Trend in IHRA Stock Elim?

[ss wannabee]

Take it easy on me guys...for over analyzing the OBVIOUS..haven't been to a drag race all year...been busy on the homefront!

What makes the Crate Motor Classes so enticing? Seen an increase of them on here...
softer indexes and easier to "build" than a "traditional" Stock Eliminator car? Faster too...for those with a "need for speed?"

And with the way the economy is right now...why not more Pure Stock entries? Certainly easier on the wallet...and a way to get into the program without stretching the budget....maybe too slow...and boring for some individuals?

If the above has been discussed before...my apologies...(I don't get on here that often!)

[Mike Pearson]

If I were building a stocker I would build a traditional type stocker engine that I could run at both IHRA and NHRA.

[Ed Wright]

I'm with Mike. Why would anybody paint themselves into a corner building a car that can only run with one group? IHRA may not be around for ever. I hope they are, but who knows?

[CrateCamaro]

Originally Posted by Ed Wright

I'm with Mike. Why would anybody paint themselves into a corner building a car that can only run with one group? IHRA may not be around for ever. I hope they are, but who knows?

I hardly think building an IHRA crate car would be "painting myself into a corner". Where I live im close to alot of IHRA tracks....my home track is NHRA sanctioned but the chances of having a points race is slim and none....and really if I have to sit out and watch for one weekend instead of digging through piles of garbage cast iron intakes, leaky qjets and rotten heads I will. The thought of building a traditional NHRA stocker has crossed my mind with the possibility of having a 3 speed in a 68 SBC combo but I need to have it in writing before I start. At the end of the day, most people dont undertand the whole concept of the crate class anyways. Most will assume its a tuned up dealer piece like they run in the DIRT series but unfortunatly its not. Everything in the engine is the same as a traditional stocker except for the heads and intake....for me a trip to the wreckers will yield me a set of 96 and up vortec heads that will actually work well out of the box....im only 32 but the last time I looked I never seen a 68 camaro/impala/chevelle/ect at the wrecking yard with a 350/295hp engine thats was carb to pan that would be salvagable or afordable. And no the index and the HP ratings are not all that soft...for example I run a 330hp vortec crate combo in H....3305 is my minimum and the index is 11.95...ive been picking at this combination for 5 years now and after finding and using every single ounce of HP (STOCK ELIMINATOR) and can go 1 under the index....or more if need be...not bragging by any means but I do work on my stuff alot....ask my wife....LOL. If you are surrounded by IHRA tracks I would definitly be building an IHRA crate motor....and hopefully some day NHRA will alow us to run as well.

[THE LEGEND]

Donald Barnes(Worked for Jeff and Charlie Taylor for years) told me you don't want crate motors in NHRA. I asked why. He said your pockets aint deep enough son. I said I don't understand. He said all it takes is for one of those NHRA guys decide they want a crate motor and you're done. You will never outrun them. LOL

[Brandon Peterson]

Originally Posted by THE LEGEND

Donald Barnes(Worked for Jeff and Charlie Taylor for years) told me you don't want crate motors in NHRA. I asked why. He said your pockets aint deep enough son. I said I don't understand. He said all it takes is for one of those NHRA guys decide they want a crate motor and you're done. You will never outrun them. LOL

I say bring it

[Myron Piatek]

Techs Terry Bell and Mike Baker came up with CM classes for IHRA about 15 years ago and that saved the Stock class in IHRA. They may be somewhat easier to build since they offer easier to find parts, like Holley carbs and unaltered aftermarket intakes. More people know about Holley's than other brands. It also offers a lot of unique combinations using the factory available engine combos. But they still have to follow the blueprint rules. They have their own classes and don't run heads-up with the conventional Stockers. Their under-the-index capabilities are similar to NHRA cars as can be seen at some of the bigger events, but they can get as expensive as the faster NHRA cars as well.

Unfortunately, not as many NHRA legal cars show up at IHRA events even if there are many in the general area, so CM cars tend to be the majority. But new ones pop up from time-to-time.

My main reason for joining was the Holley carb, as I don't know anything about Carter carbs so no NHRA legal combo. IHRA racing overhead tends to be less expensive and events are shorter too.

Pure Stock has a lot of potential. But teardown can be even more complicated and detailed than "regular" Stock. Personally, it's more fun to go faster with the CM option.

[Kegracing]

Myron makes a lot of good and accurate points (like usual).

One big variable is where you live. When I lived in NC, there were plenty of IHRA tracks and races, and you could do a full season with just IHRA. Easy to run some Div. 1 and 2, along with Div. 9 races, without living on the road. Crate motor or even the Stock GT stuff was a good option. Much easier to find a body you want to race, than finding all the numbers matching stuff for a NHRA legal stocker. My 67 Firebird is a good example of that. 1967 was a one year only for heads and intake on the 400 - parts are not cheap and not easy to find. But I could put a crate motor together and go racing. Might not qualify at the top, but could race for cheap (is there such a thing???). Same with finding a complete stocker motor and putting a GT combo together.

Now that I live in TX, my crate motor has really limited my racing. Fewer IHRA tracks and much more traveling to be able to claim enough races to worry about points. Can still bracket race the crate motor without as much worry as most stocker motors, but limited tracks and much more travel out here just to hit in Div. 4 races.

All depends on what you want to do, where you are, and how much you can afford to spend! You can go faster, easier, most of the time with crate motors, especially in bodies that did not offer a "fast" motor, if that is what you want to do. Vega's for example, and every OEM has some light bodies out there for the picking.

Good luck.

Ken

[Dave1695]

I would say Myron is spot on with his analagy; when I looked at Crate Motor Stock about ten years ago, it appeared to be the least expensive way to get back into class racing, (on paper anyway). I don't think that was the case, but because finding correct parts even for an old small block Chevy engine is getting tough and expensive, I chose to go that route and do not regret the decision. It was a great idea for some but not all, and I'm glad Terry Bell and IHRA came up with a new spin on Stock Eliminator. As long as there are blue print specs for the engine used, the class is pretty easy to police. With the introduction of all the Factory Muscle Cars in the class, Stock Eliminator isn't what it once was and never will be again, so change is necessary, and good whether we like it or not. Just my two cents.

[ALMACK]

I had thought about the CM classes at first.
Then I looked at Pure Stock and went that route.

As posted above, the CM entries are easier to find parts for and tend to have more modern internals. ( i.e. roller cams, rockers, modern aluminum heads.)
I can see how this is much more attractive to racers getting started.
Also as posted above, some of those CM entries are as expensive as conventional Stockers.

I am currently looking into updating my PS to NHRA Stock so I can run the combo classes around here.
The tracks with combo races around here are not IHRA friendly...