A Few Thoughts

PenGun

PenGun

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A couple of things seem a little bit strange when learning about the community that owns and loves the Mark VIII. I sure have grown very attached to mine. My first Ford since my California Orange 56 Mercury well back in the last century.

The drag racing thing seems out of place. Why beat a fine IRS that was made for corners and concentrate on fairly low speed acceleration events. It's fun and useful to scope out your ride but as a goal seems inappropriate.

Power. Ya know an 8 grand 327 makes oodles. With a DOHC and a teskid engine block I will be looking at high RPM after I get the beast all fixed up. I was always a big block guy and I am looking forward to doing the small block thing instead for a while. It seems 7500 RPM is fairly easily made and 8000 is quite possible.

I enjoy the 6000 shifts my W3Z2 throws and with some Quartermaster love and a few important parts, valve springs for starters, I should be able to have 7000 shifts with little trouble. My motor has 75,000 miles, likes WOT, and is tight and leaks not at all. My car buries the needle with no vibration, I do fear for my moonroof though. ;) My tranny gets a J-Mod, fluid flush to Mercon V, and the accumulators this coming week.
 
Its not inappropriate. What is inappropriate is the wording of your thoughts It would be fine to say its not for you.
 
PenGun said:
A couple of things seem a little bit strange when learning about the community that owns and loves the Mark VIII. I sure have grown very attached to mine. My first Ford since my California Orange 56 Mercury well back in the last century.

The drag racing thing seems out of place. Why beat a fine IRS that was made for corners and concentrate on fairly low speed acceleration events. It's fun and useful to scope out your ride but as a goal seems inappropriate.

Power. Ya know an 8 grand 327 makes oodles. With a DOHC and a teskid engine block I will be looking at high RPM after I get the beast all fixed up. I was always a big block guy and I am looking forward to doing the small block thing instead for a while. It seems 7500 RPM is fairly easily made and 8000 is quite possible.

I enjoy the 6000 shifts my W3Z2 throws and with some Quartermaster love and a few important parts, valve springs for starters, I should be able to have 7000 shifts with little trouble. My motor has 75,000 miles, likes WOT, and is tight and leaks not at all. My car buries the needle with no vibration, I do fear for my moonroof though. ;) My tranny gets a J-Mod, fluid flush to Mercon V, and the accumulators this coming week.
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LOL I'm only a drag racer and thats what my brain is calibrated to.:D You state a 1/4 mile time and everyone knows what it stands for. And by your though no Hondas or cars like that should race and we know thats not the case. Spme just like to go to track and let it all hang out. Peace.
 
I personaly would rather test and tune my cars on a road course. But there just aren't any around that I can run on.
 
who cares? just becuase drag racing doesnt interest you, doesnt mean its 'wrong'.
Don Pfau said:
Its not inappropriate. What is inappropriate is the wording of your thoughts so until you can explain them in a less insulting and inflammatory way maybe you should keep them to yourself. It would be fine to say its not for you.
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this.
 
I want my car to go straight fast and around corners fast.
Dont forget the stock torque converter needs to be upgraded for high rpm.
 
Look at Burbank...he ran what, 10.4? In the 1/4 on that fine irs that still carves corners..

Why not have the best of both worlds?
 
Don Pfau said:
Its not inappropriate. What is inappropriate is the wording of your thoughts so until you can explain them in a less insulting and inflammatory way maybe you should keep them to yourself. It would be fine to say its not for you.
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I'm sorry. I could have said "it seems inappropriate to me" but I thought that was implied. I did not mean to offend.
 
DLF said:
You may think so, but until you have numbers to back it up, it's just your opinion. :rolleyes:
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What numbers are we talking here? Track times or something more esoteric.
 
PenGun said:
What numbers are we talking here? Track times or something more esoteric.
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Something like this:

13.591.jpg

If you have one laying around it will look like this and likely say something like 14.6 @ 94mph

13.591.jpg
 
The last one like that I had was in the early 90s. It said some thing like 12.8 @ 108.

I would guess my car is a high 14 sec car but I have to travel a long way, including a ferry, to get to a 1/4 mile strip.

I have had the car at 215 K and only my moonroof getting real scary made me pull out. She was still accelerating.
 
it had always made some noise and didn't seal well. leaked, whistled, got stuck, that sort of thing.

then once, at 135 mph, it got really loud for a second, and then was gone. oops.
 
UltimateSVT said:
To each his/her own. If I had oodles of cash I'd be racing down the track every weekend.
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The closest track for me is Rock Falls Raceway. Straight across the border and about 2 hours into Wisconsin. Every time I go, it's pretty much a $200+ day with the cost of gas, concessions, and entry fee. And you can bet those guys hauling their cars on trailers are spending a whole lot more. Especially with a fuel cell running 110 Octane once the damn thing is off the trailer of the truck that hauled it which got 11mpg. LOL!
 
Just checking the strip nearest me at Mission BC:

http://www.missionraceway.com/racer-info-rules/street-legals/

My buddy lives not too far from there. I'll try to make a point of getting over there on a Friday with decent weather. Would be fun and for $35 pretty cheap to get some slips to prove how slow my car is. The whole trip will be over $200 with ferries. I should get a stock condition time although I do not plan on any more power till next year.

At least I know what NHRA means. ;)
 
chris2523 said:
it had always made some noise and didn't seal well. leaked, whistled, got stuck, that sort of thing.

then once, at 135 mph, it got really loud for a second, and then was gone. oops.
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I'd pay alot to see your face at that exact moment :D
 
UltimateSVT said:
To each his/her own. If I had oodles of cash I'd be racing down the track every weekend.
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I wouldn't do it unless I was making oodles of cash. I don't think running 13's makes you any cash. It just gives you a slip that says you're one second faster than a stock, no money invested in the Mark VIII engine. That's how I see it anyway... I guess that one second makes many smile.

It's a hobby for some. They enjoy it and I don't have anything against anyone that loves to go to the track every weekend and run their Mark. It's at least keeping it on the map and showing others that Mark VIII's are still out there and can hang with some of the best, especially Burbank, Mike Shultz and Don's 11 second car isn't too shabby either.
 
If I were loaded (with cash...not the way I usually am:D), I would be doing all manner of mods to my Mark. Personally, I'm more concerned with handling than straight line acceleration since my daily commute consists of one stretch of really nice twisty curvy backroad (I don't "need" to go that way, I just love tossing my car around corners). I have tested my Mark to its absolute limits on that road. I know exactly how fast I can go around each corner before the car starts to understeer and exactly how much gas to give her to induce a little throttle oversteer to correct it. I've almost plowed into the woods a couple of times because I overestimated the amount of grip the car had at that time. That's why I went with P245/50ZR16's instead of the stock 225/60's. Bigger contact patch and shorter sidewall for less deflection and better handling. Now what I need is bigger sway bars, stiffer bushings, and a set of electronic adjustable magnetorheological shocks and I'll be in corner carving heaven! I'd also love a set of long tube headers, hi-flow cats, Cobra intake, and a few other engine goodies for some more power to get it into the low 6, high 5 second 0-60 range. But all that takes money. And I'm so broke I can't even pay attention. So oh well. I still love my car. However slow she may be:)
 
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