273 Dart - 12.44 in the 1/4

[Billydelrio]

The little 273 Dart did a 12.44 at RiverCity last night.
The air density was at 101% making the AFB a wee bit lean. The first pass was a 12.5x under the lean condition. It only took 1 minute and 30 seconds to fatten up both the primaries and secondaries with external adjustments between runs.
The rain came and eliminated the eliminations, so I did not get send any of the Chevys home. RiverCity's policy allows me 365 days to use my rain ticket. I think that is a good policy

Billy

[dschumers]

That's a stout 273 Billy! Two thumbs up!

[wyoming 64savoy]

That is humping for a 273, Billy you must have a hell of a good combo for that 273 or one light dart. Good policy on rain outs too, like to here a little more about that 273.

[GUAM SS/T]

saw aguy a few years back running 10s with a 273 in a magazine. That was one of the factors that swayed me to the dark side of the force 12.44 is great for any smallblock. Exceptional for a 273 though.

[Billydelrio]

I hope to improve some this week. In experimenting with the old Carb, it was decided that the secondary throttle was only partially opening. Remember, my AFB is unique in that it has a Vacuum Only Secondary. It uses venturi signal to open the secondaries (like a Holley, no velocity valve). The inspiritory gauge shows the seondaries start to open at 1 cm and should be fully open at 30 cm of water. I hope the secondaries don't open too fast as this will lean it off the line.

??? Anyone out there ever seen a double pumper Carter AFB???

1964 2-door dart 3140 lbs loaded
1965 273 +.030 = 277 cubic inches
Block and Heads milled to get 11.04:1 with 35 year old cast pistons
stock crank, rods, bolts, etc.
Heads opened up by me. I ain't got the slightest idea how many cc's the ports are as I did all that before I became as knowledgeable as I am now !!!!! I did put in 1.88 and 1.6 valves
CompCams 292 hydrolic cam with solid lifters set at split overlap
Torker II 340 intake with AFB
Headers :1 3/4 x 34.5 with 3 x 14 collectors built by me
727 pushbutton with Art Carr 7" 5600 converter
Dana 60 with 5.57 and MT 29.5 x 10.5
MSD trigger and 7AL 8000 limiter
Timing set to 34 degrees BTC

This engine cost $100 from the junkyard plus $300 on rings and decking. It was put in the Dart to fill the hole while I build my W2 318, but it runs soooo well that I have been in no hurry to finish the W2 engine.

I can send you pictures if you are interested.

Billy

[Christopher]

That's a stout running 273!! You will love the W-2 318,I built one for a 69 Cuda I had and it flew!!

[Billydelrio]

I took the 273 out and replaced it with 20% more cubes. This 329 has been in the making for five years and will hopefully power the Dart to new records. Here is a list of pieces, parts, and tricks currently in the Dart.

318 block:
3.94" bore, 3.38" stroke, 6.125" rods, flat top forged pistons, dual pick-up oil pump, left & right lifter galleys sleeved, oil passages modified (Sanborn's post), main studs, windage tray, 10 quart oilpan, 9.998:1 compression.
Cam:
small solid 288* advertised, 104* LSA, installed at 0* split overlap, 1.5 rocker, .530ish lift
Heads:
W2, 56 cc chambers, bowls cleaned but not ported, 2.02/1.60 3/8 valves, springs installed 140# @ seat, 422# at nose.
Intake:
Victor W2, Carter AFB "double pumper", dual 3/8" fuel lines from tank reglated to 7 psi at carb
Exhaust:
7/8" by 31" primary with a collector tapered to 3" built by yours truly. Fender well type that wraps over the tires into the firewall and out the floor. Header covers fabricated and welded.
Drive line:
727 pushbutton, 5100 stall (behind the 273) Dana 60 5.57.

The car's weight was 3081 at San Antonio Raceway with the 273 last year, should be a few pounds heavier with some of the mods I did.

I ran the cam in for a few minutes today, and will continue the tune-up this week. Hope to see the track this next weekend.