I had removed the x-bars from the back of the Valiant when I converted it to a street car (they attached at the same basic point as the down bars, and both sets went all the way in the trunk) since, by the rules they were redundant. They had measured .134 thick with my caliper, so the sonic check shouldn't be a problem if that tubing was used throughout the car, but any cage installed in the early nineties is a roll of the dice in my experience.

I held my breath as he tested all the main tubes, and ran his fingers around all the top welds, since my cage has no gussets.
"It's all good Billy, so you can lay down some nines on Drag Week this year", Ed announced with a big smile on his face. He loves Hot Rod Drag Week, and follows it on the internet every year.

On the drive home, the temperature hovered between 210-230, and the passengers side rear quicklatch came loose every time I exceeded 60 mph.

When I woke up Sunday morning the 21st, I had thirteen days left before "hell week" began with my trip to Tulsa, and my confidence in the Valiant's readiness had just been shaken to the core. I ordered a new Milodon high volume water pump and high flow 160 degrees t-stat from Summit that morning, then I drove the Valiant to my oldest daughters house to babysit the grandson. It seemed to be pulling harder than ever toward the center line, and I noticed a flare up on the two-three shift at half throttle! This was really going south in a hurry.

The trans fluid was about a quart and half low. The Strange 1350 front yoke doesn't have a plug in the back, and fluid runs down the splines and onto the ground anytime the car is resting at an upward angle...like in my driveway, or riding on the back of the two car trailer. The bad news was, if it was low on Sunday morning, it was low on my trip to the track the night before, so I certainly wasn't doing that front clutch pack any favors. I pulled the radiator out, and took a hole saw to the support areas which extended in front of it, looking for any help in cooling I could find.