Great thread! I wish they would bring back the SMOKERS! Its much more exciting to watch, like back in the day when drag racing was super popular! Smoking the tires definately had something to do with the appeal. Seems to me the modern slicks grap and then "wad up" causing the tire shake
Great thread! A fueler lighting them all the way and running a 7.80 at 210 is way more exciting than todays 3.90 at 310. Fontana 1964 [/IMG]
Thanks Lippy,, I found my self grinning, holdin my face, giggleing and swayin my head around. ALOT like people tell me how a acid trip is. KING.
I have to say that this was a nice read through. I think the theatrics of the cars of old where lost also, but that was a safty issue. They did have the exhibition class back in the day though. What ever happened to that?
People say it is hard to find a ghost. they should just follow its tracks. ha,ha. GEE, Wonder why I started peddeling it? A day in the life of a tire smoker. I love these damn things. On modern day prepared strips,,,, you need to stay in the groove. My car has a spool in the rear. Spinnin hard, and hittin different track surfaces only on one tire. Makes for one spectacural donut. And I dont want that to happen that far out. Come on everyone, climb aboard. Lets see this dream come true.
If I ever get to see two hard core historically accurate FEDs like ZG blazing their outdated hides full track, side by side, It would be nearly impossible to top. Keep up the good work.
Hey Brian, maybe you've just invented something entirely new...!? Tiresmoking circle track!!!! How was it anyway, trying to steer the thing with the front wheels bobbing all over the place? How's the nudey bar sponsorship comin'? I can't believe you get to do this right now and I don't.....you mother!@#$%^&*(*&^%#@!.....I didn't mean that! Sorry.......!@#$%^&*((*&^%$#@^&*(*&^%$##$%^&*!!!!
Which brings to mind a question - Why did the fuelers with open differentials never spin only one tire, always spinning both at the same speed?
I think between the the amount of horse power and the shock to the gears they basically locked themselves. Also, the lack of suspension and axle movement let both tires load more evenly. At least that's my theory.
Brian, after watching you at the HAMB drags I'm having some serious thoughts about pitching my automatic setup and looking for a clutch, bell setup. $$$ would be the main reason I'd stick with the trans I have. I'd probably go with something like the Lump so I'd have a reverser. Are you out there Bob? Post some pics of the driveline in the Lump. And no Mark, I'm not taking the second hoop off of the top. ;-)
Here is my unsolicited idea. They threw a little weld in the spider gears. It works wonders (I hear). Their are other ways of binding the axels, but I think that was the most popular.
Most wernt welded. They were open. And I think is a better idea on a tire smoker dragster. So that when track surface changes per tire. Say left tire goes out of prepared surface and wants to spin harder it wont turn the car. Like a spool will. I want to try a open rear, but the only thing that scares me is spider gears. I have seen those stuck thru rear covers before. And we all what is there in a f.e.d. King
Do it Kerry. You can add a reverser to the mix. I dont think the trans in the Lump would live behind your blown , injected Hemi. There is always Hemi clutch cans on ebay. Just try to hold out for one with a candlestick and fork. The fork isnt that important, because alot of those were just early ford forks. But the stick is important. Unless you have a gear makin shop you can work with to make you one.
Guys, regardless of whether you're running an open differential, welded spiders (not recommended) or a spool, you should have about 2 GALLONS of fluid in the housing to help prevent rear end failure. Run the fluid level at least half way up the ring gear. If you don't do this, the pinion does not get oiled properly especially on the launch and it will eventually fail. Don't just run a couple of quarts like a street car does. Hope this saves some carnage... and someones balls.
Kerry...my dad doesnt deal much in the computer world....ill find some pics of the driveline set up...but like brian said that greasy truck tranny probably wouldnt hold up behind a big HP chrysler....pm sent.... T. Hilton
You could fasten a cover over the openings in the posi case. I'm thinking 16ga steel and a few machine screws.
But what prevents the tire with better traction from hooking up and spinning the other tire at 2X speed? When you say open rear, do you mean completely open or a posi with clutches? I ran a posi in my comp class FED back when. We felt a posi could potentially go faster than a spool because of more forgiveness in it if one tire grew more - less drag. But I was only going 8's, nothing like fuel.
They most certainly did spin one tire - I've got a great pic of a launch where one tire is tall and out of shape, the other has a normal profile and the rail is almost completely sideways. I don't have a scanner, but it's a pic out a '68 "Drag Racing Greats" mag I still own. There's also a pic of eastcoast's grandparents (Alison Lee working on the car with Ed Pink looking over her shoulder). Conder - I posted on another thread about your street / stock car idea - sounds like I have similar twisted thoughts in my brain. Don't have the $$ or the nuts that you and Brian do, but E'Town was my second home when I was a kid, and I caught the tail end of the smokin' FEDs. I also agree the Cackle cars are "whetting the appetite" - I want to see these cars run in anger!! Don't know about the tires, but with respect to the modern tracks / surface - what about outlaw strips? Prolly don't have the width to do the push start from track end, but perhaps from staging? Could be a stupid idea, but what the hell...just a thought.
I know that photo, I would have posted it if I could have found it. That could also have been caused by a broken axle. Why didn't it happen more often, and downtrack?
Possibly, but can't tell enough from the photo. Not sure why I didn't happen more often - I am definitely not smart enough to know, but it's a valid question!
Was talking to one of the east coast top fuel legends about these smokers this morning. He mentioned a few things... Last year at Oxford, Maine they push started their T/F car and did not let the driver use the reverser to get the car lined up. The crew had to push. He said the crowd went nuts. Their car did use a differential early on (pre 1970) but they used spider gears that they got from Donovan. A posi was not used in the car until around 1970 and the spools came later. All were used with no problems. He said "you could'nt tell the difference". The early smoker tire compound was definitely different than the newer compound that was formulated to hook up. If/when you did smoke the newer tire, you stopped moving forward. The old tire, smoking, with the correct wheel speed did not do that. It's too bad that we've recently lost Marv Rifchin. He'd remember the compound difference.
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