At the Track
Joe Taylor
Joe wanted to go in a different direction than "the traditional more-cubes-is-better approach," he said. Knowing that Pontiacs have a lot of torque somewhat at the expense of topend horsepower, he chose a balanced build in which horsepower and torque had a more equal footing. "By doing so, I was able to use a Turbo 350 and a stock 10-bolt rearend," Joe said. His next step was to reduce his vehicle's weight to offset the loss of torque, and accomplished his goal by removing all extraneous weight from the exterior and interior of the GTO.
His goal for our Shootout was to achieve a best personal pass, which he stated was 10.98 at 121 mph, achieved at Norwalk in 2008. For his first time at the track, Joe launched his GTO at 2,100 rpm and stampeded the 60-foot in 1.50 seconds, earning an 11.08 e.t. at 119.17. Over the next four runs, he tried to beat his all-time best, but his timeslips never got better than his first pass. "I really thought I was going to do it," Joe said. "Since last season, I made changes to the intake manifold, and the carburetor and ignition settings, and added a larger electric fuel pump, but my e.t.'s didn't improve."
Joe's tuning changes consisted of adjusting his rear tire and air bags' psi. Of his GTO's reaction to the Norwalk track, he said, "It hooked great." Of the track conditions, he added, "Track prep was great. There was only an occasional head-wind gust."
Michael Silver
Michael began racing his LeMans in 1992 with a 350 and ran a best of 13.90 in the quarter-mile. To improve his performance, he installed the stroked 400/455 in 2003, and saw his e.t.'s drop to the low 12s. At its best, the A-body was clicking off 11.58s at the track
"I wanted to see what the LeMans would do this year," Michael said. For his first pass, he launched at 1,500 rpm, crossed the 60-foot in 1.821 seconds, and hit the traps in 12.33 seconds at 111.23 mph. His goal became clear: Get the LeMans to break into the 11s, as it had in the past. For his next four times at the line, Michael saw a gradual improvement of his e.t.'s, hitting a best of the day on his fifth pass, a 12.19 at 110.47 mph, with a 1.775 60-foot.
His tuning involved increasing his total timing from 33 to 35 degrees, installing a new cap and rotor, and changing his fuel octane. "I was disappointed in how the LeMans performed this year," Michael said. "I had some blow-by that may have caused the valley-pan gasket to leak, and the car was not running at its full potential. On the other hand, I was very happy to participate, because the Shootout gave me the opportunity to observe how my LeMans would perform during payout competition, especially since the weekend's Saturday race was rained out."
Michael described the Norwalk track as "excellent" and that his LeMans "hooked well with no pull." Of the Shootout, he commented, "I was really happy with the event, and felt privileged to be here and participate."