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Thread: Futura Drag Car

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    Default Futura Drag Car

    I just purchased a 79 Futura that was on it's way to being built as a drag car. My plan is to finish it In 12 to 18 months. I'm going to build it for NHRA U/S using a 302 2bbl, 4 speed as per their rules. Stock 1.08 carb, heads, intake, crank, rods and cast pistons. Cam can have any duration or LSA but has to retain stock lift which is this case is .398. It has a favorable horsepower rating so the car only has to weigh 2950 with the driver.
    Have to have the stock interior except for front seats and you can remove the back seat if you have a roll bar.
    This car already had a 10 point cage welded in and subframe connectors with a 31 spline, Trac-Lok 8.8 rear end and 4:10 gears (which aren't low enough for my purpose).
    Car is a rust free Arizona car I found on Craigslist original 4 cyl 4 speed car. Decent Zephyr grille. Looks like it was owned by a local College going by the stickers in the windows.
    Kind of a big project but I have rounded up some parts. I bought a QuickTime bellhousing and a Jerico DR4 transmission.

    KellyAttachment 88810Attachment 88809Attachment 88811Attachment 88812Attachment 88813
    Last edited by FoxChassis; 08-10-2015 at 02:00 PM.

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    Real nice car.I love the rust free.
    You are going to learn to hate the seat side bars,if you plan to drive it on the street. I had straight bars in a falcon, but they were removable.
    Keep up the good work and more pics of all your cars.
    Will Rogers" common sense is not as common as you think"

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    Subscribed. I can't wait to see how this turns out. Cam technology is something else on the stock class engines. They seem to almost throw the lifter off the cam for increased lift, lol. I'm not familiar with the stock rules, but my car has a tubular K-member, manual steering and brakes, no roll bar, full interior, fuel cell in the trunk and weighs a little over 3000lb at last check. I need to get it weighed again with full exhaust on it. You may have to do some "surgery" to get her weight down.

    Keep posting as you go!

    Lon

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    Quote Originally Posted by BadZ View Post
    Subscribed. I can't wait to see how this turns out. Cam technology is something else on the stock class engines. They seem to almost throw the lifter off the cam for increased lift, lol. I'm not familiar with the stock rules, but my car has a tubular K-member, manual steering and brakes, no roll bar, full interior, fuel cell in the trunk and weighs a little over 3000lb at last check. I need to get it weighed again with full exhaust on it. You may have to do some "surgery" to get her weight down.

    Keep posting as you go!

    Lon
    I'm not required to have a roll cage or bar for the class I'm going to run but since it's there I'm going to leave it. Your not supposed to gut the cars but you are allowed to remove heater/ac, wipers & motors and any accessories.
    The fast guys using this engine combination can go mid 13's at U weight and low 13's at T weight using a C-4.

    Jim, it will be race only so don't have to worry about the door bars but I may install a swing kit on the drivers side.

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    I don't know the rule your speaking of, but if it is a 302 block can you not overbore or stroke?
    Last edited by FoxChassis; 08-10-2015 at 08:48 PM.

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    The 64 comets in one of the stock class was in the 11s ,that is fast even with a 271 hi po.
    Will Rogers" common sense is not as common as you think"

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zephyr5.0 View Post
    I don't know the rule your speaking of, but if it is a 302 block can you not overbore or stroke?
    You can overbore up to .060ish must retain the stock stroke, no light cranks or rotating assemblies. Pretty tight rules.

    https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/n...ndex.htm#/129/ see section 10A

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    I didn't realize it had been a year and a half since mylast update. I've made a lot of progress. Car is being built for NHRA StockEliminator.

    Paint and body done, except for the front sheet metal,grille etc.
    Rear differential finished with a Moser spool and axles.
    Fuel cell and fuel system completed.
    Engine built, dynoed and installed.
    Quicktime bellhousing, using an Advanced 7 inch clutchwith a Jerico 4 speed and Long ratchet shifter.
    Interior is about 80% done.

    Getting close, maybe 5 to 6 weeks if all goes well.

    Kelly

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    A few more pics.

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    Nice job so far. looks like it's going to be fun car to bang through the gears in!

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    Looking great!!

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    Would love to have one of these or a mercury zephyr to make into a dragster! I have Willow Springs Raceway about 15 miles from my house and they do Street Style Drag Racing every other weekend during the summer!

    Car looks great! Keep up the good work!

    Robert
    1984 RS 347 Capri, To many car parts to list, check out my car build page here for the story on my car and a full parts list/setup!:

    My RS in Action

  14. #14

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    Very nice! How fast are you expecting to Go?
    82 ford fairmont futura
    quicktime turbosystems 70mm turbo
    10.67@128.38

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    Quote Originally Posted by slomont View Post
    Very nice! How fast are you expecting to Go?
    The index for U/S is 14:65, car should run high 13's, I hope!

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    Nice pics.great work.Good luck.
    Will Rogers" common sense is not as common as you think"

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    FEP Power Member Fearnot's Avatar
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    Looking good!!
    88 Turbo Coupe auto
    88 Turbo Coupe 5spd
    79 Fairmont Futura 4.6
    79 Capri RS - 2.3/5spd restomod
    80 Capri 5.0/5spd project
    79 Zephyr Z7 factory 5.0 sunroof
    79 Pace Car 5.0/5spd project
    85 LTD LX factory 5spd?(not documented)
    86 GT conv 5.0/5spd
    79 Pace Car 2.3/4spd - needs new home

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    Shadylane, I have been following your Fairmont build on Class Racer. Funny, I wanted to build a 302 2 barrel 4 speed Fairmont for Stock over 15 years ago, however, at that time, for whatever reason, NHRA had factored all the 2 barrel 302s at 200 HP! Since the 85 5.0 Mustang combo had a 4 barrel carb, hyd roller cam with more lift, at at the time, a NHRA rating of 205HP, that was what I built. Over the years, NHRA has slowly kept dropping the HP rating on the 2 barrel 302s, to the point that a couple of fellow Div. 6 racers went from barely running index in P & Q, to being top qualifiers in T & U/SA! I ran my Mustang in M& occasionally N/S, breifly held the NHRA record in both classes, but have not ran the car in Stock for a few years. I am still racing my 78 Fairmont sedan bracket car , both with 427 & 428 FE power, and currently with a 331 SBFord. Jerico 4 speed in both cases.[ATTACH]111988 [ATTACH]111989Name:  PhotoScan012 (2) - Copy.jpg
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    Last edited by mcfairmont; 05-07-2017 at 07:56 PM.
    1978 Fairmont 2 door sedan, 428CJ 4speed. 9.972ET@132.54mph. 1.29 60 foot
    Replaced the FE big block with my 331/4 speed in my Fairmont, best 10.24ET @128 MPH.
    1985 Mustang LX hatchback NHRA Stock Eliminator 302 4 speed best in legal trim 12.31@107 mph, but has gone 11.42@115 with aftermarket intake, carb, and iron Windsor Jr. heads.New for 2012! 331 cube SB Ford, AFR 185 heads, solid flat tappet cam, pump gas; 10.296ET@128.71 mph, 1.37 60 foot.
    1979 Zephyr Z7, all original 302 auto, 2nd owner.

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    [QUOTE=mcfairmont;1844454]Shadylane, I have been following your Fairmont build on Class Racer. Funny, I wanted to build a 302 2 barrel 4 speed Fairmont for Stock over 15 years ago, however, at that time, for whatever reason, NHRA had factored all the 2 barrel 302s at 200 HP! Since the 85 5.0 Mustang combo had a 4 barrel carb, hyd roller cam with more lift, at at the time, a NHRA rating of 205HP, that was what I built. Over the years, NHRA has slowly kept dropping the HP rating on the 2 barrel 302s, to the point that a couple of fellow Div. 6 racers went from barely running index in P & Q, to being top qualifiers in T & U/SA! I ran my Mustang in M& occasionally N/S, breifly held the NHRA record in both classes, but have not ran the car in Stock for a few years. I am still racing my 78 Fairmont sedan bracket car , both with 427 & 428 FE power, and currently with a 331 SBFord. Jerico 4 speed in both cases.

    Hey Rory, your cars look great.
    Yep the lowering of the HP on the 302 2bbls has generated a few new cars to be built. My short block is top notch but my heads and intake are good solid untouched castings as I can't afford the massaged parts. I'm sure it will a fun ride.

    Thanks

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    I finished my Futura in late August and tested in Albquerque. Car runs well, no serious bugs or problems. I need some help on the tree as I haven't raced in over 35 years and my burnouts suck. The car ran a best of 13.75 at 96mph. Keep in mind, by the rules I have to use a stock 1.08 venturi 2 bbl carb. Stock unmodified cast iron intake, heads, valves and pistons. No stroking, overbore limited to .060 for my block. Stock lift camshaft, .398 for my combination. The NHRA index (kind of a national average) for my class is 15.24 in Albuquerque (5300 ft above sea level) and 14.40 at sea level. The National Record is 13.80 at sea level.

    A couple of friends and I took the car to Salt Lake City in late September to attend an NHRA Divisional race. My first NHRA race ever. I qualified #2 out of 65 cars in Stock Eliminator with a 14.01 on a 15.05 index. We also set a new National Record for my class at 13.40 and 99.26 mph, corrected for 4400 ft. altitude. When you set a record the NHRA officials ask you to remove a cylinder head for inspection. They checked the carb, intake, head cc's and port cc;s, valve sizes, stroke and bore, then lift on the cam. The motor passed with flying colors.

    My driving left a lot to be desired but we had fun and now I'll looking at racing in Southwest come this late winter and spring.

    Attachment 116610Attachment 116611Attachment 116614Attachment 116612Attachment 116613

    I'm attaching a link to an in car video I took on my first qualifying run. I screwed up the burnout and left on the 2nd yellow (nerves) but the car ran well.


    https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=dcbwchgbg3o

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    Very nice. I'm sure you are going to be a force to deal with once you shake the rest of the rust off the driver! LOL. Car looks awesome and sounds like it is performing excellent. Great work!

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