Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Race

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

I understand that if a car had aluminum heads on it, then it was pulled out and requested that a valve cover be pulled. One Nova would not pull its cover, the other voluntarily removed itself from the race and only ran time trials. The third alum. head Nova ran without protest.

I expect that the organizers will be suspect towards any car that currently runs in the NMCA - B.F. Goodrich classes, as many of them are capable of running in the 12.0's. Supposedly, if they run 11.99 or faster NMCA will disqualify them!

I look forward to a fun event next year, and hope to see more Yenko cars there.
Marlin



[Edited by YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY (09-22-2000 at 08:15 AM).]

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Rob:
Did you find anything out with your LS6 now that you have looked it over after the race? Any problems, or just lack of traction?
M

[Chevy454]

M:

Well, I did find one thing out about the LS-6...IT'S GONE!!!!

After many hours of thought, I let the car go, as my ultimate goal has been to find a Yenko Chevelle...so, hopefully in the near future, I can give those pesky Buicks @ the Pure Stock Drags a taste of their own medicine (an A-body taking on the "other" A-bodies!). Simpson's COPO Chevelle has gone 12's numerous times, so 12's aren't a totally absurd number. I figure if the Buicks can go 12.40s with 8.5:1 compression, then what can I do with 11:1? Maybe I can con some of those "other" A-body guys into giving me some chassis tips .

As far as the NSCA "Factory Pure Stock" class, it's essentially a 12.0 bracket class cause 11.99 and quicker requires a cage. But, I hope to have a car (Y-Chevelle?) that I can run both the PSMCDR & the NSCA events with, and give the fans an idea what these Supercars are all about!

I'm not sure about all the "hub-bub" with the Novas...all I know is that Jimmie J was PISSED! I saw where he got DQ'ed from the NSCA event the following weekend as well! I bet he was HOT! He told me the reason he couldn't run at the PSMCDR was that he had later aluminum heads on. He said they were GM Performance parts heads, which were a copy of the original head, but the exhaust valve was like .004" bigger and the exhaust(?) port was like <10 cc's smaller...something like that.

[Rowdy Rat]

I have a question that's been bugging the heck out of me ever since the Pure Stock Drags last year. What's up with the 1968 L-89 Novas? Chevy production records show a grand total of zero built, yet there seems to be a push to get these cars recognized as a factory built vehicle. A story about the car that "won" the event last year appeared in Musclecar Review and claimed that a handful of L-89 Novas were built in 1968, yet the person that was quoted as confirming this story told me that he never said anything of the sort and was as surprised as anyone when the story appeared. Marlin, I know that you follow the Novas pretty closely and your buddy Neal has one of these cars... Any thoughts on this? Does anyone know what documentation was presented to allow these cars to run (was any even asked for)? I'd really like to know what the real story is on these cars (as well as the 311 1969 L-89 Novas that were supposed to have been built).

Thanks in advance for any information.

Regards,

Stan

[Edited by Rowdy Rat (09-22-2000 at 03:51 PM).]

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Stan:
The guideline that is followed at the PS-Drags is that the Gibb Novas were the first L78 / TH400 cars built in late June and early July of 68. If a person shows up with an L89 / TH400 car that is after the 1st or 2nd week of July '68, then they are allowed to run. This is because the Gibb cars are used as a starting point, assuming that since the combination was 'available' in '69, the combination would have been available as a non-COPO option starting the 2nd or 3rd week of July '68 - right after Gibb got the ball rolling.

How many, if any, did they make? Nobody knows! Neals car is the 3rd or 4th week of July, therefore it is allowed to run. Four speed cars do not have a date requirement.

The Johnston car got trailered because of open chambered heads, which is why he would not pull a valve cover. There was actually a fourth L89 Nova there, he got trailered because the engine was essentially an L88 built up engine. Brewer's Nova set this up after he ran the big number last year, otherwise there would not have been such a stir about these cars. Neal and Johnson were supposed to be there last year as well, but neither could get the bugs worked out. If they would have been there last year, Brewer might have gotten trailered!!

Hope this helps!!
M

[Chevy454]

I sort of "hinted around" at the '68 L-89/auto thing last year whenever Brewer was running his ultra-low 12s. When I asked the guys in the Brewer camp, they kind of danced around the subject, and when I asked "how many?" they said "not very many". It didn't really matter to me, kind of a technicality thing, but a rule all the same.

So, M, you are saying that the L-89/auto combo is legal ONLY in a '69 car? That's the way I read above, but I'm not sure if I read it right! But, that's how I think it should be.

Here is something that puzzles me, though...I can name the cars that have not been allowed to run or asked not to come back, and they are all Chevys. Seem odd? The good thing about Chevys is that they are GREAT cars and they run like RAPED APES, but everyone kind of knows whats right and whats not. So, maybe I should get a Buick...

[JoeC]

Hey Rob - why race a Yenko Chevelle? I love them but its not the best choice for the drag strip with it's extra weight and high drag coefficient. To go up against that Hemi that ran a 12.2 You need the biggest gun Chevy had to offer. You NEED a ZL1 Corvette! Check this article I scanned for a post on the Corvette Forum. Its from Motor Trend Oct. 1969.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewP...132&p=28801766

[Edited by JoeC (09-23-2000 at 03:02 AM).]