Burning rubber

[Kruska]

I did quite a lot of drag racing back in the 60s and early 70s. Mostly on the street but at the strip on week-ends too. I haven’t done any of that since I left the states so maybe you guys can tell me … what is this shit with burn-outs in town? What’s the joy of melting your tires down to the rims and people shouting “Yipee!”? I don’t get it and it literally stinks.

Most likely it's more exiting to them, then hanging around a burning oil-drum and listening to hip-hop or rap. Or do they bring the burning oil-drum with them?

 

[GLASNOST]

History repeats itself! My first rig was a 1961 Ford Starliner. I had a ECONOLINE I-beam(complete with drum brakes) axle installed by a local guy that was pretty sharp @ custom fabrications. I had purchased SHORT utility type leaf springs from POHL SPRINGS(still in business!);

Pohl Spring Works | Your local and international spring experts.

| Your local and international spring experts.

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The Starliner had been owned by Ivan Potter(406/Holley Tri-power/T-85 3 speed) & came with posi 4:11 gears(stock 9" ring & pinion) but when I purchased it the 406 FE engine had been removed & replaced with a 390 cu.in. FE engine but still was outfitted with the Holley Tri-power induction system. I zeroed that EXPANSION TANK on your 427 FE bolted to the intake manifold like the image took me back in time for sure! Those FE engines had excellently positioned Intake & exhaust ports(equal length) & in conjunction with that 13 DEGREE valve guide angle the valves when fully opened were as close to CENTER of the piston deck as one can get with a parallel 2 valve cylinder head. Compared to the 23 degree SBC gen.1 engines when their intake valves are @ max lift & CLOSE to the cylinder wall(shrouding!) Those 427 FE engines also came with 2.25 intake valve diameter which really helped on the top end flow for sure!!!

The FE combustion chambers were dated in shape for sure but I had seen a pair of Edelbrock aluminum cylinder heads for the 427 FE engine(medium riser heads) & they sported the modern "Heart Shaped combustion chambers. That suck/bang & blow breathing capability of the FE medium riser cylinder heads was/were really efficient for street driven hipo rigs easily pulling 7400 RPM in the blink of an eye with the right gearing/tire diameter!!!



Ivan Potter was a full generation ahead of my generation. He was competitive for sure in the north west anyways, but he appears to have been overshadowed by his better known 1/4 mile wife;

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Below; Joe Riley's 60/61(? can't remember) 289 Falcon highboy. He purchased it from an Italiano guy named Bosio down south of me in Spokane Wa. around 1973;



We lost Joe recently but he will be well remembered by our Centurion members.

Somebody in Spokane must have remembered Joe's highboy Falcon;



Below; Somebody else(?) breathed new life into Joe's Falcon??? The ladder bars are extended further forwards than I remember on Joe's Falcon, meaning a more modern third member most likely installed. It's also minus the tear drop hood scoop to make for adequate clearance for the tunnel ram induction system;



In 69/73 all the 1/4 mile action was @ the Deer Park airport(north of Spokane). In 71 the The Spokane Raceway Park project was under construction out in the west plains area of west Spokane. It originally opened in 74 under the AHRA banner & is currently owned/operated by the Kalispel Indian Tribe

Qlispé Raceway Park - Wikipedia

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Down At Woodburn Oregon the quarter mile strip was only around 150' elevation(heavy air pressure) so it was among the fastest drag strips in the entire world. The mistake with the currently named Qlispe Raceway Park is it's elevation is too high(2350') to be a competitive track regarding setting national records.

Did not mean to talk your head off but as I said before horsepower/torque & the 1/4 mile is my 2nd biggest addiction, like night racing is the hot ticket for me!!!

"Old 1/4 milers NEVER die, they just fade away."

Wow! & Jesus! Too bad we didn't meet back then. We would have been good friends. Ford, baby, Ford!

 

[Robert W]

The compound of the rubber has become more effective gaining a grip on the track surface.

Consider too the hp of top fuelers is extremely high compared to when I raced at drag racing tracks.

 

[GLASNOST]

Are they wide to cause the dragster to burn more rubber? Why don't top fuel dragsters normally smoke the tires on the top-rated dragsters? Back when I raced on tracks, the top fuelers smoked a long ways down the track.

You say you raced. So did I. But if you did race you should know a thing or two. There are many components in a drag racing car that need to be in sync. You don't mount huge slicks on a car that has little power and you don't mount skinnies on a behemoth 1,000 hp monster. The idea is get off the line utilising every once of hp to traction without lifting the front wheels off the tarmac unnecessarily. If your rear wheels are spinning when you pop the clutch then one remedy might be stickier rubber by fatter tires or a "burn out". If it's a cold day or a hot day ..... well, it should be taken into consideration.

My point with this thread is that there are too many morons who melt their tires in front of the drive-in hamburger joint just to impress even dumber on-lookers. They can do what they want to do with their cars but I AM NOT IMPRESSED.

 

[Robert W]

You say you raced. So did I. But if you did race you should know a thing or two. There are many components in a drag racing car that need to be in sync. You don't mount huge slicks on a car that has little power and you don't mount skinnies on a behemoth 1,000 hp monster. The idea is get off the line utilising every once of hp to traction without lifting the front wheels off the tarmac unnecessarily. If your rear wheels are spinning when you pop the clutch then one remedy might be stickier rubber by fatter tires or a "burn out". If it's a cold day or a hot day ..... well, it should be taken into consideration.

My point with this thread is that there are too many morons who melt their tires in front of the drive-in hamburger joint just to impress even dumber on-lookers. They can do what they want to do with their cars but I AM NOT IMPRESSED.

We are in agreement. Today dragsters produce as much as 16,000 horsepower and the worst thing that can happen is as they take off, they burn rubber.

 

[GLASNOST]

My roomie and I did 13's w/ 327 ci 202 heads, cammed, 650 holley quadrajet in a '64 Chevy ......~S~

Me and my best friend in the Army on race day. I had the Ford 390 4-speed and he had the Chevy 396 4-speed.

 

[GLASNOST]

Today dragsters produce as much as 16,000 horsepower

Unbelieveable, isn't it!

and the worst thing that can happen is as they take off, they burn rubber.

The other end of the extreme is what happend to Don Garlits - too much traction:

 

[sparky]

Stage 1 cams? That's not ..mmm..gettin' jiggy with it setup.
I recall most dudes getting 8s and 9s.
I'm guessing no 3-angle valve jobs were done.

i honestly forget Duke, been near 1/2 century......and we built it from the block on up what i can say is ,it was fairly cheap to be a DIY 'motorhead' back in the days of points and dwell tachs....~S~

 

[GLASNOST]

.... it was fairly cheap to be a DIY 'motorhead' back in the days of points and dwell tachs....~S~

Sure was! I was really proud of my work back then but lately I started watching these "Customer States" videos on You Tube. Now I realize what a loser I was. Have you seen any of those videos? It'll break your heart.

 

[The Duke]

i honestly forget Duke, been near 1/2 century......and we built it from the block on up what i can say is ,it was fairly cheap to be a DIY 'motorhead' back in the days of points and dwell tachs....~S~

You might be a redneck if you're good at finding top dead center with your thumb.

 

[The Duke]

Unbelieveable, isn't it!

The other end of the extreme is what happend to Don Garlits - too much traction:

View attachment 1237065

Don Garlits was a badass. I don't think he's still around, but he used to have a website.
Leftards would not like Don Garlits.
He wasn't dumb.
"Low ET; 5.264" "Top Speed; 275.65" Swamp Rat 30

Swamp Rat Gallery - Historic 1940 Ford Tudor Sedan

Visit Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing to relive the historic racing journey of Don Garlits. Explore cars from different eras that are part of Don life.

garlits.com

He had a blog or something. I used to learn a lot from him.
Based AF and a smart man. My hotrodding days were over by that time and the conversations were political and religious.

edit: I guess he's still kicking.