the format of their normal Sat. racing program.  There will be a Sat. bracket race on Sept. 9th, and we are inviting all of the racers stay for the Louisiana Drag Classic on Sunday. Overnight parking will be available at the track. The gates will open early Sunday Morning, around 9:00 am, with eliminations starting around 1:00 pm, after everyone has had two time trials.  This will be the 6th Louisiana Drag Classic.

August 18, 2006 - Found some new information on the Dart situation.  They did not acknowledge authorization to start the work until this week.  Dart gave an estimate back in July, but they said they never got the authorization to start...  To say that I am not happy is putting it very mild...

Reggie and Willie came over and looked at my window installation today.  They both had good things to say about the whole installation.  I am very happy with the way it came out. 

August 17, 2006 - Got a call from Baton Rouge Power Coatings, the frame was ready for pickup.  It came out very nice.  I give myself a "B" for design, a "C" for welding and an "A-" for the final installation.  PHOTOS

We just heard from Dart.  They say another week and one-half until they ship it out!  The original promise date was four days from July 28th.  That is a long way to miss a promise date. They have had the head since July 6, 2006.  Looks like a sure thing that I will not have the car ready for the Louisiana Drag Classic.

August 16, 2006 - Did a little touch-up painting and polished my wheels on the race car today.

August 15, 2006 - Yesterday I visited with Glen Oaks High School principle, Mr. Wilbert August.  The purpose of the visit was to volunteer some time to the school during this school year.  I will not be able to spend time in my normal place, the auto tech program.  The problem is, the auto tech program has been shut down at Glen Oaks High.  The school does not have a qualified instructor available to teach the course. 

Last year, a part time instructor was used to teach two classes of "Intro to Auto Tech" at Glen Oaks High.  That teacher split time between the auto tech program at Capital High School and the Glen Oaks program.  This did not work out for the best interest of the students in the two programs. 

Mr. August tried to hire a full time instructor for the 2006-2007 school year, but those efforts failed.  The program is not dead, but is waiting on a qualified instructor.  Mr. August would like to revive the program for the 2007-2008 school year. 

If there are any Certified Mechanics that would like to teach auto tech at a top notch high school, please contact Mr. August at Glen Oaks High School before February 2007.  The certified mechanic does not have to have a college degree, but they must have a current mechanics certification from the state.  They would become employees of East Baton Rouge School System.

The Auto Tech Program at Glen Oaks High School has a stand alone 8-bay building that includes a classroom, 2 lifts, a state-of-the-art Snap-on alignment machine, several $15K sets of tools (Snap-on).  They have 8 new Dell Computer work stations for classroom work.  There are many computerized troubleshooting machines and many other teaching tools available to the instructor.   The program owns several late model vehicles and engines that are used help in hands-on teaching of the students.  This high school has more equipment than the majority of the auto repair businesses in the state and comes close to having all the equipment that a dealership owns.

This year, as my health will allow, I will be working with Mr. Randy Gallow, instructor in the Construction Management Program, at Glen Oaks High School.  During my years with Stone & Webster Engineering Corp. and with Entergy Operations Inc., I worked in Project Management and was a Planning & Scheduling Technical Specialist.  Glen Oaks High School has a state-of-the-art computer project management lab where the students work in teams at work stations to learn different concepts, such as computer aided design (CAD).

I will also volunteer time in the ROTC Program, working with Sgt. Jordan and the kids in the ROTC program. 

Aug. 14, 2006 - The battery charge is complete on the unit in the car.  The other battery was still fully charged.  Both are the red top Optima spiral batteries that have a lot of cranking amps.  They have a three year full replacement warranty, with another 48 months of pro-rated protection. One failed after only nine months.  They have both been doing very well every since.  I have had them for just over 2 years.  Willie has the yellow top Optima (more cranking amps) and one of his has failed too. 

After looking at the NHRA Rule Book, I swapped out the battery hold down straps, which were 2" wide, 1/4" thick steel bars, for 1-1/2" wide, 3/32" thick, steel strap. I had two of those monsters back there!

I put the new numbers and class designation letters on the back window. I adjusted the Koni front shocks to approximately 50/50, from 90/10. 

Aug. 13, 2006 - Removed the extra battery from the left side of the racecar today.  This should help balance the removal of the right side window and rollup mechanism.  While I was back there, I checked the battery for charge condition (only one battery was in the car, the other one had been removed earlier this year).  The battery in the car was almost dead.  I put the charger on it, and within 10 min. it was back up in the good range.  I will leave it on charge overnight, or longer, until it is fully charged.  I will charge the other one and keep it with me in the trailer for backup. I left everything in the trunk ready to return to two battery operation, if necessary. 

Aug. 12, 2006 - Changed the oil in the F-250 diesel truck for the 1st time (myself).  Man, that thing holds a lot of oil!  Changed the filter too.  I normally take it to the dealer for oil changes. I Had to purchase a special, large, size filter wrench.  With the filter, it was around 13-14 qts. of oil.   Now I understand why the oil change is so expensive for the diesel truck.  About a week ago, I cleaned the battery posts on both batteries and added distilled water to one battery.  The other one in no-maint. type.  I also put a K&N air filter on the truck.  It is suppose to increase the gas mileage, according to the K&N guy at the track.  It is reusable and is suppose to last for 1 million miles.  I was going to put the complete intake system on, but the K&N guy said, if I only wanted to increase gas mileage and not power, save the extra expense and just get the drop-in air filter ($50.00 inc. tax).  I just filled up, so I will see if it works.  I have plenty of power for my little 22 ft. trailer.

Aug. 11, 2006 - Completed the frame for the passenger side window.  It only took me 4 hours to make 6 welds and drill 4 holes.  I got all the tabs welded on without trouble, until the last one.  I blew a hole in the tubing and had to fill it in and grind it down to recover.  In fact, I did a lot of grinding, a lot of fitting and a lot of twisting on tubing! I practiced on some spare tubing first, but that did very little to prepare me for the real thing (except I blew holes in that too, and learned how to fill them in!).  In the end, it came out OK, and better than I thought.  I took it to the powder coating place here in Baton Rouge and it should be back this coming week.  It will be white.    
 

Aug. 10, 2006 - Didn't accomplish much today, attended a funeral, with another one on Sat..  Three church members in the last week have passed away. 

The Lexan window for the passenger side was trimmed down to fit perfectly in the door with the door closed.  I also used a tubing bender to get the frame into the correct shape for bracing the window and installed a tab under the window to keep it permanently in the up position.  The trick now will be to do the welding, attaching the little tabs to the tubing that will hold the window.  I have some practice pieces that I will probably burn up before I get it right.  I own a 220V wire feed MIG welder that I have had for 6-7 years and still don't know how to weld.  The last thing I welded correct was a toe loop on the accelerator to be able to slow the car in case the (two) springs break or the linkage goes over center during a pass.  Cable throttle cars don't have to worry about that.

Well the 10th has come and gone and I didn't hear anything from Dart on my head.  On July 28th, they said 4 days.  I figured those were working days and gave them some shipping time, thinking I should have them back by today.  Looks like I may be hard pressed to make it for our race.  This is taking into account all the testing I want to do before I actually assemble the engine and then the post assembly testing, installation and track break-in time.  I will not rush any part of that plan.

August 9, 2006 - I continued with the Lexan installation.  I removed the glass and roll-up mechanism from the passenger side door today.  I also gutted as much of the door as I could without altering the opening and closing mechanism.  The doors are very light without all of that stuff inside of it.  I cut the Lexan to conform to the window style of the 1967 Camaro.  The Lexan that they sent was cut for a 1968 (no vent window).  Now all I have to do is fabricate the window brace to hold the window in place, which will require some welding and tube bending.  Again, working outside of my area of expertise. I am trying to get at least a grade of "C" on this one...

August 8, 2006 - Completed the back window installation.  If I gave myself a grade, it would be "D".  The installation did not come out looking as good as I wanted, although it will be functional and serve the purpose of cutting the weight and keeping the elements out.  This also qualifies as a job that I will pay someone else to do if I have to have it done again!  You know the type job, like the first time you install a remote garage door opener, or put up a ceiling fan in a room where you have to reinforce the beam in the attic, or installing a fuel cell and covering the bottom to conform to the rules.  You get the idea.  This is really making me think twice about trying to do the side windows.
Special note to Van J.: I removed the coil wire firewall connector and ran the wire all the way from the coil, inside, to the distributor. See photo below at July 10, 2006 entry.

National Dragster had an excellent article on NHRA professional team "BLOGS" in the last issue.  Seems racing fans love to read about what goes on off the track, as well as on the track. Many of the top teams have Blogs and they are available on the  NHRA web site.

August 7, 2006 - Worked on the rear window Lexan installation.  Had to do a lot of prep before putting the window in place.  Cleaned and painted the area where the window will be placed.  Installed the rubber seal and used GE Sealant to hold the rubber in place and provide a water barrier.  It is drying overnight and the installation of the screws will start tomorrow.  I also put a coat of black paint on the outside inch and a half of the window.  I did some touch-up painting, blue/purple on the front of the car and around the windows too. 

August 5, 2005 - Popped out the back window today.  It will be late Monday before I can start working on installing the rear Lexan window.

August 4, 2005 - I have been spent a lot of time, these past two weeks, trying to get all of my high school, Jr. college, college and military transcripts mailed to an on-line university so I can finish my college degree (Business Management).  The hard part is getting all of the military information directly into the hands of the university.  It has been over 40 years since I went to some of those military schools (1956-2006 is 50 years!  I entered the Navy in 1956).  I have over 100 Jr. college and college credits. The military credits will get me real close to finishing.  If I looked into it, I could probably get some credits for my work experience after I left the military.  I hope with 5-6 semesters, or about 18 months of taking courses, I can finish.  I have always had a goal to finish college.  This may be my best chance.

The alternator is back in place with a new regulator.  It should come in around 2500 RPM, but the repair man said all I have to do to get it started is rev it up over the 2500 and it will continue to charge after it is started, down to very low, 600-800 RPM.  I also started to remove the back window to install the Lexan, before a thunderstorm, with lots of lightning strikes, forced me to come inside.  We have had two recent deaths in Baton Rouge from lightning.  I purchased a new Dedenbear electric water pump and I spent some time getting it ready to put on.  Had to get a new hose and clamps.  This will save a few pounds over the combination of water pump and separate drive motor that I had been running. 

I reinstalled the transmission, flushed out the trans. oil cooler and connected all the lines and the shift cable.  The drive shaft is also back in place.  I plan to change to synthetic trans oil in the fresh transmission.  I can't wait to see the difference in 60' times with the new exotic clutches & steels that TCI installed, along with the fresh converter.  Remember, the converter had a broken fin inside of it. 

The motor will be fresh, and stronger, so it will be hard to tell where all the improvements will originate.  That is one reason I like to make one change at a time, but in this case, it can't be helped.  It will be like driving a new car.  The car should be a lot lighter, with the new Lexan windshield and rear window.  I may get around to doing the doors too, as I indicated a few days back.  The engine has a new aluminum oil pan in place of the steel one that was destroyed during the first engine failure when the rod broke in April 2005.  If the alternator works well, I will remove one of the batteries.  That will save about 35-40 lbs right there!  The disk brakes, with new master cylinder, have not really been tested yet.  I never got to make a "good" pass on them.  Those brakes are much lighter than the stock Ford units that were in the original car.  The drive shaft is new, but  heavier, and the tires are new.  The tires only have the 6 passes that were made with the engine out of tune and hurt.  The headers are also new, larger and stepped.  These headers will allow me to install muffler inserts and be legal for Super Gas.  We also have the new cowl induction hood to feed more air into the engine.  If I can get all of this stuff to work in concert, like a well directed symphony orchestra, it should run some solid eights!  I would like to be ready for the Louisiana Drag Classic on Sept. 10th, at No Problem Raceway Park. 

July 28, 2006 - I removed the alternator and had it refurbished.  The regulator was not allowing it to come in at all.  How did I know that?  I didn't.  I was just looking for things that could be checked during this down time. 

Tim's talked to Dart today, they promise the heads will be ready in about 4 days, plus shipping.  I calculate I should have them back by August 8-10th.  They will fix the two seats, blend the bowls, do a valve job and fix the crooked rocker stud hole that I screwed up. 

When I was looking at Charles Edward's and Young Blood's Camaro last week, I notice how light the doors were, and they are steel.  They have no roll-up mechanisms and Lexan windows.  They don't feel any heavier than fiberglass doors, probably real close.  I have been thinking about installing fiberglass doors, but I think I will go with gutting the steel doors. 

I was looking at the stats on this website the other day.  Two hundred eight (208) people looked at my page during the month of July.  Thanks for keeping up with me!  I enjoy writing about my adventures and I hope you keep coming back.  Speaking of stats, the site is averaging over 88,000 hits per month, with 96,000 hits in July, from over 2000 unique individuals that look at our site each month.  Unique individuals only get counted one time per month.  Last year we had over one million hits on the site.  This is not many compared to Racepics.net, that gets several million hits per year, but we are very happy with the people that keep up with us. 

The weather down here in Louisiana has come down from the mid-to-high 90's, to high 80's during the past week, except today, which is 94 degrees again.  We have also been getting a lot of rain, which was very much needed (not needed on race days, Friday nights and Sat.).  

July 22, 2006 - We have not heard anything from Dart on the repair of my one head.  We have called a few times, but nobody will tell us anything.  Sounds like a broken record when it comes to work on my heads.  It is so hot here in Baton Rouge, that I have just stopped any type of work on the car.  I want to finish the Lexan in the rear window, but don't have the energy to get out there and work in this heat.  

I saw an advertisement today for a race on August 27th at No Problem Raceway Park, where I am one of the invited racers!  I should be ready by then, but I have no idea what class the car is going to fit into.  I know it will not be quick enough for the 5.30 class, and it should be too quick for the 6.0 class (all 1/8 mile times).  I may have upgraded myself into no-man's land!  I wonder how much NOS it would take to make the 5.30 class, or how much weight I have to get rid of?

July 11, 2006 - I talked to the dyno people today.  My engine is underpowered!  They say, most of the 555 engines put out at least 900 HP, and most are in the 925-950 HP range. We don't know exactly what's in these motors, cams, heads, carbs, so I will have to be satisfied with what I have, knowing what's in it and how it was put together.   

July 10, 2006 - Worked on reworking my windshield.  I did not like the way it came out, it was not flush with the top and side posts of the windshield.  I discovered, in the box that the Lexan was shipped in, some rubber molding that will bring the windshield right up flush with the sides and top.  I started to insert the molding and I have it almost completed on the passenger side and about 1/2 way on the top.  I am going to leave the bottom just as I had it.  The numbers and class letters are installed.
Completed Lexan Windshield July 11, 2006

I continue to hear from racers around the country, which makes me happy, that express their feeling about my problem with the heads.  Everyone agrees that it happened at the right time.  Some racers have sent me their dyno numbers, especially if they are higher!  There are some very strong 555 BBC out there, some have over 230 more horses!  Mine may be the lowest powered 555 in the states. I am getting some very good information that may come in handy when I build my Ultimate Killer BBC, one of these years!  As for now, I hope increased longevity will be a byproduct of my lower horsepower.  I am positive it will run Super Gas 9.90 numbers with no problem. But on the other hand, I will be very disappointed if I don't get into the high 8's (in the heat of Summer). 

July 7, 2006 - Yesterday I had a long talk with Alvin about our dyno test and what we plan to do about the head that is being repaired at Dart.  Since the head has been ported, we are going to get it and check it before we install it on the engine.  We want the chambers to be close to what they were before the leak occurred.  Alvin feels that Dart will check the other chambers and match the leaking one to the others.  I have a feeling they will put it back close to stock dimensions. 

Today I completed installing the Lexan front windshield in the car.  Now I can put the numbers back on and be ready to make a pass as soon as the engine is installed.  I will do the other windows later.  I plan on putting the transmission and drive shaft back in this week coming so all I will have is the engine to install.  

I have been looking for a place to go and test when everything is ready.  Can't afford to rent the track, but I can afford to go over to Eunice on a Sat. and make all the runs I need.  The only problem with that is, the traction on Sat. sucks until late in the afternoon.  After a lot of cars have made passes then Eunice track starts to come around.  With the Sun going down later in the Summer, I could go to NPRP or SCR on a Friday and get in a couple of passes before it gets too dark.  The traction at SCR on Friday nights has been very good since the new owner (and Manager) took over.  I don't care for testing a new combination in the dark, so that counts out Gulfport on Weds. night. 

After I am up and running again, I want to go over to Evadale (Texas) and run at that track.  They seem to have fun at that track.  Barbara and I also plan to go over to Houston Raceway Park on their bracket race night and try our luck there.  We will run a lot of Friday nights at SCR, and most of the Sat. Bracket Races there.  I also want to participate in some of the 1/8 mile races at NPRP this year.  Most of you know my love for 1/8 mile racing.  Besides it being much more economical in these days of $8.50/gal racing fuel, it is very exciting.  Clean-ups are much shorter too.  There is a 1/8 mile track over in Houston that I may try too.  Willie wants to make it to Black Sunday in St. Louis this year.  I am still thinking about that long tow, but Barbara and I could have another visit with her cousin up there, that could be my excuse for going. 

July 6, 2006 - Trying to digest all the dyno information that I got from my session.  I have been reading a book I purchased some time ago on BG Demon Carbs.  Seems the way they are tested, using a wet flow system, rather than dry air flow.  BG Carb ratings are conservative compared to other brands.  This may be why the 1090 CFM King Demon BG Carb (purchased in 1999) dyno pulls produced more HP and Torque than the runs made with the 1150 CFM Holley.  The Holley is a new style (purchased in 2005) with the billet metering plates, just like the BG Carb.  The exhaust gas temps for the 5 cylinders that were connected ranged from 1136 degrees (#6) to 1355 degrees (#8).  The one that failed, #3, was 1180 degrees F.  Number 1 and number 4 were 1203 and 1206 degrees.  I am told that optimum EGT for gasoline is 1250 degrees at WOT. I am pleased with these numbers.  The other 3 cylinders were not connected to the headers.

July 2, 2006 - Several teammates, Houston, Marcus, Reggie and Van have called to express their feelings on the engine failure.  ALL of them think I was blessed to have found the problem the way I did, on the dyno, and not on the track, or even at home.  Everyone is impressed with the horsepower and the awesome torque.  I purchased some 4.30 gears, but have not installed them.  Looking at the numbers, I may have to go down to 4.11 gears, which is what the DynoSym computer program recommended.  It would be much easier on the engine as 1/4 mile RPM would drop dramatically and trap speed would increase. Houston feels the car would not be as violent off the line with the higher gears. I will start out with the old 4.56 gear.

I wrote this up in March 2006.  When we were trying to get seats for the two cylinder chambers that were destroyed, I called Dart and ordered seats for my Dart Pro-1, 345 heads.  Dart sent seats that were too small to fit into the heads.  The Dart people said that the seats they sent were correct for that application.  The seats that I have are not the original seats for that size head, but must have been changed to accommodate larger valves at some point in time.  I hope this is not a problem when the heads get back to Dart. 

    2nd Quarter 2006
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