H-I-J '76 Nova re-fit.

[Nmbr1GMfan]

Made our first time run with a carb we hadn't used and it was a disaster. second time run we swapped back to the original carb and it was a pretty close repeat of our last two Orlando runs. Third time run the weather was real good, car was faster but the clutch was a little too lose. Adjusted the clutch and in first round she was red, I think she was slightly earlier than normal and the clutch being tighter made it a bit worse. Weather had backed off a bit and I saw the car make the biggest performance move yet and slowed considerably (I think the clutch being tighter slowed it too), I'm gaining some weather info which should help me in the dialing game in the future. All in all we had a great time and are looking forward to Gainesville. I'll get some video up this week.

[Jim Hanig]

Originally Posted by Nmbr1GMfan

Made our first time run with a carb we hadn't used and it was a disaster. second time run we swapped back to the original carb and it was a pretty close repeat of our last two Orlando runs. Third time run the weather was real good, car was faster but the clutch was a little too lose. Adjusted the clutch and in first round she was red, I think she was slightly earlier than normal and the clutch being tighter made it a bit worse. Weather had backed off a bit and I saw the car make the biggest performance move yet and slowed considerably (I think the clutch being tighter slowed it too), I'm gaining some weather info which should help me in the dialing game in the future. All in all we had a great time and are looking forward to Gainesville. I'll get some video up this week.

How much clutch did you put in it 1/2 turn or more.

[Larry Hill]

Thanks for your posts. The road map of Jeff's car was a good gift and fun to look at.

[Nmbr1GMfan]

Originally Posted by Jim Hanig

How much clutch did you put in it 1/2 turn or more.

Jim, It was 3/4 of a turn. Our biggest issue has been doing a burnout, if the car leaves real nice with a softer clutch it wouldn't hardly do a burnout. With some recommendations from my clutch guy burnout issues are no more, it wasn't the clutch it was the technique. However, we have a new set of heads so most of these current settings will be changed anyhow. It's been a learning experience so far.

[Jim Hanig]

Originally Posted by Nmbr1GMfan

Jim, It was 3/4 of a turn. Our biggest issue has been doing a burnout, if the car leaves real nice with a softer clutch it wouldn't hardly do a burnout. With some recommendations from my clutch guy burnout issues are no more, it wasn't the clutch it was the technique. However, we have a new set of heads so most of these current settings will be changed anyhow. It's been a learning experience so far.

Todd i have watched your progress and must say ,you and Amber have done a great job. Good luck with the heads. Look at the intake also.

[Bob Gullett]

When having a low HP engine trying to do a burnt with a stick it can be tough. Ive glazed a couple of clutches because I drove thru it badly on the burnt out. At least for me I found the best thing is to bring it to 6000 and do like the pro stocks and womp the throttle 2-3 times to get the rpm up never letting it drop below 6000 and nothing over 7000.

[killintime6968]

I do the same thing with my nova

[Nmbr1GMfan]

Originally Posted by Jim Hanig

Todd i have watched your progress and must say ,you and Amber have done a great job. Good luck with the heads. Look at the intake also.

Yes Jim, a new intake is next.

[james schaechter]

Originally Posted by Nmbr1GMfan

Jim, It was 3/4 of a turn. Our biggest issue has been doing a burnout, if the car leaves real nice with a softer clutch it wouldn't hardly do a burnout. With some recommendations from my clutch guy burnout issues are no more, it wasn't the clutch it was the technique. However, we have a new set of heads so most of these current settings will be changed anyhow. It's been a learning experience so far.

That is a common challenge. It was really tough with the 283 stocker. We fought a bog more than spinning so we had to set the clutch real loose. We would spin lightly in first to make sure the tires were wet then roll to the edge, put it in second or third depending on what we wanted. Have to be aggressive and get the RPM up and break the tires loose or you are toast.

If you let the clutch out easy or too low of an rpm, the clutch slips too much. Have to be quick to clutch it and not let it pull the rpm down and let it slip coming out of the water. Keep the rpm up and just clutch quick.
You might even find that you need a burnout rpm higher than the launch rpm. If that is the case, you could have a toggle switch to switch to a higher rpm switch if your ignition doesn’t have a burnout setting.

[Nmbr1GMfan]

Originally Posted by james schaechter

That is a common challenge. It was really tough with the 283 stocker. We fought a bog more than spinning so we had to set the clutch real loose. We would spin lightly in first to make sure the tires were wet then roll to the edge, put it in second or third depending on what we wanted. Have to be aggressive and get the RPM up and break the tires loose or you are toast.

If you let the clutch out easy or too low of an rpm, the clutch slips too much. Have to be quick to clutch it and not let it pull the rpm down and let it slip coming out of the water. Keep the rpm up and just clutch quick.
You might even find that you need a burnout rpm higher than the launch rpm. If that is the case, you could have a toggle switch to switch to a higher rpm switch if your ignition doesn’t have a burnout setting.

Thanks Jim, we found what constant rpm worked best then off the clutch real quick and our burnouts are real good now.