Just a jealous "cheap shot"

[The Hawk]

I found an online story from the past the new NHRA factor went to 129 hp in 2013.

[BBF67]

Found a retired tech guy who has a original class guide. In 1976 they were at 200.

[Jason]

Move almost any '70s car back to the factory horsepower rating and you have a number one qualifier.

[Ron Ortiz]

Just saw a picture of Seaburg's Comet and his engine in the tear down barn (tent).
What size is the carb on those things. I can cover my total carb with a koolie cup. That thing looks huge.

It was nice seeing it among a bunch of newer cars though.

Ron Ortiz
U/SA standing out

[DRAKE VISCOME]

Hey Ron...for sure I didn't take your post "personally"...lol...know U are a good guy...have been entertained fairly often by your/posts... sense of humor...!!!...BUT...those of us following INDY Qualifying...know well who have the 3 Maverick/Comet/Mustang II racers are...AND they deservedly should receive ALL due accolades...for their efforts/success...the whole factor/pencil thing has been in play forever literally...feel pretty strongly...we (all)...just get over it...keep moving forward...the "advantage" like ALL others previously...won't last forever...think U well know that...BJ & Mike just a lil' bit like me in "geezerville"...lol...knowing a bit of their respective health issues...ALL their hard work...was just hard for me to not respond...we have own mountain to climb...Steve Sullivan...bless his heart...has the fastest legal M or N automatic 302 FI V-8 Ford car in the country...lil' rascal can go 1second plus (check Indy N-Class winner)...under pretty much anywhere...testament of lot of hard work/effort...lots of genuine admiration from us...'cause...us not being too "smart" @ all...with ALL double-throw-down trick stuff are "stuck" at .6-7...could drop ours (both) off a cliff presently...no faster...that's the "story"...and I'm stickin' too it...lol...we have NOTHING ...but admiration for fellow racers...that TRULY...ring the bell...not at all envious...we have no excuses !!! imagine that.. Drake

[Ron Ortiz]

Have nothing but respect for them to run that fast after being hit so many times. It is NHRA's factoring system that is controversial. When the Fords were dropped into U there were several on here that predicted their #1 qualifying potential, and were right. I believe that I had heard that Mike was trying to knock the crap our of the index and didn't mind the HP. Believe me I was rooting for him so them Fords would go to T. But all they did was run faster from hard work. But NHRA can't see that, or can they, or better yet, do they care.

It took years for the Banana car to get out of U, same as the trucks. And, like any smart racer, they're not going to hit it hard so they don't get refactored. They will stay in U as long as they want, isn't the Caddy still legal for U. I'll just plug along and avoid them as much as possible.

How about this. Since Indy went to the fastest 128, let them run eliminations off the index as it relates to qualifying. Nooo, can't have that, would be boring seeing two U/SA in the final, or a U/SA and Dyers FS car. Bet they would straighten the HP factors real quick.

Oh well, it is Indy, lets have a good time and watch what happens, eliminations be coming.

Ron Ortiz
U/SA Index for elims.

[Mark Yacavone]

Ron, The 302 has 1.08 venturi @133 original net HP.
The 307 has a 1.09 venturi @168 HP (original , 130)
Cam , compression, are similar. That was Billy's point here.
It is what it is.
My point would be, if the 307's were reduced to 130 tomorrow, there might be 2 or 3 built across the whole country within a couple of years.
Many more would just sit back and complain about the soft rating, rather than building one themselves.

[DRAKE VISCOME]

Yikes Ron...that's why am sitting here in Carolinas'...reading about it...90 to qualify...@ #128...way better "cats" in Indy...than me/my stuff...!!! lol...not givin' up...anytime soon...just yet...but a tip of the "fedora" is well due to all 128+ !!! awesome job to ALL... Drake

[Billy Nees]

Originally Posted by Mark Yacavone

Ron, The 302 has 1.08 venturi @133 original net HP.
The 307 has a 1.09 venturi @168 HP (original , 130)
Cam , compression, are similar. That was Billy's point here.
It is what it is.
My point would be, if the 307's were reduced to 130 tomorrow, there might be 2 or 3 built across the whole country within a couple of years.
Many more would just sit back and complain about the soft rating, rather than building one themselves.

Mark, good point but it wasn't my point. You, Dwight and myself jointly sent a letter to the powers-that-be in the NHRA Tech Dept. years ago requesting that "obsolete" combos be given back HP or reduced to their factory rating. We got crickets from NHRA.
NHRA has always, in my humble opinion, been a "buddy club". We all pay the same dues but we don't all have to follow or play by the same rules. Certain members get certain considerations that the rest of us just aren't privy to. I guess that is just human nature but it's not fair. But then again, life ain't fair.
Do you really think that if NHRA dropped the factor on the 307 or the 304 or 318 (or 283,289,273,290,318poly,348,352,361,etc,etc,etc) only 2 or 3 would be built? I personally believe, looking at how many FFFords that have been or are being built, if you gave the un-washed masses a Chevy equivalent to the 302, there would be dozens of them out there. With the popularity of NHRA Stock, Nostalgia and Jr. Stock right now, I don't see how they wouldn't be built.
Oh well, you can have the soap box back, I'll go back to complaining about LD340s. It would be nice to see the 307 at 130 HP though, it would probably make me do a 350. And I don't fault those who take advantage of any of the NHRA "f**k-ups.

[Dwight Southerland]

Originally Posted by Ron Ortiz

Have nothing but respect for them to run that fast after being hit so many times..

Ron, there is a more complicating issue with the Fords. While the Grahams and Summers have been hit several times this year, their current combinations are not included. That's the reason they both switched to Mustangs. The 163 factor for the 76 302 that was accomplished in the Maverick applies to every 1976 Ford model except the Mustang. The Mustang remains at 133. Every time I try to make sense out of that, I just spin in my chair and short circuit. Seeburg's Comet is still at factory rated 143 and has not been hit.

So it will take mega-years at this rate to get them straightened out, especially since there is a 10 year spread of cars (1971-1980) that those guys can resource.