TTA850

I've been toying with the idea of putting together a stock TTA and have a few questions.

First off the class, if I read this right it would be 1989 GTA with 231(250hp) and a 12.04 factor which would put me in E/FIA(12.00-12.99)and a minimum weight of 3180(12.04 factor x 250hp + 170 driver). Now from what I read I can also move down one class to F/FIA by stepping up to that minimum weight of 3420(13.00 x 250 +170). Am I right so far???

Scince getting down to 3180 is out of the question I'd probrobly set it up for F/FIA but either way how far under do I have to run to be competative? NHRA website lits the index at 12.60 for E/FIA and 12.95 for F/FIA.

Thats it for now, been reading through the 2006 rulebook and it got me thinking.

Thanks in advance,
Steve

AlkyIROC

Technically you need to run the index or quicker to qualify at national events and most stockers can easily run up to .5 under the index. Getting up to or over 1.00 under the index takes a lot but many cars can do it.

As long as you can run at least the index, that's all you need unless you're against another car in the same class. If you're running against another class then it's just a typical bracket race. If you're up against a car in the same class then it's a heads up race with no break outs so the first one across the finish line wins.

Looking at the last Pomona results I see E/FIA cars qualified at 11.474 and 11.885. There was also a F/FIA that qualified with a 12.077. Sound easy? My guess is that your car in "factory stock" street trim runs 14's, maybe 13's. Trying to shave off 2 seconds or more without buying all the fancy performance aftermarket stuff isn't as easy as it sounds. The rules are very strict about what you can and can't do so check with the rulebook before doing something.

Good luck with your goals. Not everyone is willing to get into Stock Eliminator racing but once you start doing it you won't want to quit.

When you see a V6 running low 12's or high 11's with full interior, cast heads, etc, you always have to ask yourself "What am I doing wrong with a big V8?"

I'd like to have a few race cars. My current one for a fun factor, An odd ball stocker class car like a Q/SA or maybe a HF/SA and a real go fast car like an altered. I'd throw them all away if I could afford to run a Comp Eliminator car.

TTA850

Thanks for the info, I want to learn as much as I can before I start building(probrobly spring 2006). One of my TTA's in 100% factory stock trim has run 13.68 @ 100mph and my old car went 11.99 @ 112.95 on a 1.63 60ft with just the following: K&N filter, test pipe w/dump open, 26" ET Streets, Thrasher racechip, 10 gallons of Sunoco Maximal, and 22psi boost on an otherwise stock 27K mile car and at 3600lbs. A freinds car with the same mods but with a functioning lockup converter went 11.82 @ 114.88. I think that following the rules as I have read them so far that an 11.5-11.6 at around 116 could be possible if it's set up and tuned right.

I doubt I could get close to the E/FIA weight but might be able to get near the F/FIA weight(shooting for 3500lbs). I'm going to be building it off my hardtop TTA, and being only 1 of 15 built I dont want to cut the car up too much for weight savings.

Another question with regards to front suspension "Must retain complete stock front suspension system as produced by the manufacturer for body used. Lift kits/travel limiters prohibited. Sway bar optional." Does this mean that the stock front springs/shocks have to be factory original and cannot be replaced with say Moroso Trick front springs and Lakewood 90/10 front struts? Also it says "Rear trailing arms may be replaced with NHRA-accepted OEM type aftermarket units." How do I find out what arms are NHRA accepted(Hotchkis, ect...)?

As for compression, it lists my motor at 9:1 but following to NHRA's blueprinting specs for piston dish, combustion chaimber size, gasket thickness, and deck height at .020 overbore I'd end up at 9.38:1 compression. Does that sound right?

Same here, I plan on keeping my current car cause it's such a fun, reliable bracket car(won 6 eliminators, 2 runner ups, and a second place points finish for 2005), and it dips into the 10's with ease when I want to. I actually want to build something fast but scince my budget wont allow that at this time I plan on focusing on this stocker, not that it's super cheap but is cheaper than building a 7 or 8 second car.

Thanks again,
Steve

AlkyIROC

1 of 15 built won't qualify for Stock Eliminator. There must be at least 500 cars produced in a particular body style in a production year to quailify.

There was always an argument about what the fastest A/SA cars are. There have been a few cars produced that can easily beat the A/SA records however they were in a very limited production and won't qualify. Every seen a Viper competing in Stock Eliminator? Ford and Dodge produced a few exotics in the 60's and 70's that also won't qualify but could easily break the A/SA records.

All your real technical questions should be directed right at the NHRA. Their tech department should have no trouble answering all your questions especially when building a Stocker.

TTA850

It's 1 of 15 hardtop/cloth interior TTA's built out of a total of 1,550 TTA's. TTA's are legal for Stock Eliminator and I know of one that held the H/SA record:

mod313

You really only need to be under your index to be competitive in the regular "bracket style" eliminations. However you must first qualify at any divisional or national events you enter. How far under you will need to be in order to do that is very dependant on the number of cars entered. Up here in D1 there are a large number of very fast cars in stock. There are also those heads up runs that show up during the eliminations. This is where choosing your class becomes important. Contact Nitro Joe at Nitro Joes Drag Racing Stats for info on et's listed by class. Most of us in stock and super stock get them. They are very useful to see where you stand in your class as well as which division those faster cars are located.
Stock is both a lot of fun and very frustrating at times but as you make gains it's very satisfying to see yourself climb up on the qualifying sheets.
As for the wieght, you can get these cars pretty light. Mine can run H-K/SA with wt ranging from 3090 - 3470 running the 305-150/254 combo depending on which class and year I claim.
Good luck with your build. Check out Classracer.com and Superstockforum.com for info. Both are free to view with Classracer also being free to join and post any questions you might have as you go.