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1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
https://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36132		 Page 91 of 91
Author:  Dart270 [ Mon Jun 22, 2026 3:21 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
Awesome! Great job by Ava and congrats on the progress.
Lou
Author:  slantzilla [ Mon Jun 22, 2026 9:08 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
Great to see your girl getting involved. Friends and family are what racing is all about. :mrgreen:
Author:  Greg Ondayko [ Mon Jun 22, 2026 6:45 pm ]
Post subject:  6/22/26
6/22/26:

Thanks, Dennis and Lou!
Yes, it is fun when Ava shows interest in things that I appreciate. Her mood massively sways her interest in such non-animal or non-literary subjects, which semi-autonomous bots like myself never understand.. but that's okay. I know there are things in the universe that I will never understand.

Back to things I do sort of understand.. I got the Ruster all fueled up and also finished up the Aluminum fresh air inlet today. The car is ready to be loaded up on the trailer and run at the track. That will not happen for a few weeks, but if you stay tuned here, then you can be the first to know if the car did anything worthwhile or not.
I likely will run the engine again tomorrow as I have not started or warmed up the car since resetting the hot lash.

Some pictures:

Old Air tube - Was time to retire it..
Image
Image

Install Complete:
Image
Image

There is a little interference between the hood and the new tube, but it will sort itself out.

Greg
Author:  Greg Ondayko [ Wed Jun 24, 2026 10:51 am ]
Post subject:  6/24/26
6/24/26

Fresh fuel, cleaned garage dust off, installed the transmission dust seal/ diaper holder. No drips or leaks that I can tell on clean concrete floor. First running after lash adjustment. Seems good and need to change oil and filter sometime.

This converter seems tight as well. I will give it a chance on Track in a few weeks to see if Andre' at Edge got this one right or better than the others I have tried.

Image
Author:  Dart270 [ Wed Jun 24, 2026 11:41 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
Woohoo, Greg! Rustaahhhh... It should feel tighter. I would think 4500-5000 stall is what you want, and that last converter static stalled around 5500 when we tested it, IIRC.

Lou
Author:  slantzilla [ Wed Jun 24, 2026 2:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
I'd reserve judgement until you make some hits with it. Feeling tight may be a blessing if it eliminates slip downtrack. :mrgreen:
Author:  Greg Ondayko [ Sat Jul 25, 2026 6:10 pm ]
Post subject:  7/25/26
7/26/26:

Not as I hoped.
Of course there were some bugs to be solved. I have not really ran the car for 2ish years. Switches and electrics get oxidized and stop working correctly.

I got all of that sorted and man it is slow. I doubt it is the cam making it slow although it could be? My guess is the converter, as it feels tight and grabs / stalls low in my opinion.
I will remove it and install one of the old tried and true converters from the 2009-2004 era of Ruster that I have not sold.
Hopefully I can send it back to Andre' at edge and get it re-stalled and looooooose.

I made 4 Passes I did not hang around after that, but I could have made a 5th pass as well but I was in a foul mood with all of that work and the car going slower. I did get it faster each pass and lights were good but still not happy. Ava came along with me and was helpful at times.
The AFR's Seem good and it does not seem to be going lean in any way at WOT.
In car action here.


Run 1: Misfires with Trigger wheel or the Low Oil Pressure Safety Switch? (Both issues solved for Run #2)
Timing at 38° Max (timing was unchanged from 2024 cam)
Likely too much max timing for this cam; water temp got real hot at the end of the pass.

Reaction: 0.0200
60': 1.6061
1/8: 7.7530 @ 84.700
1/4: 12.4780 @ 102.74 (about 3/4 Second Slower than usual and 10 Mph slower :( )

Run 2: No Misfires etc. Clean Pass. (still 38° Timing)

Reaction: 0.0306
60': 1.5943
1/8: 7.7082 @ 86.010
1/4: 12.3543 @ 103.9

Run 3: Clean Pass, Reduced timing to 34°

Reaction: 0.0315
60': 1.5989
1/8: 7.6913 @ 86.210
1/4: 12.3275 @ 104.21

Run 4: Good Pass, Amazing Light, just a bit too early however. Reduced timing to 30°

Reaction: -0.0006
60': 1.5899
1/8: 7.6601 @ 86.770
1/4: 12.2595 @ 105.04

It seems to like less timing which I think makes sense with the bigger cam.

I will hopefully get it up on the lift and change the oil as well as swap out the converter. Then I can continue to fine tune from there.
If the car is back into the 11's with the converter change I can assume with gleaned data that the edge converter is not right for this combination.
The car is making some of the best 60' foot times with this combo but the down track numbers are not right.
I was happy that each pass got progressively faster and quicker, but unhappy with the overall results.

Do newly built converters need a break in period? I do not know as I have never had a new converter.

Greg
Author:  Rick Covalt [ Sat Jul 25, 2026 7:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
I would say that my new Edge did not need any break in. And I spoke to Andre personally and he never mentioned it needing any. He did say if it wasn't exactly what I wanted just send it back and he would make it right. (I know, that's a lot of work)

Sorry for your troubles! A couple things seem odd. Good 60' times kind of implies the convertor is working somewhat OK? But if the convertor is tight as you suspect, I would think 60's would be off, but it would mph better because of less slippage.

Are cam specs top secret?? I'm assuming bigger! :D That was changed and may be the culprit.
Author:  Dart270 [ Sun Jul 26, 2026 4:02 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
Sorry this did not work out as planned, Greg. I totally understand your frustration after so much work and not seeing the result you wished.

Unless you get a stall speed reading, Andre will not know what to do with the converter. You need to measure a static stall before you pull it. You can do that in the shop or the driveway with the trans brake. Converters do not break in, in my experience. Converters stall where they will forever right out of the box.

I agree with Rick that if 60 ft times are better or comparable than before, then it should not be the converter. Another way to say that is if you have the best or nearly the best 60 fts ever, then loosening the converter may not help you.

Did you measure AFR during a good fraction of the pass. Did AFR stay in the 12.5-13:1 range? I am pretty sure you'll have to adjust the jetting to match the new cam. Can you output the AEM gauge and datalog it?

It looks like you likely need less timing still. That bodes well for the efficiency of this cam/head combo.

At least your lights are still killer!

Lou
Author:  Greg Ondayko [ Sun Jul 26, 2026 11:47 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
Thanks for the thoughts guys.

I can measure stall - I need to find where it will not accelerate (Engine RPM) any more against the brake correct?
( I never remember this process correctly)
Does in matter if it is in "1" or "D"? Maybe I will do both.

Lou, Afr's Look fine.
I cannot ever remember to look at that in my passes. I have no data logging yet, but If I put a laptop in there I should be able to do this with tuner studio / MSIII.
I did have an in car camera and the WOT on the link I posted shows AFR well below 13 the entire pass, so I do not think I need to do any jetting futzing.


Rick If I change the Converter and the car is still slow then I know for sure it is the cam!
Yes it is bigger, but Mostly on the intake. Exhaust may be a skosh smaller in lift than before, but with more duration.
Maybe I need to degree it differently too?

Greg
Author:  Rick Covalt [ Sun Jul 26, 2026 1:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
Quote:
I can measure stall - I need to find where it will not accelerate (Engine RPM) any more against the brake correct?
I believe that is correct.
Author:  Dart270 [ Sun Jul 26, 2026 2:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
Yes, put the brake on and hit the gas until the RPM stops rising. It should not matter D or L, but most people say use D.

What is your shift RPM?

Thanks,
Lou
Author:  Greg Ondayko [ Sun Jul 26, 2026 3:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
Got it. Shifting at 6200.

Greg
Author:  slantzilla [ Sun Jul 26, 2026 6:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
I don't believe the converter is the problem with that much performance loss, especially 10 mph. That seems like a horsepower issue.

Aren't race cars fun? :mrgreen:
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