557 SR71 heads New Dragweek build

Should be together by 07/01/19

557 DOVE block 4 bolt mains. Scat crank and rods.
4.400 X 4.500. Blocked checked out well sonically.
SR-71 heads with T&D shaft rockers
New pistons from Racetec 12.5:1. Totalseal rings.
New billet roller cam from Bullet. Manton pushrods. Crower HD lifters.
Mafia intake
Moroso vacuum pump(10-12#).
Kaase oil pump
Hope to try both a big dominator on E85 and race gas.
Hope to dyno early next month.

**Big motor with aluminum block and max effort A460s for twin turbos starts this fall/winter. Hope to run it next summer. Stay tuned. Bucket list motor. Want to run 6's over 200.

Sounds bitchin. Plan to drive the whole deal on corn? What rig will it be in?

This year hard to do all of it on corn. I checked. Couple of days on corn. Couple of days on race gas. I’m taking a couple of carbs with me.

Car is a Fox chassis. First year of the Fox. 1978 Fairmont Futura. Pro Street NA. Four link car. Currently 8.50 cert. Just rewired it and had a removable front end put on it. Finishing it this week. Looks good. You can’t tell the front end is removable looking at it. Still all glass and steel except for the hood and bumpers. Should be fastest NA all Ford ever at Dragweek. We run AOD/C6 transmission.

738drvr wrote: We run AOD/C6 transmission.

How does that work??

I’ve run both. Works great. AOD for Dragweek.
1000 miles pulling 2k trailer. Spragless 4500 converter from PTC.
John Deere low viscosity fluid with some Type F for color.
Got back and tranny guy says still looks new inside.

So are you swapping transmissions when you arrive at the tracks? You hit the highway with the AOD, and then swap it for a race built C6 at the track?

I run the AOD all week during Dragweek. I'll take the C6 just in case we need it. 9.70's in the heat last year. We're losing weight and picking up about 250hp. We'll have a new converter and maybe a gear change. Also running a drag radial this year. Hope to crack into the 8's with it.

738drvr wrote:I run the AOD all week during Dragweek. I'll take the C6 just in case we need it. 9.70's in the heat last year. We're losing weight and picking up about 250hp. We'll have a new converter and maybe a gear change. Also running a drag radial this year. Hope to crack into the 8's with it.

Would love to see some photos of the Fairmont.

Brian

Brian, pm me and I’ll send you a couple.

Hello
Good evening. I am very interested to hear how your sr- 71 headed motor is going. I currently have the redesigned super cobra jet heads and I am looking for something different. Could I please call or text you some questions? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Justin Cox

Well... drag week is happening, any updates??

He didn’t make it, regrettably.

Update: Thrashed for almost 24 hours straight after getting the car back 3 days before Dragweek. Threw in the towel Saturday night at midnight. Looking at a 11 hour drive. Very long story short. Too many changes too late.

Finished the car on Tuesday. Planned to take the car to Beechbend this past Tuesday. Beechbend closed. Planned to go to Ohio Valley on Wednesday. Ohio valley closed. Took the car out Wednesday to test run. Car ran great but ran a little warm. A true beast on the street. Pleased with the power.

Came back and changed the oil and filter. Filter full of glitter. Looks like a thrust bearing. Engine coming out today. Hope to have it back together soon. Will update as soon as I take it to the track.

Well at least you didn't make the drive. I had a couple friends that went from Louisiana and both that problems. Earl had burned the rotor out of his Boss 9 car and Robby's TT Luv was going faster then then 8.50 it's certified for. On day two they go rained out and all Robbie had was a 20 sec time slip and a 8.42 so they packed up and came home. That's a long way to drive for 2 or 3 passes..

Found the converter pilot was an interference fit in the crank. Very little damage done to the thrust. New bearings on the crank. Machinist wanted to put roller bearings on the camshaft simply because he saw some very slight wear on the bronze retaining plate and wanted to eliminate any end play. All good now. PTC is fixing the converter this week. Should have it back together mid November. Hope to make some passes before it turns cold here in TN.

I'm trying to imagine it in my head, what force is happening to cause the thrust fail? When bolting the flexplate up, does the interference cause the flexplate to bow and push the crank forward? And since the endplay is fairly snug already, its hard to notice a problem if you aren't looking I'd imagine.

You got it. Any movement by the converter/flex plate will cause pressure to be applied to the thrust bearing if the converter cannot freely move or is not properly fitted. The flex plate is exactly that. It is designed to flex(hence the name). The reason for a proper fitting converter pilot is so that it can move(a few thousands) in and out of the crank.

Here’s a video to illustrate:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YEfqKoilLkI

The converter will/may balloon slightly. The flex plate allows that and the converter is moving fore and aft as converter fluid pressure builds.

Always always always make sure it fits properly. Kenny Ford at PTC checked it out and said it was on the high side of tolerances(no it wasn’t-it didn’t fit my crank with out interference-it was obviously out of tolerance). I won’t blame PTC because I should have checked it. They “fixed” the converter for free and I’m out 700 bucks to my engine builder for fixing the thrust issue along with the new roller bearings for the cam. I’m not unhappy with anyone. Lesson learned.

Here at my transmission shop, I buff the paint off the pilot with a roloc pad then apply never seize to prevent the pilot from sticking in the bore.

Well, Dragweek 2020 was cancelled. I have been to the track a couple of times recently and have a personal best of 5.88@121mph. 1.29 60' at 3305#. I leave on the transbrake at 4300. Converter stalls just below 5K(AOD 2.84 1st gear/3.90 rear gear). Consistent on the tree .01-.04. I raced bracket at NMRA Bowling Green this past weekend and the car was good but a little inconsistent. Not sure why yet. During eliminations, round 1 and 2, car slowed with a 1.44 60' and a 6.13@117. Having fun. That's what counts.

738drvr wrote:Well, Dragweek 2020 was cancelled. I have been to the track a couple of times recently and have a personal best of 5.88@121mph. 1.29 60' at 3305#. I leave on the transbrake at 4300. Converter stalls just below 5K(AOD 2.84 1st gear/3.90 rear gear). Consistent on the tree .01-.04. I raced bracket at NMRA Bowling Green this past weekend and the car was good but a little inconsistent. Not sure why yet. During eliminations, round 1 and 2, car slowed with a 1.44 60' and a 6.13@117. Having fun. That's what counts.

That’s cool. Having fun!