10/8/08

Added a video from 1/8th-mile track at Benton, IL from last Sunday.

9/22/08

Added a couple more pics from the track.

Added an in-car video from last Wednesday.

9/14/08

Added a few pics from the track.

Added a video from the last 4 runs this year.
Here is a slow motion view showing the front tires coming up on the 1-2 shift.

7/16/08

Couple of videos from last Wed testing trying some different things with suspension.

gir-09jul2008-1.wmv
gir-09jul2008-2.wmv

6/29/08

The rain stayed away for the Pinks All Out event and I am glad I took part.
My car was consistent, running in the 9.80's all weekend. Could not get the car
to hook up, spinning the tires at the hit on every run.

Here is an in-car video of the run with Rich's arm drop.

The final 16 car field was a 10.30 class.

6/14/08

Received my pre-registration packet and I am Car #7 so come check it out
on June 27 28.

5/23/08

I finally got the car back running. I got a late start this year, and the weather here in St. Louis has been horrible.
The new Pro Motion TKO 600 is in along with the freshened shortblock.
I went to Gateway last Wednesday to run, but their timing system decided to take a dump.
So it looks like I will try again next Wednesday.

I got a spot on Pinks All Out on June 27/28 at Gateway, so you can look for me there.

12/31/07

Put together a 2007 compilation video

12/23/07

Put together a slide show made up of
all the images from the 2007 season.

2007 Racing Season Image Slide Show

12/22/07

Added a second view to one of the Midwest Shootout videos.

12/15/07

2007 Season Wrap-Up

My best ET (9.59) from this year came on April 16 when I still had the 8.8 rear end in the car.
The first half of the year I fought a broken upper ear on the rear end,
causing the car to launch to the left every pass. Installation of a Strange 9" housing with 4.86 gears
in mid September solved that problem. Once I got the suspension dialed in with the stiff sidewall 26" slicks and steeper gears,
I upped the launch rpm to 8,000 and the 60-fts started to come down to the 1.30-1.31 range.

I figured the 9" would have scrubbed off some ET but I am not sure this is the case.
Unfortunately, the TKO broke. It served me well, with over 90 passes on it. A borrowed TKO 500
from Anderon Ford Motorsport netted several low 9.60 passes, with a best MPH of 143.3. I broke 2nd gear in this
transmission, ending the season.

For next year, I have decided to give a TKO one more shot. The new TKO 600 from Walt at Pro Motion was just finished.
Gears have been Cryo'd and REM'd and the trans is on its way here. Will have the shortblock freshened up as well.

11/11/07

Gave the TKO 500 one more shot at KCIR but on the first pass, 2nd gear went away
with the wheels 2 feet in the air. Got a nice series of pics from that launch though.

11/4/07

Had a great time at the Midwest Shootout at KCIR yesterday.
Got 5 runs in, 4 in the low to mid 9.60's with a best of 9.61 @ 143.3.

I had a face-plated Pro Motion TKO 500 in the car for this race,
and boy was it tough with the steep 1st gear. The combination of the 3.27
1st and the 4.86 gears out back made 2nd come up real fast. I never really
got the hang of it, but am glad I got the chance to try this transmission out.

Put 4 new videos up and 3 new pics from the race.

10/13/07

Made two good runs at Gateway last Wed night before the
TKO let go on the starting line. Ended up breaking the main cluster which took
out first and reverse. Should have trans back in the car early nest week.

First pass was a 9.62 @ 143.8 with an astonishing 1.30 60-ft. The mph was huge as well.
Video is here.
Second pass was a 9.61 @ 142.0 with a 1.32 60-ft. A huge headwind picked up at the track.
Kind of a bummer on the trans because I was just getting the suspension dialed in
with the new 4.86 gear and 9" housing. Hope to head back out next Wed or Fri to Gateway.

09/27/07

Interesting night at Gateway last night. Dragged the rear bumper twice
before we figured out how to tame the car down with the new stiff
sidewall tires. Huge thanks to Brian Meyer for helping me out at the track.

First pass I got thrown back in seat so hard I accidently pulled it out of first.
Second pass I was pretty surprised it hung the wheels again. I kept in it, but
missed 4th gear. By this time, I ran out of clean shorts.
Third pass we tightenend up the struts too much and it lifted the wheels
only about 4 inches and it went 9.69 at 141.x. We kept adding tire pressure as well.
Fourth pass was a 9.65 at only 135 because I had to hit the brakes.
I must have hit some fluid at the top end. The car started heading towards the center line
which you can barely see in the fourth video. Looking at the incrementals from
that run, we are estimating a low to mid 9.5x ET. 60-ft was a 1.31 on that pass.
Videos are here.

09/23/07

The weather was very warm Wed. Made 2 passes in the 9.80's with new clutch.
Car has now launched straight 3 times in a row, so I am very happy
with the results of the 9" install. Here are a few pics.

09/12/07

Finally made it to the track Wednesday night. Gateway was packed.
First pass off the trailer was an easy one and I ran 9.69 @ 140.5,
coasting from about 150-200 feet before finish line. Car went a little left.
With the 4.86 gears in the 35-spline spool, I hit the 9,000 rev limiter
I had set in the PMS. Bumped that up a few hundred rpm, adjusted
the anti-roll bar and tried again. Car went straight as an arrow for the first time
all year. Hit third, and as it turns out, I must have over-centered the pressure
plate and the run was over.

Will be heading back out next Wednesay.

07/8/07

While waiting for the new 9" housing to show up,
I took the Tow Vehicle to the track last Friday.

I think she has a 12.70-12.80 in here if I can get her hooked up.
Here is a video of a 13.37 pass.

07/4/07

I have DTS Rear End Girdle Cover for sale. Also have a set of 4.88
gears for sal, only have dyno time on them.

After breaking my second Ring and Pinion and taking out my second 8.8 rear-end
housing, I have decided to go with a Strange 35-spline 9" housing with 4.86 gears.
The broken housing control arm mounting ear was the cause for all the crooked launches
this year. Finally found out what the problem was.

05/21/07

I put 6 more videos up. Time for new slicks. The 60-ft times were off a tenth,
the last pass last Friday going 9.65 @ 143.4 mph!

04/16/07

I broke into the 9.50's with a 9.59 @ 142.3

04/22/07

Got four passes in at Gateway last Wednesday.
Worked on the suspension settings all night and was spinning slightly on every pass.
Went my personal best of 9.63 on the third pass, though.
Ran 9.79 @ 140.8, 9.69 @ 139.0, 9.63 @ 141.6 (6.15 @ 113.5 1/8) and 9.67 @ 141.9.
I put new video of the four runs up.

03/11/07

Made it out to the Midwest shootout yesterday at KCIR. Weather was great.
The first pass was kind of an easy pass to check track, leaving at 7,200.
60-ft was poor as it bogged with a 1.46. Went 9.82 @ 141.8.

For second pass, I upped the launch rpm to 7,900 and it pulled a pretty huge wheel stand with a 1.33 60-ft.
When I hit 4th gear, something broke, which I think is the clutch. Will pull the TKO and take a look.
Bummer because she was on a pretty good run.

I made videos of the two runs, first is out of car, second is in-car.

My friend Dave Groen took some great pics that I posted too.

03/02/07

Where I will be racing this year

02/20/07

I received my NHRA Competition Drivers License today.
That's Cool.

02/13/07

I put together a 2006 compilation video.
Dial-up unfriendly at 39MB.

02/08/07

I added links to head flow numbers and scans of time slips
to the combo comparison table.

Also, I found the time slip of my first pass ever in the Cobra.
It was only one month old.
14.356 @ 98.55

02/04/07

I have generated a table that summarizes all my major
combinations during my natural aspirated journey.

Check it out here and let me know what you think.

12/30/06

I have added 16 new videos to the site and separated them by year.
4 have been added from 2001 (10.90's with the 306).
12 have been added from 2004 (low 10's with the 347).

12/16/06

I added a bunch of photos of the 359 buildup.

12/2/06

I have re-arranged the links at top for easier navigation.
The site was getting too big. I have separated out each of the main combos.

11/28/06

Made yet another trip to Kansas City last Sunday. I got four passes in.
This time the temps were in the mid-70's!

Ran mid 9.70's at 141-142 mph. I have 4 new videos from inside the car this time.

11/12/06

Made another trip to Kansas City this Sunday. I got four passes in.
Fought the track all day. The temps were in the mid-50's but I could not get
the car to hook up down the track. Is there such a thing as too much hp? I think so when you run a 26" tall tire!

Things started to come around the last two passes though. The last one would have been
a real fast (it did go 9.68 @142.5) except the left anti-roll bar end link broke and departed itself from the car.
Boy was that interesting going down the track.
See if you can see the car twist on launch. I have 4 new videos up from today.

I also found a video from the archives. In 1999, we attended the Mid America Shelby Meet
in Tulsa, OK. I ended up winning a small 5.0 bracket class. This was at a time
when I drove the car on the street. Here is the video from the semis.

11/7/06

Made the trip to Kansas City on Saturday, Nov 4. I made my first two passes
easy ones. They were granny-shifted (hey, who cares, I made it) and in the 9.70's,
so I finally got my class 4 license.

My third and final pass would have been a good run with a 1.32 60-ft,
but I got loose twice and shut the run down.

Videos are posted here.
Pics are posted here.