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  #1  
Old 01-06-2001, 03:34 AM
JCNathan JCNathan is offline
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Hey, Gang:

What's the latest on our Dodge Boys in NHRA Pro Stock drag racing??? I've been watching the NHRA site and find all kinds of info the the GM boys but nuthin on our guys. WJ says he's running low 6.80s with his new TransAm! Just wunderin' how are guys are doing with their "hemi" (yeah right).

Anyone got any scoops out there. Heck, I'll even read some rumors!

JC
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  #2  
Old 01-06-2001, 06:04 AM
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prostock prostock is offline
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Angry

Here's one fact I can give you.

AJ lost his appeal to NHRA to allow him to continue to run the Ponti-Dodge Wedge motor.

He and his Dad Roy are working on the Hemi.

I guess we'll see how well it goes at Pomona.

Don't expect to see many, if ANY Neon's at Pomona.


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Tom
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  #3  
Old 01-06-2001, 06:05 AM
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BTW, WJ is running a Grand Am, not a Trans-AM


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  #4  
Old 01-06-2001, 06:18 AM
cuda367 cuda367 is offline
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Neons won't be ready til gainesville or later. Why the ( ) behind Hemi. What would you like them to call it? Intake valve on intake side Exhaust valve on exhaust side Fat valve cover and Plug wires going where God intended them to go Close enough for me.
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Old 01-06-2001, 06:43 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by cuda367:
Neons won't be ready til gainesville or later. Why the ( ) behind Hemi. What would you like them to call it? Intake valve on intake side Exhaust valve on exhaust side Fat valve cover and Plug wires going where God intended them to go Close enough for me.

If this is in reference to my post, Allen Johnson appealed NHRA and Chrysler's suspension of the ponti-dodge head that Dale Eicke came up with in 1997. Allen runs a couple of Dale's old motor's (Homey being the best of the bunch).

The appeal was turned down. Allen has five motors that are now junk for pro stock.

His Dad Roy is trying to get the new Hemi motor program together, but without factory help, it's a struggle just to get decent parts.


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Tom
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  #6  
Old 01-06-2001, 02:02 PM
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Leigh Leigh is offline
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One would think that the wedge "Mopar" would not be capable of winning at this stage of the game. What with the accellerated tech curve of Pro Stock. I'm surprised they haven't jumped ship. Maybe there's not that much sponsor $ left. I expect to see this and some of the super $ classes take a bit of a hit due to the Dow bear. Why no Neons at Pomona?
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Old 01-06-2001, 03:29 PM
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Christopher Christopher is offline
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The neon's are at Rick Jones' shop being finished.They will not debut until Gainesville.The bodies for ALL of the cars(GM and Ford included) are being made by 1 company so that the field is a level one.They are all "spec" bodies and there will be no deviation from that spec at all.Overhang,wheeelbase are all the same,regardless of make.The Neon has taken a bit longer as there is no 2dr model.Supposedly the paint scheme will change also,the former "jagged striping" will change to flames and the cars will be based in a primary black color.
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  #8  
Old 01-06-2001, 04:43 PM
JCNathan JCNathan is offline
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Hey ProStock:

Got this off the NHRA Web Site:

"While visions of sugarplums danced in children's heads, Pro Stock racer Warren Johnson unwrapped his new 2001 GM Goodwrench Service Plus Pontiac Grand Am in a preseason test in Bradenton, Fla. The five-time NHRA champion was as delighted with his new racecar as a kid with a new toy on Christmas morning."

They even have a photo and it sure looks like my neighbor's GrandAm!!

Anyway, you guys sure aren't very positive about our Dodge Boys chances this year. Sheeeesh. . .we gotta suffer thru two National events before we get to see MoPar out with their new stuff?? Rats!!!

JC
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  #9  
Old 01-06-2001, 11:43 PM
cuda367 cuda367 is offline
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Prostock: the hemi (yeah right) was for JC not you. When did they stop makeing a two door neon? I have see lots of them. The dodge Boys have a post on thier sight that said the neon's would be out after the season starts (no reason given) but said they had already be in the wind tunnel with good results. As for A.J. I feel very sorry for him and don't understand why Mopar isn' t in there helpping as he has done a great job with the old stuff.
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  #10  
Old 01-07-2001, 08:30 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by JCNathan:
Hey ProStock:

Got this off the NHRA Web Site:

"While visions of sugarplums danced in children's heads, Pro Stock racer Warren Johnson unwrapped his new 2001 GM Goodwrench Service Plus Pontiac Grand Am in a preseason test in Bradenton, Fla. The five-time NHRA champion was as delighted with his new racecar as a kid with a new toy on Christmas morning."

They even have a photo and it sure looks like my neighbor's GrandAm!!

Anyway, you guys sure aren't very positive about our Dodge Boys chances this year. Sheeeesh. . .we gotta suffer thru two National events before we get to see MoPar out with their new stuff?? Rats!!!

JC
Ummm...that is what I posted. The original poster said he was running a trans am. I corrected him by saying it was a grand am.

I'm not positive about ALLEN JOHNSON'S chances this year.

He has been shafted by the factory for years, and just got a bigger shaft when they ruled against him using a motor that only became legal in 1997.

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Tom
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[This message has been edited by prostock (edited January 07, 2001).]
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  #11  
Old 01-07-2001, 08:40 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by cuda367:
Prostock: the hemi (yeah right) was for JC not you. When did they stop makeing a two door neon? I have see lots of them. The dodge Boys have a post on thier sight that said the neon's would be out after the season starts (no reason given) but said they had already be in the wind tunnel with good results. As for A.J. I feel very sorry for him and don't understand why Mopar isn' t in there helpping as he has done a great job with the old stuff.
I never mentioned when they stopped making a 2 door Neon, but since you bring it up, when did they stop making it?

HINT: You couldn't buy one this year, or last year.

To answer your question about Mopar and Allen:

Lou Patane ended up having a great dislike for Dale Eicke.

When Allen bought a couple of engines off of Dale when Lou pulled the plug on Dale's factory sponsorship, he was "blackballed" from ever having a Mopar sponsorship, as long as Lou was there.

I am friends with Caren and Dale Eicke, and talk to Allen every once in a while.


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Tom
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[This message has been edited by prostock (edited January 07, 2001).]
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  #12  
Old 01-07-2001, 09:34 PM
GTXMONTE GTXMONTE is offline
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Our new HEMI head may not be true to form, but it's a lot closer to an original head than a "Big Chief" head is to a GM. Gotta remember guys, Pro-Stockers are state of the art cutting edge stuff, 60s technology ain't gonna cut it here, there is a reason there were no HEMIs in Pro-Stock for years, the head was not up to it. Personally, I am glad that Mopar took the time to develop these new parts and at least try to make it resemble a traditional Mopar engine...it's better than we had...a Mopar part # cast on a GM head, mated to a GM block.

Monte Smith
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  #13  
Old 01-08-2001, 02:32 AM
Larry S. Larry S. is offline
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Monte, it wasn't the hemi head directly that kept the hemi uncompetitive in pro stock. It was the heavy domed pistons required by the hemi combustion chamber to get the compression ratio up where it needed to be. The pistons were too heavy to allow the hemi engine to run in the RPM range required to compete in pro stock. That's one of the reasons the chambers are so small on the new so called hemi. It allows for an almost flat top configuration of the piston, which in turn keeps the piston light enough to rev into the RPM ranges the pro stock motors are running in now.

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  #14  
Old 01-08-2001, 08:01 AM
DartGT66 DartGT66 is offline
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However, Ford had some success with their 'Hemi'. Maybe they used flat tops.
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  #15  
Old 01-09-2001, 04:38 AM
GTXMONTE GTXMONTE is offline
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Larry...you are correct about the HEMI pistons being heavy and a major problem. But the head design also had problems in a modern Pro-Stock style engine. With the short stroke, big bore combo that is required for the class the heads had a serious port stall problem on the intake tract. The short stroke does not have enough swept volume in the cylinder to pull on the port and generate good airflow. There is evidence of this today even on forced induction HEMIs. Most of the current TAD cars have gotten the bores down in the 4.100 range to get more stroke in the motor so the heads work better.
I am by no means knocking a HEMI here, just stating that even the greatest race head ever designed has room for improvement.

Monte Smith
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