Off-Kilter Racing - '62 Valiant Slant 6 in Kentucky (Page 4 of 5)

Granted we put in the upgraded clutches before installing it but ours has lasted quite a few races with significant torque through it.  Curous what you are pushing it with if you are burning up a "clutch type" axle in Lemons racing?

Bold statement...challenge accepted!

OF course they will eventually wear out as they are a friction material but so will brake pads, actual clutch, even the head gasket on a Buick 3800 (literally worn out).

We have always taken the opposite view of not getting the "best" but more the best we can with readily available repair/replacement parts.  Granted, we have had to give in on the transmision (oddly on two different cars) and driveshaft to the best solution but that is pretty close to the only exception unless it is an IoE car.  Brake upgrades have always been OEM solutions (though from other vehicles) for parts availability at hte local chain store for example.  Suspension as well.

Brakes, clutch etc are designed to wear.   Differentials do have options that last much longer, the ford oem differential is a cheap design and fairly suboptimal one for racing.    I spent $100 on the Auburn differential and didnt even have the oem lsd in the first place  The upgraded plates( if i had a factory lsd) were more $ than my better differential. .

Why not one and done instead of sticking with oem stuff?    We could not keep brake pads with the oem brakes, and were cooking the calipers. Getting the heat out of the brakes was a huge issue.   Spending $ on a nice brake setup is saving me money on pads/rotors for every race.  If i had to i could swap my 2 piece rotor with an off the shelf ford rotor.   I wont ever need to but i could.  Calipers dont typically go bad but a wilwood 6 piston is very easy to find. 

I guess it depends on how fast the car is and how much oem parts you can use.    We were/are constantly breaking oem parts.

c5 calipers and rotors are no better than the factory crown vic stuff. I actually have the adapters to mount them to the factory spindle.  We have lots of tire and decent hp.   Our car is likely a bit faster than yours, we smoked brake pads, rotors, and calipers after each race.     Wilwood pads and calipers are really cheap, i have less than $500 into two calipers and lines.  I paid $200 for a set of the er1 hawk pads and they barely look worn after road atlanta.  Parts store rotors are also trash, i had connecting heat cracks after 1 race on a set of 14" x 1.25" boss 302 rotors.     After 1 race on the same size girodisc 2 piece rotors we have no heat cracks. 

I have $100 into a road race differential that wont need rebuilds.   Why would i spend $100 everytime to keep rebuilding an inferior differential?

I'm not criticizing your stuff, im just explaining why im not running it.      We simply are too fast for many oem parts.

does it have 2 more cylinders?

Heck no!! This car will keep the Leaning Tower of Power, thank you very much!

This engine is black... instead of blue... with a red head... and lace painted valve cover... that's all... LOL

The original engine was fine and is now the backup engine.

We removed ToadRacer (TR) Slant 1.5 and put in TR Slant 2.0.

TR 1.5 was fine. We raced TR 1.0 at Sebring with no problems and put on a slightly better head for NCM (TR 1.5)

One longevity concern is oil control, so TR 2.0 has a modified oil pan.

The other improvement since NCM is the much better fuel filler location. No more lifting five gallon fuel jugs under the trunk lid.

Almost ready for CMP!

Just stumbled on this thread, this thing is the shiz. Hella good job boys, this ol Mopar is now living its best life.

CMP was fun.

ToadRacer was driven to the race from Blacksburg, VA (about 250 miles). That was a good break in and shake down for the new Slant 6 engine.

Testing Friday was great! Two of us had never been to CMP before, so it was good to get on track and try things out before the race.

Taking the kink at full throttle in a 60 year old Mopar on sticky tires is SO much fun!!

Saturday started off pretty good with the best lap time of 2:00.xxx. The new engine probably has about 30-40 more HP than the first one.

Then we had rear brake issues a couple times... worked through that...

Then the little 7 1/4 differential started complaining (about taking the kink at full throttle...)... Keep going, it'll be fine...

Then Deja Vu hit!!

Barber 2018 was my first Lemons race driving a 64 Valiant Signet. They were leading class on Saturday until the air cleaner bolt snapped and went through 5 of the 6 cylinders, eventually putting a hole in #2 piston.

My stint was close to the bitter end with the #2 pushrods removed and the car running on maybe 4 cylinders. I lasted about 45 minutes until the burning oil and smoke fumes became too much to bear...

This time the nut we added to keep the stud in place only went through 1 and 6 and was caught before catastrophic damage was done. We removed the head, verified we could still go on, replaced one valve and she fired back to life. Ready to hit the track again.

Unfortunately, the part we knew to be the weakest link proved us right. The little 7 1/4 differential with a sure-grip (try finding one of those these days) turned into a spool with nerve shattering clunking.

It was at that point we decided to call it a day.

I guess we need to quit talking about upgrading the differential and actually do it now.

See you at NCM in September!

That's ToadRacer in a nutshell.

8.8 is the plan.  I'm heading to the pull a part again this weekend. Also contacting some people on Marketplace.

For what its worth ...I have a factory "open" Mopar 8.25" in my Cordoba. 5 full races with no issues. And we are not kind to it. They made them forever.  I think there are pretty popular in more modern Jeeps and Dakota pick ups as well.

Good luck.......Your car is Great .... Need more like it!