Dirt track racing

[J-Ri]

One of my friends talked me into racing my '96 Beretta at the local track in the compact series next season. It's completely stock, with a 2.2l engine and a manual transmission. What engine modifications are available for the 2.2l engine? I've looked around, but haven't seen anything high performance for these engines. I'm thinking along the line of a higher compression head (possibly with extra valves? or at least larger valves), header w/ open exhaust, and a ram air intake system. Does anyone know where I can find that stuff?

Other than that, I'll probably just side-gap the plugs, get some higher voltage coils, low resistance wires, remove the inoperative A/C stuff, gut the interior, and get some grippy tires. Anyone have any other ideas?

[loosenut74]

Originally Posted by J-Ri

One of my friends talked me into racing my '96 Beretta at the local track in the compact series next season. It's completely stock, with a 2.2l engine and a manual transmission. What engine modifications are available for the 2.2l engine? I've looked around, but haven't seen anything high performance for these engines. I'm thinking along the line of a higher compression head (possibly with extra valves? or at least larger valves), header w/ open exhaust, and a ram air intake system. Does anyone know where I can find that stuff?

Other than that, I'll probably just side-gap the plugs, get some higher voltage coils, low resistance wires, remove the inoperative A/C stuff, gut the interior, and get some grippy tires. Anyone have any other ideas?

I realize that this might not apply to your situation but its something that i posted on www. cerious productions.com awhile ago... take a look...

Stripping: This is the first step and a very important one. Get everything out before you start torching it will just catch fire later. Remove all the glass first so you have ventilation when you’re stripping the interior. The easiest way to get windows out, is to spray down the black eurthane with WD-40. Soak it from inside and out as soon as you get a car. Give it a few hours and reapply. Then one person sits inside and pushes with your feet outward as the other cuts or scraps with a putty knife. Just don’t kick but apply constant pressure. It is messy but easy, we used to use cable from the hood pop or an actual windshield tool but this is way easier. Door glass you can just unbolt and slide out. Once the windshields out you can just stomp/sledge the dash out. You have to unbolt the heater core. Sometimes a wrench is easier than a sledge but not often. Remove all the chrome and lights on the outside. Get as much of the carpet and other interior panels as possible, I always vacuum out the whole car thoroughly; I don’t want crap flying in my eyes when driving.

Engine compartment: Do all the stripping possible before you drop in an engine. Remove everything possible all extra wiring, vacuum lines, heater core housing, wiper motor, and especially the vapor recovery unit. It looks like a black coffee can and is full of gas. Don’t leave anything that isn’t needed it’ll just get in the way or bang your distributor cap later. Don’t remove the vacuum line for your brakes, throttle cable, and leave the VIN tag you’ll need it at the junkyard. Don’t laugh, an overzealous stripper will do it to you someday. Cut the front swaybar out to keep it from rubbing the harmonic balancer when the frame bends. It can be used for the windshield. Also remove all the hood latch mechanism, it's almost impossible to get in open in the pits when it's bent to hell, your #9 wire/chain/bolts will hold the hood. Use self taping screws and put one wherever two pieces of sheetmetal come together.

Torching: Be sure all the stripping is done first and get a garden hose or bucket of water nearby. You need to torch holes for the shifter , distributor, tranny dipstick, radiator, and wire in the trunk and hood. You'll also need clearance for tire but only in front of the front tires and behind the back tires. The center of the car won't go into the tires. On some models there's alot of metal close to the radiator, the support or the wheel wells torch this back. Don't cut too much.

Bumpers: Start by drilling a hole in the bumper strut. Then take a sledge and pound it all the way back. You may have to run the car into a tree if the strut is really rusty. Then weld (on high-D/E) the gap that you just closed. The shock fluid is flammable so keep a water hose nearby. If you’re allowed to weld, weld as much as you can around the bumper bracket to frame attach point. If you cannot weld, use a chain and bolt it back to keep it from falling. Some bumper require torching the ends or use a sledge to pound it into the body to keep from catching and pulling off.

Frame: There’s many ways to strengthen the frame, most of the time you’re very limited by the rules. If your frame is rusty don’t bother it won’t make that much of a difference, just use your front more than the back because the frame in front is preserved from engine oils more in front than in back. Just remember you can’t unweld a frame, so follow the rules. Weld all frame seams bumpers to bumper if allowed. This is the frame weakness. You can weld leaf springs inside of the hump, roll your car over and pour concrete into the hump, chain and cable the whole length of the frame, heat treat it, weld plates everywhere, shove iron in from the trunk and open up your frame and line the inside with angle iron. All this works, but it’s way to much work for a 20 minute demo and most of the time something else will take you out before your frame bends. Keep it simple and have fun! We have resisted notching our back frame for years because it just seemed wrong to weaken your frame in any way. But we finally tried it on a few cars and it works great. It rolls into your trunk, allowing you to see and takes alot of pressure off your hump. To do this take a good size(inch or so)notch out of the top of the frame just foward of the bumper brackets. This varies depending on model, but works on any make or year. "V" this down to about halfway through the frame on both sides.

Body: Take all the body bolts out with an impact or breaker bar except the front two by the radiator. Keep all the good bolts. Then pull the back of body up with a cherry picker. Knock all the rubber pucks out. Weld the top of the frame now, most of the frame will be hidden when you squeeze the body back down. Lower the body back down and put a washer and rectangular plate on the bolt and drive it with an impact back up and through the body. You should have about an inch out the top. Then plate and nut there too. Some of the bolts won’t come out or the anchor nut will just spin free, you’ll have to torch these out and use new bolts. How rusty the body is and how big of hole you have to cover determine the size of the plate. Bigger is always better for plating. Do only the back 2 then do the front the same way and you’ll maintain your hole alignment. Watch your steering rod and brake lines when raising the front. For the front 2 use ready rod and go as high as allowed (hood, top of radiator support or body). When your all done use 2 or 3 strands of #9 wire to hold your hood and trunk down. Wire it down in as many spots as possible. Feed all the wire through the bottom first and then close the hood/trunk and feed them through. If you can't weld door you can wire them too. Put a few twists by hand in the wire then use a tire iron and twist them tight. It takes a little pratice but you'll find the point where your wire is tight as possible and not breaking.

Doors: Remove the aluminum trim strips on the bottom door jam before closing. If allowed weld the entire length of the door seams. Use rebar or plates to fill the gap. Use a lower setting (B) on your welder so you don’t burn through. To keep the bottom of the door from coming in, hammer a piece of angle iron into the bottom of the inside of the door and weld in place. Cut the back seat pad in half and put between you and the driver’s door. This will save your ribs from the jagged door workings. You can use a bungy cord or duct tape to hold it. If you’re not allowed to weld then twist #9 wire with a crowbar or use a chain to secure them. Go all the way around the center post. Last resort duct tape them if that’s all they allow.

Driver’s protection: Run 2 large pipes, across the dash and behind the seat. Attach a large plate to each end. On the outside or inside of the drivers and passengers doors run another bar that connects to the safety bars, basically forming a box around the drivers compartment. I prefer the outside so you can use it to cut open other cars like a sardine can. Cover any inside bar with the before mentioned padding. Weld or bolt bars across the windshield to keep the hood from coming back or bumpers from flying in. You can use your swaybar you cut out from under the engine. Some use mesh screen, which works great to keep the mud out of your teeth. Always wear a chin guard style helmet and safety glasses. You don’t want to smash your teeth out with the steering wheel. Cover the firewall hole, battery, and gas tank with floor mats or sheet metal.

Wiring: You need two toggle switches, one pushbutton switch, two thick battery cables and save some thick wire when you're stripping. The first toggle switch provides power to the distributor, run a positive wire from the battery through a toggle switch and to the back left post(orange wire) on the distributor; the other is for the alternator, connect all the wires together on the alternator and run them through a toggle to the positive battery post. If you want to run a dumbie light (to tell if your motor is running) then take the small brown wire off the alternator and run in through a small light and to ground. The push button is for the starter solenoid "S" terminal. Run the positive battery cable directly to the large starter post and the negative to the back of the engine block. Don’t run it to the frame. Be sure to clean the contact point throughly before attaching.
You don’t need an alternator if you have a good battery fully charged. If your front end is really smashed then turn it off to keep it from grounding out your battery. Don’t ever leave your switches on, you’ll drain your battery through the alternator coils and you’ll fry your distributor. Cover all the wires in old garden hose and duct tape to protect them.

Battery: Don’t try to run the cheapest battery made get one with good Amp rating(1000 CCA pefered). We tried many different boxes but I like a wooden box the best. Metal boxes can gouge the battery or ground it out. Just use 8 2X4 laid Lincoln log style and bolt it through the floorboard. You can use seat belts to hold down the battery. Put the positive away from the door to keep it from grounding out. Cover the battery with a floor mat or sheet metal.

Gas Tank: The best gas tank is a fuel cell but a metal boat tank works great. Place it in the back on the driver side. Use seatbelts and form a >< pattern through the handle. Use self-taping screws and work your way toward the tank making the straps tighter as you go. You can also use ready rod with a piece of flat steel across the top. Just don’t over tighten it and don’t leave too much out the bottom to catch bumpers on the track. Get a see-through in-line fuel filter and run STP gas treatment to keep your carb running good. Run the fuel line between the front seats and through the heater core hole. You can also use many different additives, such as, lead, 2 cycle oil, kerosene, octane boost, alcohol, Mystery Oil, etc... I can't really say which ones work best except straight 87 octane gas.

Exhaust: Turn you manifolds over to run stacks on a Chevy 350, better yet buy a set of headers. They will bring out the best in any motor. No you can't flip any others that I know of, such as BOP (Buick, Olds, Pontiac) Ford(some you can) or Mopar. You may have to trim a few areas one some of the manifolds. This not only looks and sounds cool but also gets all the heat out of the engine bay and helps you tell if you’re running. If you can’t turn your exhaust then be sure to remove the muffler and pipes but leave a foot or so to get he exhaust away from the starter, oil filter and engine depending on which model.

Cooling: A three of four-core rad is the best but a two-core will work. If you have a leaking radiator try "stop leak"
Behind the rad run two ready rods covered in hose from the top to the bottom of the support. Don’t over tighten it just snug. This will keep the whole thing together when it’s coming up. #9 wire covered in hose, seatbelts, straps etc.. also works. Disconnect and plug the heater core hoses, it’s just another hose to burst. Double duct tape all of the rad hoses from end to end, to keep them from exploding. Add stop leak with a regular mix of antifreeze and water. Junkyards are a good source of used anti-freeze, sometimes they give it away. Take an old a/c radiator and punch holes in it and put it in front of the radaitor to protect it.
If your thermostat is working leave it. If you’re really worried about it sticking buy a new one or put a large washer with a small hole in it’s place. Don’t just take it out you need something to slow the coolant down and create pressure to alleviate air pockets.
Fans- (not the ones in the stands) run the shortest extension shaft possible. If you have a clutch style you can weld a nut to make it solid and maximize cooling. Put a small bead so it will break when it makes contact with rad and you won’t lose you belt. I have run electric fans on a switch and they work great too. You front can go sky high with no damage to your rad. An alternator is a good idea if you do.

Engine: 350 Chevy is the best engine but anything that runs good will do. Your engine should run it’s best for a demo. Don’t wait till the demo to find out it kills as soon as it gets hot. Know your engine!!! A good tune-up including plugs, wires, oil & fuel & air filters. Always run an air cleaner to contain a backfire. Use one of the Dura-lube/Slick50/Prolong products if you believe in them. Timing is the subject of much debate, every motor is different so time yours where it runs the best, in my experience old motors run better when a little advanced. Newer motor right at factory setting (Chevy 350 8 degrees BTDC). I usually advance it til the motor starts hard then I back it off a little till it starts easily when hot. Do a thrash session and see how it runs, if you lose power when hot then adjust it til you stay running and have good power.
If you’re running a non-Chevy motor then chain your engine on both sides. You will break your motor mounts and your engine will be jumping around.
Spark plug wires need to be routed around the exhaust and cover with hose and wrap with duct. Take all the long ones from two sets or buy Racing wires. Use tie-wraps to keep all the wires in place. Tie wrap the ignition and starter wires the same way.

Transmission: Turbo 400 or 375 are the best but a 350 will do just don’t expect to get as many demos out of one. Change the filter and fluid before each demo to prolong their life. Use the factory mount and wrap a chain with tighten bolt around the tranny and crossmember. Don’t over tighten it but make it snug. If the stock mount is bad you can weld a bolt onto the mount and stack tire rubber to pad it. I’ve even seen a 2X4 jammed under one. I would recommend changing the rear seal and the front if it’s suspect. If you keep the stock shifter the weld a lug nut on the outside of the rod to keep it from pulling away from the tranny. I would recommend running a metal rod for a shifter. They're easy to make never fail, they do take a little practice but its worth it. There are many demo product guys(Raptorfab.com) that make great shifters with Park lock outs and adjustable rods, they are definitely worth it you plan to run alot. You can also design your own with a solid rod through a bracket with a cotter pin to lock out park. Some are hurst shifter and others are modified cable shifters. I have no experience with manual trans but some people swear by them.
Transmission coolers work great if they're allowed. Some methods include routing rubber lines to the passenger compartment or inside the front passenger seat. Use a wood box, coffee can, igloo cooler or whatever to hold a small tranny cooler or looped copper tubing. Just pack it in (dry)ice before the demo and your tranny will keep cool. Most of the time we run the stock lines to the radiator. Unless your front end goes sky high they won't break. I've never seen tranny fluid leaking from a busted radiator, the fan doesn't hit there. If your worried about breaking them you can just run a short tube and loop it right back into the tranny or run rubber lines in the middle to give them more flex. Be sure to buy transmission line, fuel line or other rubber line will get hot and burst. Transmission fluid is the cause of most fires! Another area of concern is the tranny overflow, usually located about halfway down on the top of the tranny case. Be sure this is not plugged and watch it when installing an engine. If this gets plug it will vent out of the fill tube at a higher pressure. You can put a heater core hose from the top to a safe location so you don't spray on the exhaust.l

Rearend: Weld it posi without a doubt a must have in any demo. You have to be able to spin out of a jam and if you lose a tire you’re not done. Just take off the cover and clean the gears with carb cleaner. Weld on high (D) and lay a nice steady bead but don’t stay in one place too long. Let it cool often and move around to different locations. It’s cast so it will get brittle if you overheat it. You’ll see what needs to be welded if you look at the gears and turn the tires it's the gears on the right and weld the gears to the carrier around the outside. Clean up any slag, and install the pan, fill with oil if you want, most times we just run them with no lube. You can also reinforce the support arms with a bumper jack slid inside. We also shorten the bottom control rod to improve the drive shaft angle. Just cut it half and overlap abot an inch or two and weld back together. You can also lengthen the top arm to get the same effect.
Of course running a lower gear ratio(3.73, 4.11, 4.56 etc..) helps keep the engine cooler and more powerful. They are expensive and not neccesary unless you run alot. Going too low on gears at a muddy track and you will over rev your motor.

Suspension: You can raise the suspension with new shocks and springs, which is best but expensive. The best way to gain height is with tires. Stuff rags in your back shocks and jump on the bumper a few times and repeat about 6-8 times. This won’t give you much height but will stiffen the ass end a lot. On a leaf wagon add more leaves (truck) and make shackles to hold the spring tighter. If allowed add helpers in between the springs. If you bumper sits low then do your first shot on tires and doors to get it coming up. On old Chrylsers you can crank up the torsion bars and gain alot of height.

Tires: Run the tallest and skinniest tire you can find with atleast 4-8 plys, more is better. The best ones are some tall snow tires with lots of grip. Tubing works great because you don't have to worry about breaking the bead. Some drive screws through the rim and bead to hold the tire on but you can't use long screws with tubes so try Liquid Nails instead on the bead. Another tip I've recieved from a vistor is to use black windshield urethane to hold the bead. I've never tried this but sounds like it would work as well. You can also fill you tire with foam rubber but it cost alot and adds alot of weight and stress on your rearend. I haven't seen water work either except to wet the track. If you have to run the scabs that came with the car then put a washer behind one of the studs it will give you a wobble which will help with traction. You can also put a tire inside a tire by inserting and smaller tire, leave the bead on the inside tire. This is no easy task, find a good tire guy. Also don't grease your tire it doesn't work and just makes everyones cars messy in the pits.

Steering: Remove the 2 nuts on the steering column and insert as many washers as you can, to gain a better angle to the box. Also wrap the column and brace with #9 wire, so if it breaks, it won't fall in your lap. Leave your keys turned on in the column and wrap with duct tape to prevent someone from stealing your keys and leave you with a locked column on demo day.

ALL RULES AND CARS WERE MEANT TO BE BENT....lol...good luck..loosenut...

[drdisque]

you just posted stuff for a demolition derby. While some of that stuff is pertinent to short track racing, a lot of it isn't and likely isn't allowed.

Back to your original question - Read the complete rules for the class you're going to run at the track you're going to run it - From my experience nearly all Street Stock/Pony Stock/Super Hornet classes I've seen require that the engine be totally stock.

[loosenut74]

Check out my forum unauthorized link removed by Moderator i have more info there...

[J-Ri]

I was wondering about some of that stuff. Differential!? and what's this driveshaft thing? Don't think I have one in this car I do appreciate it though, some of it was useful.

Originally Posted by loosenut74

Check out my forum http://forums.topspeedautogroup.com i have more info there...

Thanks. I looked around, and didn't see anything. Where should I look?

[loosenut74]

Originally Posted by J-Ri

I was wondering about some of that stuff. Differential!? and what's this driveshaft thing? Don't think I have one in this car I do appreciate it though, some of it was useful.




Thanks. I looked around, and didn't see anything. Where should I look?

join and i'll post the info for you....
unauthorized link removed by Moderator

[Soon to be]

What is the wheel base of that Berretta? I'm looking for a sub compact or compact with a max wheel base of 107 inches. I do like the cavalier z24 but the dodge neon supercharged sounds good too. Can anyone help