The road to the 7s has been a bumpy one. Here we are at the halfway point of the 2004 season and Gardella Racing has experienced both ups and downs in our quest to have the first unibodied car to hit the 7-second mark.
At our home track in Englishtown, N.J., way back on May 1 and 2, the car went 8.08 with a 1.29 60-foot. The 60-foot time is a number usually reserved for the Pro FWD class. This was at the start of the race season and Gardella Racing felt confident the 7s were going to be quickly within reach. However, with changes in temperature, elevation, climate and track conditions, the drag car has not seen those numbers since.
Track conditions are a major factor in the car's performance. Throughout the season we have raced on tracks with temperatures of more than 140 degrees. The heat leaves the track greasy and, despite the best efforts from the track prep team, there is not much that can be done to improve conditions. Changes in the climate and elevation also have an impact on the tune-up of the car and can lead to part failures.
The Gardella Racing hot rod is powered by a small, 1.8-liter engine, which can cause the car to vary in performance, reliability and consistency. The small motor creates high cylinder pressures, which can lead to ignition failure. To counter these failures, MSD suggested we bolt on a digital high-output ignition box as a solution.
Through running the car and carefully going over each potential problem, the team figured out we were using the wrong tension oil rings, which was causing detonation in the block. Another problem we were running into was that the cylinder head was cracking the ports inside the head. With the help of NGK, we also found we were using the wrong spark plugs.
Gardella Racing pioneered the X-Trac transmission and Wolfe Race Craft clutch combination this season. On the track, we are able to fine-tune each part. The clutch is centrifugal and can be varied, or tuned, by adjusting the weights and base pressure. Getting the clutch set at the right adjustment is critical for getting a good reaction time.
We set up an ignition kill on the transmission, which backs off the ignition to allow for shifting. Our crew chief Jon Perry has mastered setting the ignition kill to the proper shift time. The timing of the ignition kill is crucial in the car's performance because the engine can fall off power waiting for the shift if the kill time is mis-adjusted.
Although the road to 7s has been littered with obstacles, we continue to research new solutions. The addition of the new MSD ignition box and NGK spark plugs have eliminated a lot of the ignition gremlins. Job Spetter from Turbo People has been working on the tune-up of the car. More track time allows for Jay Smith and Jon Perry to get more data on the clutch and transmission for future modifications.
Gardella Racing still maintains a high goal; we plan to hit 7.99 or better during the 2004 season. The team is in the process of doing whatever is necessary to break and take the national e.t. and mph record. Our minds are set on maintaining our status as the 2004 and 2005 national record in the Hot Rod/Pro four-cylinder class.