Mike Gaines
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Start Line Pix from Last Weekend Las Vegas
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Mocajava
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Nice launch!
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Looks good Mike!
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Sweet little wheelie too !!
shorty64
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well balanced launch!!! looking good!!!
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Nice bit of daylight under both front wheels Mike!!! Well done, looks great. :headbang:
Mike Gaines
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I believe I have the Cal Tracks dialed in just right. Lifts the wheel about 6" or so for about 2 feet...so it's gotta be hooking. And....My car is not a really high horsepower car.....only about 650HP (on the Engine Dyno) and it weighs 3740 with me and 5 gal gas and has 1.46 60' and 10.60 1/4 mile...I have 15x10 Wheels with 28x13.50x15 MT ET DOT Streets (with 11.25 tread width) running 16lbs of air. Cal Tracs work.
Info for other Cal Trac users:
My setup is as follows:
1) Cal Trac 90/10 front shocks with the front end rebuilt with new bushings, etc. and I have the torsion bars "sagged" down as far as they will go and still be able to turn the front tires (28" tall Moroso DS2's) without hitting the top of the fenders. This results in the 5" of Front Wheel Travel that Cal Trac recommends.
2) Cal Trac Mono-leaf rear springs. Cal Trac wants the shackles loose enuf so they will arc thru the travel easily. They want you to be able to "bounce the rear end like a basket ball" (without the rear shocks installed). Note: Me and a buddy started pushing up and down on the rear fenders (near the tail lites) and actually got the rear end of the car bouncing off the ground)
3) For FootBrake Launch: Cal Trac 9-Way adjustable RR shocks set on full stiff (9) setting.
4) For a Footbrake launch (NOT TRANS-BRAKE) Leave the line at the highest RPM that you can ride up on the converter. I have a 5000 RPM converter and I push the brakes down hard and bring the converter up to 3000RPM and then launch. (The brakes will hold the car solid on the line at 3000 without allowing the car to push and red-lite).
5) The passenger bar is set with 2 flats of space.
6) The driver bar is set just touching.
Both of the above with me in the car.
And....it works.
540spdwagn
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Very nice Mike! Might I ask which hole you are using on the front bracket to mount the transfer bar? Upper or lower?
Mike Gaines
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I use the lower hole
Thanks for the Cal trac info. That will give me a good starting point! Nice picture!
2quick
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Awesome Photo Mike and Congrats on that second place finish. I'm Jealous!
Also looks like you carried the front out at least 10 ft. which is good.
BTW how did you loosen the rear suspension. Granted I really don't have the car fully done but the rear does not seem loose. Did you loosen the shackle bolts a little? I have all new parts front and back. Also what is the position of the rear shackles when at rest? Thanks for all the tips!
Mike Gaines
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The Rear Shackle bolt are not loose.
They are snugged down nice and tight but they DO NOT BIND UP in any way.
When I say the Cal Trac Tech Guy told me he wants the rear end to be able to bounce up and down like a basketball THAT IS WITH USING THE CAL TRAC MONO-LEAF SPRINGS.
I have those rear springs and, without the RR shocks installed, I started pushing up and down one the left rear fender and my buddy started pushing up and donw on the right rear fender and we actually did "bounce" the rear of the car up and down....maybe not off the ground...but it was sure going up and down on its own after we got it going.....JUST LIKE CAL TRAC WANTED IT.
Like I reported above....with this setup: using the Cal Trac mono-leaf rr springs and the Cal Trac RR 9 way adj shocks (set on 9) and the Cal Trac 90/10 front shocks and the front suspension rebuilt and the torsion bars lowered down (sagging) until I could barely turn the front tires without hitting the top of the fender (which then allowed me 5" of front wheel travel) then on the first run with this setup it HOOKED AND PULLED THE FRONT WHEELS UP OFF THE GROUND.
(The front wheel travel is measured by putting a yardstick on the fender well opening above the tire, then putting a floor jack under the k-member, and then jacking up the car until the front wheels come off the ground...for example if the lip of the front fender well measures 34" at rest then you jack up the car and the measurement is then 39" before the tire lifts off the ground then you have 5" of free front wheel travel which is what Cal Trac wants.
Mike I also have the mono leaf Cal Tracs. I ordered the 3800 -1" Now I don't have everything in the car yet & I was just trying by my self to bounce the rear of the car but it seemed stiffer than I thought. Maybe I need to wait till all the weight is added to the car before I try it again. BTW are your rear shackles pointed straight down when the car is at rest? Something else that I thought of. Thanks for all your input!
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