coppercutlass

well its been long over due but i finally hit the track. The swap meet 355 build finally saw the strip. On my first outing i ran a best of a 13.09 @ 103 mph. Got a little driver coaching from member 67cutlassfreak and it helped alot. In those 3 years the car saw many improvements. And i still have areas where i can make improvements to see gains. My carb seems to have a slight hesitation off the line and i didnt wanna mess with it since its not mine . On my last pass had the carb not stumbled we would have seen a 12 sec. time slip but im very very happy that on my first outing i got really close to what my goal is. Over the next few weeks im gonna make a few changes and see what i can come up. Im glad the trans i built held up along with the engine i built. Im very happy and I have to thank everyone who has given me advice over the years.

wr1970

Way to go! Seems your goal is just a couple time slips away.Get the carb stumble problem solved and maybe you will have that 12 sec pass in your pocket.

coppercutlass

More than likely once the stumble is gone a 12 sec slip should be there. In the videos you can see the car nose down and take off but there is other things I'm gonna do to try to shave a few thenths .

wr1970

Post up the video please!

RocketV8

Well done! I know the info is in various threads in this forum but could you sum up specs on car and engine?

coppercutlass

My combo is as follows

355 olds with .030 speed pro flat tops 10 to 1 compression
#6 heads with 2.07 in. 1.63ex. valves with minor bowl work
cam is a lunati voodoo 522/539 lift 233/241 duration @ .050 on a 110 lsa
edelbrock performer rpm intake
barry grant 825 carb
hei ignition
prw roller tip rockers
pro gear timing chain
full length headers and an x pipe
running 36 degrees of timing


backed by a th350 and a 3000 stall and 3.73 gears with a 26 in. tall tire

engine and trans built by me .

Nothing really special about the combination no witch craft parts or anything like that.
The car is all steel the interior is the only area where i kinda shaved weight.

coppercutlass

here are the clips




Hopefully they work i just uploaded them to youtube

wr1970

Thanks for the video's.

RocketV8

Thanks for info and videos, looking good! Do you have any idea how much your car weighs?

coppercutlass

I dont see it being under 3500 and i dont see it being over 3700

wr1970

Just a friendly suggestion!You can get your car weighed at a grain elevator.The weight is damn close mine was spot on to a track scale.I used two different elevators before the track scales.All three were the same weight within a three pounds.

coppercutlass

At this point im chasing tenths for better e/t's i would worry about weight if i was interested in hp figures. i guess the weight would help for someone to build a similar combo . I got a few aces up my sleeves to shave a few tenths along with getting the carb dialed in. Its the little things that add up and in the past i have tried all the dumb little things most would say would not work or its not worth the effort.

wr1970

For every 100 pounds you shave off a cars weight you gain a tenth!Food for thought.

coppercutlass

I know that . but at this point im not going that route. i did it in the past and its alot of money for very little pay off. I shaved 1.5 tenths by going to a fiberglass hood and fenders back when my car was running high 13's . granted i crashed the car and the insurance paid for all that so i spent about 1200 to shave that much . Not really worth it for my application. I can shave a full second with a small nitrous shot. There are a lot of little things i can do still that i wanted to do after this outing for the next time i hit the track.

wr1970

There are other ways that don't cost $1200 bucks. Just depends on what you use your car for. If it is a everyday driver then some of the lightning stuff will not help you but if you use it for racing then you can get several tenths at low cost.Examples remove jute from under carpet. remove airconditioning box go to a air delete. Remove front sway bar. Build a lighter core support out of aluminum.Take out those front seats use a racing seat.Remove rear seat you can always put it back in later.These are not high cost items.The best thing is lightweight wheels and slicks.These are just some of the cheap ways.

coppercutlass

I have the light seats , no rear seats , gonna take the sway bar off for next time. I have no real carpet so to speak. I'm gonna take all the drag off the engine so I'm using an electric water pump drive , and having a cut off switch for the alternator . The alt. Is a big one and the water pump although some disagree I thing just piles to the drag.

wr1970

Copper do you have cash for a taller tire? I run a 29inch that would help you alot.I see you posted a 26.I also noticed that your rear wheels are heavy compared to mine. I used weld lights around 5 pounds each. Sometimes you can buy these real cheap used. Have you striped your tire it looked like in one of the vids you has some tire spin.Are you using screws on your tires/slicks?

coppercutlass

I want all the gear I can get the 60ft. Is what's making or breaking me.

wr1970

I know what you are getting at but at some point mph comes in to play and that is also important to a better et.You can leave quick at the line but level out before you reach the finish with too much gear.These are just suggestions nothing more.You know your car better than anyone i also would like to see you reach your goal.Many guys have done it before you and didn't use NOS.Just saying.

coppercutlass

I dont plan on using the giggle gas. I think the mph is there from what we saw last night if we can get the 60 ft to improve the 12 sec time slip will be gained. based on trap rpm i could actually benifit from a gear bump but for my goals this has to be practical for the street. so 3.73's are as high as i will go.

67 Cutlass Freak

Copper it was really cool to see your car make it down the track again. At the end of the night we talked about a few things to try. I think the most important change first should be to get your 750 carb back on there, and don't be afraid to tweak it. The next time we go, we should get there early on a Saturday, and make more hits, with slight changes in between. That will help you get your routine down pat. You should post your build in the thread wr1970 started. Don't worry if the result is not what you were hoping for. Do what I did, and put a line at the bottom that says best track results to date. That way you can edit as you go faster. I think Neeley, and a few others worked real hard to bring that section alive. Their goal was to have a resource to document and save the information about some of the fastest Olds on the planet. Every time ROP crashed we lost a wealth of information. Ulises, I know Neeley wants to see you reach your goals. You both have good points generally, and try to help others. I'm sure if you two met you could have a beer, shoot the ****, and enjoy each others company. I suggest if you have a problem with what someone posts in your thread, maybe it should be handled through PM's.
Thanks for sharing, Dave - The Freak

coppercutlass

I will be going back to the 750 and wil be making other changes. The way I see it if I have a fuel issue regardless of the other changes it will remain. My changes will be to free up ho not neccesarily make it. Dunno if that makes sense but freeing up hp won't get in the way of my fuel issue . That's the way I see it.

wr1970

Thanks Dave i did contact the mod to delete all in bad taste/neg comments made by me.What you said is true.I thank you for pointing it out.Neeley

coppercutlass

I can honestly say i have no issues with anyone and i dont hold grudges. My language is colorful and my anger is usually pretty obvious but im usually pretty laid back . I have said this before chances are if i met with anyone i ever had an issue with i would buy em a beer and shoot the ****. Life is too short to hold grudges.

junior supercar

curious what track you went to

coppercutlass

Great lakes dragaway . In union grove wi.

wr1970

Copper have you used a racing calculator if not you might want to go look at the one oldcutlass just posted the link to.

67 Cutlass Freak

I'm glad this thread got a trimming. It saddened me that two friends of mine were both duking it out on the key board. Hats off to you both for your strong personalities and convictions.
Copper just to remind you of a few points that will help you:
1) Download the PDF for your shift light - learn how to use it
2) Get rid of the front sway bar
3) Pick up a dial back timing light or use mine
4) Try to pay closer attention to your shift points and figure out what works best
5) Start a race data log for your car
6) Get a practice tree
7) Loose any other weight you can on your car
8) Move that trans cooler closer to the radiator
9) Put together a better track tool box, I have a good check list I can give you

oldcutlass

Wtg Copper, glad you made it to the track. A few tenths should be easy to capture.

GEARMAN69

Congrats Copper , great to see you knocking on that door. You will get it soon.

pogo69

lot of hard work and time pays off...great job! all 3 vids looked good especially 3

coppercutlass

I got my work cut out for me. Its all simple stuff that will help me get there. No major tuning so to speak. Mainly me getting the driving down and using my shift light. I actually was not to horrible shifting by ear . By sound I can notice the pioint before the car will nose down. The only time it nosed down was when I was watching the tach and shifted at 6k rpm into 3rd and 2nd gear slipped for some odd reason on all other passes it did not slip . Its all a learning curve again to some extent. My whole deal is that i want a true 12 sec 355 powered cutlass. Alot of guys have a 12 sec bbo and if its a small block it has a lot of gear and converter. 12's i think is the sweet spot for me. Its still affordable to maintain the car and i dont have to worry about breaking something i cant fix. I built everything in the car on the car etc. Some guys may thing im insane to say i just wanna go 12's but thats it for me. I have a lot of friends with olds powered 9 second cars and i see what they have to do to stay in the game and that aint fun to me. i want a street car and i want it sbo powered and i wanna be able to run it in the pro class for the brackets when i have the car dialed in. Im not the most serious about racing as its not a priority . Im having a blast beating my junk up and just running for e/t's.


Dave before i move the cooler im gonna put a temp gauge in it which i have. I honestly dont think my trans temps are that high up there. I was checking the cooler by hand it was bearly warm to the touch. My tool box actually had all the essentials besides the fact i left my tire pressure gauge at home. thats actually the most amount of tools i ever took to the track with me ever. Im gonna buy a diffrent tach and shift light im thinking. as for the data log and practice tree im just not that serious about it to log all that crap. Once i get the car to run the numbers consistent then i will monitor what the engine does based on weather but that wont be for a while. Looking back at my old time slips from 3 years ago i was regularily knocking down .03x's reaction times.

oldsguybry

I love the videos , good job !

coppercutlass

Ok so i came up with a list of things im gonnna do to free up a lil hp. and better monitor things

1. Im putting my old electric water pump drive on
2. add an electric fan
3.trans temp gauge
4. shift light
5. Im making my own ram air set up . Something nice not some cheap crappy looking thing.
6. putting the 750 cfm carb back on .
7. im making a cut off switch for the alternator since the load is only on while power is going to it. we will find out if its worth anything .
8. Fuel line cooler
i think all these things will add up. IN the past i did alot of little things like this to gain a tenth here or there. Along with a little big better driving technique. let me know what you guys think. These are all pretty low buck simple things.

wr1970

Some of those should help.Who or where did you find that fuel line cooler helps?Explain this because fuel atomizes better when warm. Now a cold can for air is different.Yes i know they sell cold cans for fuel. I am not against a fuel cooler i just haven't seen any at the track.Might be a good ideal. I do insulate my fuel lines with a pipe wrap.

coppercutlass

The reason I wanna try the fuel cooler is because my under hood temps are a bit high not engine but atmosphere temp in the engine bay . Same reason for the ram air set up. I'm currently using a flat style hood. Eventually I'm doing a 3 in. Ram air hood or 6 inch cowl hood. Just trying little things out for the hell of it. I'm making my own cooler so its no major expense. At this point I'm all about trying things out. Just like many people say an x pipe is not worth power. I picked up almost 2 tenths with one on an old set up.

67 Cutlass Freak

When the fuel is cooled it becomes denser, thereby giving a stronger fuel charge. I had a "Cool Can", which was basically an aluminum can with a 3/8" aluminum fuel line coiled inside. It had a drain on the bottom. It could be used with dry ice or regular ice. When I found out they were outlawed by IHRA & NHRA, I gave mine away. I still see guys icing down their intakes all the time. If you are trying to hit a certain ET this would work well, but if you are trying to bracket race and be consistant, maybe not so well.

wr1970

Dave you missed the point of icing down a intake it is to bring engine temp down. Cold air makes more hp. A cool can for air can help as long as moisture isn't inducted into combustion chamber.When gas is warm it vapor rises better! After all that is how gas engines run not on liquid fuel.

wr1970

You go man try anything! Who knows you just may find that extra hp to get the tenths you want.

coppercutlass

I will probably try dry ice I didnt even think about that dave. Dave i just want the car to runs 12's i know for consistency some of the things im going to do wont be the best but im after e/t's here once thats achived i will gun for consistent passes but in the past once my car was dialed in it usually ran pretty damn consistent. 3 years ago all season long the car ran 13.3's like clock work i wouldnt touch the jets or nothing .