Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Not to nitpick the magnificent feat of engineering, but that rear door doesn't look like it will allow dignified entry or exit when you arrive at the local black-tie dragstrip event.
 
Not to nitpick the magnificent feat of engineering, but that rear door doesn't look like it will allow dignified entry or exit when you arrive at the local black-tie dragstrip event.

Oddly, there are such events, just not here at Mo-Kan. ?
 
Oddly, there are such events, just not here at Mo-Kan. ?

Jorts and Mossy Oak crocs are as close as some folks will get to a tux ?
 
Anything that lifts the front end is okay in my book.

 
It's like a giant electric Hot Wheels car. I don't think I've seen someone spool up a motor like that before, I wonder how many times you can do it before you break something.
 
It's like a giant electric Hot Wheels car. I don't think I've seen someone spool up a motor like that before, I wonder how many times you can do it before you break something.

Probably a similar amount of times you could spool up a 1400hp gas motor before it blows something up. I bet they have it hooked to a mondo torque converter to get that spool rather than direct drive.
 
You know someone did something right when the transmission they designed in the mid to late 1940's is still being used in drag racing in 2020.
 
Yesterday on the way home from work, I nearly got involved in an accident. On a big road, three lanes per direction, I was going on the right lane and traffic was denser on the other lanes, so I ended up passing the traffic on the middle lane, among them a lorry. At some point, the lorry driver decided to change lanes to the right, and I was in his blind spot to the front and right of his vehicle. Somehow he noticed and pulled back - I just saw the truck getting near my left rear end in the driver-side mirror.
Phew.
 
With passenger car makers basically tripping over themselves trying to outdo each other with all sorts of camera systems and traffic alerts and whatnot, why aren't we seeing these things being enforced on new trucks?
 
You know someone did something right when the transmission they designed in the mid to late 1940's is still being used in drag racing in 2020.

That and there's probably nothing GM in that transmission at all. It's all aftermarket, case, input and output shafts, internals, valve body, etc.
 
That and there's probably nothing GM in that transmission at all. It's all aftermarket, case, input and output shafts, internals, valve body, etc.

I figured as much, but it's still a 70 year old design.
 
Chevrolet had a great run with their early automatics. I say Chevrolet because although they were "GM" designs, this was still the time where all the divisions had their own engineering. The Powerglide is well suited for drag racing as it's very simple to rebuild (inasmuch as an automatic transmission can be) and the fluid coupling reduces the likelihood of things from going pop when exposed to over 8,000 ft-lbs of torque.

The subsequent THM400 and THM350 also proved to be surprisingly long-lived. The former alongside the Ford C6 and the heavy-duty Torqueflites still show up in discussions about the most-durable automatic transmissions. And, thanks to the magic of LS swaps and increasing bellhousing sizes for newer 6,8, and 10-speed transmissions, the 4L80E seems to be going down the same path.
 
Interesting side note. Some drag cars use a TH400 instead of a Powerglide so they can use second and third only. This is due to a limitation on gear ratios for the Powerglide. The highest ratio available for the Powerglide 1st great being a 1.54 where a TH400 2nd gear ratio can be had as a 1.30. some people refer to this trans as Turbo-glide.

But to go further, some just use 2nd gear in a Powerglide (1.00), making the entire run in one gear. A local racer has been running our bracket series that way. Going from running 5.10s to mid 5.50s. Why? He still runs about the same miles per hour, meaning he will leave first against a quicker car, then run about the same speed as them at the finish line.
 
I wish car makers would return to calling their components cool names.

Give me a car with an Autronic Eye, a Turbo-Hydramatic transmission, a Quadrajet carb, and a Positraction rear diff. And throw in some Jetfire while you're at it.
 
I wish car makers would return to calling their components cool names.

Give me a car with an Autronic Eye, a Turbo-Hydramatic transmission, a Quadrajet carb, and a Positraction rear diff. And throw in some Jetfire while you're at it.

Suzuki calls their new range of turbocharged motors BOOSTERJET. Not necessarily in all caps, that's just me thinking it's fitting.

The name makes me think of something like this:

1598589409167.png
 
Top