Believe it or not this is my humble work area that all of the chassis work will be done in. I need a bigger shop!
Project Muscrate: Things are About to Get Super
Hi everyone and welcome back! Sorry I’m a little tardy this month but stuff happens. Hope everyone had a good holiday season and is ready to get back to work. Unfortunately due to some business obligations and other things I am once again behind my personally dictated schedule. Go figure. So, let’s get to it!
As I alluded to last month there are some BIG changes in store for Project Muscrate and things are looking SUPER. Some of you have already figured it out but just to make sure I will now divulge the master plan (hands wringing together, muaaa, muaaa … I digress). Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is time for a return to NHRA and Class Racing.
I have to admit, a few years ago with all the NHRA “enhancements” for the sportsman racers I decided it just wasn’t enough fun anymore and I built an IHRA-only “crate motor” as chronicled in the web pages of DRO. And, as a loyal reader you know how well that turned out. The combination ran pretty well but IHRA also ran pretty well, right out of Div. 5! So, I was left with the choice of traveling hundreds of miles just to go to three or four races a year or doing something different. As you know I chose something different, for me anyway.
 This is a pretty good comparison of just how much bigger the new 14x32's are compared to the trusty ole 30x9's. |
So, last year I built the mighty 347 stroker and went bracket racing just like the good old days. Although I had a BLAST doing big wheelies and running low 10’s on the 9-inch wide Hoosiers, I really just never got the, well, “itch” that I used to have when I was running in Stock Eliminator. It might seem a little hard for some people to understand if you’ve never done it, but I need a reason to work on my car and make it faster. Nothing at all against the diehard bracket racers, but I just don’t get as much of a thrill from just winning a round or a race as I used to years ago when I started in the brackets.
Yes, I understand that in many people’s minds class racing (S/SS) is just “glorified” bracket racing, but you know what? There is a reason it is “glorified”. For me, as an engine builder, I like to put my skills and knowledge up against other people of the same mindset. I like qualifying. I like knowing who you race every round and being able to look at the ladder. I like having the possibility of a HEADS UP race somewhere within the race. The whole experience of traveling to the races in a caravan with friends and camping out for a few days is just more fun.
Of course there are some negatives such as the cost of traveling, getting beat HEADS UP, going through the hated “teardown” procedure occasionally, but overall it’s part of the deal and you just do it.
The problem I have with the Mustang is I want to keep going faster now that I have allowed myself to have a “taste” of it so that completely eliminates going back to Stock. So, Super Stock is the next logical progression and that is where I’m heading. Now, in Super Stock there are a myriad of potential classes to build for. The “traditional” SS class would be to build a 302 HO with EFI and run high 10’s at best. Or, you can build what is called a “GT” car, which allows the racers to basically take any chassis and install any engine of the same corporate lineage. For instance, a 1992 Camaro with a ‘72 454 BB. Or an ‘89 Mustang with a ‘68 302 4V would be a good combination, or install a 428 CJ, a 351C. Get the picture? As long as the chassis is NHRA accepted as a Stocker and the engine is built to SS rules, you have a class. t