[69f bird]

JD, No worries...I didn't take it that way at all. I was just explaining my thought process.

I've got BFG DR 275/50-15's, 275/60-15's, MT DR 275/60-15 and MT 30x9x15 radial drag slicks to try.

[71 Ventura II]

Originally Posted by 69f bird

JD, No worries...I didn't take it that way at all. I was just explaining my thought process.

I've got BFG DR 275/50-15's, 275/60-15's, MT DR 275/60-15 and MT 30x9x15 radial drag slicks to try.

I for one HATE, allow me to rephrase that to HATE the BFG DR's! LOL Maybe in a car like yours you can get them to work better. I've been running the BFG 275/60/15 DR's for many years with little success. Previously with the Hughes 2500 converter and pressure between 15-17 lbs experimenting with launch the best 60' was 1.864. The weird part is it didn't "feel" like it was spinning. We lowered the pressure to 12 lbs and it "dead hooked" but killed the 60' to a 1.9X... With the new Redneck 3500 converter coming off the footbrake at 3000-3200 it's spinning the tires badly. If I flash the converter the "Hit" will make it even worse. I tried setting the pressure at 12 lbs then "walking" the car off the line then hitting it but it "Chattered" the tires past the 60' clock!

I may try the BFG's this year just to have a "baseline" for the new valvetrain before going to the M/T ET Drag "Stiff" 29.5/9.0/15's. What ever it takes to get it to the 11's I'm all for it!

I recommend trying the M/T DR's as they are said to be much better. JD

[69f bird]

I've run both on my '69 Firebird. My best 60 ft was with the BFG DR's, a 1.791. I had a bunch of low 1.80's on both the BFG Dr's and the MT DR's. Not too bad for a 4300 lb. convertible! The MT 30x9x15 radial slicks are brand new.

Are you going to Norwalk? I may bring all 4 sets...you can try what you want.

Here is a picture of a low 1.80's launch...you can see that I am still spinning the tires a bit but they wrapped pretty hard. Those are the BFG DR 275/60-15's.

[69f bird]

So close!!!!! All that's left is to finish the hood, install the hood and dzus clips, bleed the brakes and get the front end aligned.

Here are pictures of the top-secret hood project. We are using a Spotts fiberglass Super 400 Firebird hood and cowl, cut and molded to fit the Ventura. It still has a bit of work to be done. Once clipped in, it will sit flush. For the pictures, the rear of the hood is propped up with 2 sockets...thus the poor alignment. The front bumper is a fiberglass '72 Nova bumper shortened about 1 1/2" from each end so it fits tight against the body.

I wanted to get a few shots to post here.

No one will confuse this Ventura for a stinkin' Nova. Norwalk, here we come!!!!


There's about 3-4 inches clearance above the carb when sitting on the Victor intake plus a 1" spacer






There's Mr. Spotts admiring his handi-work



So, what do you think?

[BILTIT]

Way cool! Wonder how it would look on a 74 grill?

[71 Ventura II]

Originally Posted by 69f bird

I've run both on my '69 Firebird. My best 60 ft was with the BFG DR's, a 1.791. I had a bunch of low 1.80's on both the BFG Dr's and the MT DR's. Not too bad for a 4300 lb. convertible! The MT 30x9x15 radial slicks are brand new.

Are you going to Norwalk? I may bring all 4 sets...you can try what you want.

Here is a picture of a low 1.80's launch...you can see that I am still spinning the tires a bit but they wrapped pretty hard. Those are the BFG DR 275/60-15's.

I appreciate the offer but Norwalk is too far for me. I'm in a lull right now trying to get the new valvetrain installed.

Your Ventura is really coming along, I can't wait to see/hear it run! Video is required right?! JD

[ponjohn]

OK, Shelley...time for questions on the hood......

Did you cut a spotts 400 hood and install the skin on the a glass ventura hood?
How did you make the cowl piece?
Do you think it possible to make it bolt on (with hinges)?
To clarify, you have several inches above a Victor and spacer?

Car looks great, are you going to get time to go out before Norwalk?

John

[69f bird]

Thanks guys! John, believe it or not, the matching Super 400 cowl is a DIRECT BOLT IN! Just had to drill the 4 holes for the original screws...no other modifications! We took the Super 400 hood and laid it in place. The back edge fits perfect as-is. The work involved was widening the hood going forward...the Ventura hood is more square while the Firebird hood narrows a bit going forward...needed about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch added on each side at the nose. We simply cut the Super 400 hood near the front and reworked the nose and the "ironing board" center. We did not use the Ventura hood except to build a wooden mold for the widened edges. I believe that the hood can be mounted with hinges, but would have to be unsprung and would need clips or pins at the front. It is so light. The front of the Ventura is so close in dimension to the Firebird...I guess it stands to reason with the interchangeable front subframe.

BTW, one could leave the ram air holes solid and open the back of the hood and the cowl for cowl induction if you prefer.

Yes, there are several inches above the carb when using the Victor and a 1 inch spacer...the hood was designed for a bird with just that setup.

We hope to get it out for a few runs this weekend...work out any kinks before Norwalk.

BILTIT, I would think it would look GREAT with the '74 grill.

FYI, my body man who did the hood said he would be happy to do it again for anyone else. We are close to Paul so we can get the hood and cowl from him. There are probably 12-15 hours in the hood now. Would be less next time, and we can fit it on my car. If anyone is interested, let me know and I will get a price for you.

Shelly

[ponjohn]

I'd be interestd in a price.

I'd also like to know if Paul would just mold a ventura hood?

John

[BILTIT]

There is a price of JUST the hood here:

http://www.spottsperformance.com/body.htm

Would be nice if he would do a ventura hood though (and bumpers, fenders, etc).

[69f bird]

Tooling cost to create the mold is HUGE...even for the relatively minor changes required. I already tried that with him.

Anyways, everything is done on mine except the alignment...that happens tomorrow. I am taking it to the track Sunday ...probably Cecil.

[ventura7211]

The car is looking good.

FWIW: a factory cowl panel will fit as well. I have one from a 68 Camaro to match the cowl hood I had with the chevy body line down the middle. I do not know why you would, but the entire front cap from a first gen will bolt on as well, the dashes will swap over too.

[69f bird]

It's done! Well, not done, but ready to race. I took it for brief trip up and down a local farm road. It goes straight and stops straight! A good start. Never hit the accelerator more than 2/3 throttle, but the front lifts nice and it stays straight...and pulls like crazy. Tomorrow morning I am taking it to Maple Grove for a few shake down runs.

I'll report results tomorrow evening. Still don't know what it weighs. At least we'll be ready to take it to Norwalk in two weeks. After Norwalk, I'll finish the minor bodywork that is remaining and have it painted. BTW, with the hood fitted and pinned down, it looks great!








You can get some idea of clearance with the Victor intake and one inch spacer and a BG 4150 Race Claw. Pictures are taken through the open scoops with the hood pinned down.

[BILTIT]

Nice!!

[ponjohn]

Real nice!!

Can't wait for numbers.

I forget.....what color?

[69f bird]

Thank you!

It will be grey for a while. I am leaning towards white with 2 blue stripes like a '69 T/A. Like I said earlier, I want to be sure everyone knows it's a Pontiac!

[wytnyt]

looks like a sleeper
is that intentional
?

[69f bird]

Not really...it's an evolving project. Not hiding anything at all.

I am curious why you think it looks like a sleeper? Just because it's still in primer?

[71 Ventura II]

Nice update! I can't wait to hear the results tomorrow night! This is almost as good as testing my own car, well almost! LOL JD

[69f bird]

Well, mixed and somewhat disappointing results, but all-in-all, not a bad day. The car weighs 2850 without me. I am happy with that. It passed tech with just fine for what we hoped was a 10 second car. The car ran straight, handled well and stopped fine.

I ran several times with the 30x9x15 MT radial slicks. Every launch was very slugish...60 ft's in the 1.75-1.79 range. I tried launching from 2000 RPM up to 3300 and once from idle...same general results... 1/4 times were in the 11.6x range at ~118. I thought maybe not enough gear, so i installed a pair of MT 275/60-15 drag radials which are 2" shorter than the slicks...basically same results.

The car is sluggish coming off the line and then after 100' it starts to take off. It also felt sluggish immediately after each shift.

So, I know a few people thought the Redneck torque converter stall was too low at 3300 rpm and that the 3.42 gears were not enough gear. Do my symptoms match up well with that? I do have a Coan 3500 stall converter to try to see if its the converter. I also have a pair of 275/50-15 drag radials I can try in order to simulate more gear.

Suggestions are welcome! Thanks