Hooking with Leaf springs !

[Canadian1968]

So I juat jacked up the back of thecar put it on my dollys . So it's sitting on the tires. Climbed under and check the driveshaft to differential angle . And they are dead even . Everything I have read says I should have at least 4* nose down at rest on the diff. From what I am seeing now I am at center and when accel I must be going nose up .

 

[bearman]

Go over to the suspension thread and read the posts. Lots of good stuff on there also.

 

[Cranky]

I was talking about the spring perches on the axle. You need to box them in. To stop the perches from getting bent and help help axle roll up on the launch. Many racers on here have done it. Malex has some pics on here showing how his perches were getting bent from the launch. It's a must in my opinion.

3/16" x 2" flat stock will do the job and even though most will weld both sides, the rear is what will bend. The down side to the stock perches is you only have about 4" or so of foot print on the springs and I've seen some buy new perches that are 7" long and do not have rolled ends. Wouldn't hurt to box those too.

 

[Canadian1968]

actually when I measured right off the yoke that the universal joint clamps to I am nose up 2* . Looks like I need some shims

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

I can't recall many s/s springs and snubber going much faster than 10's with consistency. The cal system brings consistent 60 ft times with adjustability to go straight and adjust the hit. I have not worked on the Cal system any more than going straight and hooking. Spent so much time chasing my SV1 carbs. Looking forward to cooler air to go to the track. I am not a competitor,just an exhibitionist,,,,,,tuna fish,,,,,ET chaser.
DVW is real racer,deadly consistent in any weather conditions. I do envy that!!.
My car changed like night and day when I installed the cal traks and I went from the low 10's into the high 9's before burning a piston .When I get out in the fall I expect to break into the 8's

 

[Cranky]

actually when I measured right off the yoke that the universal joint clamps to I am nose up 2* . Looks like I need some shims

I gots a bunch of shims and you kain't have any! lol. Actually, if you do look at some and the price is kinda high, let me know what you need as I might have what you need. There's about 10 of them hanging on my 'parts wall' right now....

I can't recall many s/s springs and snubber going much faster than 10's with consistency. The cal system brings consistent 60 ft times with adjustability to go straight and adjust the hit. I have not worked on the Cal system any more than going straight and hooking. Spent so much time chasing my SV1 carbs. Looking forward to cooler air to go to the track. I am not a competitor,just an exhibitionist,,,,,,tuna fish,,,,,ET chaser.
DVW is real racer,deadly consistent in any weather conditions. I do envy that!!.
My car changed like night and day when I installed the cal traks and I went from the low 10's into the high 9's before burning a piston .When I get out in the fall I expect to break into the 8's

Was helping a buddy that was going low low 10's on motor but it wasn't hooking good most times and wasn't consistent with the CT's. The car was nose heavy and was a bit over 3500 lbs too and he/we did a lot of tail chasing. Seems like he was always adjusting the dang thing. One day after about the 14th millionth phone call with John, he said 'ladder bars' and first pass off he trailer was a 10 flat and 9.30 with the laughing gas. Imo, they got real popular with the guys that couldn't run anything but leaf springs in the classes they were in and the CT's were the only thing going for them but if the car was nose heavy, they were a pita for going fast. May have been something we were missing but man, we did a lot to this car trying to make it do the same thing more than twice....

 

[dvw]

actually when I measured right off the yoke that the universal joint clamps to I am nose up 2* . Looks like I need some shims

You need to measure the angle of the front yoke. Then compare that to the measuement of the rear yoke. The difference is the angle you are looking for. But again. WITHOUT STICKY TIRES your wasting your time.
Doug

 

[biomedtechguy]

You need to measure the angle of the front yoke. Then compare that to the measuement of the rear yoke. The difference is the angle you are looking for.

THIS!!!!
Also, check this out:
http://www.moparts.org/Tech/Archive/axle/8.html
AND
https://www.quickperformance.com/Pinion-Angle-Measurement_ep_45.html
AND
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/91758/

 

[Cranky]

I can't recall many s/s springs and snubber going much faster than 10's with consistency. The cal system brings consistent 60 ft times with adjustability to go straight and adjust the hit. I have not worked on the Cal system any more than going straight and hooking. Spent so much time chasing my SV1 carbs. Looking forward to cooler air to go to the track. I am not a competitor,just an exhibitionist,,,,,,tuna fish,,,,,ET chaser.
DVW is real racer,deadly consistent in any weather conditions. I do envy that!!.
My car changed like night and day when I installed the cal traks and I went from the low 10's into the high 9's before burning a piston .When I get out in the fall I expect to break into the 8's

What's your front to rear bias?

 

[biomedtechguy]

What's your front to rear bias?

tobias?
I'm not picky...

 

[Canadian1968]

So just checked the angles best I could . The transmission tail is down at least 2.7* and the diff is up 1.7. I guess they are on their way to being parallel but in the wrong direction as far as I am concerned . The diff is an easy fix. but the engine / tranny? Would an old worn rear tranny mount cause an angle problem. ? Its a 727, never dI'd replace that moumy when I pulled everything out a few years back

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

What's your front to rear bias?

Never scaled the car but it's nose heavey.

 

[biomedtechguy]

Never scaled the car but it's nose heavey.

That's those giant hemi cylinder heads and that big metal spinny thingy that pushes all that air and fuel into the engine...

 

[dvw]

So just checked the angles best I could . The transmission tail is down at least 2.7* and the diff is up 1.7. I guess they are on their way to being parallel but in the wrong direction as far as I am concerned . The diff is an easy fix. but the engine / tranny? Would an old worn rear tranny mount cause an angle problem. ? Its a 727, never dI'd replace that moumy when I pulled everything out a few years back

Your trans angle isn't that unusual. Your specs currently give you 1 degree down total pinion angle. Add 3 degree shims and you'll be at 4 degrees.
Doug

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

That's those giant hemi cylinder heads and that big metal spinny thingy that pushes all that air and fuel into the engine...

The mega block is like 100 lbs more than a stock block. Last time I freshened the engine we took 200 lbs out but it was all up front.The iron heads were like 40 lbs each!!

 

[66Satellite47]

To Canadian1968, IMHO dvw is spot on for the strip: 1) get sticky tires 2) good shocks long enough, 3 ways or better help 3) spring package, number leafs, length/bias 4) clamp position
Drag street radials or slicks, shocks often need experimentation, springs Mopar XHD? or ESPO's or?, made my own 02/03 copies, many bad comments on late model Mopar SS springs, clamp every leaf in front, one clamp on rear, takes experimentation on the location, no clamps on rear causes too much lift, not enough go if you have traction, get the pinion angle to 3-4* nose down(be sure you're measuring it correctly
With sticky tires & a good spring package I never use a snubber.
Without good bite tires the rest won't matter.

 

[Cranky]

The mega block is like 100 lbs more than a stock block. Last time I freshened the engine we took 200 lbs out but it was all up front.The iron heads were like 40 lbs each!!

Stock wedge heads are 40 each.....

To Canadian1968, IMHO dvw is spot on for the strip: 1) get sticky tires 2) good shocks long enough, 3 ways or better help 3) spring package, number leafs, length/bias 4) clamp position
Drag street radials or slicks, shocks often need experimentation, springs Mopar XHD? or ESPO's or?, made my own 02/03 copies, many bad comments on late model Mopar SS springs, clamp every leaf in front, one clamp on rear, takes experimentation on the location, no clamps on rear causes too much lift, not enough go if you have traction, get the pinion angle to 3-4* nose down(be sure you're measuring it correctly
With sticky tires & a good spring package I never use a snubber.
Without good bite tires the rest won't matter.

I agree and used a snubber once and that thing came off real quick lol

 

[Canadian1968]

Thanks for comments . I get it tires are important and, but I don't have the WORST tires in the world. They are BFG g force sport comp2 . In BFG line up this is considered their highest performing tire next to their version of DOT drag radial. I'm not expecting to rip a 1.8 on these things but I would be happy with 2.0. I am in the market for some DOT radials but until the right deal comes up I am going to stick with these. The car has always felt real slick , and my build is a pretty mild 440 . I don't have a torque monster stroker or anything like that. Always felt traction seemed to sub par even for a street tire. There never seems to be any bite at all, unless I get it "just right " and that by rolling on power very slow I csn get away with agressive start . Trying to make the car more consistant .

 

[66Satellite47]

Thanks for comments . I get it tires are important and, but I don't have the WORST tires in the world. They are BFG g force sport comp2 . In BFG line up this is considered their highest performing tire next to their version of DOT drag radial. I'm not expecting to rip a 1.8 on these things but I would be happy with 2.0. I am in the market for some DOT radials but until the right deal comes up I am going to stick with these. The car has always felt real slick , and my build is a pretty mild 440 . I don't have a torque monster stroker or anything like that. Always felt traction seemed to sub par even for a street tire. There never seems to be any bite at all, unless I get it "just right " and that by rolling on power very slow I csn get away with agressive start . Trying to make the car more consistant .

My '66 Satellite at 3780# with the 500" motor, 4.10 and 325 BFG Drag radial DOT's went 11.90 with 1.63 60' on ESPO springs/KYB shocks. But street radials aren't the same as the DOT Drag radials. My opinion. Copying the old original 02/03 SS spring dimensions worked real good using the stock '65 main leaf & combination of other stock leaves to work on my '65 Coronet in the early '80's. Good enough for well into the 10's.

 

[33 IMP]

In tire maker lingo "high performance" usually refers to handling and braking, speed rating, and a softer rubber compound. They are still a long, long way from a drag tire.
If bucks are tight, I would get a pair of the cheapest wheels that would fit, and try to find some used nine inch slicks from a stock eliminator racer. They get rid of perfectly serviceable slicks when they start to slow down. Then just swap to real race tires at the strip.
You could also use one of the many brands of drag radials, and not have to bother changing wheels, but they won't last long driven on the street constantly.