Don Terrill’s Speed-Talk

Hi theere! The Racing seasson in Finland is over. I need some advice about making my Chevy Nova 1972 1550 kg about 3000lbs i Think. just to hook in the start it hooks great @ first then the rear kinda jumpps upp then it hooks a second time.
How do i make it to stay down in the rear for the 60ft?? ive got traction bars frame conectors 90/10 in the front and som stock shoks in the rear Hosier 9*26 slicks and 4.10 gears battery and fuelcell in the trunk. Here is a film from the finals here you can see how de car kinda froggs of the line. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKwaXih ... e=youtu.be its a long clip so here is the min and seconds wheere im upp next. dark blue Nova

9,05min and 22,30min 34,08 bracket race is on min46,05 47,53 49,11 slow motion solo run to final round ET bracket is the class im driving the final is not here. thanx for all the help.

Saw the video. Stock rear shocks won't work with a slapper bar setup. The springs are wrapping up which could be diminished with proper front snubber adjustments and a good rear shock setup. You may need more tire also. Could be you just need to bite the bullet and go to a serious race car suspension setup.Sounds like you have some hp to work with. Phil D.

Get a set of Cal Trac 's and you will be fine.I think they sell them on " Amazon "

ok do i ned to get the complete pakage bars springs shocks?

HP is not the problem 3400lbs car and top speed on the 1/4 is 120.55 around 430-450 rw/hp

Can you send some good pics of the rear suspension?

Are you running air shocks? Pics of your rear end set up would be nice!

A set of Cal Trac's bars and springs work wonders. Just finished a 73 nova with 891 HP turbo 6.0L and it hooks very well on a 10" tire.

ok. will get some pics.

no im not using "hijackers" air shocks

ok i got the pics.. i cant get em uploaded heere pm me your e-mail .then i can send them on e-mail

did you get it to stick yet?

I go a different route when I run leaf springs.
I make the front half of the leaf spring pack stiffer.
You can do this by moving the 2 springs below the main spring forward . when I do this I cut the thin tapered section of the spring off.
Then move forward as far as you can and still stay flat against the main spring.

I then clamp the springs together with a home made clamp using 1/2" bolts .. you must keep the front half of the spring from wrapping up.

When you get it stiff the car will no longer squat on launch.
The rear will rise up..I usually had 1/4" to 1/2" of tire clearance from fender to top of tire but on launch I would have 3" or more.

I also used air shocks and 4psi or so in the driver side and 10-22 psi in the passenger side.

But I have used stock replacement shocks also.

On moving the spring forward I usually took another main leaf and used it or got a few leafs from an old ford truck and used them.

You can also add 1 more leaf on the passenger side than on the driver side to get a different rate to help launch even.

I could ride a wheelie in my old 78 nova through 1st gear and the car was straight as an arrow.
Good enough I let the wife drive it. That one had air shocks and ford truck leafs and 90-10 summit shocks in the front..

This above is basically what mopar did way way back with the super stock spring package..

You can even rearch your springs at home with a sledge hammer and a hole in the ground..
Yes I did and I used them on that old nova..Have fun and stay warm!!

Further once you have gotten the rear suspension to work,
You can slow down the front end reaction with milder front shocks.
Often 90-10 shocks are just too reactive.

Be sure the rear shocks are not 'Topping out" on launch.
may need shock mount extensions.

The Caltrac bars are hard to beat, even with stock OEM rear springs.