I mentioned something about maybe running with them (C is technically 78-on, but ours gets pushed back with the early second gens into T). Jon, who won C, said he wouldn't allow it for that express reason, haha. They have a big, pretty closely matched group of cars in that class right now, it's pretty cool.

You'll enjoy their event - lots of seat time. 10 runs at Mineral Wells is a lot of miles - hopefully the weather forecast takes a turn for the better before the weekend.

As for just going and riding, it could be beneficial to get out without worrying about the car and driving and everything. To me, though, being able to see something from the passenger seat then go out and try it the same day would be the ideal situation, though.

Sound level logs from the SCCA event were posted - guess it's a good thing we ditched the side dumped 3" SpinTechs in favor of Magnaflows that dump under the car, huh?!


Luckily, none of the sites we run at regularly are sound restricted.

Just read this whole thread, all I can say is WOW. At first I was like this thing is just a drag car but You made it work. And coming from a 350Z and learning how to drive and make this car impressive is a accomplishment.

I remember running at Pennington Field the first time wondering if I was going to get flagged. I was just under the 99db limit. At this event I was running I think it was 96.3.

It's Monday, and it feels like a good time for an update, so here we go!

So, what's new? In our bid to never take the car to an event the same way twice, we've made another gear change!


Leading up to, and during the Optima event, we had a ridiculously loud gear whine coming from somewhere in the drivetrain (you can hear it in the road course video from Optima). We had assumed it was coming from the transmission based on the nature of it - really only started in 3rd gear, didn't come in and out with loading and unloading while driving.

It turned out to be the rear end. The 4.11s we had installed last are over 20 years old, and have been installed in at least 4 different rear ends, including the car one other time, and my truck, and had been setup/torn down countless times.

Long story short, they were beyond their useful life, and had begun the gradual process of self-digestion. Lash had opened up substantially, and gear marking compound barely produced a pattern on either side of the tooth. The housing was also filled with glitter. Close call..


New Richmond 3.70s are in now, opening up a bit more top-end in 1st and 2nd gear (from 46 up to 51 in first, and 70 up to 78 mph in 2nd). This should make things better both on tight Optima/Goodguys type courses and our usual free-flowing Texas region layouts.

And, you no longer need earplugs going down the road. Win-win.

While that was going on, I also addressed an unfinished item from the original thrash earlier this year - getting some paint on the non-stainless bits of the exhaust. The tips were finish welded, and VHT flat black went on all the mild steel parts. Minor issue, but one that had been bugging me nonetheless.


Our other project for the year has been a new shop, as we outgrew our current setup a while ago. Rocked right along on it the past few weekends since it finally quit raining, and should be able to start doing finish work inside over the next few weeks. Super excited to get going in there.


Finally, this past weekend we got ready for the SCCA Texas Region event this weekend (happy Father's Day dad!).

It was fun running the car with the full Optima decal pack on it for an event or two, but the time had come for it to go. Can't just throw it away, though, so we cut down some scrap splash board and made two garage art pieces.


Back rolling low-key. Well, as low-key as you can be in such a car...


After a quick wash, we're all set to go get it dirty again. Anxious to see how the new gears work - still feels plenty frisky running down the road, hopefully that will translate on track.

The car screams "all business". I like that.

Nice work. See you Sunday.

Thanks, Trey!

Good to see you again, Chris - hopefully the weather will cooperate better next time..

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Sunday was fun, but kind of a mixed bag. We had some competition in CAM-T this time, which was cool. 4 car field consisting of us, a 68 Camaro prepped by Dusold Designs and packed to the gills with go-fast parts, a Falcon, and a Model T (this class really makes no sense when you break it down :confused18: )

I also managed a lucky draw on my run group, and got pretty much a fully dry session between showers.

Managed to get the win by a little over a second, and took fastest CAM time of the day with the big caveat that the C guys got rained/lightninged out after their 1st or 2nd runs.

Not as good news: the 3.70s made for several awkward spots speed-wise, as you'll see in the video. With an overly fat carburetor that still had a cool weather tune in it, there were multiple spots that were too fast for 1st, but way down low out of the 'happy range' in 2nd.

My driving in it is still pretty sloppy, but forgoing smooth and steady for the dive bomb/stab and pray method seems to be the way to go with the current combo. Here's video of the quickest run..

Here's the outside view of the run above courtesy of the crew chief/girlfriend. Found it on my phone last night and couldn't stop giggling at it :P


And a couple pics, because why not?


And, I got to do a little daily driving with it this week. Nothing like wearing khakis and five points at the same time..

Nice job! You were really moving!