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Hmm... Another 60s GM big block powered Hot Rod pony car with the extreme surging idle!

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About 5 weeks ago I started a thread about a 67 Firebird hot rod used as a Christmas tree delivery vehicle. Its engine had a severe surging idle anytime they let the rpm's drop. Then tonight I got a short video clip of another late 60s GM pony car(a green 68 Camaro) that has a bad "run in" with a concrete barrier while doing a burnout to pre-heat his tires during an apparent "wheelstand competition". It too has a big block GM engine, that also has the exact same severe surging idle as did the Firebird before it.

It used to be somewhat normal for a fairly heavily modified V8 to have a "rough" idle, due to the choice of extreme camshaft profiles that make the engines run great at rpm's over 2500, but "not so much" when idling! However, they used to idle with an inconsistent rumble. But rarely did a "rough idle" equate to the type of surging like we hear with these 2 cars. What's the difference here with these cars? Watch the whole short video, he STILL tries the wheelstand even after hitting the wall!

 
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The idle had nothing to do with the crash. The rear tires (slicks) lost traction. Then they hooked up on the launch and it scraped the rear bumper because there's no wheelie bar(s).
 
About 5 weeks ago I started a thread about a 67 Firebird hot rod used as a Christmas tree delivery vehicle. Its engine had a severe surging idle anytime they let the rpm's drop. Then tonight I got a short video clip of another late 60s GM pony car(a green 68 Camaro) that has a bad "run in" with a concrete barrier while doing a burnout to pre-heat his tires during an apparent "wheelstand competition". It too has a big block GM engine, that also has the exact same severe surging idle as did the Firebird before it.

It used to be somewhat normal for a fairly heavily modified V8 to have a "rough" idle, due to the choice of extreme camshaft profiles that make the engines run great at rpm's over 2500, but "not so much" when idling! However, they used to idle with an inconsistent rumble. But rarely did a "rough idle" equate to the type of surging like we hear with these 2 cars. What's the difference here with these cars? Watch the whole short video, he STILL tries the wheelstand even after hitting the wall!


We discussed some of this in the other thread. I at first speculated that surge was due to the combination of a supercharger and carburetor. Research led me to find that the surge is more often due to supercharger/mechanical fuel injection and the tuning of that combination. Valve timing might play a small part, but it seems to be considered very minor.

It seems some people tune specifically to achieve that extreme surging idle.

Thanks for posting the video, but damn I hate to see those 1st gen F bodies get banged up like that.
 
i hate to see a classic ****ed up like that. i hope that they fixed it.
 
The torque and drag racing are probably making that Camaro an abused parts car, at best. The body parts are probably significantly modified from stock. New old bodies are being made.
 
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Drag cars like that are mainly patched together Frankensteins. Gutted interior, roll cage welded in, rear wheel wells and floor pan cut, etc. Though that one has the appearance of a SS/RS car; checking the VIN might lead to the discovery it left the factory as a 6 cylinder grocery getter.

Still, as I said, I hate to see 'em banged up.
 
Drag cars like that are mainly patched together Frankensteins. Gutted interior, roll cage welded in, rear wheel wells and floor pan cut, etc. Though that one has the appearance of a SS/RS car; checking the VIN might lead to the discovery it left the factory as a 6 cylinder grocery getter.

Still, as I said, I hate to see 'em banged up.

Your talking about my first car.....
 
We discussed some of this in the other thread. I at first speculated that surge was due to the combination of a supercharger and carburetor. Research led me to find that the surge is more often due to supercharger/mechanical fuel injection and the tuning of that combination. Valve timing might play a small part, but it seems to be considered very minor.

It seems some people tune specifically to achieve that extreme surging idle.

Thanks for posting the video, but damn I hate to see those 1st gen F bodies get banged up like that.

You know, I used to watch the Speed Channel, especially the shows "Pinks", "Pinks All Out", and "Pass Time". Pinks All Out was created as a result of cheaters lying about how fast their cars were, then sand-bagging in early races, only to dominate and win in the end. There was major backlash against that nonsense in Pinks, and the producers didn't like it either, so they changed the whole dynamics and Pinks All Out was born.

Anyway, I noticed A LOT of 67-69 Camaros in those and other sportsman series drag racing events. It seems counterintuitive to cut up these extremely valuable classic cars for bracket racing! But 67-69 Camaros made up like 10-15% of these drag racing cars!

But then I learned that anyone can buy an aftermarket drag racing chassis, and bolt on an aftermarket 67-69 Camaro shell. It's hard to say how many are real Camaros vs aftermarket bodies made in 2009 or whatever! Despite being a Ford guy, hopefully most aren't real Camaros!
 
The idle had nothing to do with the crash. The rear tires (slicks) lost traction. Then they hooked up on the launch and it scraped the rear bumper because there's no wheelie bar(s).
Yeah, I never equates the crash with the idle. I posted it to compare it's idle with a different supercharged, big block powered late 60s GM pony car(67 Firebird) in a thread I posted 1.5 months ago, which had the same surging idle.
 
i hate to see a classic ****ed up like that. i hope that they fixed it.

That classic likely has very little in common with a late 60s Camaro. The frame is likely new with all the mechanicals replaced. The rear was " tubbed" ( I believe that is the term) to allow for the massive tires in the back. The front body panels of that car can be found as new parts so it wI'll be fixed quite quickly. The engine is probably worth over $20 000 alone
 
That classic likely has very little in common with a late 60s Camaro. The frame is likely new with all the mechanicals replaced. The rear was " tubbed" ( I believe that is the term) to allow for the massive tires in the back. The front body panels of that car can be found as new parts so it wI'll be fixed quite quickly. The engine is probably worth over $20 000 alone

Most of the time the front fenders, hood, trunk are fiberglass.
I'll watch the clip but I will be surprised as Hell if that car is all metal.
My buddy down the street purchased a 62 Falcon drag car called "Little Joe from FoMoCo" that was all tube frame, and the only metal panels on the damn thing were the doors and the roof!
And that was in 1973!

I don't remember what was in it because that motor was lunched, but he dropped a blown MoPar 440 in it.
 
Okay I just watched a cascading parade of noobie fail on top of noobie fail on top of....you get the point.

1. He got over exuberant in his attempt to steer the burnout and eventually the weight shifted and the LR hooked up more than the RR. That happens so often it's its own YouTube meme because inexperienced car owners do that all the time on the street with equally disastrous results. If you watch carefully you can see the exact moment where he is steering to the right, and finally the rear tires are all like, "Oh you want us to hook up on this side and let you turn right, no problem!"
BLAMMO. That's what you get! 🤣

2. He didn't "try" to wheelstand, he was just being an idiot.
I am actually shocked they didn't black flag the car for damage. There was no way that car was going to go down that track straight after kissing the wall. In fact, I don't even think the alignment was right from the git-go.
It looked like that car had "wounded duck control arms" before he even arrived at the track.

3. By the way, that funky red and primer 62 Chevy II gasser in the background? Wait till you see what happens to THAT car! 🤣
Either that or maybe they fixed it...I notice that the grille is completely gone but I know that car pretty well, it is definitely the same gasser that crashes in the link I just provided.
 
That classic likely has very little in common with a late 60s Camaro. The frame is likely new with all the mechanicals replaced. The rear was " tubbed" ( I believe that is the term) to allow for the massive tires in the back. The front body panels of that car can be found as new parts so it wI'll be fixed quite quickly. The engine is probably worth over $20 000 alone

the older i get, the more i dig stock. i watch so much Jay Leno's Garage that my wife has even noticed. it is sort of a go to decompress after a long day thing for me.
 
the older i get, the more i dig stock. i watch so much Jay Leno's Garage that my wife has even noticed. it is sort of a go to decompress after a long day thing for me.

I love Leno's show, much better than his dumb late night talk show.
But I also live on a steady diet of 1320 Video, TopGear (USA and British) and of course, last but not least, Finnegan and Freiburger in Roadkill. Those guys keep me laughing my ass off.
Roadkill appeals to me if for no other reason than it teaches that you do not need to spend 200 grand to build a race car that can kick ass. You can and maybe should if you want to compete professionally but if you just want to have fun and a lot of laughs, it's entirely possible for around six grand or even less.



Roadkill and Top Gear are so damn funny even my wife (who was a serious mechanic in the Navy) likes to watch them.
 
I love Leno's show, much better than his dumb late night talk show.
But I also live on a steady diet of 1320 Video, TopGear (USA and British) and of course, last but not least, Finnegan and Freiburger in Roadkill. Those guys keep me laughing my ass off.
Roadkill appeals to me if for no other reason than it teaches that you do not need to spend 200 grand to build a race car that can kick ass. You can and maybe should if you want to compete professionally but if you just want to have fun and a lot of laughs, it's entirely possible for around six grand or even less.



Roadkill and Top Gear are so damn funny even my wife (who was a serious mechanic in the Navy) likes it.


thanks! i'll have to check those out.
 
thanks! i'll have to check those out.

Oh you HAVE to check out Roadkill. The new episodes are subscription but if you're new, there's dozens of older episodes on YouTube. You'll definitely want to start from #1 so you can get to know these kooks.
 
Most of the time the front fenders, hood, trunk are fiberglass.
I'll watch the clip but I will be surprised as Hell if that car is all metal.
My buddy down the street purchased a 62 Falcon drag car called "Little Joe from FoMoCo" that was all tube frame, and the only metal panels on the damn thing were the doors and the roof!
And that was in 1973!

I don't remember what was in it because that motor was lunched, but he dropped a blown MoPar 440 in it.

No Chevrolet engines available? ;)
 
That classic likely has very little in common with a late 60s Camaro. The frame is likely new with all the mechanicals replaced. The rear was " tubbed" ( I believe that is the term) to allow for the massive tires in the back. The front body panels of that car can be found as new parts so it wI'll be fixed quite quickly. The engine is probably worth over $20 000 alone

Yeah, it's the area around the rear wheels & tires is definitely "tubbed out". Otherwise there's no way a pair of 19" - 21.5" wide Mickey Thompson "Sportsman" tires or Hoosier "Pro Street" tires would ever fit inside the stock wheel wells.
 
Okay I just watched a cascading parade of noobie fail on top of noobie fail on top of....you get the point.

1. He got over exuberant in his attempt to steer the burnout and eventually the weight shifted and the LR hooked up more than the RR. That happens so often it's its own YouTube meme because inexperienced car owners do that all the time on the street with equally disastrous results. If you watch carefully you can see the exact moment where he is steering to the right, and finally the rear tires are all like, "Oh you want us to hook up on this side and let you turn right, no problem!"
BLAMMO. That's what you get! 🤣

2. He didn't "try" to wheelstand, he was just being an idiot.
I am actually shocked they didn't black flag the car for damage. There was no way that car was going to go down that track straight after kissing the wall. In fact, I don't even think the alignment was right from the git-go.
It looked like that car had "wounded duck control arms" before he even arrived at the track.

3. By the way, that funky red and primer 62 Chevy II gasser in the background? Wait till you see what happens to THAT car! 🤣
Either that or maybe they fixed it...I notice that the grille is completely gone but I know that car pretty well, it is definitely the same gasser that crashes in the link I just provided.

I watched the 62 Chevy II destroy his front end while yanking the front tires off the ground, then letting them slam down hard on the pavement. Who would've thought that's bad for a car's front end!?
 
Haaa haaa haaa.
No, he could not travel to the future to buy an LS engine, and it was too easy to blow the doors off the old Chevy motors of that time.

View attachment 67314671

Well, at least you got the color right(blue) in your emblem there. But apparently, you misspelled the brand. It's supposed to read: "F O R D".....
 
Well, at least you got the color right(blue) in your emblem there. But apparently, you misspelled the brand. It's supposed to read: "F O R D".....

No, it's supposed to say, "If the General didn't make it, I don't want it."
 
Hope this isn't necro territory yet because I don't want to start a whole new thread just for one drag racing clip.



I guarantee you has a brand new brown racing stripe in the pair he has on!
And I wouldn't blame him, I'd have filled up my shorts all the way!
 
Hope this isn't necro territory yet because I don't want to start a whole new thread just for one drag racing clip.



I guarantee you has a brand new brown racing stripe in the pair he has on!
And I wouldn't blame him, I'd have filled up my shorts all the way!

"Houston, we have liftoff."
 
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