Dave's 72 Dart

[Dave81]

Back at home and about a month before the Mopars.
The car didn't really need anything, but I had seen one issue over the Dragstalgia event.

Going from 15.23 @ 87.86 to 12.1s at 111mph highlighted that the hood was rather enthusiastically trying to remove itself at the 1/4 mile line.

Not wanting to break it, or even worse, drop it into the path of an oncoming car, I set about securing it with some additional Dzus fittings.

So £5 on playdoe, a tape measure, paper and an hour or so in the garage, then 30 mins on computer.

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This let me work out the bracket shapes and lengths for the three additional mounting points, so i could get them cut and bent and delivered for installation.

Add the silly cost for anything Dzus, and the simple safety addition ended up costing well over £150.

Front end being levelled:

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Hood modified:

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Last checks and paint to match the rest:

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Overspray has been removed....

[Dave81]

Hood secured and its onto the MoparEuro Nats 2024.

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I'm a realistic type of chap when it comes down to it, so the weekend was about more seat time, tree cutting and the hunt for an 11.9999.
I already knew that with slicks and some header extension in place of the full exhaust, I would find me the 0.2 I needed, but I really wanted to attain it with the car in street setup.

So, I ran 6 runs at RWYB on the Friday with times all over the shop and no PBs. Just a good time and beer at the end of it!

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One thing I forgot to add, is that in my one qualifier at Dragstalgia, for some unknown reason, my right arm pulled back and I short shifted. Not something my mind asked it to do, it just autopiloted.

This however had me question my shift point of 6000rpm. So I dropped it to 5800 against Don. It obviously worked so during the RWYB above I messed around at 100RPM intervals 5700-5800 is where its at apparently.

Saturday was Qualifiers.
Trying to work my dial in based on my own inconsistency was fun. Shift point was set at 5800 following the above.
Run three was the one though, as i'd hovered around the 12.1, I opted to drop it to 12.5 to see if I could better my previous 12.31. Moons aligned and 12.1615 was the chosen number.

Sunday - Early E1 with a much cooler temp and tail wind
E1 was against Glynn Boardman, another low 10 second car.
So I put 12.1 as a guess based on my Saturday performance and cooler air.

It was all over .178 before it began.
Yes, got a little overexcited and decided rather than leave .2 seconds late I would leave a day early on the tree......Cherry.

Bananarama! off and mad at myself I left the line and just ran the car as normal.
Back on the trailer before 10am and all my own doing this time.
I didn't even bother to check the slip until most of the racers were back, when someone mentioned I should check my time.

11.86 @ 113MPH

So despair turns to me jumping round like a kid at Christmas and not caring that two races = two E1 eliminations in the history books.

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[Dave81]

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[Dave81]

So what's next.

Well slicks and exhaust header extensions, albeit a year later than originally envisaged.
That may just get me into the mid 11s, which for what id originally wanted from the car, would be a massive win.

Seriously though,
Running 20 to 25mph quicker then before on lap belts, race suit, helmet and hope has opened my eyes a bit.
I need to step up my safety.
So a cage is on the cards if I can get the figures to work before the Nostalgia Nationals.
Beyond that, probably something to stiffen the chassis would help me get the power down.

So more a year of safety than speed.
Will update when the car has evolved some more.

[Dave81]

Great Post, Dave and congratulations on the success at the Track!

All the best,

Pete.

Thanks Pete

[cadboy]

Great news Dave and well done with your vision and getting there

[Blue]

11 second run in there for sure, seat time alone will probably do it. Work on your 60ft especially and jet for MPH, there should be a couple of tenths improvement with tweaking alone.

[Dave999]

putting chassis connectors in mine was a great thing for any type of driving, you could feel the change on the first drive.. its rigid and i can inappropriately jack up 1 corner and lift 3 wheels not that i do that regularly

however all it did from a track point of view was highlight lack of traction and created wheel hop, back end did a little dance and rattled my teeth .
you have slicks so less likely i'm sure, my wheels and tyre height is tiny in comparison

but beware, improve one area to highlight the next bit that is lacking.....

[Blue]

Simple 2”x2” chassis ties really stiffen things up. I don’t know who you have got lined up for a cage but Dave Mc Callen in the North East is very good and competitively priced. Don’t bother with CDS tube, go for chrome moly, far superior and approximately half the weight.

[Blue]

Also, assuming you opt for a 10 zero cage, you only need a drivers door bar, make that bar removable. It’s much easier for street use and access for working on the car, glad I did it.

[Dave81]

putting chassis connectors in mine was a great thing for any type of driving, you could feel the change on the first drive.. its rigid and i can inappropriately jack up 1 corner and lift 3 wheels not that i do that regularly

however all it did from a track point of view was highlight lack of traction and created wheel hop, back end did a little dance and rattled my teeth .
you have slicks so less likely i'm sure, my wheels and tyre height is tiny in comparison

but beware, improve one area to highlight the next bit that is lacking.....

Yeah, already looking at chassis connectors to assist. That and the cage should stiffen it up nicely.

I'm sure I'll find the weakest link

[Dave81]

Also, assuming you opt for a 10 zero cage, you only need a drivers door bar, make that bar removable. It’s much easier for street use and access for working on the car, glad I did it.

Have some research to do mate. Had a good luck at some of the cages in cars at the Mopars, as I already knew I'd need to get some tubes in.

Will see how it goes, but removable door bars are on the list.

[Dave81]

Well not a bad start to the year. Managed to get the slicks and exhaust sorted just prior to the Nostalgia Nationals.
Nostalgia Superstock weekend gave me 10 runs only to be dumped out at E1, which seems to be a trend of mine.

Slicks have given me a little more consistency, which is great with quite a few ETs and MPHs falling into the same bracket.
Just need seat time.

Two PBs over the weekend, with the best now being 11.49.
Moving in the right direction.

Needs safety equipment now......

[Dave81]

Only action shot of the weekend.

[cadboy]

nice photo Dave and yes you are moving the right way keep it up