Welcome to the 294th Episode of Mike Finnegan’s Garage! I can’t believe we are nearing the 300th episode we’ve dropped since 2016. It’s been a wild ride and the pursuit to make our barn-find ’67 Pontiac Firebird run an 8 second pass at the dragstrip has been just as wild. In this vid we are back at Alabama Dragway to see if recent upgrades and tuning changes results in quicker ETs. We are on on the right track and the car is improving, even doing a small wheelie in this video!
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-Finnegan
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Damn, cliffhanger
Maybe inappropriate camshaft for blower, I'm thinking excessive overlap might create issues.
Why don't you just rebuild the engine. You have no idea what's in it. That would drive me crazy.
can I please have the Datsun? I had one many moons ago when I was 20yrs old. Oh the memories
Baby steps
Always the way. "Man I havent used X in ages, might but it away" 5 mins later… hey where is X…. Damn it! Lol
I don't know a lot about drag racing, but it seems to me that at 150ish mph, not having the hood on must create a lot of aero drag, the exposed firewall presenting a surface perpendicular to the airflow
need a shirt rubber duck on the front , blashemi on the back… kind of like business up front party at the back hair cut.. except we know it party all the time ether car haha and or boat aswell. u need to get in to circuit race boats
If I had a car like this, with all the fruit like this and only did 9s. I'd go 4wdriving instead.
Fuel – use a pressure gauge and a camera through the pull. You are loosing fuel pressure, crappy filter, or pump not keeping up.
It may sound stupid, but it's not plug gap is it? – The spark is getting blown-out at peak boost.
Looks like your hopping off the starting line
Don’t know if you have one a oil pressure fuel cut out switch relay back in the day had problems with one would turn the pumps off at high rpm hope this might help
Worn out blower? If it’s not moving as much air, that would lead to the plugs being way too rich. Check the plug wires to make sure there isn’t spark grounding to a header.
Are you getting fuel slosh or low fuel pressure on the track, but not on the dyno
@34:18 there's a whiff of something coming form the side of the blower.
show us the supra mike
Finn my man, I wonder if you simply pushed on the rocker arm if you wouldn't of felt the lifters. I hydraulic should have a soft squishy initial travel. Just instead of messing around with the camera. Im not sure just trying to help a fellow gearhead.
Don't give up on the "Rubber Duck"! I think you guys should giver her more attention, she can definitely be a high 8 second car, pull ypur cam and lifters and see what you got, check blower for worn too.
A flat tappet cam will not have a tie bar on the lifter pair. Easier way to check is take the lash out of it and see if it will give you a 1/2 to 3/4 turn….
Well….
How much heartbreak would a wideband have saved you? ha
Put a small tire on it lol
Why do u have the bowl vents plugged off ? I just wondered if ur problem is staring u in the face ? ? ?
When pulling on dyno there is no motion, going down the track is pulling g forces. Check for carb problems
Announcer voice: "And….moving to the starting line is club-foot Mike in the Canary yellow fire chicken!"
If the lifter was hydraulic would it not compress? Check a lifter that was hanging a valve open for a few minutes to let it bleed down. Also, wouldn't a roller cam have tie bar lifters? As far as plugs, too much gap? Blowing the fire out from the supercharger…
Need a lambda in the exhaust. Air scoop could be leaning it out at speed.
It’s the msd box
I appreciate Fins efforts to explain things as simple as possible as often as he can
Mike if you have the time give the guys at RPM data loggers easy to use and doesn’t cost the world and is US made they will help you out any time of the day Cheers
easy way to tell if its flat tappet is no link bars.
Did ol boy tune the car with the float bowls all the way up? Lol
Heading home from NC yesterday was wondering if you were heading north just before GA line looked like your rig .
you said "your not a yellow car guy" and i always said that "i wasnt a yellow bike guy". yet here we both have been proven wrong.
Let's not give up guys I want to see the rubber duck go in the Eights let's get that blower gasket on there and get back to the track. By the way you have plenty of room in the cabinets don't forget
Always love the Firebird and the content you make with it .
must be a Yellow thing i have a 1972 18ft Donzi and Last summer on the lake full throttle it would break cup and miss fire when you hit any kind of chop …took about a month of diagnostic to figure out the kill switch safety lanyard we installed came a little loose and causing it to break up in the chop
Just paint the Datsun and keep them both!!!
Every week I make sure to clean my air bleeds perfect example why you should!
one of the few Episodes where the Rubber Duck didn't get rained on.
The life of racing.
Exercising demons only makes them stronger. Excising them tends to work out better. There's always that one guy, might as well be me today!
Hey Mike don't kick yourself in the ass for this just go back out and keep trying tomorrow is another day and another track rental
If it was roller wouldn’t it have tie bars?
Can't get enough of Rubber Duck!
That first pass would have been closer to a 9.60, maybe a 9.50
Mike , you keep singing the same old song about not knowing anything about the engine. You have a scope , use it to look at the top of the piston. To check valve to piston clearance pull a intake and exhaust spring , heck , I even have a head on chevy spring removal tool and never owned a chevy. Make a video on that and stop complaining