We went out to the track on July 7th with Torri Young this day, Torri had solid lights and barely broke-out in the first round running a 12.22 on a 12.23 in her ’66 Tempest. A tap of the brakes would have gotten her the win!
The ’57 had its best run in Q2 running a 10.562 @ 126.60 but on the way back to the pits it apparently pushed a head gasket [actually cracked the head] on the left bank, UGH!! But the good news is we’re seeing excellent progress on the new clutch settings. We now have an excellent baseline where we can control the hit by launch RPM!
Now we need to tear down the 350 in the ’57 to see the damage done. Below is a video report of this day.
Update 7/18/2018:
I pulled the headers, intake plenum & carbs, radiator, etc. off the engine today and it is obvious that the leakage is in #3 cylinder with traces in #1. I suspect we have some internal engine damage… – Roger
Update 7/21/2018:
We got the motor out and torn down, not good. Left head cracked in cylinders #1 & #3, piston skirt coatings gone, #2 piston and cylinder wall scored – basically junk! I’m done with stock-style GM blocks! We’ve made good horsepower with the -010 block but they won’t live at our horsepower output! – Roger
Cracked chamber, #3 cylinder in our ’57 350
Q2 Clutch data leaving at 5900 with Ram fully adjustable clutch – click for larger view!
July 7th 2018 – Jim Doyle Pic – A tad soft on the clutch
Launch on June 23, 2018 – Gary McMillian Photography!
Chris & Torri took their cars out to the track after Chris installed a new MagnaFuel pump in the Pontiac after the Mallory pump failed the last time out.
Chris wanted to make more adjustments to the Chevelle after installing the new front suspension a few weeks back, hoping to lower the height of the wheelie on the launch and pick up some E.T. which we did! He lowered the wheelie bars 2-1/2 turns from his outing on June 16th.
Q1: 10.61 @ 124.86 MPH Round 1: 10.67 on a 10.57 @ 119.73 MPH Pedaling but gave the stripe back to Gordon Rust in a TIGHT race ending Chris’ evening.
Gordon Rust barely taking the stripe! June 23, 2018 – Jim Doyle photo
Torri’s ’66 Tempest ran well today with the new fuel pump recording the following:
This was the first time out with the new AFCO front springs & shocks on the Chevelle. On these night races you only get one qualifying run and on to eliminations, so there was little opportunity to make many adjustments. After the initial hit, Chris did adjust the front shocks, they were a tad stiff initially.
AFCO front shocks and progressive springs for the Chevelle
Chris ran a 10.683 @ 123.96 MPH on Q1 and after the adjustments recorded a 10.644 @ 123.98 MPH in the 1st round but left a tad early to end his night. Before his next outing we’ll lower the wheelie bars a bit and jet down the carb for the hotter weather and higher density altitudes we’ll see.
Torri also took her Pontiac to run but her fuel pump failed in the lanes which was a major disappointment. A new pump is on its way as we speak!
Here’s a short video of Chris first hit, the car is coming down MUCH better with the new springs and shocks!
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Posted inEdwards & Young Updates|Comments Off on Chevelle on June 16, 2018 at Pacific Raceways
We were looking forward to this big race with a great group of guys only to have Mother Nature rule the weekend.
We went out early Saturday despite a bleak weather forecast and never got a pass that day. At about 11:30 AM the heavens opened and ended the day. We towed the ’57 home because of the equally bad Sunday forecast and got up early to check the weather and decided not to go. The guys did get one qualifying hit on Sunday, dialed-in and were in the staging lanes for their 1st round of eliminations when rain struck again and ended the weekend.
As close as we got to making a run on Saturday before the rain came! We were flying both the U.S. & Canadian Maple Leaf for our friends from up north
Our thanks to all the teams that came down from British Columbia and from eastern Washington to have some fun. Despite the weather, it was great seeing our friends! Perhaps next year we’ll get sunshine!
We’ll leave you with some video from the 2016 & 2017 races! – Roger & Pam Young
As our old super stock springs have aged and taken a set over the years, the bounce when the Chevelle comes down from the launch has become uncontrollable and sloshes the fuel in the carburetor causing problems on the runs at the end of 1st gear. [See video below].
In an effort to gain better control, Chris has decided to install AFCO coilover progressive springs and shocks, and replace the old, lower control arms with aftermarket units from Summit. We’re hoping the AFCO kit will give us more control with the front of the car! – Roger
AFCO front shocks and progressive springs for the Chevelle
Summit lower control arms with bushings and lower ball joints
New lower A-arms going in! They come with new bushings and ball joints!
We found the culprit in the Chevelle this morning, the new aluminum Moser rear end center has fractured teeth on the pinion and a double pattern after only 3 hits on May 5th. The scalloped spool and/or extreme lightened ring gear is deflecting and binding on the runs. I don’t recommend that Moser setup in a heavy car! Our old Strange 4.71 nodule-iron center is back in the car as we speak with over 220 runs on gears we setup years ago and is running well again after a thorough check of the engine cylinder leak-down and valve springs this morning. A great team effort by Paul, Chris and myself.
Chris drove very well and made it to the 5th round of Pro Bracket this evening which was a great comeback from last weekend!! Nothing like a morning thrash to get the car out to the track! And a salute to Paul Young for doing an excellent job with the dial-ins!! Proud of you sons!! But I’m starting to get a complex, you guys do very well when I’m not out there!!
Next is to get the 1-2 shift point where it belongs and we’re in good shape! – Roger
Round results:
Round 1: Win – 10.64 on a 10.59 @ 117.88 MPH, pedaling Round 2: Win – 10.71 on a 10.56 @ 116.03 MPH, pedaling Round 3: Win – 10.61 on a 10.59 @ 123.78 MPH, pedaling Round 4: Win – 10.592 on a 10.59 @ 125.42 MPH Round 5: Lose – 10.57 on a 10.58 @ 125.60 MPH
May 23, 2018 Update:
Moser stated that with the lightened ring gear in a heavy car, such gear deflection may occur. However they refuse to make it right! So we’re out a gear set by purchasing their product. – Roger
Today Chris had his Chevelle out for the first time this 2018 season with the new, longer wheelie bars and the new, lower, 4.86 rear gears. Our focus was to get the wheelie bars adjusted properly on the launch and dial-in the shift points for the lower gearing in the car. We went from 4.71 to 4.86 for the 2018 season looking for a performance improvement.
However, today did not go as expected as the Chevelle only ran in the 10.60’s and we suspect we have a torque converter going away. We’ll carefully check the engine – valve springs and cylinder leakdown – but all indications are the torque converter is failing or the new rear gears in the aluminum carrier are binding! – Roger
May 12th Update: NOTE: THE PROBLEM WAS THE NEW CENTER SECTION!! DO NOT USE THE LIGHTENED GEARS IN A HEAVY CAR! THE GEARS BOUND UNDER A LOAD AND FRACTURED SEVERAL TEETH ON THE PINION GEAR!! – Roger
My thanks and love to Chris Young, Paul Young & Pam Young for all your love and support. New ’57 record today off the trailer, we’re starting to get a handle on our new Ram clutch. We will need to reduce the static pressure back down to 920 lbs. prior to the B.C. Super Shifters race in June, as the clutch is still a tad aggressive when you get some heat in it on the starting line.
Next out will be Chris in his Chevelle to have more fun! – Roger
Record Run Details:
Engine: 360 (350 +.060″ bore) Replaced 331 in 2015 Transmission: Richmond Gear (Doug Nash) manual pro-shifted 5-speed Rear gear ratio: 5.67 Track: Pacific Raceways Date: 4/22/2018 Air Density: 100.7 Density Altitude: – 219 Reaction Time: .100 60 Foot Time: 1.447 secs 330 Ft. Time: 4.254 secs 660 Ft. Time: 6.628 @ 102.86 mph 1000 Ft. Time: 8.690 secs 1/4 mile Time: 10.440 secs 1/4 mile MPH: 128.44 mph @ 8,200 rpm’s Weight with Driver: 3633 Pounds per cubic inch: 10.09 Driver: Roger Young
Record run on 4-22-2018
Jim Doyle pic of Q2 launch on 4-22-2018
Great shot of our Q2 hit on 4-22-2018 by Tony Hutchison
On the Chevelle, new wheelie bars are on the wish list. The old bars are too short and the spring rate is too low for controlling the rate of rise and height of the front end on the launch. This is a priority upgrade for 2018. With better control the car will be quicker.
October 7, 2017:
We checked the 1.550″ PacAloy1225 valve springs, all checked good between 230 – 245 lbs. on the seat. Spring run count: 128.
Please note our Buxton on-head spring tester reads 30 lbs. less than our Rimac bench tester. These are Buxton readings.
We will need new lash caps on the intakes because of the slight rocker misalignment with these heads.
January 20, 2017:
Today Chris got his new S & W Race Cars wheelie bars mocked-up on the Chevelle which are 9-inches longer than the old bars. Now they are out to Bill Parsons to get the x-braces welded. We’ll see what happens the first time out.
January 28, 2017:
Bill Parsons did an excellent job on the wheelie bars and they are now installed on the Chevelle.
Bill Parsons doing his magic on the new Chevelle wheelie bars
Completed wheelie bars
February 23, 2018:
Chris has ordered a complete Moser Ford 9″ aluminum center to lower the gear ratio from 4.71 to 4.86. The Chevelle was quicker when we had 4.88’s in our old 12-bolt rear in 2009 to 2011. There are 228 runs on the current 4.71’s which are still in great shape!
February 28, 2018:
The new Moser center section with 4.86 gears has arrived:
WARNING: DO NOT USE THIS CENTER WITH A LIGHTENED RING GEAR AND SCALLOPED SPOOL IN A HEAVY CAR! IN THREE RUNS GEARS WERE FRACTURED AND THE REAR END WAS DEFLECTING AND BINDING UNDER A LOAD WHEN WE TOOK IT OUT ON MAY 5TH 2018!
Moser aluminum 9″ Ford center with thru bolts
March 3, 2018:
Chris has installed the new Moser center section and the axles back in the rearend housing of his Chevelle. The aluminum center is 15 lbs. lighter than the Strange nodular iron center.
March 24, 2018:
Today we installed new lash caps on the intake valves, and set up the valve-train for 2018. We also load tested the battery and a new Optima or equivalentis needed before going out this Spring.
March 31, 2018:
Today we installed a new battery that Chris purchased from Frank Nelson, Jr., fired the wagon, scoped the ignition system, charging system and warmed up the new rear gears. Chris changed the oil & filter and cut open the old filter for inspection which looked great! We’ll re-check the valve lash before going out and the Chevelle is ready for the track!
Ignition pattern from the Chevelle
April 9, 2018:
Today we ran the valves again after we fired the car on March 31st, replaced the valve cover gaskets and the car is ready for it’s initial outing in 2018!
‘57 Chev:
On the ’57, we’ll be pulling the bellhousing and removing a slight amount of lever weight from the new Ram clutch we ran for the first time in August 2017, and we’ll be testing all the valve springs in the motor and general maintenance. Plus some electrical modifications to add a 3-step rev control to take advantage of our new clutch. [We currently have a 2-step].
September 30, 2017:
Thanks to Chris & Paul for a lot of hard work, we got the clutch adjusted. 980# base pressure, 3.3 grams of lever weight (down 1-gram). Next to test the valve springs.
October 7, 2017:
We checked the 1.625″ PacAloy1224 valve springs, all are good between 290 – 300 lbs. on the seat. Spring run count: 25
Please note our Buxton on-head spring tester reads 30 lbs. less than our Rimac bench tester. These are Buxton readings.
January 21, 2018:
Today Pam helped me replace the broken hub bolt, stop and missing spring from the damaged sprung-hub Ram disc from our old clutch. So now we have a usable backup flywheel & clutch assembly for the ’57. Pam is now officially part of the clutch team! This is the damaged disc we found last summer:
Damaged disc, note missing dampner spring and missing stop bolt
March 10, 2018:
Chris got the burnout switch wired in to deactivate the launch RPM limiter during our burnouts with our new clutch. This eliminates the low side chip during the burnout. Following the burnout the driver must turn the launch chip back on with the switch.
March 12, 2018:
Misty kept me company this morning as I installed the valvetrain back on the ’57 for 2018. We’ll fire the engine soon and change the oil & filter prior to our first outing this year. – Roger
March 24, 2018:
We got a LOT done today, Chris fired off the ’57 while I scoped the ignition system, changed the oil & filter, cut open and inspected the old oil filter which looked great, and Chris replaced the one damaged spring on our Long shifter which we stretched the last time we installed the transmission.
Now we’ll recheck the valve lash, index a new set of sparkplugs & clean up the car for our first outing in 2018. My thanks to Chris & Paul for all their help and a thanks to Pam for providing us lunch and coffee on this cool day!
’57 Ignition Pattern with 7AL-2
April 9, 2018:
Today we indexed and installed a fresh set of sparkplugs, drained and flushed the antifreeze, filled the cooling system with distilled water and pressure checked for leaks. The ’57 is ready, like our Chevelle, for its initial outing in 2018!
Paul’s ’85 Mustang:
No major issues at this time! Many of the bugs have been worked out over the past two seasons including rebuilding the transmission for 2017 since Paul purchased the car. The Mustang ran well this year with very few issues.
We will be installing an in-line fuel filter prior to the fuel pressure regulator to address the regulator and needle & seat issues we had early this season from small particles from the old fuel tank. [Fuel filter ordered on December 7th].
March 16, 2018:
Torri’s ’66 Tempest:
Torri Young – Jim Doyle pic
We may have surprises coming for the Pontiac which will likely be a long-term upgrade. We’re in the discussion phase at this time! More details in the future.
After September 2026, I will no longer be hosting our entire website. This includes military news, the Silver Spur sites, nor our racing pages. After 27-years it will be time to close it all down. Be well. – Roger
Pam, U.S. Navy – YN2/E5
CINCPAC Joint Command
Vietnam-Era Veteran Operation Homecoming
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We wish to acknowledge the invaluable photo contributions by the following talented individuals that make our photo galleries possible: Candy Caldwell, Jim Doyle, Robert Fedyk, Mike Gardner, Tony Hutchison, Gary McMillian, DataMutz, Larry Pfister, ProStreet Photography, Dave Stoltz, Mike Ward, Gary Wells, Troy Williams (Purple Nurple) and our family, Chris, Pam & Roger Young
