Novice Drag Racer needs help in checking out a Drag car for purchase (traction, octane)

[007.5]

Originally Posted by Suncc49

Pro's

1) car is titled , alot of people try to see drag cars with no title

2) ford 9 inch with ladder bar setup, Try and find out what kit he used for the setup...

3) nitrous system ( However I don't recommend you using this) general rule of thumb is to just assume you will lose 2,500-5,000 miles of engine life every time you hit the button... also running often on nitrous will require an engine teardown/freshening up every other season depending

4) price isn't bad if you can get it for 5k... however, Vegas aren't popular... I am biased and would rather have a Nova as a start.

Cons

1) unknown engine specs.... What Carb? Forged internals? Type of heads? Intake Manifold?

2) no pics, lol

3) you can't fix it yourself, so you will have to rely on your track buddies

4) Safety features - you didn't list if it has a cage or not... most tracks will make you use em when you go into the 10's.... also need to know if it has a driveshaft loop and oil pan diaper

Good analysis. Thanks. Will dig deeper into these things. There is quite a bit of unknown to buying such a Car ; who knows if the Build was done well , what internals were chosen, etc..... Makes one nervous for sure.

[Suncc49]

Originally Posted by 007.5

Good analysis. Thanks. Will dig deeper into these things. There is quite a bit of unknown to buying such a Car ; who knows if the Build was done well , what internals were chosen, etc..... Makes one nervous for sure.

Find out what rear gear is in there too.... also if it has a fuel cell and what type of fuel system is on this car / fuel pump

I will try and give you an idea of what this stuff costs...

9 inch ford setup w ladder bars and decent gearing - 1,000 to 2,000

Good racing carb, preferably holley... 1,000

intake manifold for big block... 300-500 depending

headers 300ish

nitrous kit - depending on plumbing etc... 300-700

decent fuel system 500 - 1000 ... find out if he is using braided stainless lines and what size an .. ex 6, 8 - fuel cell another 200-400 depending

disc brakes? - 1,200 - 1,500

good solid big block motor... lets just say 4,000 ...

powerglide racing transmission - 750 - 1,500 bucks


Now you can see how all this adds up....

Hopefully he isn't going to try and sell it as a "roller" when you get there...

[007.5]

Originally Posted by Suncc49

Find out what rear gear is in there too.... also if it has a fuel cell and what type of fuel system is on this car / fuel pump

I will try and give you an idea of what this stuff costs...

9 inch ford setup w ladder bars and decent gearing - 1,000 to 2,000

Good racing carb, preferably holley... 1,000

intake manifold for big block... 300-500 depending

headers 300ish

nitrous kit - depending on plumbing etc... 300-700

decent fuel system 500 - 1000 ... find out if he is using braided stainless lines and what size an .. ex 6, 8 - fuel cell another 200-400 depending

disc brakes? - 1,200 - 1,500

good solid big block motor... lets just say 4,000 ...

powerglide racing transmission - 750 - 1,500 bucks


Now you can see how all this adds up....

Hopefully he isn't going to try and sell it as a "roller" when you get there...

Heres what it is : This car is a 1973 Chev. Vega which has a 427 Big Block motor ,14:1 , 2 speed Glide Trans, 9" rear with ladder bars , wheelie bars, slicks , coilovers, cage, fuel cell., headers, operational nitrous fogger . Its not a Roller...it comes turnkey . Exterior is in good shape. Interior is gutted and sheetmetal'd . Controls are mounted on the dash on passenger side.

Ran a 1.30 60 foot and a 5.84 in the 1/8th .

Ill tell him I need to see it do a pass at the Strip first .

[SVTRay]

Hum...maybe we should start a thread on how much we've spent on drag racing right off the bat. If people want to pursue it then, more power to them lol And to who ever said you need to build the car to handle faster speeds than you intend to do...you're absolutely right about that my friend! I spent 6k on a T-Type Regal with a bad gear box. I installed a basic rebuilt 200R and a 200.00 B&M converter. I think it last 3-4 runs before it was trashed! So I bought. 200R from a reputable Buick builder deigned for 9's...my car only did 11's and paid a grand for a trick converter out of California. I almost doubled my money in that car but when I was done the gear box/ converter was almost bullet proof...to bad the factory rods wasn't Oh the joys of drag racing lol

[NJGOAT]

My only comment on this would be how novice is novice? I really wouldn't recommend anyone stepping into such a dedicated and poweful drag car as their first adventure into racing. If novice means I've never done any kind of serious racing, then I would highly recommend getting into something a little more sensible that can be built up as your experience grows. It seems like a heck of an initial investment into a new hobby. Weren't you contemplating a turbo 1,000+hp Cobra a little while back for the same purpose?

I think a better way to think about this isn't "I couldn't build the same thing for the same money" but that you should look at starting with a more basic car and building it as you learn and adapt it to your individual style. Once you get some seat time and experience, look to sell what you have and upgrade into something else. At least at that point you will know what you are getting into and what your needs are.

I'd HATE to be the guy in the lane next to you, the first time you run that car if the rest of your experience is tied to running an otherwise stock Mustang or Corvette down the strip.

[Deez Nuttz]

Originally Posted by SVTRay

I installed a basic rebuilt 200R and a 200.00 B&M converter.

As you now probably know, the T type does not just use any ordinary 200-4R and a B&M converter probably made it into a turd since most of those converters are geared toward the V8 crowd.

[Donn2390]

If the OP isn't already a pretty good mechanic, he is jumping in way over his head. If he thinks buying a turn key race car and partying with the bro's on Saturday at the nearest strip sounds great, he's in for an awakening..!!
Buying that car will be a way of life, you will be working on it every spare hour of your day and weekend. If the car is perfect when you buy it, it will start taking all of your time and money to keep it on the road. It's the nature of a hi Performance car...
If you aren't interested on spending every night until midnight under the hood fixing the latest problem, then you don't want this car.. It will beat you down mentally and financially unless you are truely devoted......
I would do some serious thinking before buying a new lifestyle which will take ALL of your time...

[Suncc49]

Originally Posted by 007.5

Heres what it is : This car is a 1973 Chev. Vega which has a 427 Big Block motor ,14:1 , 2 speed Glide Trans, 9" rear with ladder bars , wheelie bars, slicks , coilovers, cage, fuel cell., headers, operational nitrous fogger . Its not a Roller...it comes turnkey . Exterior is in good shape. Interior is gutted and sheetmetal'd . Controls are mounted on the dash on passenger side.

Ran a 1.30 60 foot and a 5.84 in the 1/8th .

Ill tell him I need to see it do a pass at the Strip first .

With that compression ratio you will need to run racing gas only. Are you going to trailer this vehicle?

You don't have any information on the internal spec's of the motor?

You would be better off with a Bracket Car.... A fast street vehicle.... Start off with a Fox bodied mustang or a Z28 Camaro.

[johna01374]

Originally Posted by 007.5

I realize this forum isnt the best for Drag Racing, but i know theres a few Drag Racers in here. So... im just getting into Drag Racing at my local 1/8th mile Strip and am wanting to buy my first dedicated Drag Car . This car is a 1973 Chev. Vega which has a 427 Big Block motor ,14:1 , with nitrous fogger , 2 speed Glide Trans, 9" rear with ladder bars , wheelie bars, with slicks . The guy claims it is 'all ready for the strip right now' . The price is a very nice $6,000 asking price and im sure he'd take $5 k . Comes with Texas title. He said it has ran a 5.84 in the 1/8th . Frankly, id have to work up to running this car balls-out having that much power ... but I can start out less aggressive till i get the feel of it. Id imagine the output is roughly 700 h.p. without the nitrous (???) .

Im having to travel 800 miles to get it , and i want to be sure i dont have to immediately dump big money into the mechancals right off the bat ... so i want to have it checked out by a shop in that area before i lay down the money. Would you recommend me getting a compression test performed in addition to a leak down test on the motor ? What else should i be concerned about on a car like this ? What should i definitely ask this Guy about the car ? It is supposed to have seen 30 runs on the current build .

Any info appreciated. Thanks.

There are a million things that need to be looked at but unfortunately most of the things you want to look at would need to be torn down to be inspected.

If I were buying this car I'd be looking for receipts. When was the last time the major components were rebuilt? You really want to know the condition of the engine and trans. A decent built ford 9 inch will typically last forever in a light car. I made hundreds of passes with my single turbo small block Chevy RX7 and it had a decent 9 inch in the rear and never made a peep.

I would ask the seller if he would be willing to take meet you at the track and make a pass to prove everything is in working order but i'm guessing that answer would be no. Since we're talking about working order I wouldn't expect much from a $6000 car. The owner said it has 30 runs on it. If those were nitrous runs I would expect that the motor will need to be gone through and the trans might need to be gone through as well.

Things you can look at is the chassis. Odds are this guy will have a way to put the car up in the air. Make sure all the welds are strong and not cracked. Make sure the welds are decent. If the welds look like crap I would question how safe the car is. Check the cage. Whan was the last time the cage was inspected? It should have a tag on it. Look for any signs of a wreck. Drag cars get wrecked all the time. Look at the wiring. If it still has the factory wiring harness it's most likely hacked up and you could be looking at replacing. Look at the suspension and brakes. Focus on front suspension mainly as big block Vega like to wheel stand and can come down hard.

With all that said and done.. Going through a BBC is pretty easy and as long as the cylinder walls are in good shape you typically only need new rings, bearing and gaskets so it's not really expensive.

A Powerglide is also super simple to rebuild and is one of the few transmissions you can actually do by following a manual and parts are again reasonably cheap.

If you are mechanically inclined you can easily handle these rebuilds. Face it you are going to have to do it sooner or later anyway.

As for driving the car. You'll want to have the car aligned at a chassis shop before going down the track. I've bought used drag cars and trust me when I say this is a must... they will double check all the suspension while they are under there as well. After that I would recommend you have the motor tuned to run without the spray. 700HP should easily put a Vega in the 10's (or 6's 1/8 mile) which is more than fast enough to cause a new guy to change his undies..

One last thing just popped in my head. If this car is setup to run 1/8 mile you will need to change the gearing and maybe the converter if you plan to run 1/4 mile.

I've done a lot of racing. If you have specific questions PM me.

[oz in SC]

Sounds like a good starting point for you,I personally dislike 1/8 mile but it seems to becoming the norm.

Seems a lot of people posting here don't seem to grasp what you are buying.

What gear ratio in the rear?
A guy I worked for had a 1/8 mile Nova,had 5.13's in it...also a BB 454 and PG trans,9 inch rear and Nitrous.

Vegas were popular at one time,anything light was liked.

Go for it.

Expect to spend a lot of money but so what,it is a hobby.