Projects Southeast Gassers 65 Comet Super Stock Wagon

gassers for the win!

 

It's alive again. I took some extra time to do some details in the engine compartment and to run the vaccupan hoses.
Have to work this afternoon otherwise I would get it out and try it out. Maybe tomorrow depending on the weather.

 

So, No pictures?

 

Hope it’s warmer down there, 29 here this morning!

 

No. I will try and get some tomorrow. It is vey cold out here today. Too cold to open the garage door to run the car.
Got the new rules for the Super Stock class and the Thunderbolt traction bars are legal on the ford cars.
I have a set of Crites bars minus the crossmember. I need to decide if those bars would be better than the slapper bars I built. I guess just build the crossmember and weld it in and run the Florida race. Then come home and weld the T-bolt bars on and go try it. Worse case I cut them off and go back to the slapper bars. I need to check to see if I can run floaters on the car if so the T-Bolt bars would be much better. There can only be one hole for the front of the bars so no adjustment is allowed. so where they are mounted is where you have to run them.

 

Frickin snowed almost all day today was colder than a well diggers ass. so no photos today.
Got my answer on the floaters for my spring mounts. Not no, but hell no is what they said about floaters. So now I need to evaluate whether the work to change over to the Thunderbolt bars will be any gain over the slapper bars that I just built. I would have to build a crossmember , build new leaf spring mount plate's.
Build the brackets where the bars bolt on the rear end . then if that makes it worse, cut the Crites bars back off and reinstall the slapper bars.
A decision that can wait until at least after the first race.

 

Can't stop thinking about the Crites bars that I have . Since the rear end would be held in place by the Crites bars to the crossmember and no floaters are allowed.
I am trying to evaluate whether a set of leaf spring sliders on both ends of the leaf springs would take the bind out of the suspension. The sliders and the spring eyes in the sliders would locate the rear end laterally and they would still support the weight of the car. The shocks would control the body separation rate. Why wouldn't the sliders allow just enough movement to not cause the car to be bound up when the car launches.
I realize that this has probably been thought about before , but I can't find anywhere on the net where someone has actually done it before. Now I am going to throw the floor open to why it will or won't work. Just because it has never been tried doesn't mean it won't work. I'm listening so comment away.

 

Only two points I have are:
What does SEGA allow?
What does the car that will beat you use?

 

your street competition

 

The rules say that the Crites bars are legal but no adjustability and no floaters.
the championship car is a 65 Comet hardtop with slapper bars. I have slapper bars and I never had a real chance at him with my valve spring issue. Now that I should be more equal as far as power goes .An advantage to the 60 foot mark could be the race. If you only do what everybody else does you will only be as good as they are. If you discover an advantage within the rules then you have the advantage and they have to catch you instead of you doing the chasing.

 

How about something like a 54 chevy truck with a torque tube uses to mount the rear end housing to the spring?

 

Let me preface this post with this, I know very little about suspension tuning, so feel free to call me a dumb ass if what I'm about to say is ridiculous. With that said, I think sliders on both ends of the spring would solve the binding issue with the Crite's bars, and still be legal. Also, wouldn't a leaf spring style shackle on the front mounting point of the bar's and standard spring mounting eliminate the binding, or are they just a bad idea? They wouldn't be adjustable and there wouldn't be any floater's. Just thinkin' out loud...

 

The TBolt style bars will be much better than slapper bars. I run a 64 Fairlane with them and did lots of experimenting with different lengths, pivot points and suspension heights. Too long or the pivot too low won't hit the tires ("tars" to you guys?) hard enough and they spin. Too short or pivot too high launches the back wheels off the ground when the shocks top out. Ideal for my car which is 56%front, 44% rear turned out to be 32" from axle center to pivot bolts and the pivot just above the level of the bottom of the rocker panel. For getting around the floater you could soften the front spring bushings by drilling holes from side to side. Grease the spring pads and slot the center bolt hole.

Cool car, I would love to see it in action at one of those races. If our dictator in Ottawa allows travel to the US (or returning back to Canada afterward) i'd do that this spring.

 

I have been using this method for the rear suspension for 35+ years, I have the leaf springs with shackles at both ends when using a ladder bar type traction devise. The bars locate the axle, and the shackles prevent binding and also prevent side-to-side movement (as a pan hard does). I make up 3-4 different sets of shackles with 1/2" taller c-to-c spacing which allows me to tailor ride height to my liking.

 

That's the type of information I am looking for thanks guys. I am not trying to reinvent the wheel just trying to get an advantage on a little yellow Comet.
Tom64 we will be in Ohio this summer if they open the borders.

 

What about running a set of Mopar super stock springs with a pinion snubber.

 

Already tried that if you would read the entire thread you will see that'
's what I tried first and it suffered from hopping on initial clutch dump. My sons video showed me that.
Also the official SEGA photographer caught all 4 wheels off the ground at launch.

 

I wouldn't give up on the slapper bars, they're simple and the work. Slapper bars have been well into the 8's in the quarter with 1.20's for 60 foot times. Check the front end for any binding, a arms should be free, when you lift up they should fall on their own, not tightness anywhere. Looking at the rules it says you can run double adjustable shocks, I would run them on all four corners. Just my thoughts.

 

Haven't followed the SEGA S/S much, looking at the rules it say any 67 made in the USA auto and pre approved 68's. Are there any Camaro's and Chevy II's showing up yet?

 

Chevy 2 are plentiful.

 

Maybe you have your answer, run the slippers, get your 60 ft times, change it and run it, and compare. Then you know. Speculation is hard to judge. Once you have your engine dialed in, you will know more about what the chassis wants.

 

I am going to run the slapper bars for the first race and maybe more. I am saving up for some double adjustable shock. They don't give them away.
No Camaro's yet, but I hear that they are coming. We at least 2 Chevy 2's . An interesting combo to me would be a 66-67 Chevy 2 two door post with an iron headed 331 with Chrysler Super Stock springs. Could weigh 3144.
My combo weighs 3364 with me in it. 333 x 9.5=3164 +100 for aluminum heads + 100 for traction bars. I still may just buy a set of A body Chrysler Super Stock springs and make them work on my car.

 

Years ago on the internet, I came across some articles and good reading materials when I was looking into a triangulated 4 bar. There was a guy named Billy Shope or Shoope, or very similar. He had done lots of math and set ups on many different suspensions. He might be a household name, I don’t know. What I do recall is what he wrote down and with diagrams, math, etc. made sense to me.
Now would he have something that falls into the rules you need to follow? No clue, but a cup or two of coffee and Google for an hour might give you some ideas if you search him out.

Anyway, I enjoy reading your updates when you post them, I work an overnight shift and this is one of the threads I look forward to when I get home. Don’t know why, you drive to fast for me

 

With the Chrysler super stock springs and pinion snubber make sure you get the pinion snubber within 3/4” of the floor or you will have major driveline issues but if you do use them they will work real good and are simple
Also don’t know if they are legal or not but the css hpp 426 wedge powered 1/2 ton pickups ups also used another traction bar as well they did have the rear end below the spring that may be why and I also know that the 58 imperial with 392 hemi also had a very similar traction bar if it ever warms up I could get some pics for you of what I’m talking about I can tell you they were a factory item


Chrome don’t get ya home

 

Well I have been dreading this day ,but expecting it none the less. My 99 year old mother passed today.
She was a character and a story teller . Born in May of 1921 in the hills of eastern Ky . moved to Michigan with her family during the depression with a team of horses and a wagon.
My grandfather homesteaded land in Michigan she was the middle child of 11. People needed farm hands back then. She outlived all of her brothers and sisters by at least 10 years. she had sort of outlived her mind and hadn't known anybody for months.
We had a strained relation ship , but she was still my mom. Rest in peace Mom.

 

Sorry to hear about your mom. I lost my 100 year old father in December. You know its coming but it doesn't make it easier. My thoughts are with you and your family. May she RIP.

 

My condolences on the loss of your mother, it certainly doesn't matter whether it is expected or a surprise it isn't easy to lose any of your loved ones.

 

Sorry to hear about your Mom, heart felt condolences. I just spent the day with mine today, she's 91 and slowing down.

 

Sorry for your loss man that’s a tough one doesn’t matter if it was expected or not stay positive and it will get better


Chrome don’t get ya home

 

Sorry for your loss, prayers you and family.