jt1

Tim, I apologize for the short reply. I was really in a bad mood yesterday evening. I recall some members have had the collector welded on at a 5 deg angle to help out with the floorboard clearance. Mine have that mod incorporated in from S&S. My collectors are close to the floorboards, but they are workable. I'm going to give S&S a call today and discuss it, but after some thought I'm pretty sure these are intended for the Hooker engine position. If the engine was forward and higher they would fit pretty nicely. Nullbound, do I recall you posting you had a friend who used the S&S's? If so, can you get some details on his installation? Anybody else with a set of S&S's? John

I had trouble with my McLeod HTOB when I first installed it, but after replacing all 4 of the o rings in the banjo fittings, it's worked like a charm since then. John

Tim, how do they adjust them? I've looked them over quite a bit and don't see how to improve things. The bottom of the bend where the downtubes go rearward to the collectors is about 1/4" lower than the collectors. To make any significant improvement, the tubes from the bends coming off the cyl head flanges would have to be shortened before they get to the bends going back to the collector. To my mind, that's not adjustment, it's major surgery. You can't just whack them in two, cut out a piece and weld them back, cause the angled tubes aren't going to match up with out rotating the tube in the cyl head flange. And, I had them ceramic coated inside and out, so any welding is going to be a problem. I appreciate your input, but I don't understand how they could make much of a change. My engine is in the JTR position; are these headers for the scarab/hooker position? S&S's website doesn't specify, but only shows one header. John

I put my S&S headers on when I dropped the motor in my car, and just got the car back on the ground with the wheels on it. With the flange at the bottom of the rockers at 6", my normal ride height, I have a whopping 1 3/4" ground clearance. This looks like a wreck waiting to happen. Is anyone else running these? How high is your car and how much clearance do you have? Can you get the car on & off a trailer? How often do they hit the pavement? To say I am pissed is a huge understatement, especially since I have spent about $500 on these and they appear to be unusable. Back to the block huggers.... John

My head hurts.

Mark, I'm a CV dummy, but I just can't see how that is happening unless the CV is generating some kind of lateral force. I've got a friend who runs a shop and does a good bit of that kind of stuff, I'll ask him and see if he has any suggestions. John

That really sucks. I hope there's no internal damage to the engine. FWIW, I've seen some run longer than that with no apparent damage. But, it sure didn't help it any. Good luck getting it fixed easily. John

Any possibility the splines on the shaft are twisted slightly (or worn on an angle) and under power the shaft is trying to unscrew itself? And then when coasting it pulls itself back in? John

Mark, did you ever find out what was causing the toe change problem? Any chance it's related? Glad to see your member status is fixed. John

Not trying to be a smartass, but a stock Viper motor is 450 - 500hp, depending on the year? A lot of guys here are putting out that much or more power with subframes and a 6 or 8 point cage. You don't need to completely gut the unibody unless you just want to. How much does the Viper engine weigh? Did you get the T56 with it? I like Mopars and think it would be a cool swap, if it's not too heavy. John

The track might not be bumpy, but every time you go into a corner and the car goes into roll you get the same effect, the suspension on the outer side of the car is getting compressed. The main benefit of raising the pivot point in the crossmember is to keep the LCA as level as possible in bump, so you don't lose negative camber, therefore keeping the tire planted better. It's a lot more beneficial mod to a car that has been lowered then a car at stock ride height. John

Sweet looking setup, Mark. Can't wait to see it on the track. What kind of shocks are you using? John

Are the rod journals radiused? Maybe the chamfer on the rod bearings turned the wrong way? How about the side clearance between the rods? Should have around 0.020. John

OT car for a really wet track: John

I would guess you're a little soft, but probably not by more than 50 #/in. I'm running 250F/275R at about the same weight, but with very close to 50/50 F-R. The main thing with stiffer springs is to get a shock that can damp the stiffer spring. The Tokico 5 ways can only damp up to about 300#/in from what I can learn. To get much stiffer than that you have to get into the high dollar shocks like the penske's. I would probably run the car like it is before making any changes, so you'll have a better idea of what you need. John

Another vote for the rubber sprung axles. The enclosed trailer I bought a year or so ago has them, and it pulls better than any trailer I've ever owned. John

Nice job. Engine looks great, and I like the satin black. John

*cough*

No, but a vacumn leak would. Are you sure all the vacumn ports you're not using are plugged? Especially the one on the back under the rear fuel bowl? John

Double check the firing order, 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2. Get a can of carb cleaner and spray it on all possible vacumn leaks, like carb base, vacumn lines, and around the intake. Don't let it get in the carb, use one of the tubes so you can get it right where you want it. If the carb cleaner causes the rpm to increase, you've found a vacumn leak. Fuel level in the bowls should be just at the bottom of the sight plugs. Slight movement of the throttle should cause fuel to come out the primary squirter, not the boosters. Was it backfiring before the carb rebuild? It sorta sounds like it may have jumped time, but hopefully it's just a vacumn leak. John

Power valve should be LESS than the idle vacumn. John

Beating the ITS record at the track I usually run (CMP) has become a personal goal for me. On used Kuhmo's, I can consistently run 2-3 seconds off the record. This fall at the time trials, I'm gonna put on some fresh Hoosiers or Goodyears and see what happens. Of course, I might just spin out faster than I normally do. John

Ditto what Johnc said. If your going to track or AX your car, the quaife is money well spent. John

I fully agree with John that a stock system can be set up to perform very well. The ITS guys do some pretty amazing things with the stock setup, but there is a ton of maintenance to a stock system operating at that level of performance. But- Phantom's going faster at the end of the straights (high HP), a lot slower thru the turns (street tires vs. race tires, less optimized chassis setup, less driver experience), and he's probably carrying at least 500# more than an ITS car. That's a lot more energy the brake system has to dissipate, and there's no escaping the laws of physics and thermodynamics. An upgraded brake system will let you concentrate on learning the line and how to drive it without worrying about brake management, eliminate maintenance between sessions, giving you more time to debrief with your instructor, and more time for classroom and learning from more experienced drivers at the track. I think you'll have a lot better time and learn more with an upgraded brake system. [/soapbox] John

Yes, indeed they are. John