Barry Grant has come up with a solution to the no-idle blues. The company, started by bracket racer-turned-Pro Stock racer Barry Grant, has just introduced its Demon Carburetion Idle-Eze, that comes on every new Mighty and Speed Demon carburetor shipped out of its giant, two-building headquarters. It is a spring-loaded, needle-valve and brass seat assembly located in a thread hole in the center of he base plate that is designed to precisely meter an additional source of air to the intake plenum. It does so via four milled channels on the top of the baseplate and another four on the bottom.

Source

Barry Grant Fuel Systems 1450 McDonald Rd. Dahlonega, GA 30533 (706) 864-8544

After setting the butterflies in their correct idle position, any necessary adjustments to the Idle-Eze can be made by a screwdriver through the air cleaner stud hole. It also allows for smoother transition from off-idle, and eliminates carb hesitation.

MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE ROLL CAGE

Don't laugh, but I'm gonna put some mirrors on my new dragster. Already, chassis man Tommy Harris of Fabrication Concepts in Douglasville, Georgia has welded and drilled two tabs on my car, right below the bottom where the roll cage meets the main top part of the chassis. A friend of mine, Dave Hamilton, gave me two mirrors off his Malibu wagon when I had a similar wagon, and I've always kept them around, figuring they could be put to good use.

There was one problem, however. Dave gave me two left-hand mirrors, and I'll be dogged if I can find a right-hand one. Dave said he thought the mirrors were off either a '70s-'80s Malibu or El Camino, so one recent Saturday, wife Fran and myself went junk-yardin', looking for the right-hand side. No luck. I have come to the conclusion that those cars didn't have right-hand mirrors, so our junkyard hunt was in vain.

Then viola! I thought of Killer Creek Harley just down the road from our Alpharetta, Georgia, home. We stopped by, scoped out mirrors that go on Harley motorcycles, and I bought two. Now we have to adapt them to Harris's two brackets, but I think they will work.

Why 'Don't laugh'? Not very many people race dragsters with mirrors, but I have to ask, 'Why not?' Fran and I have always raced with mirrors on our door cars, and they have proven their worth in many ways -- from backing up after a burnout to spotting our opponent on the top end. And dragsters? If I remember right, both "Big Daddy" Don Garlits and Shirley Muldowney have raced with mirrors on their fuelers, and if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me.

I once won an easy race in my ex-Super Gas Datsun by watching my faster opponent go up in smoke just after he left the starting line. My left-hand mirror saved the day.

Think about it. Then go junk-yardin' or motorcycle shop hoppin' and see what you can come up with. A good mirror could save YOU a round or two.

HEY, THERE'S AN MSD UNDER MY SEAT!

Again, let's visit my front-engine dragster for a quick Pit Tip. I credit chassis man Harris with this idea.

We were searching for just the perfect place to mount our new MSD Digital 7-Plus ignition box, a box that is about as wide and as long as a folded piece of paper. Now, this is one trick piece. According to MSD's media relations man, Todd Ryden, the box is outfitted with rotary dials, making it easy to set various rpm controls either by a turn of the screwdriver or a twist of your fingers. The MSD Digital 7-Plus has two rev limiters -- a low side, for starting line launches and a high side, for over-rev engine protection -- that can be set at hundred-rpm increments. There is also a built-in stage of retard, for single-stage nitrous shot applications, and a retard for starting, Ryden said.

Because the MSD Digital 7-Plus is so small, we decided to mount it under the seat in the dragster. That way, it is kept out of the elements, and any rpm setting that I want to employ can be easily reached by a small screwdriver. I don't see why ANY dragster, front- or rear-engined, can't be outfitted with the Digital 7-Plus in a similar manner.

Source MSD Ignition 1490 Henry Brennan Dr. El Paso, TX 79936 (915) 857-5200

Previous Stories

Project 4-Link  — 3/10/04 Building a 572ci Mopar Wedge Motor for Project Top Dragster "CAM-ROD-ERY" Picking The Right Low Buck Cam Combination (PART2) — 3/9/04 (PART1) — 2/8/04