part 9

We have been qualifying pretty good at IHRA and NHRA drag racing events with our G/SA 1969 Camaro, however whenever we to race a car in class elimination’s we can go three of four rounds (G/SA is usually the biggest class) or two of three rounds. So we decided about a year ago to spend some money and build a better BULLET.

In photo 1 you can see the JE Piston www.jepistons.com that the NHRA and IHRA states you have to run in a 300 hp (290 factored) 350 engine. We contacted JE Pistons in Huntington Beach, CA at 714 898 9763 and when we ordered them on a Monday and had them on Friday. The part number we needed was 139904 at .060 over.

In photo 2 you see that I bit the bullet again and purchased two yes two sets of Schubeck Flat Hydraulic Lifters. One for this engine and one for my other stocker…My “other” stocker, J/SA 305 1986 Camaro chewed up a camshaft last year and easily caused 1000.00 damage to the engine and the time and effort taken to remove and repair the engine. If I wouldn’t have been so cheap and had installed these lifters in the first place, I won’t have had all the problems. These lifters do not require a break-in period and they will not wear out the lobes of your camshaft.
These lifters will stop all of your pump-up problems past 6000 rpm. Set the lifters at zero lash and these lifters will perform. Go to the www.schubeckracing.com website read what all Joe has to say. We ordered part number #10001 and they sell for $720.00 a set and if you want to be a player, you’ll have to buy them.

In photo 3 you see the set of rings we ordered from www.totalseal.com 1-800-874-2753 When we told the tech man what we were doing, he knew exactly what we wanted and inform us that several people running the same engine combination were using this exact ring set. I was very happy with an on time delivery also.

In photo 4 you see the best valve spring for a stocker on the planet, in fact the people at www.competitionproducts.com advertise it as the “BEST STOCK DIAMETER RACING SPRING IN THE WORLD” I have a total of four stocker engines now and this is the only one we use and have NEVER had a problem. The part number is #98215 and they are only 99.95 a set!!!!!!!!!!!!!You can call them at 1 800 233-0199. I get most of my engine parts for my 455 Oldsmobiles and my other small block Chevies also, and they always deliver it the next day. They have a great catalog and it is only 3.00. I have turned a lot of people on to this place and everyone has been thrilled with their prices and service.

In photo 5 you can see a set of www.calicocoatings.com #CT-1 coated engine bearings. All the hitters are using them and they have been proven to help horsepower but also dramatically reduce engine failure and extend bearing life. They have a huge inventory and they can be reached at 1-888-236-6079

In photo 6 you see the special camshaft that John Partridge and the boys at www.bulletcams.com made for our engine. I have nine engines and BULLET cams are in all of them. You can see just a few of the Camshaft cards lying on the bottom of the photo. They can be reached at 662-893-5670. A great group of guys that have years and years of experience.

In photo 7 we see the latest from www.pioneerautoinc.com balancers Pioneer has a huge variety of balancers for most engine combinations, The race balancers they make are all SFI approved and the centers feature a CNC machined center and equally strong steel inertia ring. In most cases these race balancers are lighter than the original equipment cast iron balancers. I ordered part number 872021. A nice piece of work! They can be reached at 601-483-5211. I can always remember were they are made as I was coming back from the Super Bowl in New Orleans several years ago and our plane had to make an emergency landing in Meridian Mississippi, home of Pioneer Inc.

In photo 8 we see just a few of the many items we ordered from Milodon, Inc. They have a great website at www.milodon.net I have their parts on all six of my racecars. These are all small block Chevy oil system helpers. Also shown is the rear pan baffle.

In photo 9 we see the www.milodon.net 7.5” deep stock looking oil pan. The part number we used was #31503. This is the normal stock height and there is nothing else you can use. They will measure the height of you oil pan sometime at an IHRA-NHRA event and the 8.5” on will not work. Also shown are the dipstick and the NHRA legal valves you’ll need and they have just what you’ll need. They are all one-piece forgings and have undercut stems for greatest flow and lightness. Mildon can be reached at 818 407 1211.

In photo 10 we see the latest in pushrods from www.pushrods.net Smith Bros. pushrods. Go to there website and you can see some of the pushrods they make, and see how much they know about pushrods. This company has really taken off in the last couple years and they dominate in the NEXTEL CUP NASCAR engines, as most use their products. I have been using them for over 15 years and have never had a problem. They can be reached at 541 388 8188 for tech questions or 1 800 367 1533 for orders.

In photo 11 we see the latest in starters from the men at www.powermastermotorsports.com these guys are the best and they make a great product. They are always coming up with stronger and smaller starters. Years ago we helped them design a start for the OLDSMOBILE engine that was closer to the block as the other brands of starters would have the wire hookups touching the headers. It took us three or four tries, but we got it done. Powermaster can be reached at 1-800-862-RACE.

Photo 12 shows the latest in valve covers from www.proformparts.com these are the baffled TALL valve covers with the Chevrolet logo. Part number 141-103. If you don’t want the baffle use part #141-101. These are 20 % thicker than a typical aftermarket valve cover, so they won’t bend and then leak when and if you happen to over tighten them. Proform Parts can be reached at 1 586 774 2500 and they sell just about everything you’ll need for you race car engine and the tools needed to assemble it.

Photo 13 shows the latest in alternators from the people at www.powermastermotorsports.com All of my race cars use the same alternator and I am thrilled with the not only the quality of the alternators, but the neat brackets they have designed to make the alternators fit. This one happens to be the 100-amp SNUG MOUNT kit #8-881. They can be reached at 865-688-5953.

Photo 14 shows the latest in waterpumps from www.proformparts.com this is a lightweight aluminum epoxy-powdercoated waterpump that delivers 35+ gallons of water per minute. This one is blue and has a part number of 66225B. The also make it in black-#66225BK and red-66225R and they also included the fitting for the water pump hose, yes include it, they don’t try to charge you another 40 bucks for something that you have to buy. They can be reached at 1-586-774-2500.

Photo 15 shows the latest from the people at QA1 Precision Products Inc. www.qa1.net. My 69 has QA1 Stocker Star shocks all the way around already, but when it pulls a big wheelstand, the car wants to do another one when it comes down. The rebound is great and I think it might even be taking some traction off of the rear wheels when it tries to do its second wheelie. So we bought a set of the new Stocker Star “R” series drag racing shocks for the front. These are available in either aluminum or steel for the cost-conscious racer. These shocks have a fixed firm compression with a wide range of rebound adjustment for front drag racing applications. They are all 100% dyno tested and serialized. We ordered part number RC1914P. You can call tech at 952-985-5675 or if you have an order you can call 1-800-721-7761.

Photo 16 shows the latest purchase that I have made from www.proformparts.com and it is a new item they just came out with; it is a universal oil filter cutter. I was using the other brand oil filter cutter that is equipped with one roller bearing on it and it was a clumsy piece of equipment compared to this dual roller that PROFORM Parts sells. It is a high-quality piece. It is easy to use as all you do is put you used oil filter in the cutter and slowly tighten the handle as you slowly turn the used oil filter. Once you have turned the filter long enough the outer case will fall off the oil filter base and you can then inspect your oil filter for bearing shavings, etc. I love doing it this way. I used to use the $90.00 System One oil filter system, where you disassemble your oil filter and rebuild it. However it was always a pain to clean the filter and I was always in a hurry and didn’t have the 10-15 minutes to clean the used filter. This way I can just cut up my www.knfilters.com and check it out and then just toss it in the trash, and have faith that the new K & N Filter is better than a cleaned used filter. I really like this piece of equipment.

Photo 17 shows my Tavia brand-timing pointer that I purchased from www.summitracing.com and the hot selling lightweight balancer that I bought from www.pioneerautoinc.com

Photo 18 shows the latest purchase for my new 28-foot www.wmtrailers.com. I bought a couple different sizes of these and all I have to do was e-mail the guy my logo. I ordered my mats from www.wmuniform.com West Michigan Uniform and if you want to e-mail them and get a price for your logo send it to tom@wmuniform.com and tell him who sent you. These are beautiful and will make a great impression on your potential “advertisers” of your race car(s). They can be reached at 616 392 9767 and ask for Tom Van Tuinen, Vice President of Sales.

Photo 19 shows the complete engine ready to go in. I didn’t get a chance to get any photographs of the man do all the machine work and all the dyno work. EVERYTHING was done by Steve Morris at www.stevemorrisracingengines.com in Muskegon, MI. He ships all over the world and has the CLEANEST race engine shop on the planet! Steve can do everything at his shop and is a great guy also. I now have nine race engines and he is in charge of building and rebuilding all of them. I have COMPLETE trust in Steve. Over the years I have made SEVERAL mistakes of trusting the wrong engine builders. Plus I have had a problem with engine builders not delivering on time. Steve Morris is a man of his word! He can be reached at 231-788-5869. The only complaint was the color of the engine was supposed to be black. Not Chevy Orange!

Photo 20 shows it ready to go. It falls in pretty easy and we will be on the track real soon.

Please e-mail me at 455@i2k.com See ya next month with a lot more.

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