How strict is tech at St Thomas?

[89 coupe]

I went to Toronto Dragway July 8th and was very impressed with how friendly people were and the condition of the whole place. We had planned on running T&T Sat morning at Toronto and then going to St Thomas for the run what you brung races thinking we would get kicked out of Toronto for going too fast but we didn't and stayed there all day. I am still curious what St Thomas is like since it's only another 75 miles west from Toronto. We ran a red 63 Fairlane show car with no roll bar and a stock lap belt running a 427 small block and 4speed(does have a scatter shield) and only got a 11.02 at 126 with no tuning and without the nitrous after having a flat in the right slick for 7 hours before getting fixed 20 minutes before the track closed. It would either hook and bog badly or it would spin badly on launch. How strict is tech at St Thomas on test & tune days or grudge night and would we get kicked out after the first full throttle pass or could we play for the day?

It should run mid/low 10 at 128-130 once the engine/carb/suspension is tuned and something quicker with the 125hp nitrous plate but we wouldn't run nitrous if told not to if we could continue racing full throttle of the bottle.

[Steve_M]

I went to Toronto Dragway July 8th and was very impressed with how friendly people were and the condition of the whole place. We had planned on running T&T Sat morning at Toronto and then going to St Thomas for the run what you brung races thinking we would get kicked out of Toronto for going too fast but we didn't and stayed there all day. I am still curious what St Thomas is like since it's only another 75 miles west from Toronto. We ran a red 63 Fairlane show car with no roll bar and a stock lap belt running a 427 small block and 4speed(does have a scatter shield) and only got a 11.02 at 126 with no tuning and without the nitrous after having a flat in the right slick for 7 hours before getting fixed 20 minutes before the track closed. It would either hook and bog badly or it would spin badly on launch. How strict is tech at St Thomas on test & tune days or grudge night and would we get kicked out after the first full throttle pass or could we play for the day?

It should run mid/low 10 at 128-130 once the engine/carb/suspension is tuned and something quicker with the 125hp nitrous plate but we wouldn't run nitrous if told not to if we could continue racing full throttle of the bottle.

I only do tech at St. Thomas on bracket race days so I cannot answer your question for the average T&T or night time program. But, I have a very hard time seeing anyone let you run quicker than 11.50 without a roll bar.

[89 coupe]

Thanks for the rply Steve. We didn't expect them allowing us to run all the way through but had figured we would have to let up after the 1/8th or slow launch and tune for MPH in the 1/4. We just asked what we could do without getting in trouble and we were told to "let her rip" and "don't worry about it" while getting teched so we did. Could we run to the 1/8th and then let off or run a mid/high 11 at a 125+ MPH at St Thomas? I just want to know if there's some "give" to the rules or if the tech strict before we head up there. BTW, it is all legal except for the bar and harness to run to 10 flat. He is considering a roll bar and harness now but it can't be made until early fall.

[TC89LX]

That was you at TMP in the Fairlane! I was there playing around as well and loved watching that car of yours run, the stick only made it sweeter! Very nice!

For some reason that day wasn't busy at all, I think I waited maybe 2 minutes at most to get a run in.

[89 coupe]

That was you at TMP in the Fairlane! I was there playing around as well and loved watching that car of yours run, the stick only made it sweeter! Very nice!

For some reason that day wasn't busy at all, I think I waited maybe 2 minutes at most to get a run in.


That was us or should I say the guy holding the video camera was me but the Fairlane is not my car, it is my friend's car he built 3 years ago and drives it to/from shows (up to 250 miles each way) and car cruises. This was the first time he ever had slicks on it so it was a new experience for him but now he isn't intimidated by not knowing what to do at the drag strip anymore. I can't row a toploader very good and neither can he but he is better than me plus I needed to see and hear the car while it launched so I had him drive it. I tried to get close up shots of the suspension to study what it's doing on launch so I have a better idea of what changes need to be made to the ladder bars and shock settings. I told him I can tune it to get a mid 10 at 128-130 off the bottle and he thought no way. We went from 118MPH to 126mph in just 1 week. More timing, larger jets. and maybe a 2" open spacer will get the MPH there and suspension setup right will get the 60' lower than a mid 1.6 but the front springs are too stiff and the front is very hard to lift still(Mustang II front suspension) so it doesn't extend well at all. I took off my front drag shocks off my Pinto to use on his for the week. This fall we will try again and finish the tuning on a sticky track in good air.

Did you by chance run 9.60s-9.80s in a black 87-up Mustang at 143MPH and have a turbo? The next time we are out that way look for his Fairlane or my orange Pinto wagon and stop by to say hi. I now know what your Stang looks (and sounds) like if it's the one I'm thinking of. Looks like there is more ET left in it from what I saw on the launch and if that is a true street car it runs very good :) Exhaust would make it very quiet and totally unassuming except for the cowl hood. Turbos are definitely the way to go for high power and streetability. One day I will have one but it's hard for me to break the chain of running 9s naturally aspirated with a street car but it wouldn't need to be so darn radical if it had a turbo. One day... BTW, why were there 4 identical looking (except for the paint) tubbed or tube chassis 87-93 Mustangs there pitted side by side north of the staging lanes with SBCs and BBCs in them? Is there a class they run? I just found that odd...

[89 coupe]

That was you at TMP in the Fairlane! I was there playing around as well and loved watching that car of yours run, the stick only made it sweeter! Very nice!

For some reason that day wasn't busy at all, I think I waited maybe 2 minutes at most to get a run in.

I think I got a run you made on video. I heard the turbo and saw you car pulling in the water box and thought I should get it on tape. I also got a couple of Shawn Morrell's runs on video. I recognized his car from his signiture here on YB so I introduced myself. Nice guy and has a beautiful car though he was holding back so I never got to see him make a full hard pass.

[Steve_M]

Thanks for the rply Steve. We didn't expect them allowing us to run all the way through but had figured we would have to let up after the 1/8th or slow launch and tune for MPH in the 1/4. We just asked what we could do without getting in trouble and we were told to "let her rip" and "don't worry about it" while getting teched so we did. Could we run to the 1/8th and then let off or run a mid/high 11 at a 125+ MPH at St Thomas? I just want to know if there's some "give" to the rules or if the tech strict before we head up there. BTW, it is all legal except for the bar and harness to run to 10 flat. He is considering a roll bar and harness now but it can't be made until early fall.

89 coupe,

The official answer that I can give you on a public message board is this.

If any vehicle runs quicker than an 11.50 without the proper safety equipment, they will be given a warning that if it happens again they will not be able to race again until the equipment is in place.

As I am sure you will understand, insurance companies are always looking for ways to pass liability and as a result we cannot compromise.

Having said that... I have never seen your car and will have no way of knowing for sure in advance what the car is honestly capable of. If you launch hard and run to the 990' and then let off, you will be okay if the time slip says your quarter mile time is over 11.50.

It sounds to me like you should go OSCA 11.90 index racing.

[TC89LX]

Did you by chance run 9.60s-9.80s in a black 87-up Mustang at 143MPH and have a turbo? BTW, why were there 4 identical looking (except for the paint) tubbed or tube chassis 87-93 Mustangs there pitted side by side north of the staging lanes with SBCs and BBCs in them? Is there a class they run? I just found that odd...
Well I do have a 1989 LX Coupe, it's dark blue with a very large cowl hood. It's a nitrous car. I was pitted over by the snack bar/washrooms with my buddy's flamed Gray 88 GT. That day I managed a 9.74 @ 141 on a radial tire. My buddy's GT ran into the 9.70's @ 143 with a Novi supercharged small block. Here's apic of mine, I made about a half dozen runs that day....
http://www.mustangmods.com/ims/u/822/1067/70510.jpg
As for the Chevy powered Mustangs. I know a couple run in the OSCA index classes when they aren't out bracket racing. That night there was a full Summit Series bracket event so they were probably out testing for the evening. When the bracket cars rolled in, we rolled out.

I'll keep an eye out for you when I'm there. I'd love to see the Pinto run. My first car was a shoehorned 302 into a 1979 Pinto. I love the non-traditional stuff.

[zekefan]

st thomas is a joke for tech, tell them it goes 12s and they will forget about you, we do it all the time

[Willytucker]

Dude trust me, we all wanna forget about you!!!

[Steve_M]

st thomas is a joke for tech, tell them it goes 12s and they will forget about you, we do it all the time

Are you sure the reason they "forget about you" is because they aren't too concerned about your safety?

[Shawn Morrell]

It was nice meeting ya Kent, I was havin some head gasket issues that were holding me back.:-D