Drag racing guys, please step in

Ok guys, first off i'll be honest and say i'm new the the real drag racing aspect of things but i want to get into it and am eager to learn. The car is a 91 camaro. I know what i'm doing motor/trans wise, but i'm lost when it comes to suspension and what tire to run, etc. If there is anybody willing to take some time to help explain things to me i'd be extremely appreciative. I read about tubbing out the car and putting in a 4 link suspension. I would like the car to run 9's someday, and was wondering is this needed. Would the torque arm setup with all adjustable components work ok? I don't know what overkill would be. I've read that mini tubbing is impossible for my car because if you cut anything you are at the frame. You can cut just a little bit in the inner well but it doesn't do too much. What about springs/shocks? Do you do coilovers, air bags, i'm so lost. I know an 8 point cage is a for sure with sfcs. After that, i'm all ears. Thank you to anyone who won't mind explaining a few things to me.

Heres my take on the third gen camaro. Great factory suspension setup, but really bad stamped steel parts. Upgrade the control arms and torque arms to something tubular and strong. Adjustibility is nice for preloading the suspension. I don't really see a need for tubbing, but I think that 275 drag radials are god's gift to mankind.

I'd focus your time and attention to these areas if you plan on drag racing that car:
A) dual exhaust routing
B) rear end options
C) finding a stronger replacement for that 700r4

I wouldn't lower the car at all if you plan on running long tubes (a must for going really fast N/A or spray)

Get the subframe connectors done first. Then go from there. Be prepared to test the durability of the factory drivetrain.

i would talk to beagle he has the fastest camaro evar!

Ok heres some more info that I do hav eright now. Rear end is going to be either a 9" or 12 bolt from moser. Trans is going to be a th400. Headers I am going with are hooker super comp long tubes. And yes subframe connectors are a must. 275's I know for a fact do fit in the wheel well if you roll the fenders so that's no problem. So it sounds like the torque arm setup would be sufficient in what I am looking for?

do a 9'' fosho... how much power are you looking to make ???

do a fully adjustable TQ arm.. adjustable loweres, and pan hard rod.. at least a single adjustable coil over shock... in rear....

tubular front k memeber with adjustable shocks...


i have a freind with a low 8 sec extreem street stock susp 3 gen .... i could have you talk also

definately start off throwing that stock pile of crap rear end out,then the parts scotty stated will work out well.

91RS,
When are you planning on doing this? If it is this winter or spring, I am converting my car from a th400 to a 5 speed and will need to sell it if you need a th400. It has less than 1000 street miles on it. Let me know.

I just looked at spohn's website and they sell a rear coil over kit with ka1 adjustable and double adjustable shocks for 550 or 750. There is no different to if i wanted a drag setup or normal handling setup is there? I also noticed that the panhard bar, lcas, torque arm, etc, can be bought as mild steel or chromoly. Is chromoly necessary? I've been debating on motors as well and maybe you guys could give some insight. I was thinking about doing a 454 bbc, but I have a line on a 400 small block pretty cheap. Would one of these be better than the other? I'm open to any suggestions/ideas, being the blocks i am thinking about or not. I'm def. going with a carb'd setup, n/a or forced induction is no preference. I do not however want to do an ls1 block. I wanna stick a little old school. What block gets you the best bang for your buck, but can carry my into the 9's or in that range? I already have the th400 but thanks for the offer JC70SS, i'll keep you in mind if something comes up.

if you have the extra cash for the double adjusable shocks,get them,its worthwhile in the future.
as far as which engine,a BBC will be easier to build on a budget to run the times you plan.a bbc is a bit of a tighter sqeeze in those cars,that would be my only deterrent from a big block.
chromoly is lighter than mild steel,as with any race application,lighter becomes more important when you start going faster.the suspension will react faster to changes in the track surface.

Thank you juicedimpss, scottie k, and everybody else, I feel a lot better about going into this now. It's a relief knowing i don't need to dough out the cash for a 4 link and everything. I have a good idea of what to do now. I guess the 454 isn't a hard swap it's just tough finding headers that will clear everything. I'll probably stick this route now though, it seems a little harder to put in but in the long run sounds like the better way to go. Thanks again guys! If anybody else wants to share please keep going I'm really learning.

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Originally Posted by loud91rs

Thank you juicedimpss, scottie k, and everybody else, I feel a lot better about going into this now. It's a relief knowing i don't need to dough out the cash for a 4 link and everything. I have a good idea of what to do now. I guess the 454 isn't a hard swap it's just tough finding headers that will clear everything. I'll probably stick this route now though, it seems a little harder to put in but in the long run sounds like the better way to go. Thanks again guys! If anybody else wants to share please keep going I'm really learning.

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if you use a tubular kmember it will make more room to build headers for a bbc,and im certain a store bought header would have a better chance of fitting as well.

I'm planning on driving the car on the street once in a while...i've heard problems with k members breaking under road stress(bumps and pot holes) is this true? Hooker sells a big block swap header, and I think you are right there should be a ton of room with the tubular k member.

i know of quite a few cars running moly kmembers and they have been fine...i see no difference in the kmember being moly as the rear suspension pieces being moly. those take as much,or more of a beating.

So when you say a bbc is easier on a budget to build, do you mean a higher compression motor with a lot of spray? Is that what you would do?

there is no replacement for cubic inches....

well thats what some say anyway....unless you have a power adder.....or better yet a power adder and big cubes.
a worked stock BBC head will flow about what an aftermarket cnc ported sbc head flows.there is nobody in the world that can argue with the fact that power is in the cylinder head.even a MILD bbc is a tough contender when the proper components are used.

ther are several ways to do a bbc like juicedimpss has said... theres budget, budget with decent parts , and better and top end....

i think between me and ron we had every cenireo .. from junkers to good stuff... meaning 11sec- 8sec from street to race

if you need any help you can call us anytime shoot us a pm ,,,,

Just out of curiosity, i'm buying an engine for my other camaro that will be more of a street car, and figured i'd ask you guys. Which motor would you rather build for street purposes, a 350 or a 400sbc.

cubic inches is king,provided you are not looking for great fuel mileage

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