RagTop
Old Grumpy
I have a subscription to Hemmings Muscle Machines magazine. I look forward to every issue. They typically feature three muscle machines from the past, cover major auction results and also cover vintage stock drag racing. I have observed some peculiar things in the area of e.t.s and trap speeds. For example, this month's three featured cars were a '70 Monte Carlo 454, a '70 Buick 455 Stage 1 and a '69 Dodge Dart 340. The e.t.s and trap speeds they publish are from magazines back in the day. Here are the results:
'70 Monte Carlo 454, 330 hp, 4 speed Muncie, 3.31 gears, 1/4 mile 14.90 @ 92mph
'70 Buick GS 455 Stage 1, 360 hp, AT, 3.64 gears, 1/4 mile 14.40 @ 96 mph
'69 Dodge Dart 340, 275 hp, Torque Flite AT, 3.23 gears, 1/4 mile 14.80 @ 96 mph
For comparison's sake, my '69 Mustang convertible at Sacramento Raceway.
'69 Ford Mustang convertible 302 (308), ? hp, C4 AT, 3.55 gears, 1/4 mile 14.308 @ 99.1 mph.
Those numbers would put me right in there with these formidable muscle cars. While the numbers I provided were my best pass ever, I have run several back to back passes in the 14.30s. I admit that my Mustang was a solid 16s car when I bought it, but the addition of a Road Demon, Edelbrock Performer, a more aggressive cam, GT40P heads, Motorsport roller rockers, custom tri-Y headers, a shift kit in the C4 and 3.55 gears did improve the performance. Still.....
My second observation is that, while all the featured cars from the '60s and '70s in HMM typically run from the very high 13s to the mid 16s, the bone stock drag racing '60s and '70s cars they report on almost all run times from the 11s to the mid-13s . Where were these guys back in the day when I used to run at Fremont in the early 60s? Anyone in a stock class who was in the 14s and/or over 100 mph was considered to be kicking ass, consistent with the magazine numbers being published in HMM mag. Curious. I've even asked the HMM guys about the impact of radial tires relative to the old bias plys that we ran on then. They said they didn't believe that it was even a significant variable. Hmmm. As the idiots on KTVU reported the names of the Korean air crew that crashed on the SFO runway, "Sum Ting Wong". (BTW, they also reported the head pilot as "Wi Tu Lo" and the flight engineer as "Ho Lee Phuc". Gotta love those investigative reporters and talking heads.)
'70 Monte Carlo 454, 330 hp, 4 speed Muncie, 3.31 gears, 1/4 mile 14.90 @ 92mph
'70 Buick GS 455 Stage 1, 360 hp, AT, 3.64 gears, 1/4 mile 14.40 @ 96 mph
'69 Dodge Dart 340, 275 hp, Torque Flite AT, 3.23 gears, 1/4 mile 14.80 @ 96 mph
For comparison's sake, my '69 Mustang convertible at Sacramento Raceway.
'69 Ford Mustang convertible 302 (308), ? hp, C4 AT, 3.55 gears, 1/4 mile 14.308 @ 99.1 mph.
Those numbers would put me right in there with these formidable muscle cars. While the numbers I provided were my best pass ever, I have run several back to back passes in the 14.30s. I admit that my Mustang was a solid 16s car when I bought it, but the addition of a Road Demon, Edelbrock Performer, a more aggressive cam, GT40P heads, Motorsport roller rockers, custom tri-Y headers, a shift kit in the C4 and 3.55 gears did improve the performance. Still.....
My second observation is that, while all the featured cars from the '60s and '70s in HMM typically run from the very high 13s to the mid 16s, the bone stock drag racing '60s and '70s cars they report on almost all run times from the 11s to the mid-13s . Where were these guys back in the day when I used to run at Fremont in the early 60s? Anyone in a stock class who was in the 14s and/or over 100 mph was considered to be kicking ass, consistent with the magazine numbers being published in HMM mag. Curious. I've even asked the HMM guys about the impact of radial tires relative to the old bias plys that we ran on then. They said they didn't believe that it was even a significant variable. Hmmm. As the idiots on KTVU reported the names of the Korean air crew that crashed on the SFO runway, "Sum Ting Wong". (BTW, they also reported the head pilot as "Wi Tu Lo" and the flight engineer as "Ho Lee Phuc". Gotta love those investigative reporters and talking heads.)