78-82 Malibu wagon for stock

[FED 387]

have a 78 malibu wagon with 350 V-8 and automatic ---It was in an estate--- car has auto trans--Psteering -P brakes -NO radio-No air cond --No roof rack -Tinted windshield no power window or seats either--- basically a stripo----Button hub cabs cheap interior 2 seater no 3rd row seat either--- Car has under 35ooo miles one owner owned by a single little old man bought it new need a car so that he and his mutt dog could get his fishing rods into and go to the lake---NO rust back seat never been up always had a piece of scrap carpet covering the back end area!!! Bought it for $ under 1500--- This thing is pretty quick just as is with the 350 engine- White /tan interior--So I think I'll go with this to start with---Comp 387

[Jeff Goss]

We really need Jody Lang to chime in here. He probably knows all there is to know about this combo.

I have a 78 wagon also, and momentarily thought about building it into a Stocker.

Good luck with it.

Jeff Goss
6990 SS/MA
64 Chevelle Wagon

[Bruce Witherspoon]

Originally Posted by Jeff Goss

We really need Jody Lang to chime in here. He probably knows all there is to know about this combo.

I have a 78 wagon also, and momentarily thought about building it into a Stocker.

Good luck with it.

Jeff Goss
6990 SS/MA
64 Chevelle Wagon

I ran a 78/79 Malibu for 14 years before I built the new car. The 800 carb is not legal on the wgaon. I found out the hard way one year at Indy after spending the morning in the barn. I ran the LM1 350 and that engine has seen hard times since I stopped racing it. All the way from 270 to 283 h.p. You might want to consider some of the 305 combinations. The dish piston motor still has not been abused terribly.

[FED 387]

looking at the NHRA charts what is the S/SS factor ???? And do you take the numbers after each body style and under the cu in/HP times the NHRA lbs per cu in to arrive at the class or do you divide the hp into the weight to get the class ??? In any event how do you figure pounds per cube shipping weight to arrive at a class??? Also what are the asterisk either at the top of the column or sometimes at the bottom of a column mean???? I assume that if there is a blank space after a body style /under an engine that it was not offered in that body correct???? ------------Thanx Dick

[Bill Harris]

You need a PhD in insanity to read the Classification guides... My wife says I'm certifiable so here goes:

The asteriks in the columns denote Stock and S/S. I notice in the 1978 Chevy guide they are screwed up and the footnote says that a single asterik is both Stock and S/S, probably a typo. Normally the single asterik is the Stock column and the double asterick is the S/S column.

The number in the Body/Engine matrix is the HP/weight factor and converts directly to the "natural" Stock or S/S class for that car. Look at the 1978 Monte Carlo with the 305/145 engine for example. The factor is 16.09 for stock and 15.24 for S/S. That would put it in P for stock (16.00 - 16.99) and in N for S/S (15.00 - 15.99).

The line labelled S/SS Factors is the NHRA factored HP. So the 305/145 engine in the Monte Carlo is NHRA rated at 180 HP while the same engine is rated at 190 HP for S/S.

If you pan over to the greyed area to the right in the chart, the data is presented as shipping weights instead of HP/weight classes. So for the Monte Carlo, the shipping weight is 2896 lbs. You can get that same number in the left (white background) chart by taking the HP/weight factor and multiplying it by the NHRA factored HP. So for stock, 16.09 * 180 = 2896, and for S/S 15.24 * 190 = 2896. The shipping weight is always constant. When NHRA gives or takes HP for a combo, they change the number in the S/SS factors row and recalculate all the HP/weight numbers using the constant shipping weight. Nowadays they add an entry under the NHRA HP factor that says when the number was last changed. So for the Monte Carlo in Stock (single asterik) the 180 HP factor was set on June 2, 2003.

Remember that you can run the car at the bottom of the class, so to figure out your minimum race weight you take the NHRA factored HP and multiply it by the lowest HP/weight for the class. For Stock in P, that is 16.00 so the minimum race weight for the 305/145/180 in P is (16.00*180) + 170 = 3050 lbs. The 170 lbs is always added for the driver weight. You can also run one class lower than the "natural" class or one class higher. So the Monte Carlo can run O, P and Q stock. Minimum race weights in the three classes would be:
O/S : (15.00 * 180) + 170 = 2870
P/S : (16.00 * 180) + 170 = 3050
Q/S : (17.00 * 180) + 170 = 3230

Totally confused now???

Good luck!

[FED 387]

NO--absolutely clear--I thought that was the way it went just wanted to make sure that what I was reading/thinking was correct---Thanx for the explanation--Hope to meet you at the races sometime----As far as running a "stocker" what" little tricks??" do I need to be doing suspension wise,gearing,tire headers etc. to get the most benefits---There has to be things that most cars that are quick have been doing right??? I'm kinda looking at things that will get me in the "ball park" et wise without wasting a ton of $$ and 6 months of my life trying to figure it out to be competitive??? Make sense---I think a good car should be able to run 6-8 tenths right out of the box and then you can sneak up on it to get to being a top half qualifier--Attention to detail I think is of paramount importance but selecting the right equipment within the rules is utmost too---Any comments --- And thanx for your reply too----Dick

[Greg Hill]

Billy Lynn use to fly with a 78 Malibu with the dish piston 305. He ran it in a 2 door Malibu and at one time had the horsepower at 245. I think the wagon is at 235 now. This should be great combination in N or O. It's like any of them if you want to go fast you have top spend money.

Greg

[RocketBlock]

Originally Posted by FED 387

I'm kinda looking at things that will get me in the "ball park" et wise without wasting a ton of $$ and 6 months of my life trying to figure it out to be competitive??? Make sense---I think a good car should be able to run 6-8 tenths right out of the box and then you can sneak up on it to get to being a top half qualifier--Attention to detail I think is of paramount importance but selecting the right equipment within the rules is utmost too---Any comments --- And thanx for your reply too----Dick

Why do you think a "good" car should run .600 to .800 under right out of the box? Is that a new rule?
" wasting a ton of $$ and 6 months of my life trying to figure it out to be competitive???" Then I would suggest buying a used stocker.
Figuring it out is paramont to being successfull in stock. It starts with picking a good combo from researching the class guides and blueprint specs. Remember, there was a time you were a hero if you could even run the index. Now everybody thinks they can roll out of bed and run .800 under.
This is a tough sport and requires dedication as well as money. Even with a receipe card, not everyone is a good cook.

[greg fulk]

387 with the 350 in the car it's a natural I add weight to J lighten to H. after looking @ the guide I think the 305 2bbl in that year looks like the best combo! it's a natural R add weight to T......T is a 14.70 index that 2bbl has an alum. intake on it......& I'm sure someone can build a carb for it. I think your looking @ a combo that can run low 14's without to many tricks....the hard part will be finding the intake.