I have a buddy who has a really nice '56 Chevy. It runs 140 mph at the track which seems fast to me for a '56 Chevy, but the ET is slower than the charts say it should be. Car is a little less than 3000 lbs with driver, has ladder bars, big slicks, etc. I have one picture of the car leaving the line and the slicks have some wrinkle to them but it doesn't appear to be launching super hard. The nose lifts a small amount. The timeslips vary (which might be a clue) but typical numbers are 1.40 60 ft, 6.25 660 ft, 8.15 1000 ft and 9.75 or 9.80 for the quarter. MPH is in the 140 range.

Wallace says the car should run 9.50, Moroso says 9.60. Various calculators say the engine is making 600 to 650 hp to run those numbers in a 2950 lb car. The engine should be making more power than 650, It is a Dart 540 which the engine builder said made 850. The engine looks like it should make 850 hp, but I haven't had it on a dyno. But even if the engine is only make 650 hp it still should be quicker than 9.80 if it can run 140 mph.

So my guess is that there is more than one issue with the car. I'm thinking that it isn't making the power that it should and even with the power he does have it isn't running the times. Just not sure if it is a chassis problem or a transmission issue. The wrong torque converter could be costing a few tenths I suppose. The chassis builder says the car needs a four link which might be true but I'd think it could still get down the track faster even if the ladder bars weren't ideal.