Topic: Joke, or mood lightener of the day.

[grcamna2]

I rode all day yesterday so today I worked on getting my 40 chevy back together. The oil leak is fixed, new valve cover gaskets, the front clip is almost bolted on, there are just eight 5/16" bolts to go from the back of the fenders into the front rocker panel.

No joke  Big Win.

[Don R]

I rode all day yesterday so today I worked on getting my 40 chevy back together. The oil leak is fixed, new valve cover gaskets, the front clip is almost bolted on, there are just eight 5/16" bolts to go from the back of the fenders into the front rocker panel.

No joke  Big Win.

  The wind is re-distributing the leaves so everyone gets a share. Winning!

[Don R]

 I was reading the altitude/jetting thread and it reminded me of a story my late racer buddy told.

 They were at Denver at an NHRA national event, they were running top alcohol and overheard the Top Fuel guys whining because at altitude Don Garlits had them covered by a tenth to two tenths of a second. Garlits got wind of it and called a few of them together, he said "I'm only gonna tell you kids one more time, if there ain't no air, you gotta make some air" now get out some blower pullys and thin head gaskets and go make some air".

[Ichiban 4]

I was reading the altitude/jetting thread and it reminded me of a story my late racer buddy told.

 They were at Denver at an NHRA national event, they were running top alcohol and overheard the Top Fuel guys whining because at altitude Don Garlits had them covered by a tenth to two tenths of a second. Garlits got wind of it and called a few of them together, he said "I'm only gonna tell you kids one more time, if there ain't no air, you gotta make some air" now get out some blower pulleys and thin head gaskets and go make some air".

Don: I didn't hear the one from Garlits but know that a lot of drag racers @ Bandimere [it closed in 2023 BTW..but Bandimere family has rumored they'll open another drag strip somewhere in Weld County] had to learn the hard way that @ this altitude [5.200 ft.] you need to have more boost/air to make horsepower. All my vehicles..bikes and cars..have been re-jetted and adjusted to this climate..after I moved from
So. Cal to Colorado BTW.  Guess I'm talking to the choir here Don..but thought that maybe some others reading this..would find interesting..

Cheers

Al/Ichi

[Don R]

 I've been around a year or 73, but consider myself a lifelong learner. I've been known to instigate a conversation or two just to get other guys input and opinions so even though I live at a few hundred feet above sea level I like to hear about jetting for air.
 When we're at the drag strip the numbers on our weather / ET prediction computer change every time a cloud blows over. Temperature, dew point and barometer affect us more than track to track altitude since we rarely venture out of the Midwest.

[HondaMan]

When I worked at Littleton (CO, 1974-75) Honda on summer weekends, I used to get the SOHC4 bikes in my stall (mostly because I rode one?) when they came in for anything. A good number of them were "here for altitude tuning" when someone came in from elsewhere and thought it was important. I didn't want to lean out their jetting and then have them ride back to sea level and maybe burn something (pretty rare in these bikes, as we've learned much later) so I would just advance the spark on the 750s (about 4 degrees) and 550s (about 2 degrees was all they could take, or else wouldn't idle back down when hot), and hope they either wore down their points or went to have them "detuned" before they went home again. I never heard of any bad effects from it, but what DID happen was: after I started doing this in the summer of 1974, the bikes that showed up in 1975 were "referred to this shop because [their buddies] came here last year and their bikes ran better in the mountains". So, I guess it was enough?

The funny/strange part about that shop & job: after the successful 1974 summer the owner quietly took me aside one day in October (I was to 'lay off' for the winter then) and, knowing I was then a factory tech for the local SONY distributor during the weekdays, asked me to consider "opening a TV and electronics shop here - in their building - to fill in for the winter lull". Their senior mechanic (who had a real attitude about which bikes/Honda power equipment he would work on, or not) had a real chip on his shoulder, and I think they were looking for a way to replace him. I explained they needed to spend about $10k (in 1974 $$) to get enough test equipment in to do that sort of thing, so they settled on paying me a small retainer over the winter so I'd come back the next Spring, instead. Nice folks, though!

[scottly]

I was reading the altitude/jetting thread and it reminded me of a story my late racer buddy told.

 They were at Denver at an NHRA national event, they were running top alcohol and overheard the Top Fuel guys whining because at altitude Don Garlits had them covered by a tenth to two tenths of a second. Garlits got wind of it and called a few of them together, he said "I'm only gonna tell you kids one more time, if there ain't no air, you gotta make some air" now get out some blower pullys and thin head gaskets and go make some air".

At 5200 feet, you would need about 2.5 pounds of boost to equal the sea level horsepower. Once again, no amount of re-jetting can replace the lack of air density, only some sort of supercharging. This is why they first put turbos on piston engine aircraft, to provide sea level performance at altitude.
My favorite Garlits story was about the switch from the first generation 392 Hemi to the second gen 426. He couldn't make them run as fast as the 392 he was used to, but was obligated by contract or something to run them. He figured he would add a bunch of ignition advance, which would have cracked the 392 block like a walnut, and then the sponsor would have to let him use the tried and true '92. Instead of breaking, the 426 ran faster than his best 392 had ever run, and he became a believer.

[HondaMan]

Yeah, spark curves...my 1967 Ford LTD 2-door fastback had a 2-bbl carb, but with a 2-stage distributor that reached 18 degrees at 2200 RPM and stayed there until about 2800 RPM-ish, then could reach 45 (!) degrees at 4800 RPM (and more than 120 MPH indicated). That car NEVER struggled, even in the highest mountain passes.

I've long wanted to figure out how to do this with an SOHC4 engine, and might get a shot at it next Spring. The 'first' spring in the Ford distributor was light and looked & acted normally, while the 'second' spring (opposite the first one) was stiffer and had an elongated loop on one end that reached zero clearance when the first spring was at 18 degrees, temporarily halting the advance angle at that point. This held until enough RPM started overcoming that 2nd heavier spring, and then both of them stretched out to reach the 45 degree mark. Clever setup, would like to try it on a 750...you could feel it in the Ford: the first advance gave it quickness in city traffic (30-ish MPH) and there was a small flat spot when jumping onto freeway onramps, then it just launched like a 4-bbl feels.

[Don R]

 I saw that Garlits video, he actually added more timing a couple times and couldn't hurt it.

[Don R]

 My late friend Ed had a Super Comp Dragster, it would run way down into the 8's but the index for the class was 8.90. Back then everyone would de-tune, short shift, jet fat, whatever it took to run 8.90 but not faster.
 Ed heard about a throttle stop and got one, it was an air cylinder hooked to a timer that would drop the rpm by closing the throttle a little for a set time and then go wide open. We still do it today but no one around here had seen it yet. Ed had a friend drive the car and had the cylinder by the gas pedal so nobody would see it. Ed told the driver the car will launch and than fall on its face, you're gonna think it broke but it didn't just keep the pedal down and wait.
  Every time the car fell on its face Ed would act like it broke, throw his arms up and turn his back to the track. Of course, they were winning rounds, by the end of the night everyone was in the staging lanes watching this performance knowing something was up.
  Eventually they figured out Ed was up to something and today we all do that to go 8.90. He didn't invent it but was a pioneer in using it.

[scottly]

I saw that Garlits video, he actually added more timing a couple times and couldn't hurt it.

I read the story about Big Daddy and the 426 years ago, but this is the first time I've seen the video.

[Don R]

 I was getting a Hat Autographed by Big Daddy at Cordova where he had early success, I mentioned watching him race there in the 60's and he told me "Yeah I got a lot of history here, hell my daughter was conceived in a pup tent up on the hill" TMI big Daddy TMI.

[Don R]

 The weather,
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=the%20hippy%20dippy%20weatherman%20on%20youtube&mid=2C8AEF9DD3A0E10E193F2C8AEF9DD3A0E10E193F&ajaxhist=0