I broke into the 12s!!!!!

[6T9PONY]

Errrrrrrrrrrr........wait..........nooooooooooooo. ......

Actually I never got out of the 15s....

Track elevation: 3520 ft
Temp: 85*F
Humidity: 50%

I ran a best of 15.6@90mph out of 5 runs yesterday at the track. I had NO TRACTION! I was cutting 60's of 2.5.

Observations from the track:

1. The track BLOWS! It's an airport runway and it's impossible to run without slicks. There were 2 other people besides me there without slicks. Everyone else knew there was no way to hook with radials, and that street tires just don't work at that track. I talked to a few guys and they said they knew I was just going to sit at the line and spin. Well, they were right.

2. I couldn't get traction anywhere in first gear. My first time I launched at about 2000 RPM and gave it full throttle, I probably moved about 5' the first second of the race. I found out that no where in first gear could I give it full throttle, the tires would just bust loose and the back end of the car would come out on me. I tried pedalling it, I tried easing into full throttle, nothing worked. If I was at full throttle when I shifted into second gear my tires would bust loose, the engine would wrap up, my tires would catch a little bit later, then it would do the whole "slingshot" effect thing. HORRIBLE TRACTION!

3. Other than my times being horrible, it was a good experience for my first time racing at the track. I was a lot more calm than I imagined I would be. I figured I would get really nervous and cut like a 1.5 RT, but I cut a .630 my first time up and was pretty consistent with that all day.

4. Before the track next time: SLICKS! Remove the front sway bar. Electronic ignition. Bring a small sprayer and put cold water in it to spray down my radiator between runs to help my engine cool off. If I can cut a 2.1 60' I think I could probably take about a second off my ET.

I still think my car should be faster than a 14.6 or 14.7 though. What do those times equal out to at sea level on a nicer day?

I know my stock '71 heads suck, but I just can't afford anything else besides them. Is that my only real problem?

Here are my mods, just like it was at the track: 750 Edelbrock manual choke carb, Performer RPM intake, Edelbrock 224*/234* duration and .496/.520 lift cam kit, stock bottom end, stock heads (besides Edlebrock valve springs, lifters), 2500 stall, shift kit, Currie 9" Trac-Lok with 3.70s, front tires at 45 psi, rear at 30 psi on first run, 25 psi on every other run (no change in 60' time), BFG Radial T/A (295/50/15s), weight of the car was probably 3200-3300 lbs.

I'm going to run a couple bottles of fuel system cleaner through it, I think my valves may be getting some carbon buildup on them. There was quite a bit on them when we pulled them apart two years ago, but we cleaned them up. It's probably about time to do something about that. They could be robbing a little bit of power.

I dunno.....any ideas?