Another new FE challenge team...

[dkjones96]

It's hard to draw a line with only displacement or weight in today's car world. You have sedans that weigh in right at 4k with a 6.2L V8s in um(2009 Pontiac G8 GXP) and others like the Camry that only weigh 500 lbs less and have little 2.4L 4 bangers. I know, the V6 is optional but you know as well as I do that most people opt for the 4, the accord is the same way.

[Jay2TheRescue]

How about this then... If when driving you have to lean forward to reach the radio controls, you're driving a tank...

Its a heck of a reach for the radio and a/c controls in the Buick. HC's LeSabre is probably just as bad, if not worse.

-Jay

[bobc455]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

Its a heck of a reach for the radio and a/c controls in the Buick.

What is a "a/c controls"???

Last year at the track I ran 13.5 @ 107MPH. Not bad for a 4300# car with 2.56 gears.

On 1 stage of nitrous I've run 11.65@118, I've never made a whole run using both stages (but what a helluva kick when I hit the 2nd stage...)

-BC

[bobc455]

BTW my goal is what I call a "10-20-30" car- A car that can run 10's, gets 20 MPG, and can be driven 30 days per month. I've gotten 20 MPG before but at the time I advanced the cam 4 degrees and the car slowed down, so I'm trying to find some other things to change to get my 20 MPG.

-BC

[Lug_Nut]

10 second 1/8th mile?
Or is that 10 second 0-60 mph?
I find I can feel like a winner if I just set my goals lower

[Jay2TheRescue]

Do you have electronic ignition in that Buick? I found that when I put electronic ignition in my 74 Chevy truck that it ran smoother, quieter, with more power and better mileage than with points. I was able to get an electronic distributor out of a 75 Chevy van at a junkyard for $40 at the time.

-Jay

[theholycow]

Bob, is your Buick manual or auto? If it's manual, how about a T56 tranny from a 4th gen F-body? 6 speeds with two glacial overdrives to use all that torque you probably have. It would probably be worthwhile to accompany it with some shorter gears in the rear end (2.73? 3.23?), giving you crazy racing acceleration in 1st-3rd and leaving you reasonably able to use the .50:1 6th gear.

I was thinking about that for my Buick but I want to keep it more original and stodgy, and one of the things I really like about it is the feel of the automatic shifter's linkage.

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

I think even my Regal (considered a midsize in 1981), with a curb weight of almost 3,300 pounds, and a 3.8 Litre V-6 is considered a tank by today's standards.

3300 pounds is nothing, "mid-sized" sedans weigh that much in 2009 -- Accord, Camry. Compact hatcbacks weigh 3000 (my VW). It's boaty by 1993 standards, though.

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

Its a heck of a reach for the radio and a/c controls in the Buick. HC's LeSabre is probably just as bad, if not worse.

My 3500 pound LeSabre does require some stretching to reach the radio.

[bobc455]

I feel like I'm hijacking the thread...

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

Do you have electronic ignition in that Buick? I found that when I put electronic ignition in my 74 Chevy truck that it ran smoother, quieter, with more power and better mileage than with points.

-Jay

Yeah, the car has MSD and no points. However now that you mention it, I do think that I have some potential to be gained by changing the distributor (maybe), to a larger-cap version. Right now the distributor has a small-cap distributor from Mallory that looks fairly stock (like a point-style dist), but I think it is hurting me.

Originally Posted by theholycow

Bob, is your Buick manual or auto? If it's manual, how about a T56 tranny from a 4th gen F-body? 6 speeds with two glacial overdrives to use all that torque you probably have. It would probably be worthwhile to accompany it with some shorter gears in the rear end (2.73? 3.23?), giving you crazy racing acceleration in 1st-3rd and leaving you reasonably able to use the .50:1 6th gear.

Frankly, even with very tall gears I spin the tires like crazy. It's not really a race car, so I don't have the suspension set up anything fancy, and I just use regular tires. So a shorter rearend ratio won't get me very much.

And I have too much torque for a T56, I'd twist it to tiny bits. I hafta have a beefed-up TH400 (and I've broken my share of parts on that too).

-BC

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by bobc455

And I have too much torque for a T56, I'd twist it to tiny bits. I hafta have a beefed-up TH400 (and I've broken my share of parts on that too).

I love torque. The T56 was originally made for the Viper and then put in the V8 4th gen F-bodies...which means you're talking about enough torque to push dumptruck in a race. Win!

[dkjones96]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

How about this then... If when driving you have to lean forward to reach the radio controls, you're driving a tank...

Column shift! That kills some newer trucks but if the auto was a column shift that would include the majority of vehicles we consider tanks.