After school I should've stayed in Georgia or North Carolina. Things are just too "stuck up" here in NY. Though some parts of the south and west may seem "backwards assed", they're not so over regulated or litigous.

 

Some Joker up here had built some bad *** Fox body Mustang. It was a 91 GT, skinnys and slicks and sounded like it barely wanted to run @ idle with the cam it had in it. He was like I dunno what it will do we just put it together, we just want to see if will hook.

Monster tach, shift light, line locks etc..

No cage, no driveshaft loop, nada.

Pulls up to the water box, roasts the slicks...

Pulls up to the line, launches with the front tires about 2ft off the ground, and rips an 8.77.

He did get kicked off the track after that pass, but I watched him pull out of the track and he drove that thing home...

Take care,

George

 

I got kicked off a track once for running a 10.42, I guess they fround on a 14yr old running that quick on a test n tune night. lol Crazy thing was, (small world) 13 years later I was at a Hot Rod shop getting some custom work done and the owner walked in, we were BS'ing and come to find out it he was the co-owner of the track, and it was HIM that booted me. lol He said he remmbered that kid (me) with a big smile quickly turn to winning when he told me he thought my Dad was the driver when I passed tech inspection. fyi 10.99 needed full cage and external electric switch at that time, I had neither. Also under 16 was limited to 14.99 and up.

Great guy, cut me a 10% millitary/sympathy discont on a 4k job.

 

When it comes to pro racing all you care about is if it sticks and atco always stuck. Some are better, valdosta ga, bradonton fl (my best pass ever) etc... But I always ran well at atco and looked forward to it. We bring monster toter homes and stacker trailers with everthing we need but nothing like a bar after a long day at the track.

Remeber Vinny Ten making his last pass ever at that track in his supra when it hit the wall.

 

I think now that many stock cars can get you into the 11s they have relaxed on the cage thing a bit. You know how that goes so fool will screw that up for everone doing something dumb.

I know my E55 would get called out for no cage, I told the guy do you really think I am putting a cage in a 100k dollar family car. He looked at the drag radials and just shook his head. Then It went a 10.70 and got kicked out LOL.

 

Yeah I hear ya. I guess it's different when you're just a bunch of guys looking to have fun for the night. Englishtown and Atco have always been fast tracks, for a few reasons, first they are both basically at sea level, and unless you're running in the summer there's lots of cool dense air to make power.

I remember watching a Pinks episode in FL, where the temp got into the mid 40's and the guys were straight all over the place, and they actually canceled the race cause they weren't used to driving / launching in that weather. Here the track opens up mid March or so, and mid 40's low 50's is about as good as it gets...

Last time I ran at Atco the left lane felt like it almost had a rut in it at 3/4 track that wanted to shift the car towards the wall. Almost as if it was uneven and the car just wanted to dive left. Scared the heck out of me the first pass cause I wasn't prepared for it.

One thing I want to see in person is the Z-Max dragway with the 4 across
racing. That must be crazy.

I agree that cars are getting faster and faster, but in theory those are the rules (as a matter of fact they are law in NJ). I watched a guy with a brand new CTS-V it still had the paper temporary registration tags on it cut low 12's all night long and probably ruin half the tread life on his rear tires.

Me and my brother actually had a conversation about how much is too much off the showroom floor. Like the CTS-V, Z06 and a few other cars that are just stupid fast but anyone can buy right off the showroom floor, and if they would get people in trouble. I know they used to do it in the late 60's early 70's, but I guess now they are much more computerized (Traction / stablilty control), with much better handling to keep the average guy with a big checkbook and a big ego somewhat safe.

Take care,

George

 

I love this thread man. Though I've slowed down on street racing, and never run on a track (going to run at Lebanon Valley, NY soon), it's cool reading all yer stories. Keep em coming guys. I've tinkered with cars since I was 13, when hotwiring was possible by just reaching under the dash unpluggin the three wires from the ignition switch, sticking two together and touching them to the starter wire till she fired up. I bet some of us got stories on this huh? The Bilstien struts/shocks came in today and going on tomorrow. Unplugging the CAT module in the trunk as Brutal suggests to avoid a warning light. I'll post a new thread on this Friday. After June 4-5 meet the blower is going to Stieg's for a rebuild/port, then looking to chill and ECU her....

 

There are lots of different opportunities to take your car out in a safe(r) environment than the street. After I take mine to the Texas Mile, I plan on hitting up some autox days and track days with it. I really need to go back out to the drag strip to see what I can lay down now with the mods.

 

E-town is awesome!!! Ive run my best runs ever there in my vette and in my mustang. I had a 89 notchback Foxbody that I rubbed and slapped a 514 big block ford with 11 to 1 compression full spool 4.10 rear ended car disc brakes all around full tubular suspension strange coilovers front and rear... The list could go on for days.


But I could get that thing to pull the wheels for the life of me at Lebanon valley and couldn't get her past a 10.90 on motor first run at E-town I yanked that front end close to 6 or 7 inches off the ground on the trans brake and smoked a 10.59 on motor. Most exciting day at the track I've ever had !!

 

I have stories for days. I have spent most my life at drag strips all over the country and in few other countries a well. I have had an advance ET liscence and extended wheelbase lisc for longer then I can remember. Still smile thinking about that first qualifier, first round win, first win, first campionship ect... Always chasing that fastest et... I remember back when low 6s were quick

 

Don't forget they were racing 1/4 mile then, not 1000ft like they do now. Hell anything single digits is quick. Especially for something street driven.

I will never forget this 70 split bumper Camaro. Looked BONE stock except for a bit too much rake and the rear end sitting a bit high. It was quiet, didn't sound like it had a ridiculous cam, anything. No outward signs of it being particularly fast, really clean, nice paint etc. I figured it was going to be a 13 second car or something, probably a mild 350 kind of cruise night car.

Guy launches and straight hooks, and runs a 9.87. My jaw dropped to the ground. Then he came back around the return lane, and it sat there idling quietly.

Take care,

George

 

We still run 1/4 the top fuel guys are the only ones running 1000'. We go 3.80s in the 1/8.... 5.90s in the 1/4 on a good pass. If you can't run 6.30s or better good chance you won't qual for the feild better be in the 5s to take #1 qual spot.

I loved bringing my supra out to small town tracks. Street driven on radials, the windows were 5% Tint so you could not see the cage. The rednecks start with all the little 6cyl import talk in the staging lanes. I would pull out my pro mod fuel helment and class 5 jacket and some eyes would raise, do a huge burn out and put down a low 9 then come back around and say crap I forgot the chute. Fold down the tag and slide it in and hook up the cable while saying yea it runs better on slicks but I just drove it here so keep my street radials on

 

When I used to be on the Marauder boards everyone wanted to be like this guy. Its a 9 sec Marauder. It still has the factory interior and it can run stock tires and be daily driven. He had a cage done because he kept getting kicked out of tracks during Marauder events when he was in the 10's. I cant imagine what this thing would do if he gutted it and actually did it full fledged race. He actually stopped driving this one daily and bought a blue one so this is a pure track car now. He's running a Procharger with meth and NOS. But dang does this thing move. I wish the guy had a better camera so I could see the exact ET but this was a 9 sec run. Not bad for a large beast of a car as this. I've always wanted to go to the track but I have no friends here and dont want to go by myself.
YouTube - 9 Second Marty-O Mercury Marauder

 

Sweet Mary of Jesus! What the heck does that Marauder got in it? Vance, is that the one with the blower stickin out of the hood? Holy Chit that Marauder is Sick!

 

No this guy is different. I believe this guy has a 4.6 bored and stroked to a 5.3 with a Procharger D1-SC and alot of engine work. I dont remember all the details as I can't find his site anymore that had a really good write up and pics of everything he has done. He actually used to be a lawyer and ended up getting it to about 11 secs then sold his practice and moved to the south and started a speed shop and has gotten it down in the 9's. Now he just runs his speed shop and collects cars. I believe he has 3 Marauders, a few different Mustangs, and some others. There are a few guys chasing him that are well into the 10's with twin screw whipples. There are alot of guys running Heaton 112's running 12's and 11's with a good tune and motor work. The things they have that we dont is a large aftermarket since the engine is the same as the Mach I and you can swap to a Cobra motor very easy. So its in the modular family and we all know how big that aftermarket is. Even the rear is a Ford 8.8 w/3.55's easily swapped to 4.10's with a tune to fix the speedo. I only have a K&N and a tune on mine. One day when they get really cheap wouldn't mind getting another as a project car.

 

That's pretty sick.... Is there a point to starting with a Marauder instead of a CVPI (which you can get for dirt cheap, especially if you don't care the condition of the drivetrain), other than the fact that he already had one? Both have the modular 4.6 in them right?

Then again, I don't think this guy intended for this to be a dedicated track car, I know what that's like, just one more thing, then another then one more, and suddenly it's a full blown race car and you have to spray brake cleaner in the carb to get it to start because of the compression, and you have to two foot it at lights so it doesn't stall because of the cam... Fun stuff

Take care,

George.

 

Dual overhead cams. The Marauders motor is straight from a Mach I it has the 4.6 DOHC rather then a single overhead cam. Plus the looks and the rarity of the Marauder. They only made them a year and a half so I think there are about 11000 made and alot less then that now cause it seems alot of them have gotten wrecked. The big difference between the Marauder block and the Cobras are the forged internals and the intake manifold is different cause believe it or not the Marauder actually has hood clearance problems if you start really playing hence cowl inducted on this guys. You can squeeze an eaton or a twin screw whipple with the stock hood. Most guys go this route mainly cause its just set up better from the factory then the CVPI's and the looks factor. Also has a better subframe as you can see in the pic its all aluminum and light and allows the motor to sit a little lower. Very cool cars its a shame Mercury axed it because they wanted to be more family car oriented to this was the first project to go back in 04.
Here is mine right before I got rid of her.

 

Gotcha. I didn't know about the sub frame difference. I figured you could get 90% of the looks with a CVPI, and if you're building a track only drag car out of it, you'd be swapping the stock motor out regardless. It would be a shame to wreck one of the on the track... They were def cool cars. My brother has it's nemesis, a 96 Impala SS. Ironic how ford and chevy decided to release blacked out hot rodish versions of their respective cop cars the same year eh?

Take care,

George

 

Hey so who has a full pass on our s type r? What'd it run?

 

Well according to Drag times, in the 13.1 -13.3 range. Depending on the 60'. @ 105-106.

Jaguar S-Type 1/4 Mile Drag Racing Timeslips - DragTimes.com

Take care,

George