EVENTFUL RE-LICENSING NIGHT......

Well.....maybe not as I expected for the licensing portion, but made up in other areas.

It was great to meet-up with old friends/members; Bill_T. Bill was running the Road Runner! Brought back some memories of his dad Bill Sr., a contributing member here who passed away (Mr Mopar).

My son and I made our way to the track last night for a track rental event at Wild Horse Pass. It was a warm evening to say the least! 40 cars were allowed for the event. I roll up to tech, they look everything over, get the thumbs-up, so good to go. Then we head over to the drivers meeting, and they informed us of the PJ1 shortage. Now only 1 lane gets prepped, and the other lane was semi-no prep style for those who wanted to try it. I don't think anyone tried the no prep lane, which slowed things down a bit with only 1 lane for the night. No complaints from me, I was just happy to be there. My sole purpose was to just get my 6 passes completed, get signed-off and head home.

I get suited-up, drive the car to the lanes. its about 7pm and still hot, and I'm soaked in the car LOL. I decided that if everything went well on the initial launch and drive down the track I'd hot lap it just to get the first two over with quickly. So I make the launch (foot brake), everything works, temp, oil pressure, vac, and volts all look decent, so roll back to the lanes and shut it off to wait. Now its time to go again so my son turns the power back on, and I see the volts are not where they need to be, and sure enough it struggles a bit to fire, but it does fire. I do my business, foot brake launch again, and return back to the pit area. Pull out the generator and charger, and start charging the 16v battery for about 30 minutes. Seems like everything is good, so I go back up to the lanes to make my first 1/8mi hit. Of course I have to wait a little bit, so back to smoldering inside the car again.

Now I'm ready to make the first 1/8 mi hit, and instead of driving the car to the lanes my buddy tows me. I do my business at the line, decided again to foot brake, and the car launches decent and straight. I lifted and just putted back to the pit area. Began charging the battery again. Checked lash and all was good. So we tow back to the line, and this time I decided to the use the transbrake and shift it at 7500-7800 RPM. Let go of the brake, and SENT IT! Pulled to 7800 and it was hauling a$$.

I also have to remind myself this thing has a tight PTC bolt-together nitrous converter, powerglide, and 3.89 gear. Next time out I'll use the Racepak to get some real data also. I was able to get 4 of 6 attempts done before running out of time at midnight. My two buddies and the track manager signed off the 4 runs. I'll make he necessary changes, and get right back to the track to make my two 1/4 mi passes to be complete for my license again. The track manager said I have 6 months to get my 2 passes done before anything expires. I should be able to get it all done before end of November. It was a great night; I didn't crash the car, no broken parts or fluid dumps. Time with friends and my son is always a win-win. Rest assured when the IS Holy Moly spray hits the intake plenum/runners this car is going to move out! Brett Miller built a nice motor for it. Arrived home, unloaded the car, put the enclosed trailer to bed, and took a nice cold shower and hit the pillow around 3am LOL. Anyway, sorry for the long read, just thought I'd share the experience. I forgot how much fun this is! I am looking forward to the next outing!!! However, I am really bummed that our track is closing in the Spring next year,

Wes

Video

That car is super clean! Any pics of the motor?

It's gonna fly when you start using the fogger.

Congratulations Wes! Always a good night when you spend it with family and friends.

its a lot of work. If it was easy everyone would do it. Car looks awesome, Always a great night when it comes back like you went. Birdtracker

glad to hear you got back out there. Sounds like a pretty successful outing for what it was. Best of luck and gotta ask what battery it was. Andmy only comment is some of those 16V batteries DO NOT like the heat......

Killer Cuda!

Thanks man. It’s a big IS Holey Moley plate system.

Thanks man, we definitely had a good time!

Thank you! True for sure, and back in 1-piece is always a good thing.

Thanks man, me too. I wanted to get all the passes in, but the battery set me back. I'll order a new one. Its an S1600 XS Power 16V battery. Never had an issue with them before. I've always run two in my cars. Might look at some other options.

Thanks man.

You got her out!! YESSSSS!

Yeah buddy, felt great Jay. Thanks.

It was really good to see Wes and be out at the track, even if it was a little warm, and with a touch of melancholy on my end. My dad bought the RR new, and told people I took my first car ride in it. His notes and the time slips show it last ran at Tucson Dragway in 2004. When I picked it up, the engine was apart, trans was out, fuel system gone due to an aborted alcohol conversion, tires old, certs out of date, and parts of the charging system and wiring were MIA. It took a while, but I assembled a 383 - factory forged crank, eagle rods, .030 diamond pistons, stealth heads milled for 10:1, small lunati voodoo solid, edm lifters, old TM6 and a 750 brawler DP. I went through the 727, also a first for me. It has a plate system but the bottle was empty. While I believe everything satisfies the applicable NHRA rules, I was happy when the inspector polished 10.0 on the window (cage cert expired and blanket only).

As Wes mentioned, the staging lanes ran perhaps longer than expected. I think a few of the participants went full send, even though the track was not particularly sticky. There were some delays. Apparently someone shelled a piston in a GR Supra. Anyway, one of my oldest friends came up from southern AZ to help. This made quite the difference - just having someone to open the passenger door for the cross breeze was huge, and he is an experienced racer. Now, up to this point the car had only moved under power in the driveway, when loaded on the trailer, and in the pits. I did not have big expectations and wanted to get from the tree to the traps.

I got staged, and the starter gave me the pro tree, catching me a bit surprised. I rolled through the beams and opened it up. Everything seemed OK, hit second with the shift light, and then near immediately bumped third (operator error) maybe around the 330. I eased up and motored through the 8th. Things still felt OK - tracking straight, no weird sounds or vibrations - so somewhere in the back half I gassed it and ran out the quarter with a blistering 13.80 at an even 100mph.

On the return road the headlights seemed dim. Back at the trailer I found the alternator belt had decided to exit the party, so we were done for the night. It was a pretty expensive pass all told, but my brother was there and our kids saw Grandpa's car make a pass. And, I got to see some good friends. Worth every penny.

The attached pic I believe I was going through the start procedure after being shut down in the burnout box while staff checked track condition.

The Hellcat powered Barracuda from Corruptt Builds/DC Grudge Match was in attendance - with an automatic swap. That was neat.

Based on the driver's meeting discussion from the track manager, it sounds as there will only be a few more opportunities to race at WHP/Firebird. The end of another era.

Bill

Wes, great to hear you got it down the track! And came home in good shape, save for maybe a battery or other small gremlin! Maybe not everything accomplished like you hoped, but still a great success!. 👍👍

Very cool Bill….. been a long time

Very nice Wes! Looking forward to hearing how it runs on the bottle.

Congrats Wes! Looking good. Ironically I had a 'pedestrian' 12v battery fail me the first time i went out, lol.

Very cool Wes! Glad you made it out.

Really cool to see Bill’s Road Runner out again. Miss chatting with him. Was a great guy, with a lot of knowledge.

Wes , great to hear your “back in the saddle” . Little problems but ….. always a great track outing when the car rolls in the trailer running and all in one piece .

Bill great post. It was good to see you and the car after quite a few years. Definitely brought back some memories I had of your dad. Between him and BillyG, I don’t know which one busted my ***** the worst LOL (all in good fun). My last memory of him was when he was in my pit sitting in my enclosed trailer laughing our butts off while at Pinks All Out in Tucson when I hit both foggers in the Stang doing a wheelie over 100+’ and bent my wheelie bars. LMAO! He got a kick outta that. You just had to be there to understand. We had some good PMs back in the day. Keep working on the RR man, it’s a cool car. Let me know if you need anything.

Wes

Thanks, Greg! There was a lot going on that night but ended on a positive note for sure! Had a blast!

Thanks, Chip…will do…me too LOL.

Hahahaha! Thanks man. Damn batteries! Can’t believe how expensive they are these days!

Thanks Jeff, it felt good for sure. Yes, it was cool to see Bill and the RR again.

Tony it was wild for sure. It had been a long time since making a pass. Still haven’t actually, but I will be soon! Thanks man.

Glad to see you at it Wes! Everything you have ever done has been a class act! Don't worry! It will all come together! Keep at it!

Wes... glad to see you back on the track, making passes IN A MOPAR !!!!! once again a beautifully built car. I hope some day to line up against you keep us updated

Thanks, Ted! That’s the plan. I do hate the fact the track is closing its doors next Spring following it’s last major NHRA event.

Thanks Fran. That would be cool.

Found these photos….

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Beautiful car Wes!

Any videos on this car?

congrats to both for getting out in the heat ..

Car looks awesome!!!!!

Thanks man.

There is on the first page, just a burnout. Have others, but too large of file for YT. There will be more.

Thank you. Felt good, but man it was a smoker!

Thank you.

Great to see you back at it. Bill's B body showing up in the thread was a nice surprise too!

Both cars really look great.