The car works very well, and the previous owners had a wealth of knowledge in their corner so they used it for everything it was worth.... pump gas, nmca super street, local heads up racing, and obviously KOS. Alot of superstock springs were sold cause of that car. It would also bend the hell out of a set of springs in 4 events.

Pretty sure the Chapman's went 9.30s naturally aspirated w/ that orange super bee. That's what most mopar guys hang onto b/c so many view nitrous as cheating, lol.
Later they went 8s w/ nitrous. I was there for the first nitrous passes in KOS. Kevin Chapman vs. Sheila Bowman. Sheila won, both ran 8.80s IIRC.

I can't argue w/ the 4 link, but I kinda wish they'd just put CalTracs on the car. I just prefer the stock suspension stuff. But hey, not my car...still love it though. I'd be tired of replacing springs every 4 outings too.

Maybe if MP didn't sell junk springs that are made in Mexico with no quality control!

Mine bent a pair of 456/457's after one season of street strip use and it was only a low 11 second car!

Cal-tracs for the win.

I catch more crap from the boomers about this while they're content running 12's.

I've never used N2O, but... I saw pics of one of O'Malley's (early?) nitrous plates many years ago and -- even then -- it looked like something I could have cobbled together on my kitchen table on a rainy Sunday afternoon

I don't view it as "cheating" and have thought about trying it on more than one occasion... and on more than one car

However, the 1320 is still under warranty, and the old car "should" be running quick enough NA that it wouldn't take much spray at all to make the car too quick for either the car's or the driver's tech requirements.

About the only chance I could see using it is for "non sanctioned" 1/8 mile stuff like Capitol's Friday Night events; I was told pretty much that until they become a fully-certified IHRA track that they're still basically an outlaw track...

Not all boomers run 12's NA ya know. But yep plenty of old Mopar guys who can get their junk to run very well at all. Firmly stuck with thier heads buried in the 70's technology/mythology.

As for nitrous whatever gets you where you want to be. I have had blown cars, nitrous cars and NA cars. I prefer the NA stuff and the challenge of what it brings, its just a choice. I had a nitrous SB in the 9's in the mid 90's, a blown car in the 9's in the early 2000's and have been 9's 8's and 7's NA since. It is all just a choice.

I'm sure with today's power management capabilities and shock technology, that the Leafs would survive today. There's been plenty that have gone faster with more power and not bend stuff. But, since it is already has a 4 link, why would ya' go backwards?

I've talked w/ Stephen Daurity about what they did w/ those cars back then. He laughed and said it was pretty much throw the kitchen sink at it right out the gate and hope for the best. You can hear it in some of those videos.
Some of the O'malley stuff was different. Multiple crossbars in a plate w/ dual entries on each bar. Lots of plumbing, Y fittings everywhere, but it seemed to work OK back then. I'm sure it's all antiquated now.

IF they didnt try all that back then.... where would we be now??? that was the ground work for todays power management , Those guys were innovators, trying things that were not tried before, learning and pushing limits . AND that trancends all makes not just Mopar, but that was the early small tire heads up racing years. Mopars are still behind in the tech that all other makes have learned

Absolutely. Back then a 29.5x10.5 was small for that kind of power and some people were amazed they went down the track at all. Now look what guys are running on what seems like 1/2 the tire!

It's pretty amazing that you can get a 500 hp billet plate with tune-ups that are pretty close right out of the box anymore. Unfortunately, so many wives tales have been spun about the limitations of the stock Mopar blocks that people are afraid to try it.

That's a major part of the equation.. the car had junk (maybe Monroe matics) on it when Fred got it. Absolutely nothing special.

IIRC, the shocks Direct Connection / Mopar Performance sold for SS spring applications (they offered both manual-trans and auto-trans versions) were simply OEM-fitment truck shocks that they figured out worked better w/ their springs than standard passenger car dampers.

Oh, as far as SS springs durability, yeah... I'd heard years ago the Made in Mexico parts were short-lived vs the Made in Canada parts (like I had on my Challenger "way back when") which held up much better.

Regardless, SS springs and truck shocks were low-tech even then ==> "Hello, Captain Obvious!"

Here's the pic of Rob's bee from the Munroe 727 rebuild book I mentioned.