ENGINE
When building a engine, you want all your modifications to
work together.
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
COMPRESSION
The first thing to consider is whether the car is going to be
driven on the street. With the highest octane of pump gas
being 94, I would try to keep the compression ratio to about
9.5:1. If you're not sure of the compression ratio and can get a
compression gage, you can figure it out by taking a
compression reading. Then you can divide the reading you get
by 14.7.
Example
If you get a reading of 145 PSI. divided by 14.7 = 9.86:1
CAMSHAFT
If your camshaft starts making power at 2500 rpm, you want
to match your manifold range to that of the cam.
MANIFOLDS
Torker manifolds are good from 2500 to 6500 rpm. This would
be a good choice for the cam if used.It is a single plain
manifold. Dual plain manifolds have a better bottom end
torque about 1500 to 5000 rpm.
CARBURETOR
Carburetor Formula
CID X PEAK RPM
3456
440cu.in.x 6000 r.p.m. =2640000
divide by 3456
This gives you 763.8 cfm. A 780 holley will be fine. This will
give you a good starting point for sizing your carburetor in
cfm.
HEADERS ARE A MUST!!!!
TRANSMISSION
If you start making power at 2500 rpm, thats the rpm you want
to leave the line.
A 2500 stall speed converter is perfect for the application.
REAR AXLE
If the engine makes power to 6000 rpm, you should be at or
close to 6000 rpm at the finish line.
This way all power will be used up by the end of the track.
This should give you your best elapsed time.
TRAP SPEED CALCULATOR
LITTLE TRICKS
*A 1" carburetor spacer plate is worth about .1 of a sec. and 1
MPH.
*Blocking the manifold heat is worth about .2 of a sec. about 2
MPH.
*Blocking the PCV valve is about .2 of a sec.
*Low restriction air cleaners are good for at least .1
*Opening up the headers could be worth up to .4 of a sec. and
3 MPH.
*Before making any run take all the extra weight you can out
of the car.
Remove the jack and spare tire. Limit yourself to 1/2 tank of
gas.
*Keep the engine as cool as possible by using water or ice to
cool the intake manifold.Remember that for every 11 degrees
increase in temperature 1% of horsepower is lost.
*Get the tires good and hot.After doing your burnout do a
couple of dry hops to see if the tires are ready.
Flip the Air Cleaner Lid Closed air cleaners severely limit the airflow potenial. Create a open-element setup by flipping the lid upside down
so that it no longer mates flush with the base. If hood clearance permits install a taller element.
Homemade Heat Shield Fight hot fuel percolation tendencies by fabricating your own custom-fit carb heat shield out of a scrap piece
of aluminum. Use the stock paper gasket as a template to scribe and cut the center hole(s)
Unplug Air Bleeds (HOLLEY)
Holley-carb air bleeds tend to get clogged up, which typically causes hesitation in throttle reponse. Give the bleeds a shot of carc cleaner about onec a month.
Adjust Idle-Speed Mixture
The idle screws and the mixture screws operate as a team--adjust them together. With the engine fully warmed, set the basic idle speed for a smooth idle at the lowest possible speed. Then
slowly adjust the mixture control screws using a vacume gauge to find the highest vacume. this causes the engine rpm to rise, so you can achieve the same with a tach. After you find the
highest vacume or idle speed with the mixture screws, go back to the idle speed adjustment, and lower the idle speed to the lowest smooth setting. On cars with an automatic- trans, adjust with car in drive.
Tire Pressure Pull a couple of Holeshots ,then look at the marks. Make sure that they are evenly dark all the way across. If they are
darker to the outside you need to increase pressure. STAY OUT OF THE WATER
The burnout area is to aid cars with slicks to get them clean, hot, and sticky. Street tire tread--especaily the front tires--holds water and drips it on the starting line providing a slippery spot fo the rear tires.SKIP THE SMOKE SIGNALS It is unnecessary to put on a smoke show. Tearing the tread up with such antics can leave little shreads of rubber rolled up on the surface of tire which can act like tiny ball bearings
at the starting line. 1-3 decent dry-hops are good enough for street tires.FIRST RATE WEIGHT Put physics to work in the form of leverage by adding weight behind the rear tires. keep the gas tank full and the spare tire in. the extra 100lbs acts more like 200lbs to your tires since it's behind the tires
,not over them.MINIMIZE WHEELHOP With leaf springs wheel hop can be minimized by clamping the leaves together in front of the axle stiffens the ing enough to keep the axle in place.
Vote for Tyler's Mopar Page
Top 100 Mopar Sites Home Car Humor
Home
Car Humor