Last month, we gave you a glimpse of our new '70 Fairlane 500 project car ("Zero to Hero", April '07), and then went about making it look fast. Now it's time to start shedding its poser status and making it perform. Our first goal will be to get the Ford into the 11s on motor-and on a budget. This will require a new drivetrain and some serious traction, as well as a special trick or two. The 302 will be ditched in favor of a 351W-based 408 stroker, the C4 tranny will be massaged to handle the added power, and the rear will be replaced with a stronger 9-inch posi. We'll only be tackling aspects that make the car faster and safer, so no flashy billet this or chromed-out that-just the basics. What we hope to end up with is a fun, good-looking, 11-second street machine that costs around $22K (including the initial car purchase).
The key to being fast in drag racing is traction. You can reach a gazillion horsepower, but without traction, you'll just be making smoke and buying tires. Part of getting this coveted traction is using sticky rear tires; however, drag tires need to be seriously heated up to reach maximum effectiveness. We achieved this with a nice thermal-generating, smoke-billowing burnout, but the problem then becomes spinning tires which are not designed to spin. How did we do that? The answer is a line lock.
A line lock is a valve controlled by an electronic solenoid, positioned in the brake line going to the front calipers. When deactivated, the valve is open and fluid passes to the brakes as usual. When the front brakes are engaged and the solenoid is activated, however, the valve closes to trap the pressurized fluid in the front calipers until the control is released. It's simple, inexpensive, and works like a champ to facilitate burnout. A line lock also saves the rear brakes the abuse that would be heaped on them by doing burnouts the old-fashioned way.
Stuff You'll Need:*Tubing bender*Tube flaring kit*Tubing cutter with reamer*Small file*Selection of open-end wrenches*Power drill*Wire crimper*Wire connectors*Soldering iron and solder*Electrical tape or heat-shrink tubing*Self-tapping screws to mount solenoid*18-gauge wire*Zip ties*Double-sided tape*DOT Brake fluid