Conference oass::racers

    Sounds like you are building a MiniStock like I drive.  We use Pinto
    and Mustang II chassies with leaf springs.
    
    We run these cars on everything from short flat quarter mile tracks
    (Coloumbus Ohio) to very high banked halfmile tracks (Winchester Ind.). 
    We use stock rear springs de-arching them.  The right rear is de-arch to
    almost flat off the car.  We also use 1.5 to 2.0 inch lowering blocks.
    
    The de-arching is done be a local shop.... they just know what to do...
    I have never talked to them about it.
    
    Sometime we insert or remove leaves to increse or lessen spring wedige
    weight....
    
    jeff

    
     Hmm, never heard of sliding spring mounts. Where do you get these at
    and what advantage can they serve?
    
     You can get higher rates from multi spring packs versus the mono leaf
    set up. You may be able to induce a greater amount of rear steer from a
    mono set up, however.
    
     When you go into the corner, the spring taking the load is going to
    flatten out. As a result of this, the rear axle will be moved towards
    the rear of the car. Conversley, the spring that is unloading gains arch
    and allows the axle to move forward. Therefore, there is already a
    certain amount of rear steer built into a leaf spring suspension. The
    more leaves you add, the stiffer the rate,and the less steer that is
    induced.
    
     I'm not sure what rearching a spring to be flat would do to the rate.
    Using lower blocks also increases the likelyhood of spring wrap up
    during acceleration and braking which can lead to wheel hop if the
    spacing is excessive.
    
     Landrum Spring offers varied rate leaf spring for pinto/mustang
    chassis and also has custom springs available. They could probably fill
    you in with additional info or catalogs if you wished. I'll post their
    number and address tomorrow.
    
    Tony
    

    
    re; sliders for rear leaf springs are currently available thru shops
        such as AFCO/Harris Racing and Flexi-Flyer out of Arizona. don't 
        know the exact concept but do know they must work.
    
    Chris.
    

    
    Yeah, sounds like we are working the same issues. I would be interested
    in hearing some more about things that your area is doing to the cars
    as far as carbs, pistons, cams etc... What tires are you guys are
    running and what kind of lap times are you turning.
    
    All my experience with race cars are been with engines that 8 holes
    instead of 4 and have carbs that start with an "H" so the 2300 is a new
    venture for me.
    
    It was funny this past month my issue of Circle Track came in the mail
    and low and behold there was an article regarding Mini_stocks! Looks 
    like they are finally getting some attention!
    
    Chris.

    BTY.. I've spoken to Landrum already and have a catalog on the way!
    
    thanks 
    Chris.

    For anyone else who may be interested:
    
    	Landrum Spring Service, Inc.
    	1677 Lakewood Ave. S.E.
    	Atlanta, GA 30315
    
    	TECH LINE:(404)622-9348
    	OREDER LINE: (800)533-2517

    
     Yup, them mini's are getting to be real popular all over. We regularly
    fielded 50 of the things every Saturday night at Beacon Hill Speedway.
    
     I know there are several different combos of trannies and rear ends
    that can be run and still be considered stock. One of which is a trick
    rear wheel disk brake rear out of a mustang.
    
     If you haven't done so, you might try to get in touch with
    Eschlinger(sp) Engineering. These are the guys that develope and build
    all the SVO stuff for Ford. These guys can help you build the baddest
    racer around, but be prepared to pay. They advertise in the back of
    most auto mags.
    
    TC
    

    I just thought that I would add my .02.  I have been racing a 1976
    pinto for the past two years at two local dirt tracks.  I am running a
    .030 over 2300 cc engine with a stock cam and a 350 holly carburator. 
    I finished fourth in points for the 91 season and I was out of the
    points race this past year because of different work related problems. 
    But this year I am going to move up into the Mod-Four class and race a
    1975 ford courior pickup truck(yea thats right a pickup truck).  One of
    the tracks that I am now racing at will let you run a pickup truck in
    all of the divisions.  So I have decided to try this pickup, just to
    see what happens.  I am going to run the same basic engine with a few
    modifications.  I am going to use a aftermarket cam and bore the engine
    out to atleast .060 or .080 depending on the different blocks that I
    have.  I hope that I can get the truck to handle better that the cars
    do because of the full frame that the pickups have.  I am running on a
    shoe string budget this year and can use all of the help/advice that I
    can get so if any of you have any idears or opinions please let me
    know. I am going to concentrate on running one track this year so that
    I can run for the points title. More Later!
    Fred.....

You're going to be pretty light in the back, which might give you more
turn in than you want.  You may want to add some weight to the rear of
the bed to even thing out a little.  Some road racing series or other
has a "Racetruck" class, maybe you can find some info about that to see
how they prepare.  If you're not allowed to carry ballast, at least
bring a spare tire along- even two, if possible!

Carl

    
     Some info I recently picked up regarding leaf spring suspension
    and arch. Most racing leafs are built with very little to no arch
    in them at all. This is not only to lower the vehicle, but to gain a
    predictable, linear rate of compression. By de-arching a regular
    spring, you allow it to arch farther past the horizontal plane than it
    was designed to, which causes a springs compression rate to get softer.
    Pushing springs past these limits can result not only in broken
    springs, but too much induced rear steer can cause snapped u-joints,
    twisted shackles and extremely loose conditions in corners.
    
     Running a single leaf suspension on an oval track car can be a help or
    a hinderance. The ease with which a mono leaf compresses can cause
    trouble in a pavement car because of the tendancy for the rear to try
    and walk around to the front. By the same token, this corner induced
    looseness can aid a dirt track car in setting for corners by allowing
    the rear to be more easily pitched to the outside.
    
     Another problem that is encountered with mono leaf set ups is spring
    wrap up. Without some sort of traction aiding devices, the resulting
    wrap up makes the rear of the car feel somewhat light and skittish,
    especially if the need to rapidly decelleration happens. Exiting a corner
    with this set up also requires a fairly smooth application of power,
    otherwise your car ends up to the herky-jerky as you mash the pedal
    up and down. Kind of amusing to watch, not too much fun to drive.
    
    Tony