New Ram Clutch in Store for our ’57 in 2018

Posted on Thursday, July 20, 2017 by Roger

Since 2014 we have had breakage taking our ’57 out of races which we must address. It is clear that our older style Ram clutch with only static pressure adjustment and a very aggressive 6-paddle disc is no longer suited for our 3633-pound application.

In 2014 we qualified #1 in the Stick Shift bracket at the Nostalgia Race only to have our Doug-Nash transmission break.

In 2015 we installed our new 350 replacing our reliable 331 and matters have only gotten worse with the increased torque.

In June 2016 at the BC Super Shifters race at Pacific Raceways we broke the rear end.

At the same race this year, 2017, we broke the left axle on Sunday when the car was running very well.

The facts were clear, it was time to make an upgrade! After a long discussion on the phone with Cale Aronson of Black Magic Clutches he gave me several alternatives to address our clutch problem. One of the more economical suggestions was to go to the new Ram single disc sintered-iron systems which feature both base and centrifugal adjustment and an aluminum flywheel to soften the initial hit. You launch at a lower RPM and drive into the clutch. [Cale stated our present 6-paddle disc is VERY aggressive and is virtually locked up all the way down the track when you drop the clutch.]

This newer Ram clutch is their answer to the very successful McLeod Soft Lok but with some improvements according to Cale. It features a thicker and segmented facing on the pressure plate to address the issue of warping.

So, for 2018 we’ll be using the new Ram clutch. It will take us time to learn what to set the base pressure and lever weights but we feel in the long haul the new clutch will be a major improvement. Mike at Ram has given us some initial settings and we’ll go from there. We’ll update this post below as we learn the process.

Update July 24, 2017:

We hope to have the new clutch in the car with a Racepak Sportsman Data Logger in August and get it out for some initial testing in late August for the 2018 season. I don’t want to go into the 2018 season blind.

My personal thanks to fellow gear-jammers Jamie Roth & Don McClure for their input on this style of clutch, it is greatly appreciated! – Roger

New Ram Sintered-iron fully adjustable clutch for 2018 with aluminum wheel

Here’s a video by Ram regarding this clutch system – Roger:

Update July 29, 2017:

Today Chris and I got the Racepak Sportsman unit installed and tested on stands. Pictures below – Roger

Capture of Racepak stored data. Engine RPM, driveshaft RPM and charging voltage. You can see the four shift points and the high gear 1:1 ratio above

Update July 31, 2017:

New Ram clutch arrived today. I checked the pressure ring height, set the base pressure & installed 4.3 grams of counterweight on the levers. Ready to install on August 12th. Had to update our database to include gram weights, pressure ring height & disc thickness for future reference.

For more pictures of the new clutch, see 2017 Photos in our photo gallery or below on this page. – Roger

Ram Counter-weighted Clutch Instructions

If we launch at 5800-6000 RPM, we should be at peak torque:

Old Ram Clutch:

1800-2400# static only pressure plate, 6-paddle disc

Our old Ram Long-style pressure plate with adjustable static pressure only

Our old Ram 6-paddle disc

New Ram fully adjustable pressure plate, sintered-iron disc & aluminum flywheel:

Ram aluminum flywheel with steel insert

Update August 12, 2017:

Thanks to Chris & Paul, we got the new Ram clutch in the car today. But it was what we discovered when taking it apart that was disturbing, the sprung hub center of the old 6-paddle disc with only 26 runs was failing, which we’ve never seen before. Perhaps the broken axle was a blessing in disguise! The new disc does not have a sprung hub and probably for good reason. This is why you run SFI approved scattershields and block plates. Pic of the damaged disc below – Roger.

Damaged disc, note missing dampner spring and missing stop bolt

August 26, 2017 Update:

Video report of all four runs of our clutch testing & run by Barry Hobson in his Pontiac! We’re very close on our clutch adjustments and will be ready for the 2018 season! – Roger

1st run data capture

Long Style Clutch Building and Design by Cale Aronson – March 21, 2019

Posted in BC Super Shifters Racing, Clutch, Discussions, Edwards & Young Updates | Tagged Clutches, Ram | 5 Comments

What I Love About Nostalgia Races

Posted on Monday, July 17, 2017 by Roger

I wrote this in July 2013 but still feel the same way today – Roger:

July 17th 2013:

Jim Doyle photo

Regardless if it is the annual Langley Loafers race at Mission, or the 1st Annual Wild West Nostalgia Race at Pacific Raceways, they are always very special races for me. Those that participate and come out to watch LOVE drag racing and are there to have a great time! They are a special breed that you don’t always see at the weekly races.

We made some new friends this weekend with Bob M. & Kristin hanging out with us as we got the broken shifter repaired and back in the car. We had old friends stop and visit like Jim Burns and Tom Warnke and we reflected on bygone days. We loaned some tools to a few racers so they could get their buggy down the strip. And that’s the main theme I get from such races, that those participating like myself are there to enjoy going down the 1/4-mile and enjoying the friendship, the car show, and watching the old hot rods from the past. And these nostalgia races indeed have that flavor from the past when we used to head out to Puyallup Dragways on a Friday night for grudge racing. Not for prize money or trophies – there was none – but just to enjoy “run what you brung” down the strip and perhaps see some match racing like Don Garlits vs Jerry “The King” Ruth.

I was upset when the shifter handle broke on Saturday mainly because I wanted to watch the AA/Supercharged cars make a hit and visit the Bracketstars Car Show. But my wife Pam had my back and while Chris and I headed back to the shop to weld the shifter (and got rear ended along the way) she took video from the stands. So you see because of excellent team work, we got the old ’57 back in the show for Sunday and I didn’t miss a thing! And Chris got some outstanding pictures with his new Cannon Rebel camera which are part of our videos on our racing blog. I think Chris missed his calling! [See our 2013 Wild West Nostalgia Race Report].

As I said, I love these races. Drag racing at its very best! My sincere thanks to my entire family who make running the ’57 still possible. The old heap still throws some curve balls at us now and then, but together we manage to persevere and still have a great time!

Regards,

Roger Young

Posted in Nostalgia | Tagged Wild West Nostalgia Race | 5 Comments

Edwards & Young Report – July 8th & 9th 2017 – Pacific Raceways

Posted on Monday, July 10, 2017 by Roger

Hey Guys/Gals,

It was an action packed weekend for Edwards & Young Racing team as we had 3 cars in competition in total.

Saturday: Super Saturday w/Nostalgia Funny Cars & Cackle Fest

It was sure nice to see a large crowd out there for this race as the fans seemed to have a blast watching the Nostalgia Funny Cars go down the track.

Chris raced the always tough Jason Biscay in the 1st rd and just barely went red by .002 and ran on his dial while Jason went .015 on the tree and ran on his dial too so it was going to be extremely tough race all around. Chris did a great job as always during qualifying and I truly feel he was going to be hard to beat if we got pass Jason.

I was very fortunate in my 1st rd race win and had another 2-3 really close races along the way to the finals including ones against Gordon Rust and Jacob Holbrook in his lovely Mustang. In the finals I got treed by a bit but pushed my opponent out at the top end by running 11.99 on my 12.00 dial for the win. It was a great feeling to get the win as our sponsor Handan Semi-Trailer Repair was on hand at this race.

Paul in the Winner’s Circle on July 8, 2017 – Jim Doyle pic
(L to R) Woody Hloshyk II, Ed Garfield, Joe Loch, Paul & Chris Young

Sunday: Nostalgia Race

Chris ran Street Machine 2 and Torri ran Hot Rod 1 in this cool race and both did a great job on their qualifying hits so we were feeling really good going into eliminations.

Chris took on James Van Cleve 1st rd in a great race as they both chopped the tree down but by a narrow margin James got the win in a double breakout. He went on to win the whole race for his class so we were happy to see him get the win since he earned it against Chris.

Torri had a small 4-car field where she made it to the finals and too had an extremely close race where she got edged out by .002 on a breakout to Joe Locke. We were very happy for Torri in making it to the finals as she did a great job of driving once again.

Huge thanks to our family for their support as always and to Kimberly & John of Handan Semi-Trailer Repair.

See you all again soon at The Place To Race! – Paul Young

Jerry “The King” Ruth at Cacklefest – Mark Gardner photo

Great retro-type shot by Mike Gardner!

Thanks to Our Great Sponsor…

Need trailer repairs while at Pacific Raceways?

Call 206-391-9695 for a price quote!

Posted in Edwards & Young Updates, Nostalgia | 3 Comments

Congratulations Chris!

Posted on Saturday, July 1, 2017 by Roger

Chris just got a new ride, and it’s NICE! A 2014 3500 HD Silverado with the 6.6L diesel Duramax engine with a ton of torque, Allison 6-speed transmission and all the bells and whistles! And he has cup holders EVERYWHERE! What are we going to do with a tow rig that has A/C, cruise control, Bose stereo, On-Star and much more! He purchased this at Burien Chevrolet where Pam and I purchased our 2013 Traverse last October. A friendly, solid dealership!

Very similar to what Chris purchased:

Posted in Edwards & Young Updates | 7 Comments

Seattle In The ’70s by Phil Burgess

Posted on Friday, June 30, 2017 by Roger

Seattle in the ’70s, Part 1 by Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor

The Great Northwest had some great car and great races, and some great photographers, too, as evidenced by the work of Herman Marchetti, who shares some of his images from the Seattle area in the 1970s.

Seattle in the ’70s, Part 2 by Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor

The NHRA Northwest Nationals take center stage on the NHRA Mello Yello tour in early August. Its venue, Pacific Raceways, has been a hotbed of nitro racing since the 1970s, Here’s a look back at some great photos and memories from that era.

Posted in Links To Feature Stories, NHRA National News | 6 Comments

What Does the Future Bring?

Posted on Thursday, June 29, 2017 by Roger

Our first post on this Edwards & Young blog was on February 10, 2009 and the subject was; “What Was Your First ride?” And I started our original racing website in 1999, which is still in archive format here.

Since the beginning I have attempted to keep our readers informed and have featured photos and videos I have assembled to promote our racing program, our sport and sponsor by including Winter Progress Reports, Tech Tips to help the novice racer, and I’ve recently added photo galleries/slideshows to make our blog more entertaining. And unlike many teams, we not only report our successes but also when we have stumbled!

Now being over 8 years posting here and the trend going totally to social media — which not everyone can visit or see for long as posts get quickly buried — I question the value of me keeping this site open in the future. And frankly, I truly wish my family would be more involved with our blog.

Have a great 4th of July and be safe!

Roger Young

Posted in Discussions | Comments Off

HMS Photography Wicked Wagon Launch Sequence

Posted on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 by Roger

Wicked Wagon sequence captured by Tony Hutchison of HMS Photography on June 25th 2017! THANKS TONY!!

Posted in Edwards & Young Updates, Videos | Comments Off

Division 6 Race at Pacific Raceways – June 2017

Posted on Sunday, June 25, 2017 by Roger

This weekend was the race Chris & Paul were looking forward to, being a divisional race in “The Land of The Leaders” where you face the very best competing for a Wally. Both were entered in Pro Bracket.

It was also a new milestone for Joe Loch of JML Motorsports in his new Camaro Top Sportsman ride. With every hit the crew gently tweaked the tune-up and the chassis took the power even in the 90-degree heat with track surfaces at 134-degrees and above! On Saturday in Q4 Joe ran a personal best to date, qualified #1, and they also were honored with Best Appearing Crew! Getting the new car put together, the MSD Grid, Bigstuff & Laptop software cross-talking properly and working out the bugs has been a real labor of love by his volunteer crew which include Barry Hobson, Kirk Hobson, Mike Lucas, “Boss Lady” Emma Loch, Driver Joe Loch, Allen Macham, Chris Young, Edmund Woody Hloshyk II & Paul Young. GREAT JOB GUYS! Joe purchased the Jerry Haas chassis from the Goforth Racing Team where it was used in IHRA Pro Stock. It was designed to handle big power!

It was also the first runs with the new engine in Barry Hobson’s Top Dragster which was also running well in the heat!

On Saturday Pam and I went out to support the guys and take some video which we have here:

Sunday began eliminations for most of the categories with temperature predictions in Kent, WA. going to the mid-90’s.

Round 1:

Paul in his ’85 Mustang broke out by .003, (11.987 on a 11.99 with a .020 reaction time) against Brian McGinnis in his ’56 Chevy who ran his number (10.325 on a 10.32 dial). This was racing at its best as both cut nearly identical reaction times! Paul got to the stripe first but Brian didn’t give him any margin for error.

Chris ran his ’71 Chevelle through for the win when his opponent turned the tree red advancing Chris with a 10.628 pass to the 2nd round.

Joe Loch ran another strong 6.68 in a bye run in his first round being the #1 qualifier in Top Sportsman.

Round 2:

Chris won with an outstanding .001 light and ran a 10.677 on a 10.66 pedaling on the top end. Corrected altitude was a terrible 3300 feet and 97 degrees. The track temps had to be out of sight! I’m glad this old man isn’t driving today!

Chris taking the stripe in Round 2

Joe went out being tardy on the starting line which leaves only Chris in the hunt. On to round 3 for the big, blue Edwards & Young Wagon!

Sunday eliminations – Tony Hutchison photo

Round 3:

Chris cut a solid .021 light and ran a 10.73 on the brakes at the stripe to take the win. On to the 4th round!

Round 4:

Chris cut another solid .029 light only needing a 10.782 on the brakes to earn a win into the semi-finals. The kid has it going today!

Semi-Finals Pro Bracket:

Chris lost in the semi’s cutting another excellent .019 light but broke out running a 10.70 on a 10.72 dial. An outstanding job by Chris this weekend in the Handan Semi-Trailer Repair backed Chevelle. Mom & Dad are VERY proud of our sons this weekend and are always in the hunt!

As we close with this report and a long, brutally hot weekend of NHRA racing, here’s a final look at Joe Loch’s record run to date! Our thanks to the track crew from Division 6 and Pacific Raceways and the brutal heat they had to contend with this weekend keeping everyone safe! – Roger

Launching the Camaro. Photo by Tony Hutchison

Thanks to Our Great Sponsor…

Need trailer repairs while at Pacific Raceways?

Call 206-391-9695 for a price quote!

Posted in Edwards & Young Updates, Joe Loch - JML Motorsports | Comments Off

BC Super Shifters Race – June 10th – June 11th – Pacific Raceways

Posted on Monday, June 12, 2017 by Roger

2016 Winners!

This weekend we had the ’57 out for the annual BC Super Shifters race at Pacific which was a double-header event.

On Saturday the car was running very well and we cut a perfect light in round 1 to take the win running a 10.523 @ 126.62 MPH. In round 2, I was early and went -.003 red to end our first day of racing.

On Sunday we headed into the lanes with high expectations and on the first qualifying hit broke the left 35-spline axle. After getting home Chris pulled the axles out of the car and it almost looks like a spiral fracture. We had the axles out last season when we changed the rear gears and they looked fine, but they have HUNDREDS of hits on them, likely just metal fatigue. I ordered new Mark Williams axles to replace the Strange axles.

My thanks to Chris, Paul & Pam for all their love, hard work and support. It was still a great weekend and we had the chance to visit with many friends. The weather held and the crew at Pacific Raceways did an outstanding job of getting both races done. And my thanks to all that helped to push the old buggy off the track on Sunday, much appreciated!

Video of the broken axle hit and runs of the BC Super Shifters below which tell the story and I have posted the final round results for the weekend. Our profound thanks to all the guys that came down from Canada to make it happen and it’s fun racing with such a group of class act people!

At the bottom of this page, I’ve added the video Pam took of Joe Loch sorting out his new Top Sportsman Camaro. His new chassis is showing great potential and the horsepower is there! – Roger

Update June 19th 2017:

My buddy Misty kept me company this morning while I ran the valves and inspected the upper end on the ’57 after we hit the high-side chip, 8800, when we broke the axle. All looks good, no adjustments required. – Roger

BC Super Shifters Final Round Results

Saturday Finals:

4167 Rich Graves (W) Puyallup WA ’67 El Camino 0.000 12.04 12.035 112.21

6520 Jamie Roth (R/Up) Langley BC ’64 Comet -0.056 10.05 10.063 133.24

Sunday Finals:

205 Paul Morgan (W) Victoria BC ’65 Valiant 0.022 10.47 10.465 129.14

735 John Depoucq (R/Up) Langley BC ’77 Camaro -0.001 10.25 10.238 130.12

Jim Doyle picture on Saturday

Robert Fedyk close-up on Saturday!

Gary Wells photo, June 10th 2017

Thanks to Tony Hutchison – 2nd Round at BC Super Shifters race on June 10th

Update July 12th, 2017:

The new Mark Williams 35-spline, 5/8″ stud axles have arrived and all the dimensions are perfect! We’ll get the ’57 back together this weekend and hope to have it back out in August at Pacific Raceways with a new Ram clutch. My thanks to Chris & Pam for purchasing the new axles for the old buggy! – Roger

Left axle is 23″ Right is 27″ Splines machined for our Strange spools.

Update – July 15, 2017:

Thanks to Chris & Paul, we got the new axles in the car today. Clean it up and it’s ready to go again!

New MW axles in the ’57. Axle hubs fit brake drums perfectly!

Update July 19, 2017:

After speaking at length to Cale Aronson at Black Magic Clutches I have decided to update our clutch to the new Ram single disc sintered iron clutch system. This clutch features the thick, segmented ring on the pressure plate, single sintered iron disc on a steel insert 18# aluminum wheel and is fully adjustable, both static and centrifugal. We won’t install this new clutch until August of 2017 for operational use in 2018. For more details and a video on the clutch, please see our post here. – Roger

New Ram Sintered-iron fully adjustable clutch for 2018 with aluminum wheel

Thanks to Our Great Sponsor…

Need trailer repairs while at Pacific Raceways?

Call 206-391-9695 for a price quote!

Posted in BC Super Shifters Racing, Edwards & Young Updates, Joe Loch - JML Motorsports | 5 Comments

Edwards & Young – June 3rd 2017 – Pacific Raceways

Posted on Monday, June 5, 2017 by Roger

This evening Chris was racing in Pro Bracket and Torri was going at it in Sportsman at Pacific Raceways with Paul providing valuable assistance for both through the evening!

Both Chris & Torri made it to the semi-finals in their respective brackets before being eliminated and were forced to hot-lap the cars due to three oil downs this night cutting the final eliminations short as they hit the 11PM track curfew. In the semi-finals Chris left a little early and Torri’s Tempest decided to put down a number in the night air and broke out but it was a GREAT JOB BY THE TEAM and the crew at Pacific Raceways!! The cars were running well and both Chris & Torri did well on the tree!

Next weekend we plan on having the ’57 out at Pacific for a BC Super Shifters
double-header weekend, weather permitting. – Roger

Chris breaking in new slicks on his Chevelle

Torri behind the wheel of her ’66 Tempest

Thanks to Our Great Sponsor…

Need trailer repairs while at Pacific Raceways?

Call 206-391-9695 for a price quote!

Posted in Edwards & Young Updates | 2 Comments

Edwards & Young – May 6th 2017- Pacific Raceways

Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2017 by Roger

Jim Doyle pic

This was another day of challenges for the great crew at Pacific Raceways dealing with water coming up through the track on the top end after heavy showers on Friday evening, but they managed to pull it off! They are the best!

While waiting for the track to dry, Chris invited a Scout Troop from JBLM to have a seat in the Wagon which made their day! Thanks son for your hospitality to the young men from JBLM!

This was the first time out for the Chevelle in 2017, and it was also the first outing for Torri in her ’66 Tempest, and the 2nd time out for Paul in his Mustang this season. The cars were running well and Paul set a new personal best in his Mustang running a 11.782 @ 113.87 MPH in Q1 in the great air!

Paul was eliminated in round one of Pro Bracket in a close race to Dennis McGinnis in his hard charging Mustang. Paul ran a solid 11.819 on a 11.80 dial but Dennis had a slightly better reaction time to get the win light.

HMS Photo

Chris won his first round in Pro Bracket running a solid 10.482 on a 10.48 dial to face Martin Lambert in his Monza “Taz” in the 2nd round. This was a double break-out race with Martin taking the win by a narrow margin. Chris ran an excellent 10.452 on a 10.46 dial. Chris is happy with the new merge collectors as he was running excellent 1.39 60-foot times with the heavy Chevelle.

Torri lost in the first round of Sportsman when she got a poor burnout and spun the tires hard on the starting line running a 12.339 on a 12.19 dial ending her day.

Our thanks to the crew at Pacific Raceways for never giving up on resolving the percolation issues on the top end to make the race possible! – Roger

Thanks to Our Great Sponsor…

Need trailer repairs while at Pacific Raceways?

Call 206-391-9695 for a price quote!

Posted in Edwards & Young Updates | Comments Off

Edwards & Young – April 15 2017 at Pacific Raceways

Posted on Sunday, April 16, 2017 by Roger

April 15, 2017:

The crew at PR busted their rears all day fighting water coming up through the track on the top end and made it possible for us to get a couple time-only runs on the ’57 and Paul’s Mustang, both cars with fresh transmissions and both cars are shifting well.

Off the trailer the ’57 ran a strong 10.482 @ 127.09 MPH only a tick slower than our best ever 10.473 last July in the old buggy, and I cut a .008 reaction time on this pass today. The car reacted well to the lower static clutch pressure we put into the car while we had the transmission out this winter.

Roger on his 1st hit for 2017 – Jim Doyle pic

After this initial hit we had a little surprise in store and we put Chris behind the wheel and he did a great job of hitting all the shifts in the ’57 and ran a 10.687 @ 126.27 MPH. Damn proud of him it has been 13-years since he last drove the ’57 which is NOT an easy transition from his Chevelle! If he got some more hits in the car he’d would be putting dad out of a job!

Chris driving the ’57! – Jim Doyle pic

And Paul set a new personal best ET in his Mustang on Saturday, running a 11.857 @ 112.82 MPH. We’re pleased with that performance also as Paul has elected to make the switch to Pro Bracket this year!

Paul having fun! – Jim Doyle pic

My thanks to my sons Chris & Paul, and my wife Pam for all their love and support. And it was great seeing our friends again at the track! So our 2017 racing season is underway! – Roger

April 17, 2017:

I ran the valves today on the ’57 after the two passes, the valve lash was perfect and the upper end looks very happy! Plus the Long shifter is still in perfect adjustment, love that when it happens! – Roger