An 8.69 Average on 7 Cylinders? Bill Schwarz Gets Into the Details To Prepare For Sick Summer
Several classes at drag-and-drives can be decided by very tight margins, usually less than a tenth of-a-second. In the case of 8.50-et limited classes due to safety equipment, the margins can be tighter.
Bill Schwarz has several drag-and-drive events under his belt, including both the 2022 and 2023 edition of Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, in his 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle.
Competing in the Sick Street Race class, Bill’s Chevelle averaged an 8.60 on Sick Week in 2022. One year later, Bill’s best shot on day one was a 9.08, raising a possible red flag that something could be wrong.
“We could have stayed at the track longer and made another pass after swapping out spark plugs and an injector, but it's still a car-centric vacation for us,” said Bill.
He made some changes, including adding more boost than normal, and got the Chevelle back into the mid 8-second range for the rest of the week, finishing with an 8.69 average and a sixth-place finish in the class.
This article is brought to you ad-free by Sick The Magazine’s print subscribers. Do your part to support quality automotive journalism and the future of print media by subscribing to our awesome 200-page print book today!
A few weeks after Sick Week was complete, Bill decided to do a compression test on the 427 cubic inch LS-based engine. What he found was a decent drop in compression on cylinders four and seven, and decided to dig into the engine a bit more.
“The motor needed to come out for a refresh anyway,” said Bill. “It’s been through 6 drag-and-drives and probably 9000 miles so far.”
A week later, the engine was out and inspected. “The number four piston and chamber have a few little marks from the spark plug leaving the chat,” Bill stated. “Unfortunately, some of the debris chewed up the face and margin on that cylinder’s exhaust valve.”
Diving a bit deeper revealed the rings had lost tension on cylinders four and seven, but pistons and bearings look good. “All in all, a very simple re-ring, new valve and gaskets,” said Bill, who plans to have the twin-turbocharged Chevelle ready for Sick Summer. “I had to sign up,” Bill admitted. “Cordova is my home track!”
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Bill Schwarz and Sick the Magazine.