Thread: 57 Chevy Cruizer

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Originally Posted by Dave Severson

On second thought, B-Ville probably wouldn't be my choice for a CHR get together.... Not much to do other then race!!!! Shade is at a premium, and the salt is HOT!!!! Someplace a bit more centralized and a bit more conducive to lounging around and showing cars might be a better choice for a locale! A nice area with a drag strip and a road course nearby would be a blast, and probably something more centrally located in the country----like maybe Topeka????

All valid reasons and good points! We would need someplace to hang out and consume a couple'a beverages... Do some bench racing / bragging / exaggerating..

Originally Posted by 34_40

All valid reasons and good points! We would need someplace to hang out and consume a couple'a beverages... Do some bench racing / bragging / exaggerating..

---and if there were a drag strip nearby for a bit of grudge racing, and perhaps a road course that was having an open track day...........

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

---and if there were a drag strip nearby for a bit of grudge racing, and perhaps a road course that was having an open track day...........

Now you're just teasin' us huh???

HMmmm.. I wonder how fast the 347 can get built and installed and...... and...

NHRA will be in Topeka May 17-19 and I understand they run the drags most Sat. nights. There is a road course there, but I don't know much about it. Roger Spears lives in Gardner, KS which is a little southwest of KC. I don't think the May date is very good as all of the motels will be booked for the Nats.

Originally Posted by 34_40

Now you're just teasin' us huh???

Nope, not teasing!!! Awhile back Roger put up a pic of the new road course being built at Kansas Speedway, and they also have a dragstrip!!! It's an infield course on the NASCAR track, not sure they will have such a thing as open track day...... I've made some laps at the one by Council Bluffs, Ia., great track and loads of fun===but no dragstrip nearby and I don't believe there's much road race interest here on CHR.......

Originally Posted by NTFDAY

NHRA will be in Topeka May 17-19 and I understand they run the drags most Sat. nights. There is a road course there, but I don't know much about it. Roger Spears lives in Goodland which is a little southwest of KC. I don't think the May date is very good as all of the motels will be booked for the Nats.

Good point! But we also need a draw, something to do besides just hanging out.

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

Nope, not teasing!!! Awhile back Roger put up a pic of the new road course being built at Kansas Speedway, and they also have a dragstrip!!! It's an infield course on the NASCAR track, not sure they will have such a thing as open track day...... I've made some laps at the one by Council Bluffs, Ia., great track and loads of fun===but no dragstrip nearby and I don't believe there's much road race interest here on CHR.......

I know the thread, this topic has been a burr in my side since it was mentioned there.

Okay, maybe a little insight into the Bonneville experience would be useful. Dave is correct, it is HOT in August, and the sun reflecting off the white salt makes it doubly so. During the time that the course is open a race team can be very busy tuning, refitting, repairing, and so on. However, that doesn't mean that the "support" team couldn't be enjoying the sights, sounds, and overall experience. Nightime in Wendover is pretty much a party in each of the motel parking lots with lots of cruising, and bench racing (known to the outside world as lying..............make that exaggerating). Also, there's the camp site at the bend in the road, again (close to the track), a gathering place where (if you've brought the right equipment) bbqs can be done, adult beverages, and bs a plenty. Some of the campers get a bit rowdy, fireworks are common, and revelry into the wee hours of the morning are not uncommon. Since it is a "bucket list" kind of place it's a natural for gathering of online acquaintances, and, IMO a great choice for meeting up in person. As has been the SEMA show. We have a small group (we're down to 4 regulars now.....three of whom no longer post here, or not much) that gets together each year and walks the floor together. Great comraderie!

The other sites noted could be good too, and the expectation should be that not everyone can free up time, or expense to go to any single location.........................there is no ideal, just multiple opportunities.

Ok, back to the plans for the car itself... I was going to run a T-56, but after Pro Z's warning on the poor shifting characteristics and a salesman buddy of mine letting me take one out and test hammer (err, test drive!) a car with a T-56 in it I've decided to go a different route on the drive train. After some conversation's and emails with Richmond Gear and Gear Vendor's Overdrive, I'm considering using the Richmond 5 speed with the road racing synchro's and other parts along with a Gear Vendor's overdrive unit bolted on the back of it where the tailshaft housing usually goes. Talking with guys who run or have run on the salt I know it's slippery, so it would seem that some very close ratio's in the transmission along with a very close eye on the tachometer one should be able to get through the gears smoothly and keep the engine in a torque range that will accelerate smoothly without a lot of "peakiness" in the torque curve. So, with the Gear Vendors unit adding an in-between gear to each of the 5 gears the Richmond has I think I've come up with some satisfactory ratio's... For clarity, I'll show the gear ratio in the tranny, then what the gear ratio becomes when you hit the button and go to overdrive;

1st- 2.89:1
od- 2.26:1
2nd-1.85:1
od- 1.45:1
3rd-1.31:1
od- 1.03:1
4th- 1.00:1
od- .81:1
5th- .77:1

I can't imagine where you would use every gear while upshifting, but some practice with which gear or overdrive version of it to use would give some very smooth and constant acceleration!!! This set up I believe would also allow for a lot of choices in rear end ratio based on what kind of driving you're planning on doing!! Heck, if 5 gears are fun then 9 has to be almost twice as much fun, right??????

PS---Just for grins, some Saturday night around town I'd have to dig out my old set of 6.00:1 on a spool gears and see just how many times I can shift getting across the intersection!!!!!!!!

your starting to make this complicated----------
what was that trans they used in vetts that was somehing plus one?????????it would work nice in this situation without all the hassel of doing gear venderds od-----------why don't you do direct drive like the sprinters??? they push you up to speed at Bville anyway----

And make sure you remove any outside rearview mirrors!!!!!!!!!!!! had a customer running a pure stock type class a few years ago bitching about top speed being a few mph under what some others were running---when I looked at his car he had a pair of big fender mount mirrors to watch the other cars so he could lift or run it deeper????????

I like the Gear Vendors for the versatility. If I were building the '57 as a purpose built, B-Ville only car I'd go a different route entirely on the drivetrain. With the different venues running the one mile course now it sounds like another fun place to go play, or maybe work in a tune up for Bonneville.....

The Vette transmission was a 4+3 Doug Nash unit.. not a bad unit either!

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

On second thought, B-Ville probably wouldn't be my choice for a CHR get together.... Not much to do other then race!!!! Shade is at a premium, and the salt is HOT!!!! Someplace a bit more centralized and a bit more conducive to lounging around and showing cars might be a better choice for a locale! A nice area with a drag strip and a road course nearby would be a blast, and probably something more centrally located in the country----like maybe Topeka????

Sure!! Heartland Park would be a great locale!!

Originally Posted by rspears

Sure!! Heartland Park would be a great locale!!

I thinks so too!!! I would wonder if maybe they might have some sort of provisions to accommodate club get togethers??? Some tracks do! Would you possibly know of anyone out that way to contact, Roger???

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

I thinks so too!!! I would wonder if maybe they might have some sort of provisions to accommodate club get togethers??? Some tracks do! Would you possibly know of anyone out that way to contact, Roger???

I don't know anyone today, but that's not to say I can't find out! It's only about an hour west of me, and from their website it appears that they make the track(s) available during off times. Let me do some checking.

Somehow I missed several of the earlier posts. To eliminate confusion, I'm in Gardner, KS not Goodland. Gardner is on I35 on the SW edge of the metro KC area while Goodland is waaaay out west nearly in Colorado. I'd like to do Bonneville some day, too, but it probably needs to be with an experienced team. Of course, after Worlds Fastest Indian..... I'm also going to make the SEMA show one day, once I find the right contact.

Let me do some checking on Heartland Park, probably early next week.

Sure would be kewl if they had some special deals for clubs! Thanks in advance for taking time to check it out, Roger!!!!

Originally Posted by rspears

Somehow I missed several of the earlier posts. To eliminate confusion, I'm in Gardner, KS not Goodland. Gardner is on I35 on the SW edge of the metro KC area while Goodland is waaaay out west nearly in Colorado.

I know, I know, I fixed it, must have been a senior moment.