69 Camaro Won't Hook Up

[GRSCAMARO]

I took my 69 down the 1/4 mile at Gulfport Dragway during Cruisin-the-Coast last Wednesday. The track computer was broken so I only had time for 2 passes during test and tune. The car would not hook at all.

Car specs:
69 Camaro Coupe
95 Z28 LT1 with LT4 Hot Cam Kit
4L60E with stock converter and Transgo Shift Kit
10 bolt with 3:73 gears and Eaton Posi
Hooker Long Tubes
Magnaflow 2.5" Exhaust
Cold Air Intake (sort of)
ECM Tune by PCM for Less
BF Goodrich 245 60 14 on Rear at 26 psi (9.65" wide)

I had the car in drive (not overdrive) and let the ECM do the shifting.

First pass I floored it from idle and car spun like crazy and got side ways.
60 ft...2.4707
330 ft ...8.0682
1/8...11.8787 @ 67.78 mph
1000 ft ..14.9041
1/4 mile ET 17.3838 @ 92.06 mph

2nd pass I power braked a little (not sure what rpm) to preload the converter. I kept the car straight but had to petal it from the start. The car shifted at 6500 rpm near the traps.
60 ft...2.8340
330 ft ...6.8862
1/8...10.1512 @ 75.94 mph
1000 ft ..12.9833
1/4 mile ET 15.3829 @ 94.38 mph

I am a complete rookie at drag racing and believe I can get better times with some seat time. However, I doubt if the BFG will ever hook. I was thinking of using drag radials but will need to upgrade the stock axles.

What do you all think?

[Nine Ball]

Those tires are the culprit here. You can fit a 275 wide tire in the rear of a 69 no problem. You will not need upgraded axles with the automatic trans, as that combo doesn't shock load the rear axle as bad as a manual would.

Also, 1st gens are notorious for axle wrap and wheel-hop due to the leaf springs. They sort of raise up in the rear when launched, instead of transferring the load to the rear and squatting a bit. Get yourself some Cal-Trac or Slide-A-Link bars, they work wonders for leaf spring cars.

I had one of my 69's running 10s, with Cal-Tracs and drag slicks. It hooked excellent.



It wasn't even a drag car, it was a pro-touring car with just a tire swap:

http://www.fquick.com/garages/Chevro...o_SS/1969/232/

[GRSCAMARO]

Thanks for the info.

Mine was a 307 car so it has monoleaf springs. I replaced them several years ago with a 1" lift set. I see that Hotkchis sells a multi-leaf spring conversion that will fit a car with monoleafs with minor mods reqd. The only problem is they lower the car 1.5" from stock which will limit tire size and change the car stance which I like.

What mfg springs do you have on the rear?

The car is a driver which will not see much track time. If fact, I just finished a 1600 mile round trip to Cruisin the Coast in Mississippi.

[Luckymex_dallas]

The tire pressure is the problem!!!!!!!

if you got nitto drag radial put it at 15 psi for hard launch

the bfgoodrich...i dont know but start at 20 and go down 1-2- psi per pass ....

also if its FI dont rev until the green light goes..

[THE EVIL TW1N]

that car has got way more MPH in it than that. it should at least. you should be looking at 105mph at the minimmum with a HOT Cammed automatic LT1. anyways, good luck hooking on the BF Goodrich tires. Especially with the stock suspension. Although ive heard of some crazy fools runnin awsome times with those tires reguardless....youre talking about BF Goodrich Radials right?? not drag radials correct??

[GRSCAMARO]

Yep, BFG TA Radials. I forgot to mention that I lowered the pressure from 32 to 25 psi. I did not go any lower.

Update:
I just ordered the following upgrades:

Factory Replacement Multi-Leaf Rear Springs from NPD (I currently have Eaton Monoleaf with 1" lift)
Heidts Bolt-In Subframe Connectors (I know welded is much better but I did not want to weld them in),
Heidts Drive Shaft Loop (no speed just safety upgrade here),
QA1 Stocker Star Adjustable Shocks-Front & Rear.

January I will be purchasing Nitto 555R 275/50/15 to go on new 15x8 Rally Rims.

Let's see how these items help. My goal is to match or beat the 2010 SS. High 12s would be great but I do not know if I have the HP (yet).

[Bad70supreme]

You will never hook on those tires man, if you want to hit the track get some cheap steel rims and some good used slicks or some DRs! Lots of fun hooking up on a drag tire man! Once you feel the car hit the tires and pull youll be hooked for life!

[Bad70supreme]

Your gonna want to learn to shift that thing your self too, unless your trans is setup to shift at the proper RPM for your power band, it is most likely short shifting and killing time.

[GRSCAMARO]

The folks at pcmforless tweaked the shift points but with the bad 60ft times I can not say if they are correct. I may give the TA Radials one more shot once I finish installing the leaf springs, shocks and subframe connectors. If nothing else, it will be a good data point to see the difference in the springs.

[superstockcam]

My daily driver/bracket car in the early 80's was my 69 Camaro with a balanced 327, 340 engine HP, single 600 holley, powerglide trans, mono spring car with adjustable traction bars and adjustable shocks. I tended to keep the right side twice as stiff to eliminate the unibody twist. I ran n5014 BFG T/A on the rear with my tire pressure being the main adjustment point for changing track conditions. I ran the power glide so I didn't have to shift since it would run up to 110 mph if it was hooked up, if I was hazing I would have to shift before the finish and usually broke out. "dial in depending on the temp was usually 12.85". This was in Phoenix, if I ran at Fallon NV with 4800' altitude I lost a full second and had no hook up problems.

[caverman]

Nothing a narrowed up rear end and some big slicks can't take care of....

J/K.....I would tell you to get some Cal-Tracks and some good tires like a set of MT drag radials. Those BFGs will probably never hook. That's not what they were designed for.

What about a trans converter? Do you have one in yours? That will probably help as well. Back in the day I used to use a 2200-2500 stall which was decent at the track but kept the car streetable.

You're probably going to need some more HP to catch up with your 5th Gen as well but you'll have fun (and be poor) trying to catch up with it.

Here is one of ours at the track last May. Little bit different setup that what you have though.

[GRSCAMARO]

The multileaf springs, QA1 stockers and the subframe connectors are installed. All I need now is a trip to the track or the nerve try it out on an empty road. I guess the track is more likely since I can not find a quite piece of road anywhere.

The QA1's may make a big difference at the track. They are adjustable from 1 (soft) to 10 (hard). I started at 5 for daily driving and it was way too stiff. I tried 3 and it was better but still too stiff for daily driving. 1 seems to be sweet spot for the street. I can set each one at a different setting for the track. Sounds like I should try keeping the right side a step or two stiffer.

Thanks for the inputs folks.

caverman: Really nice pic!

[Nine Ball]

Correct, that is the method I used for the dragstrip in all my QA1 equipped cars. Set the driver side to somewhere in 1-3 range, then the passenger side to +2 of whatever you used on the driver side. If you can get someone to video tape the launch, you can see if the car stays level or not. If it still dips more on the passenger side, make that shock a stiffer.

Still think your tires are the culprit. Tires make a HUGE difference. Mono vs single leaf doesn't fix the axle wrap either, you'll want those Cal-Trac bars to keep the axle straight. Cal-Trac bars basically turn your leaf spring setup into a ladder bar setup.

[GRSCAMARO]

Everyone likes the CalTracks but they look like a PITA to install especially with my bolt-in sub frame connectors that bolt thru the front spring bucket.

Do you folks think the Lakewood 21606 series traction bars will help? They are 1/3 the cost and much easier to install. Remember this is a street car with only a little track time in its future (2-3 times a year).