Ever considered drag radials instead of slicks? I had a stack of 10.0x timeslips when I was trying to get in the 9s - put on MT drag radials and went 9.82 on the first pass with no other changes!

 

Yeah Jim, I'm sure she would roll over in her grave.....lol.

Yes I have and I guess I haven't completely ruled them out yet. But it's just that slicks or DOT slicks like Hoosier Quick Time Pro's are a safer bet for me because I know the car already works well with them as it sits and I wasn't sure if there'd be anything to be gained besides MPH with radials. That's interesting what happened with the ET on your car though. It's got me thinking. Was the weather similar when you gained that much?

I've seen time and time again how well drag radials CAN work on some really fast automatic cars. But several years ago I made the mistake of trying them on my Trans Am and found out very quickly that DR's aren't that well suited for a high powered stick shift car. I guess that's probably what has me gun shy about trying them on the Camaro. $450+ dollars is a lot of money to spend on tires if they don't work well. And at that cost, I'd be hard pressed to just take them back off and buy a set of slicks (another $450+).

I guess I need to just get it through my head that this car is NOT a stick shift and the suspension works very well on it. If I can convince myself of that, I'll probably try drag radials on it. Especially if there is ET to be gained with them.

 

The weather was pretty close to the same, actually a little warmer with the radials - it was all in the 60'... They just plain hooked! They work better on an automatic than a stick car - but I have seen plenty of people have them work on a stick car as well - all in the setup of the suspension (also best to have as much sidewall as possible on a stick)... I can't see where you would have any problem with them on your car. I ran around 17# in mine. I hit them with a full 250 shot out of the hole regularly...

 

I've run slicks and radials on my 69 camaro, the ets were very similar.
The slicks were more consistent on a poor track

 

what size DR were you using?

 

325's... but, there are 7 sec cars out there on 275's...

 

I was running ET Streets before the drag radials - it was a street car and I drove it to the track (which I think his is too). I tried Quick Time Pros as well. The Mickey Thompson drag radials just hooked way better on my car than either one of the others...

 

How did you get the hoses at the water pump to bend that smoothly?

 

They are preformed with that 90 degree bend in them. They are universal heater hoses. I can try and find the part numbers for them if you need it.

 

I would like that, thanks.

 

The 3/4in ID one is 80416 and the 5/8in ID one is 80405. Both are Dayco part numbers. I got mine at Pep Boys but you should be able to pick them up online or any parts store that stocks Dayco belts and hoses.

 

Excellent - thank you.

I was mulling making a 90 degree adapter block to bolt to the pump ala AC fitting style...

 

No problem man.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scarebird

I was mulling making a 90 degree adapter block to bolt to the pump ala AC fitting style...

That would have looked pretty cool......but the hoses are a lot easier.

 

The preformed hoses are cheap, easy to get, simple, and make for a factory finish look. You can get replacements at any parts store should you need to.

A block would just be one more potential leak point.

 

Do you think if you moved the motor back 2" you would have any clearance issues with the exhaust? On my 73 I have the motor already set back 2". Thanks for any help.

 

I'm using the Car Shop Inc 1-inch set back plates but I honestly don't know what their point of reference for set back is (ie. 1 inch back from what?). With these plates my TH400 mates up perfectly on a stock cross member so as far as I'm concerned the bellhousing mounting flange of the block is in the factory location.....not really "1 inch set back".

Anyway, to answer your question, I don't see where my headers would have any clearance issues if my motor was set back another inch or two, but I would have other clearance issues with the heater box and the wiper motor. As it sits right now I could maybe go back one more inch but things would be extremely tight. Even with no heater or wiper motor I would have bell housing interference at the opening of the trans tunnel if I went back another inch. I hope this helps.

 

Yea I smoothed my fire wall and raised my trans tunnel, so I would have plenty of room for the t56 and motor set back. I'm trying to get as much weight off the nose as I can. Thanks for the help.

I keep coming back to your thread looking for that 9 sec pass. Good luck. I love your car man..

 

I had the same experience. I am not sure why they say they are "set back" mounts.

 

Cool....sounds like you'll be in good shape then. The header clearance should only get better as things move rearward. What headers are you going to run?

Thanks man. Tracks are closed for the winter now so it won't be any time soon, but hopefully I can make it happen next spring with some fresh tires. Do you have a build thread?

 

My only guess is that they originally made a "standard" swap plate and then later made these ones that put the motor back 1 inch from their original design. Just a guess though.