Racing the Deuce

[olredalert]

----Now thats getting with the program, Tom! What was the 60 on those two runs as well as the ET? Thats about as high as I ever saw "Red". Good job!!!.......Bill S

[sYc]

For some reason RA was really hooking, not only twisting and pulling the front end, but to the point of wanting to jump to the right on takeoff. At Newport you can stand anywhere you want, including near the starting line. On one of my passes, several folks had decided the best place to stand was on the right side of the track, with RA in the right lane. There is no guard rail on the right side, so when I launched, they thought I had them.

This reminded of a story Bill S, told me about doing the same to a few photographers.


Though both the Deuce and RA run 6.80s in the 1/8, I sure came away with a new appreciation of how easy the Deuce is to race in comparison to RA. Both fun though, each in there own way.

[sYc]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: olredalert</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
----Now thats getting with the program, Tom! What was the 60 on those two runs as well as the ET? Thats about as high as I ever saw &quot;Red&quot;. Good job!!!.......Bill S </div></div>

Bill, I do not have the slip here, but the 60' was in the mid 1.50 range with ETs in the 6.80 range. I might have done a little better 60' then that, but on narrower tracks, when at the line, I do not stall as high as I would on a track with more room.

BTW, I footbrake, and can not imagine what she would do if I used a transbrake.


When I first got there, several folks came over to see the car, and noticed on the board I had with me a pic of you racing the car, twisting and all. They commented how cool it would be to see that, I told them if the track was prepped any at all, they would get to witness it first hand.

[Kim_Howie]

FUN AIN'T IT!!!!!!!! You got to love RA's leave!!

[olredalert]

-----Transbrake never worked that well for me, Tom. And,,,I completely understand local conditions. Been there,,,done that, over and over. Are you still working with the engine you have told me about??? Maybe its time to step up the program just a bit, as its obvious you are getting comfortable with the old girl.......Bill S

[markjohnson]

Tom, you should really try to shorten that upper side Passenger control arm and get some preload in the rear suspension. One full turn (6 flats) would be a great starting point and would GREATLY dampen that tendency to pull to the right. I know launching like that is fun.......until you start finding stress cracks in the body! Dick Gazan of the old Spectre Racing, who developed those rear suspension pieces, would tell you the exact same thing. My old 540 CID stock suspension Drag Radial car would leave like that and was a handful the entire length of the track. Once the Pre-load was established in that single Passenger side upper arm, the car became a ground-zero missle and could be driven with two fingers on the steering wheel.

[Pulnaway]

I second that! I used to have a 70 442 w-30 that left like that. If I left hard it would break the windshield every time. I had a guy work on the rear control arms and the car was a pleasure to drive. Before that I was worried about wrecking the car every time it left.

[sYc]

The rear suspension on RA was installed by Dick Gazan, who remembers the car well. Rob and I have communicated with him on a regular basis.

[olredalert]

-----Mark,,,Gazan installed those pieces in his shop in San Dimas in 91 or 92. What a talented guy he was! Do you know where he is today? I lost track of him after his move out of Cal. I still have a license plate surround from Gazan Racing somewhere around the shop. It says &quot;Id Rather Be Racing&quot; across the bottom.
-----Its funny, &quot;Red&quot; would only occasionally pull that way and the minute it was back on the ground it would go straight out the back door. I am with you on the cracks. There are a few in the frame that were in there when I got the car. I drilled the ends of the cracks and then welded. Also kept close attention to things from then on......Bill S

[markjohnson]

I'm not sure where he is these days but he teamed up with Morrison (the suspension company) and marketed some nice pieces that were copied by several other companies shortly after. I recently bought a Chevelle 12-Bolt and it included a complete Gazan/Morrison Suspension including the neat adjustable Hop-Stop bars. Nice stuff.