First timer

[d fark]

I decided to try racing so I could get more enjoyment out of my car. Thought best to get my feet wet wet before I power up things, and to get a before and after the buildup. Car is a 73 satellite, 318,904,2.76 gears. Only mod is a performer intake and 600 cfm eddy carb. Made 5 passes at Muncie drag way here is my best. Is there a few simple things I can do to get a little more out of her? I was hoping to be in the 16's

 

[Phantom440]

Wow- thank you for posting a mostly-stock 318 timeslip! Years ago for laughs I took my 318 2bbl/904 Coronet to the track, the only thing I did was flip my air cleaner cover over- and I was in the 18s, too. I think my first run was 18.5, and the second was 18.0something. I don't know what rear gears I had but 2.76 sounds right. So if it means anything, I think that's pretty spot-on for what our 318/autos can do stock...

 

[d fark]

I figure it's the perfect thing to learn on. Don't even have to worry about burnouts

 

[Roughbird72]

A lower gear, headers & a good tune will do a lot for your car.
I had a 73 roadrunner clone years ago with a stock 360 w/3.91 gears, it ran 14.70s - .80s


What night were you at Muncie?

 

[d fark]

Last Wednesday test and tune. Got there right at 5. Made several runs the first hour

 

[GetX'd]

I agree with Roughbird. Gears, headers and maybe ignition would definitely help. You can't expect too much out of a stock 318 with 2:76 gears. I'm sure you'll improve with a few basic changes. Good luck!

 

[Shorthorse]

Uh-Oh! Let the addiction to speed begin. It starts with, "I was hoping to be in the 16's.". But the urge to go faster will get you. Eventually, you'll end up on a street corner with a sign around your neck that says "will work for a 10th". You might be broke but you'll have a smile on your face.

 

[Sonny Black]

Uh-Oh! Let the addiction to speed begin. It starts with, "I was hoping to be in the 16's.". But the urge to go faster will get you. Eventually, you'll end up on a street corner with a sign around your neck that says "will work for a 10th". You might be broke but you'll have a smile on your face.

yes, then it is the 15's!...:hmh:

"but the kids need new shoes"....

but dam, it is fun!

 

[d fark]

The 440 is already built, the dana 60 is laying there waiting to go in the car, I just need to find time to do it, and I wanted to get some experience before I go too fast and kill myself. And I thought it would be cool to do a before and after comparison.
All I have been thinking about is what can I do to make it faster
I got beat by a rusty 4 door Caprice Classic it was embarrassing

 

[Roughbird72]

yes, then it is the 15's!...:hmh:

"but the kids need new shoes"....

but dam, it is fun!

or the electric bill needs paid ... lol

 

[dvw]

Put the Dana in it while your waiting to swap the engine. Back in 73 my Dad had a 73 Road Runner, 318, factory dual exhaust , 2 brl, 3.55 gear. I snuck it out to Milan, ran 15.90's.
Doug

 

[383man]

Myself I would not put money in the 318 if you have a 440 to go in it. Save all the money for the 440 because no matter what it runs you will want to go faster. And thats because you are now addicted to racing. Good luck , Ron

 

[d fark]

That's what I was thinking drop in the Dana with the 3.54's and leave the 318 till time allows. Definitely need to save the pennies to finish up the 440

 

[TetanusShot]

Wow your car is very similar to my cousin's '74 RR! 318, edelbrock intake but with a holley 4bbl (570cfm) and 2.94 open diff. We ran our cars at Muncie last year and I believe it went low 16's? You should PM him, his username is northernrunner.

It would be cool to meet some fellow members at muncie test and tune, we haven't made it back there this year. My junk isn't fast either. lol

I wonder if its the holley or slightly different gears making the difference between the cars? I feel like your combo should have at least gone 17's

To make yours faster cheaply, I would yank off the front bumper assembly, and put small diameter rear tires/wheels to gain back some gear ratio. I bet you could find some on craigslist for less than 50 bucks. The car wouldn't look as cool though.

 

[d fark]

Lol yea the big back tires aren't helping, but I look good getting there. The passes I made the other night were the first passes at any track in my life. So that's part of the slow times. I have since removed the A/C, relocated the fuel line, and turn over the air cleaner lid. Next time I go I am going to manually shift it at maybe 4500 or 5000 rpm. When I just mash the gas and let it do its own thing it was shifting at 3000. If I get time this fall I will put the Dana in 3.54's and go back up and make some passes.
Motor almost sounds like it is missing just a bit, the exhaust is separate right and left and the right side just doesn't sound as healthy coming out the tailpipe. I'll look up northern runner, thanks

 

[66Satellite47]

You can't go wrong with a 440 & a Dana. Put a GOOD driveshaft behind it & get top quality tork converter & you don't need to spend a ton on the motor.

 

[Northern Runner]

Here are my best times with my car at Muncie. My killer combo goes like this:
Wore out 318. Stock pistons, rods and crank. "302" swirl port heads 1.78 intake 1.50 exhaust, with home port work. Edelbrock Performer 2176 with a Holley 570cfm 4bbl. Summit cheapie cam, SUM-6900 Duration at 050 inch Lift: 204 int./214 exh. Lift- 0.421 int./0.444 exh. Stock exhaust manifolds going out through some small factory style pipes out to the rear.
Trans is an A-904 with a stock converter, 1,800 stall speed maybe?
8 1/4 with 3.21 gears Non-SG turning 14'' Rallyes.
There is a TON of potential with the 318 and with the other stuff the guys mentioned, you can get these big cars moving pretty good. If you decide to do some more work to the 318 to make it a fun driver while you build your big stick, I would say headers, 302 heads with 1.88's to help breathe, a better cam than what I have, maybe about .440 int lift would wake it up more. I notice that with my combo it pulls really strong from 2,000 rpm to 4,000 rpm. Then for whatever reason, could be the small cam or the small valves, she just runs out of oomph.

 

[d fark]

Love it! Maybe I can catch you at Muncie sometime. I found a set of 15"x 7 steel wheels on Craiglist and looking for a set of 60 series tires maybe around 26" inches tall. That should gain me some gear back until I can get the Dana in.
Since Muncie I have removed the non working A/C and rerouted fuel line. Might try manually shifting it next time at 4000 or so.

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I have a Coan converter for it 2800 stall speed. My goal is to be quick and reliable so I don't have to work on it all the time.