COMET CENTRAL

I raced my comet on the weekend. I had installed a new cam, aluminum radiator and a 4:88 gear set. I was hoping for high to mid 12s. My car ran great as all I did to it all weekend was check the air pressure in the tires. The temperatures was in the mid to high 30C all weekend. Track temp was 140F plus. Usaully my fastest run is sunday morning with the cooler air and a real sticky track. This year my first run was my best. 13.003@ 105 mph. 60 ft was 1.967. The car made 5 passes running 13.0s and one 13.20. First round I dailed a 12.99 and the car slowed and ran a 13.09 but I won as the other driver brokeout. Second round I dailed a 13.09 but ran a 13.009 and I also redlighted. Great weekend the car ran hard out the top end crossing the line around 6500rpm. My 60 ft are not so good but I figure it is do to the weight of the car and that I need more convertor. I wieghed the car last week and with me in it was 3500lbs.Time for a comet diet. When I launch the rpm would jump to 4000 and pause there and then it would go hard the all the way down the track. I tried shifting at 8000, 7500 and 7000 with not much difference. The 13.2 run I hit the rev limiter and it seemed to hesitate on the shift to 2nd. Pics to follow.
Roger

Roger;I know you really wanted a 12 but you made some progress.What are you doing for traction?You may want a looser converter so you can get it to flash a little higher than 4000 on the hit.The biggest weight saving on our 65s is the front bumper and doors,the fiberglass fenders don't save much,the hood will save some plus it gives your engine fresh outside air!Get rid of the back seat[you will need to make a bulkhead to seal it off],get some lighter front buckets.The rule of thumb is a 100lbs lost is worth a tenth,and a tenth off of your 60' time is worth two tenths on the other end!! ROY.

Racing Norm who I bought the comet from 20 plus years ago.



Staging lanes round 1. Buddies Don and Ron behind me.

Roy, My traction is great with those street Mickey Thompsons but will be going to a real slick. For weight I will be starting with bumpers and cutting some steel out. I like my full interior with the bench, kind of my style. My rims are real heavy also. I hope to get race weight under 3300lbs for next year. I diffenitely need to do something for the motor to get it to rev fast on the launch. probally a new convertor. I thought about going down on the jets as it is rich and maybe putting more timing into it . I figured it was better to be safe and I was not really up to wrenching.
It was a great feeling as it pulled down the track.
Roger

Roy is right on the weight savings. 100 lbs a tenth is right on the money. A looser converter will help a lot and i made quite an improvement on my car with the Cal Trac suspension system. All these things are just pieces of the puzzle. The easiest thing for you right now is to get weight out of the car. Do you still drive it on the road? If not, there's a lot of stuff you can get rid of. Mark

educational thread - I'm watching with interest Hope you get 'er where you want to be! Tweaked are you running a 351?

Mark, I run Cal tracs and yes I drive it on the road. I drove the comet to the track and changed nothing, raced in full street trim.
B_Hix I run a 331.
Roger

Me lined up aginst my best friend Ron in my old 64 Fairlane. I sold him car in 83 as a basket case.

tweaked wrote: B_Hix I run a 331.
Roger

Now I'm really interested I won't have anywhere near a 488 rear gear, probably 3.7'ish and I have a standard trans. Looks like I'm a bit lighter, having weighed in at 3070 (without driver+ 210lbs) and with a 30lb tool bag in the rear. I'm thinking I lost around 40-lbs with aluminum heads (?). I'll get it weighed after I get the hood back on.

If you don't mind my asking, what heads/cam combo are you using Tweaked?

the new cam is solid tappet drag race Comp cam. Do not remeber all the specs but 106 degree centerline, and lift is .576 and .570 and duration is 290/ 304. Heads are windsor jrs with a victor jr intake and demon 750.
Roger
I'm headed out camping, talk to guys later.

Roger;after re-reading this post the best thing I can think of where you could lose weight would be to go to glass bumpers and light weight brackets,lighter wheels,if the exhaust is heavy,remove it at the track,remove anything once at the track that you don't need in the car to be legal.I understand your wanting to keep the full interior and be able to drive to and from the track!I would think that 331 with what you have in it should get you deep into the 12s or even quicker.It is hard to dial in a car when you only get to a couple of races a year! Are there any other tracks close,where you could test,play with timing.jetting,launch rpm,etc.? ROY.

Roger, your car sounds very similar to my old combination, its very frustrating running so close to a 12s pass, I ran 13.0 s for nearly 5 years then the first 12 was a 12.71 @109mph. mine weighed 3500lbs with 302 with 351 heads, 3500 stall 4:11s & similar cam specs to yours, the only thing i changed was sealing the AFX hood to the carby & it dropped 0.3 secs, & mine also always ran about 0.3 quicker with open headers. as the other guys have said weight always helps, but with mine I was not keen on stripping it out as it is regularly street driven. I have found the MT streets are quicker on mine especially in the 60' & I like being able to drive to the track with them. Great pics with the comet running the fairlane with the background scenery, our track doesn`t have such a great view we have a garbage tip next door. John

If you feel any tire rotation at all on take off, I mean a 1/4 turn you're losing time. Slicks and open exhaust for sure.
A cool can will get you a tenth or so too in hot weather.

And Brad, don't worry too much about the gearing. I've seen gear changes that only changed rpm's and didn't make a difference in ET.

LR

When I changed from a 3.50 to 4.22 in my Mustang picked up .2 kept the motor in the peak hp zone for more time and crossed line at around 6800 rpms and 111 mph. Perfect for my street driven setup.