do you ever skim thru a mag & just sorta scan an article for the hilites & then go on with whatever you were busy doin before you picked up the mag. well, i suppose thats what i did when i 1st scanned this article. at 1st i was sorta reluctant 2 even mention this on py. but, good or bad, its part of my pontiac story--its where i came from. i've shared something i read in a pontiac mag before, only 2 find that the person i was talkin 2 already knew all about it, plus a lot that wasn't in the article. so i sorta felt like an idiot for even mentioning it. i guess what i didn't fully comprehend was how old the mag info is when you read it, because of the long lead time required for monthly mags. stuff you read in a 2013 issue really happened in 2012, or at least 6 months earlier. the py forums are much more current. anyhow, the article i'll refer 2 starts on p.38 of the jan '13 issue of hpp. its entitled "last of the creed". its about a '70 formula 400 ra4 runnin nhra b/sa. best et 10.17---10.17!!! thats about 4 seconds quicker than a stone stocker w/original street tires. & at least 2 sec quicker than they ran back in the 70's when we ran stock. i know that class racers know a lot of tricks(some they keep secret) that make their cars run quicker within the rules, so i was REALLY interested in what tricks these guys knew that made this car 2 sec quicker than they ran back in the 70's. i reckin what makes this info so interesting 2 me is the little bit i learned about stock class racin during the 3 seasons i dabbled in it. i quickly found out that most of the time wasn't made up by tricks at all, but rather by nhra rule changes--such as aftermarket blocks, forged pistons, forged rods, alum roller rockers with 3/8 pushrods, electric water pump & fan--& how about that cam?--268/272 @ .050, 110 lsa, .538 lift using triple valve springs w/270 lb seat press & 470 lb open--WOW! & call me dummy again--but what on earth is a Shubeck ceramic puck lifter? with a 5800 stall convertor & a lite th200 tranny, this baby is a hi winding screamer! i'd love 2 see the dyno sheets on this 1. & then there's aftermarket cal trac springs, custom made traction bars & even wheelie bars? the only thing i can see stock on this 1 is the body, bare heads, carb & intake. this is a far cry from what gm produced in 1970. but i reckin thats what it takes nowdays 2 be competitive in class racin. & i haven't even mentioned the small tricks used 2 shave just a little more off the et--like 0-10 weight oil--0?? i figured you'd have 2 refine crude down 2 gasoline for it 2 have no viscosity at all. i thought diesel would have some viscosity. maybe this is some sort of majical synthetic--you see how dumb i am? this bird also runs a homemade crank scraper instead of the stock windage tray, turned down crank counterweights, 110 octane racin gas, & the complete msd ignition system. hey, this is a serious race car ya'll--& he's shootin for the 9 sec zone--WOW!!!
ps: since i always seem 2 be the last 2 find out--he may have already hit the 9's since this article was written--i don't know--but i'm sure there's lots of guys on py who do. i also just noticed that he backed it down about a sec & won a bracket class at the jim wangers invit race. also notable at this race, a '74 grand am ss/ma record holder won another of the bracket classes.