Dragster maintenance

[Tweaker]

Thanks a lot guys the information is very helpful. I appreciate it. I wish you guys lived close! lol

[Tweaker]

What is it like every two seasons or so you need to refresh the motor?

[Bill Baer]

Tweaker

Well yea, if you don't have any problems somewhere between 250-300 passes I usually leak it down and if it leaks less than 10% it's fine.
I do however check the valve lash and valve spring seat pressures, change the oil and check the oil filter every 15-20 passes.
I also keep a close eye on MPH if it's off more that 2-3 MPH I start checking things
(Fuel filter, fuel pressure, ignition timing, valve lash/springs and if I'm real nervous I take the oil filter apart and check it for bearing materials)
The motor in the car has ~120 passes on it and the one I pulled out had ~300 and I need to freshen it (i.e. new: valves ,valve springs, roller lifters, pistons, rods and depending on the magnaflux inspection, maybe the crank).

Note this is based upon a steel connecting rod, stainless steel valve motors that I turn >7500 usually 7200 I wouldn't trust aluminum connecting rods for more than ~ 100 passes, less than that if you drive the motor down in the shutdown area.

[C and W Racing]

Tweaker, I live in Fl, although up close to Jax. I do have a dragster that I might consider selling, altho I haven't been trying to sell it. Deadliest car I have ever been in. The only reason I would consider selling it is because I have two cars and although I race in both Super comp with the dragster and Super gas with my Thunderbird, my favorite class for me is Super gas. This is a 2008 four link dragster and is Big Block Ford powered. I know that most say run a chevy and I understand why, but I have always wanted to be different from the rest. If I can be of help, let me know
Thanks, Chuck

[Chris Williams]

As usual, I agree (almost word for word) with Bill. Change the oil, lash the valves, rotate the slicks, check the brakes every 20 or so passes. Tear the engine down every winter, new valve springs, hone cylinders, check stuff over. Every other winter it's more detailed, and likely includes a few new go-faster parts. Every minute/dollar you spend in January pays dividends in July.

[Tweaker]

What would you say give or take is the average price if you took the motor somewhere to get freshened after the 150 passes or so etc.

And what about other parts like the Transmission? How often do you need to service etc? Etc.

C & W Racing, That is cool. Do you ever come down to Palm Beach International Raceway? Or ever plan on it? if so let me know I can come out and watch & learn from you. That is really cool but I seriously doubt though I can afford a 2008 Year Chassis with a 4 link. I would not be running Super Comp but local brackets in the Box class in the beginning years.

[Bill Baer]

Originally Posted by Tweaker

What would you say give or take is the average price if you took the motor somewhere to get freshened after the 150 passes or so etc.

And what about other parts like the Transmission? How often do you need to service etc? Etc.

.

If you stay on top of it you can get 250-300 passes I can't give you a accurate estimate on a complete motor freshen up as I do most of the labor myself but your probably looking at 3K in parts and 3-4 K in labor.

The other stuff:

The transmission I also disassemble every winter but, it usually is in good condition I would recommend you have yours inspected annually.

The torque converter is one item I can't and don't maintain myself I run them to failure or sell them after a couple of years. I know this is not what the Converter builders recommend but spending $300 to have a guy cut your converter open and tell you it's Ok and weld it back together every year or two just doesn't make sense to me because after it's opened and closed it still has the same number of fatigue cycles on the sprag, metal fins and the braze joints and there is a chance that if the clearances have been altered it may work differently.
The brakes I rebuild the calipers and reline them and change the fluid annually.
The ring and pinion I run to failure, the orginal set had more that 300 passes on it and the wear pattern looks fine.(I do flush and change the lube annually)
The slicks will go 150-200 passes (although most people change them every year.)

[chevy620]

I would guess there are probably 50 used dragsters you could buy just in FLorida.
You have several of the best dragster chassis shops only a few hours from you. Phantom, Mullis, Undersover, Miller Race Cars. Those guys know the cars, what to look for, etc.
I would stay with a quality name, let the owner show you his log books and ABSOLUTLEY raise the car up, take the tin off and look at the tubing where the uprights are attached and everywhere around the motor plates. Rod ends should be tight with quality bolts.

Sit in car, get in and out with fire jacket and pants and be sure you take a helmet. Last thiing to ever buy is a car that is too small to be comfortable getting in and out of 30 times a day. If you don't fit good you won;t race good.

Plenty of nice cars for sale right now in $15K to $20K range with under 400 runs on them.

Good luck in joing the "piperack brigade".

Jok

[Bmack]

Thanks

[Chris Williams]

Clearly many others will have advice on this. It seems you have three options in NHRA (I don't know diddly about IHRA): TD, SC, or SP.

Although Top Dragster seems custom-made for people who want to run full-out in a dragster, a car that runs 7.91 is going to have a tough time qualifying in TD fields. Anything much over 7.50 is not going to make a lot of fields, and even much over 7.30 is tough. So TD's out.

Super Comp is the likely choice, a car that can run 7.90s would be good in an 8.90 class. It is, however, a tough class, and you'll have to brush up on those .030 lights if you want to ever see the win light on the other end. You'll want to be able to get your packages (ET difference and RT) under that .030 to be competitive. But, IMHO, SC is the most fun. The racing there is tight, and if you want to race with the best, that's the place. I'm not familiar with your area, but see if there's a local SC Association around. That's a great way to get going without the pressure of a divisional or national event.

SC isn't hard to get started in, just hard to excel in. Get a handheld weather station (lots of options, check Biondo's site for some options), read Biondo's FAQ on throttle stop racing, and give it a shot. If your car already has a delay box and throttle stop on it, you're just a bit of testing away from your first race.

Another option is just to race Super Pro at your local track. No, you won't compete for a Wally, but when starting out, it's great. With a good delay box you can leave off the top yellow (good practice for SC later) and get some laps in, maybe even take home some bucks at your local track. There are a whole lot of people who love that and never venture beyond it.

Finally, if I were you (and we were you just a few years ago), I'd put my focus on test and tunes. Go to every one you can, just put in some laps. Get the whole thing down to a routine. Everything, not just the race part, but things like your "back at the trailer" routine. Fill the fuel, charge the car, check the CO2, etc., etc. Get it down to a pattern. It will pay huge dividends when you are finally ready to actually race. We made a pact to make 50 T&T passes before our first race. Best decision we ever made.

Hope this helps, I'm sure others will chime in.
Chris