So I GOT A 9" converter now

Got out today to make a few hits with it , done ok with methanol picked up a tenth but when I put the adult fuel in it ran into some traction issues. Not sure if its the track or my junkie wheelie bars causing it anyway here are some videos .

car makes the same move in both vids .......

Yes sir , i have had to add preload to the rr already looks like it needs a little more . Maybe dilligas will see it and give his opinion. I am thinking the struts could use a stiffer setting now , but not sure if the wheelie bars are causing the move or not . Blake and i are planning a test n tune at bg next saturday maybe we can get the issue ironed out .

what gear you running?

Randy,

Jack Austin's Mustang had a very nice set of Jerry Bickel wheelie bars on it, however Mark decided we needed an even longer set. So he built a new set for Jack's car and they have really helped. I'd call Mark and look into the wheelie bar situation even farther.

Charlie

I am running a 4:86 Lee probabaly a little to much for this engine , but i got some 4:30 also just have not put them in yet.

Might do that Charlie i need a better set , these old things i got were built for looks back when ii didnt need any lol.

anything less than 4.86 gear would calm it down some,IMO.i went from 4.86 to 4.30 a few years ago and could'nt realy tell it in 60' or mph with a c4.after that i put the glide in with 4.86 back in it.my motor would'nt rpm like it needed to so i stuck a 4.56 in and it worked out good,calmed it down and 60'd the same or better and got a few mph more also.the first gear ratio is a funny thing,i had a c4 2.46 low gear and went to a glide 1.80 low gear and 60'd the same.the 4.30 gear will depend on how the converter reacts to it.

Photobucket sucks.

For some reason I can't get the video links to work right. At first it kept taking me to photobucket beta instead and no page loads. Now it says it can't find the site at all, so maybe p/b is down.

But taking a wild guess if the wheelie bars are still doing that loose/wobbeling/moving around thing that they have done in the past, that might be the cause/part of the cause of a crooked launch and/or an incosistant launch. They need to be fairly rigid/stiff in their side-to-side movement so that there is less chance of them wobbeling around & "steering" the car around inconsistantly. And if they wobbel around there's less chance they will be able to accuratly hold any stagger adjusted into them (if needed) while they are under load.

And as mentioned a longer w/bar is something to think about, especially if the current w/bars are less than 70" long. A longer set should load smoother than a shorter bar.

Where do you have the front strut extension valving at now? Somewhere around the 1/2 to 3/4 tight range might be a good spot to be since you aren't using a power adder. I don't thing you really want to go any tighter than 75% tight on the struts since it's N/A.

J.Y. Kelly,
It appears you are punishing the right side wheel on the bars.
I.m.o. the 4.86:1 gear is more than you need. How tall are the rear tires?

Yes sir i agree. They are 33 inch tires. I was just going over the data from the 5.00 run and converter fell back to 6946 on the shift and finish lined 7853 so its not that much better just a little faster . Those wheelie bars are junk i have just managed to get by with them gonna have to build a new set . The struts are on full loose so maybe I can take some off the bars next weekend.

Randy,

I believe that Mark has that set of Jerry Bickel bars for sale,,,,,not sure though. The new longer set is very complicated with slip joints like a dragster chassis, and then also heim joints.
I'm like Lem, that 4.86 gear set is probably too much. We were running 4.30 and now 4.10.

Charlie

RJ has some good weld up kits too.

J.Y. ,
"full loose" anit where i'd have the front struts, but maybe the rear shocks could use some 'love' too. I'm not a chassis guy by any means but the wheelie bars may not be your biggest issue. I.m.o. work with the struts and rear shocks and raise the wheelie bars.....and....get them to send you the correct tq. converter. Could your 'bars' be better....sure they can but, i.m.o. they aint the biggest opportunity .

How far from ideal is Randy's current launch, shift point, fall back, and finish line RPM's?

I would guess around 400-500 rpm too much , but did not dyno this engine. The launch rpm being that loose is probabaly just way to aggressive especially with a 4:86 gear. Charlie if you talk to mark see how wide the bottom section of those wheelie bars are i would guess one would be very lucky to get them to match up. I talked to Kenny yesterday about the converter and he seemed surprised it was that loose. Its the exact same converter Blake has and i think his p 51 engine flashes it to about 6100 he said. They scheduled us another dds race at sikeston next weekend so i wont be able to go to bg and test.

Blakes converter aint a 9".

KY JELLY wrote: Its the exact same converter Blake has and i think his p 51 engine flashes it to about 6100 he said. another dds race at

I had that same converter at one time. Ran it for 1 night, 4 passes. Way too loose for my deal. Flashed way up there. About 6850-6900. Took it out and sold it (Dave Freelander has it now). Should work great behind his smaller A head combo.

Bought an FTI 9" that flashed about 6250-6300 and instantly picked up .20 and 3.5 mph with no other changes. I have a slightly different FTI now that is a touch tighter @ about 6150-6200. It is about .02 slower but mph's better.

I think Blakes is the metric Toyota deal like mine. On a 200 hit mine will flash to 6400 and drop 750-800 on the shift. A 250 makes it go to 6600 and drop 650-700.

Mine is coming out this winter to get looked over and snugged up a touch.

richter69 wrote:I think Blakes is the metric Toyota deal like mine.

PTC uses a 245 mm Nissan core.....9.6" diameter, but they call it a 9"

The FTI's I now run don't use a core. All new. The front cover is billet steel...all one piece, even the mounting lugs are part of it vs being welded on.

The converter I had in the car at the TN race was a diff one from what's in the car now. That one was way tight on motor, but way loose on spray. Shifting at 7k on spray it was in gear high at .80 sec per my logger. FTI swapped it out for a high dollar 10" converter no charge. Have not tried it yet. FTI says it's the same base as he uses for his X275 customers.

Randy ,my car was workin on the wheelie bars hard with a 4.56..I went to 4.29's and don't even need the bars now,and 60 footed better with the 29's...go figure...

56Tbird wrote:Randy ,my car was workin on the wheelie bars hard with a 4.56..I went to 4.29's and don't even need the bars now,and 60 footed better with the 29's...go figure...

i think the 4.30's he's got would fix his converter problem,IMO.as long as it's got the ass to pull'm!

taller gear will work the converter harder.

I think there is a whole lot more to these converters than most think. For instance I let a friend of mine borrow my 8" in the spring behind one of bass boat bobbs 582 bbc that weighs 2900 lbs . His car flashed it to 6800 on the chip but only turned 7200 finish line and ran 5.33 , when he got his 10" back it only changed 200 finish line rpm and ran 5.26 .

There is a lot to um, all the power in the world if the converter is off it will be a turd...............

richter69 wrote:There is a lot to um, all the power in the world if the converter is off it will be a turd...............

You got that right...I'm thinking about trying a different one in mine,it feels like a turd off the line.The one in it came out of Keown's truck, it's about 600lbs. heavier than my car. Maybe a convertor will pick it up??