considering getting back into racing--many questions

[jltefft1]

First off I have been reading these forum pages a long time and it helps keep me involved in the sport I love. Saw first race in 1964 and raced in stock and brackets until 1980. Live between 131 motorsports park and mid michigan dragway and am considering getting back into racing. I have been looking at cars for sale on various sights and it looks like $20k to $35k gets you a competitive car for stock or super stock. I read here quite often that it is better to buy a competitive car rather than to build one yourself. So with that being said I am looking for advise on which way I should go. Want something that goes at least high 10 seconds to anything quicker. See a lot of gt/da cars for sale and f/sa to a/sa cars for sale. When I go to the divison 3 race at mid michigan it appears that the big tired super stock cars are more consistent than the high horsepower stockers. I would prefer a stick car as it is always more fun and thats what this is all about. I see a lot of adds that say--"the car goes easy 6 tenths under in bracket mode" When I used to race you went as fast as the thing would go. Can you explaine how and what is done to put, lets say a 350 69 camaro from bracket mode to full race, class winning mode. Really enjoy all the posts here and thank you in advance for your replys.

[John Lang]

I hope you get some honest answers , because to me bracket mode is short shifting , as in not killing valve springs, and beating on convertors, etc. I'm getting to old to be working on these things all of the time. But they sure are alot of fun. John Lang, Just across the pond from you! P.P.S.S. This is my idea of an honest answer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. John

[bill dedman]

There are so many options and considerations when choosing a car from scratch, I'll leave that part to someone who's a lot better qualified than I am to pick a winnah, but the "bracket mode" question was of interest to me because I have watched cars pick up anywhere from a tenth to three tenths when switching from "bracket mode" to "killer," which is something they usually only do if they have a heads-up (no breakout) race coming up the next round, such as they'd have when racing a same-class car in the eliminator, or racing in class eliminations.

To pick a car up somewhat, for a heads-up race, from "bracket mode," I have seen racers do thing like cooling their fuel, icing down the intake manifold, running different slicks (ones that hook better, perhaps, or hook as well, but don't slow the car down in high gear as much), drain considerable oil out of the motor (leaving a bare minimum to maintain oil pressure, to reduce crank windage,) getting every last LEGAL pound out of the car for that run, changing tire pressure to reduce rolling reistance and possibly altering total advance to gain the last ounce of horsepower for that all-important e.t. advantage. They could also install taller front tires for more rollout, but usually don't.

I am not a racer (currently) so I am sure I've probably missed a lot of other things that can be done to make a car incrementally quicker in an all-out situation, but these are a few of the more obvious ones I've seen. Maybe a more knowledgeable racer can fill in the things I've missed.

Good luck finding a suitable "class" car... racing is, as you probably know, the most fun you can have with your clothes on... and, I envy you your opportunity to go racing again! Have fun!!!

Bill

[alan r caraway]

Have enough money
Time
and most of all
A Wife, Girlfriend,or other that is willing ready to help and go where you go.
without this Home life cannot at times be Safe.

[chris tinberg]

if you are looking to buy a used racecar be sure it was built by a reputable stock / superstock guy and if you want a clutch car be sure it was done by a guy thats good with 4 speed cars ie.gary jennings ,gary wisecarver ,b&b,east texas,pk racecars ,mpr, you can't go wrong with any of these guys for updates ,tech support ,and resale value. there are allot of cars out there for sale some for decent prices but be sure you take into consideration of what updates they would need to be competitive . the reason i say this my brothers and i built a new cavalier last year it was a hell of allot of work and not cheap but we were happy with the results ,before we decided to build new we looked at allot of used racecars and always asked ourselves the question that i mentioned above so we decided to go new ,but i understand not everyone can do that just my .02 cents.. if you would like some more information post your email address or a contact # and i would be happy to talk with you on what we came up with .GOOD LUCK ! chris

[Jeff Gillman]

We must live awful close to each other as I am also from Grand Rapids Michigan. Anyway, I have been racing for quite some time mainly bracket racing. I have been around class racing since I was a young child as my dad was and still is a Super Stock racer. At some point I also decided I wanted to go class racing. So while I was still bracket racing I paid close attention to the Super Stock cars, after about 2 years I made a decision that I wanted to be the person doing the chasing as much as possible, and I wanted to find a car that had a good track record. I ended up purchasing a 1990 Camaro from Mike Crutchfield that ran SS/BS. The car was not yet for sale, but I had heard he was building a new car. I wanted this car for the reason above; the car had a very good track record, Multi time Jegs All Star representive, Multi Division 2 Championships, and I would be the chaser most of the time. I have since sold this car to a gentleman in Florida and purchased another car from Crutchfield. I am telling you this because the Camaro is for sale for the price of $35,000.00. It is a great deal for someone that wants to get into Super Stock and have a proven car very capable of winning. Just need a good driver and a little luck. In bracket mode it is a 9.10 to 9.20 car, in go fast mode it is a 8.90 car with a 9.95 index. It is possible it could also be delivered as the new owner of this car (Gary) may possibly be coming to Grand Rapids soon. Whatever you decide for a car I am sure it will be an enjoyable experence, there are alot of really good people in the drag racing community. If you have any questions call anytime 616-677-1879 home, 616-293-8161 cell, or e-mail me at jefftools@charter.net

[jltefft1]

Thanks for al the replys. Alan: funny you should mention the "home" thing. Guess why I'm considering the idea of racing again. Have lots of time on my hands. Was on Racing Junk and saw a nice F/S 69 Camaro but $30k sounds awfull high for what you would get. Seems like with a clean body you could build one for a lot less. Some of you have said that the cost of a super stock engine is considerably more than a stocker and more maintenance. For the sake of comparison lets say a BBC stocker engine compared to a 350 super stock motor. Can you give me a idea of the cost of purchasing such motors and maitenance costs. Another question is about the Jerico 4 speed. Last four speed I had was behind a 428 cj mustang stocker in 1976. When you changed gears you had to use the clutch but I have talked to a few Jerico trans users and they say all you have to do is pull on the lever and it goes right into the next gears. Is this true? Or are these actually clutchless transmisions.

[casper]

just adding my .02 here . Although I haven't been in this game a long time , I do have a little experience that might be beneficial, seeing as I have had the experience of both building a car (stocker) and buying a turn key car (super stocker). Buying a car turn-key is the way to go , yes, you pay a little more initially for a good car , but you also have to consider that the person you are buying the car from pretty much has is sorted out . Example , the stocker I own , it's an F/S 67 Camaro , has seen so far ; 3 different clutches , 3 sets of leaf springs , 3 different intake manifolds , 2 carbs, 2 different wheel/tire combos , numerous camshafts and the list goes on. Pretty expensive education if you ask me . The t/k superstocker was purchased ready to race , on the day I picked it up , took it to the track , unloaded it , teched it ,and put it on the pole at a national event . So there is two different scenarios for you to think about .

Mike

[tim worner]

I know where a real good Olds Super Stock GT car is ready to go down the track. All fresh motor,trans,rear,tires,ect.

[Roger K Fain]

Jlt,
You can't go wrong with Tim Worner's "Second Effort" GT Olds. Car is a proven winner with all the best stuff. It's an automatic but still a fast ride, without all the shifting and maintenance.