Inliners International Forums General Discussion Ford 300 max rpm??

Hi, new here, I bought a front engine dragster with a 6 cyl ford and only got out one weekend with it so far. The guy I bought it from said to shift at 5800rpm but it is quicker if I rev it to 6500. Is this too high? How high can a 300 rev?

Check with 'Frenchtown Flyer'.

He runs one of those.

Good luck.

Gonna need some details about the engine, to ballpark your max "safe" rpm.


If it runs quicker at 6500 than 5800, I think you have your answer, how long it holds together is another story.


Whats the vehicle weigh, whats your times in the 1/8 or 1/4?


Good luck

I think he said around 900lb's, picture a dragster from the 50's. 90" wheelbase.
Don't know much about the engine,has a carter 4bbl,homemade (I think) headers and intake. He said put gas in it and change the oil every two weekends. Change valvesprings and bearing every winter.Has a solid cam 550 lift or something like that.

oh yeah, 10.76 at 142 mph. That's shifting at 6500. Don't know the rpm at the finish line as it's shaking so bad I can't see anything, or I'm shaking so bad I don't know.Lol!
It went 10.53 at 136 when I shifted at 5600-5800.
I've only made 4 passes so far.
oh yeah it's a powerglide 2 spd transmission.

I would pull that engine down and check the ballance. In "the old days" they only ballanced to (1-4 grams) 'or so'. Today they get it 'on the money.'

There's a good reason why he said "shift at 5800" & that could be it. Check with "frenchtown" too.

It's a lot cheaper than another engine/starting over.

Good luck.

Tailgunner


Not bad at all, sounds like your having fun with it and thats all that matters.

Did the guy mention anything to you about the engine having a forged crank?

Would you be willing to let us know what all this fun cost you to get into?

Find a post by
THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER
then at the top of one of his posts, you can click on an icon to PM or e-mail him, he may not visit this site much (busy I suppose) but he will respond quickly to PMs and e-mails. Hes been there and done that, when it comes to drag racing the ol' inline300.


Good luck

That should of read 10.93 at 136 not 10.53.
I'm calling the guy tonight if I have time, maybe he can explain/answer some stuff. I don't think it's the engine shaking as much as the car itself.Somebody just told me about fire jacket and stuff I should be wearing too. Winters is almost here so I think I'll get out maybe once more, unless I rent the track. Cost? that's funny because I was going to buy it anyway, but I caught my son drinking and driving so I sold the 66 mustang I bought for him and told him that's what I bought the dragster with. $5,000 which included the trailer and a truck load of parts.

Ouch, hopefully your kid will think twice next time.

Good luck with your dragster.

I got off the phone with the guy and he gave me vast amounts of info. Both on the car and the volume of parts I have. He's had the car go 10.04 but it was illegal at the track he was racing due to safety equipment. The track I saw it at (and now race it at)doesn't do much of a tech and let it slide. It has three point five gears and a "2500 converter". The engine has a custom isky camshaft with .550 lift and roller rockers. The head has chevrolet valves and lots of porting (pording? I didn't hear him very well). I have 6 gearsets (pigs he said?) 4 torque converters, and boxes of pistons/rods/crankshafts/blocks msd ignition parts/coils.(I was writing this down as quick as I could).
I can do basic repairs but I think I'll drop the whole thing off at work for my engineers to go over/repair. Oh yeah, he said it weighs around 1200-1300lb's now, it used to be 900 when it had a four cylinder engine.
I'm making plans to get out this weekend. We'll see as we're at full capacity at work.

Also, I looked up "French Town Flyer", very interesting fellow. I'm not sure if I will go to the lengths he did, but time will tell.

Sunny Saturday and rain Sunday, so I guess I only get one day to play. Already loaded up, looks funny though, a fifty's dragster on a single axle trailer being towed by a 2002 Lincoln Blackwood.Lol! If it's not too late I'll post tomorrow night.

Well, here was my Saturday. Headed out bright and early and got a flat half way to the track.(first bad omen) Got to the track and was told it's not safe, can't run.(second bad omen) They said the previous owner ran at all the local tracks and one by one they banned him because the car is not safe for the speed it goes.So I asked how fast can it run as is? Can't run at all! What do I need to do? (massive list I won't detail) Minimum was to add extra bars in some spots and install steel plate over diff instead of just the alum seat I have now. No local welding shops open on Saturday.(third bad omen)Went to a welding shop that was open (45 min away) and got bars/steel plate welded in. Got back to track to be told I also can't go quicker than 11.50 just to be safe. A friend helped change the rearend gearset to a 3 to one ratio. Went out and launched at 2000rpm and shifted at 4500 and went 13.22. Launched at 2500 and shifted at 5000 and went 12.68. (you get the idea) Finally went 11.603 at 121mph and tried to repeat it. Everything the same went 11.60, 11.57, 11.63, 11.62.
My lights were all over the place, .070-.229
I think if I get the lights consistent, the car will be more consistent. This was a "time trials" day but there was a gamblers race at 4.00 I went .081 and 11.54 on a 11.60 dial.(where did that come from?) Out first round but I didn't care, I had fun...relatively! Loaded up and went home. I'm thinking now that this winter is either redo the car legal, or build/buy something different. Six cyl of course!Lol
I think that was the last weekend before winter. The track is trying to schedule something for the 5 Nov but I think it's too late. So, I have a LONG list to go over and some decisions to make.

And how way YOUR weekend???

Oh I forgot to mention, I filled the tank (about 5 gal) and filled it up once during the day and it's still 1/2 full. I would guess I burnt 6-7 gallons all day! Pretty good I thought. Anybody agree, disagree?

It sounds like you had a good time for not much money.

Reaction times don't change your e.t., as long as you are staged the same every time.

Build a good chassis - it could save your life some day. The safety rules are there to save you. Been there.

Thanks, I've heard that "build a good chassis" line quite a bit in the last few weeks. It's unfortunate that I bought basically a ton of parts for the money I spent, however, like you and others have said, it could save my life someday.
Another idea I had was to put a stock 300 in it and run it like that. (how dangerous can a 14.00 sec car be?) Next spring I'll have something, but as of right now I have no idea what it will look like.

Sounds to me like you made a good deal $5000.00 car in the 10's, saved your son life(I hope) and gained a lot of experience. Build a classic 50's or 60"s frame and have a ball for little money. Good luck.

Yes; Congratulations and a 'better day' WILL come.

2005 post. A little delay in the relay??LOL