Re: Fix the car up, now runs poor at the track...HELP!

["Gary Walker" <NashFlash@xxxxxxxxxx>]

 First practice easing into the throttle to rock the weight back onto the 
rear wheels and going deeper into the throttle as the rear tires get a 
little traction from the weight.  That is the only way I ever got my 
SC/Rambler off the line.  If you nail it and spin like you are leaving the 
saloon at midnight you don't look cool and your 60 ft. times suck.  That is 
part of your e.t. you know.
 Your original carburetor will work best until you are ready for a bigger 
one.  If you must use a replacement be prepared to do some tuning.  The 
Edelbrock carb and the Strip Kit that you will get to tune it with only have 
one step in the metering rods.  This is where you will lose some gas mileage 
because the original AFB has two steps for three primary mixture positions. 
The metering rods work like this.  Vacuum pulls the little pistons (under 
the covers left and right of the primaries) down which lets the rods go 
deeper into the jets to restrict gas flow at idle.  As you get into the 
throttle, the vacuum starts to go away and the pistons and metering rods 
come up to allow the gas to be pulled over more easily to maintain a 
consistent mixture of gas and air.  The springs under the pistons are VERY 
important in tuning these carbs.  A stronger spring will push the piston up 
against the vacuum's effort to pull it down resulting in a richer mixture 
and worse mileage.  The rods are numbered.  You have to look up the numbers 
like on the chart supplied with the Strip Kit to figure which parts to use.
 A good arrangement would be to use the little AFB type carb on the street 
and use a Holley 650 double pumper or a Holley 750  3310 vacuum secondary 
carb for the track.  If you have a good intake and headers you can use a 750 
double pumper.  No, it is not too big.  Jet size will be around 74-78. 
Shooter size will be around 31.
 As for the cam, expect the Crane fireball cam to be quicker at the track. 
As with the other stuff, I have been there and done that (with a 343 even). 
For either cam to work right, you need a good intake and headers.  A $75 
used Torker is great.  The results will be amazing when teamed with a $120 
set of Blackjack headers.
 Now for the tires.  The street tires will be good for you at this point. 
Slicks will be another hassle which you don't have time for when you are 
tuning the car from end to end.  Your street tires are safer and the car 
will handle much better.  Let the air down in the back.  You will be 
surprised how low you can go. (Air them back up before you go out on the 
street !!).  Air the front tires up a little extra.  Another down side to 
slicks on your almost stock Javelin is that they will probably be taller and 
you don't have enough gear now.  Save the money.  You haven't tuned the 
suspension yet.
 Start by greasing the front end and replacing anything that is worn.  Get 
an alignment and tell them to set it straight for drag racing. (no toe). 
Replace the heavy duty front shocks with light duty ones or drag shocks if 
you can afford it.  Remove the front sway bar.  Pack up the hardware so you 
can replace it when you want and start driving slower on the highway !  On 
the rear end, You may think about replacing the leaf springs with new stock 
type springs if the old ones are sagging but do NOT add longer shackles at 
the rear.  Air shocks are ok at this point but do not jack up the rear of 
the car more than about an inch over stock.  Next, raise the rear of the car 
evenly and install a clamp on the right side leaf spring ahead of the axle 
just before the end of the second longest leaf.  You can make the clamps 
with sturdy 1" or 1 1/2" angle iron.  Just cut two pieces two inches longer 
than the spring is wide and drill holes in the angle iron for 3/8 or 7/16 
bolts such that they pass through as close to the spring as possible.  Check 
for moving clearance with pipes, gas tank, etc.  Make one for the left side 
too and try to launch with and without the left side clamped.  The car may 
pull a little to one side during the 60 foot with or without the left clamp. 
When it goes straight, leave it alone.  Do NOT clamp the rear of a leaf 
spring.  You may install under the spring traction bars and go through the 
same tuning procedure as with the clamp by adjusting length and preload at 
the snubber ends.
 I hope this helps.
          Your AMC friend,
           Gary Walker      owner of some old stuff
            Like  "Mission Impossible"   68  S/Pro AMX
            and The  Grant Rebel SST Funny Car


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "AMC of Memphis" <amcofmemphis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, May 27, 2005 9:35 AM
Subject: Fix the car up, now runs poor at the track...HELP!


> New Page 5Ok, I have a few questions.  I went out to the track tonight and
> ran some of the worst times I  ever have.  (best of a 14.7 prior to work 
> but
> usually ran around 15.1 - 15.3 and about a 15.7 now)
>
> My 60 foot time was at best a 2.6 seconds.  (close the same as before) 
> Ok,
> I figured that one out, I'm spinning off the line and slicks would help
> alot.
>
> Now, my max speed is about 88.5 mph.  I used to run about 93/94 mph in the
> 1/4.
>
> I have changed my cam out with a comp cam 270H.  (The prior cam was a 
> Crane
> Fireball 306C and was good for a band of 2000-4800)  It's supposed to be
> good for 1800-5800 RPM.  I thought that would help me out throughout the
> whole powerband.
>
> Next, I swapped out my original Carter AFB to an Edelbrock 1406 (600 cfm
> with electric choke).
>
> Is the Edelbrock a smaller carb than that Carter AFB?
>
> I guess I'm looking for what I did wrong or what's going on.  Can someone
> explain metering rods?
>
> Heck, my 343 is much tighter sounding and seems as if it has more power 
> than
> before and it doesn't even leak oil anymore.
>
> I've got a 343/bw M11 auto/3:54 posi rear in a 68 Javelin.