setting up a late 70s thunderbird

we are running a 77 thunderbird of a 3/8 mile medium banked red clay dirt track. we run in cruiser classwhich is basically a bomber class. we are having trouble w the chevys,fresh motor and all. 351 c-4 6:20 gears outback. racing springs in the front and shocks all stock out back. we shortened the nose but are still weighing in at 3650 with out putting any weight where we want it. we haveto weigh 3600. anybody with any suggestions please weigh in. we have only been racing a few years our other car is a 75 malibu and its pretty close so please give us a hand.  

my husband runs a mustang and a fairmont on a 3/8 red clay track. what kind a help do you need? he been racing since 1991.he runs street stock.  

we are looking for any suggestions on rear suspension setup mainly.  everyone runs chevy here so chevy help is easy to come by but we cant seem to get our ford to turn. like i said we weigh 3650 without putting any weight back where we want it. also maybe gear selection we are running a 620 right now but are only turning around 6 grand on the tach. this could be because we scrub off so much speed in the corners or because of the push we dont know we do know the car wont turn what king of trailing arms are you running  

right now we are running a 733 rear gear. we also have ran a 700 rear gear. i'll get you more inf to help you get your car to turn.  

what transmission are yall running, and how many rpms are you turning with 733 gears? you did say you run on a 3/8 mile track?  

If you have all stock trailing arms and it's a three link, here's what my set-up was.  800 fronts  if the rear springs were are mounted on the dif, 175 rr  200 lr

Ride height measured from the bottom of the frame 8". Seems high but trust me, it's were the chassis works best.

It's not a Chevy, it will pull like a bear at lower rpm so you can run less gear.  5:43 or a bit higher is what you need. This worked great for me. 6:30 would be my choice for a Chevy. 7:33 would be my choice for a Chevy on a 1/4 mile track.

Dry slick tracks give you a lower cornering speed. You would think that a steeper gear would work better but the torque from the Cleveland will surprise you and it will live a lot longer at less rpm.  My Chevy engine loved 5000-7,000.  My Ford was strong at 3000-6000. Never popped a ford engine but smoked several Chevys.  You should have went with a 351 Windsor in my opinion. Lighter and plenty powerful!

If it's a four link, it just may be the same kind of set-up but not sure. I always loved the three link.  The pan hard bar is critical to run it level on a dry slick track.  You also want your lr rim to have as little offset as possible and stick your right rear out as far as possible.  

Well I have been out of the game for a bit but I started out in a 74 Torino. I forgot if the T-Bird has the same strut front end. If so, some of the quick fixes that made a big deference for us was this.

1. Cut part of the front end off and hide it. No one anywhere knows a ford. Cut 4 inches or so strait off the fenders and the hood. Then you can cut off part of the frame horns. Cover up with a nose if you can but with front end weight being the biggest downfall to fords every bit can help.

2.Take the RF strut rod off. Cut the washer/bushing cup thats on the front of it off. Its the part of it that goes into the front frame cross member. Cut it away from the rod and slide it back 3/4 inch or so. Then just reattach it. It pulls forward on the lower strut and helps give you the caster you will like in the RF.

3. Add threaded rod for the sway bar links. Its a nice and easy adjustment for tight loose on the front.

4. Get all the weight you can off the front of the beast. I don't know why Ford built um so front long and heavy but they did.  

When all else fails just have fun, insted of fighting the inevitable PUSH just ramp it off the track and give the fans a show.