aha.. ok. well that's what i told my machinist and he agreed on the late 60's stuff i said. except he said somethin like they made their power at higher rpm's though. he also said my trans would hold up too unless i thought it had too many miles on it or thought it had been abused real good. i'm honestly thinking that trans place just wants some money.. lol. I was thinking of having a standard rebuild on my trans with a shift kit and a slightly higher stall speed on the torque converter. but since i'm low on dough i'm thinking of just getting a new oem converter since mine sat outside and went to crap and just driving it as is for now until i can afford to beef it a little. or should i just wait a little while longer and do it before i put the engine in?

 

oh, i forgot to say, i plan on taking it to the strip every once in a while. i live in idaho and i think the nearest strips are up by boise and there's RMR in utah and one in Wells, Nevada that i know of. Have any ideas on how quick my truck would be?

 

Depends on how much it weighs. If it's still driveable, go to a set of scales and weigh it with you in the seat and 1/4 tank of fuel. Then we can get some solid estimates of ET and speed.

The engine setup above just begs for a tight converter (like a stocker). That much torque right off idle will make for excellent driveability. Putting a higher stall converter in will just waste the wonderfully abundant off-idle torque you will have available.

I'd get the tranny done as just a basic stock rebuilt. Maybe spring for some upgraded clutches, but that's all. You should be fine.

As for late 60's engines making HP at high RPM, it's bunk. Redline on most of the factory hot rods, even the mighty 429 SCJ and 454 SS engines rarely topped 5500 RPM. Oh, there were a few exceptions, but it was generally all about lots of cubic inches making tons of torque and sending it through outrageously low-geared axles to relatively skinny bias-ply tires that didn't have a prayer of staying hooked under that kind of twist.

Also, keep in mind that the DD numbers are for SEA LEVEL. Southern Idaho and northern Nevada aren't exactly coastal communities. Altitude will make a difference in your power numbers.

Brad

 

not right now it isn't.. has no engine in it. i was thinking about trailering it over to a concrete place over here or a local recycler and pull it onto their scale and see.. but if i don't do that then i'll just have to wait till it's running. oh.. what are the exceptions? i here the 426 Hemi's were high winders.. any truth there?

 

Musclecars still had to run the power brakes and be able to be driven by wives, so they really weren't that hairy in the cam department, which meant they operated at 5500rpm or so. The exception being the W32 Olds, they came equipped only with manual brakes due to poor vacuum from a large cam.

 

The Ford Thunderbolt was an exception, but it was an extremely limited production race prepped factory hotrod. There was also the very, very rare stuff like Yenko Camaros and aluminum Chevy 427's. Again, the exception, not the rule. As stated above, the cars had to have some street manners, had to operate vacuum boosted accessories, and the mfg needed some bit of safety margin for parts longevity (warranty).

There were Boss 302's and Chevy 327's which were high winders, but that's apples to oranges as these cars were configured for the more balanced performance required in Can-Am racing. Most street musclecars were big inch torque machines.

Brad

 

I am running a combo close to this could someone run the #'s for me. 460 30 over stock stroke. flat tops D3-Ve heads stock valves ported on exaust to remove smog bump and port matched on intake to stealth non CJ intake with 770 holley truck avenger carb. L&L full length headers 13/4 primary and 3 inch collectors through 40 series flowmasters.same comp cam as above and .005 deck hieght. if you need anymore info let me know.
Thanks in advance Matt.

 

Put the engine in the bed above the rear axle; or
Add another 800 HP; or
Put 6' tall tires on the back.

Lifting the wheels off the ground is a waste of energy, assuming that you want the truck to go forward anyway. If you want better weight transfer WITHOUT lifting the wheels off the ground, drill holes in the front shocks and drain the oil out. Don't recommend that though.

 

edwing,

Presuming you have about the same cam as above, you should be around 390 HP and 510 lb-ft torque.

Brad

 

furball69.. that comment i made on the wheels coming off the ground wasn't too serious on my part. but it is possible for my truck to do it i think.. I could stretch out my front suspension pretty close to the max as it was. at night you could tell how much it was goin up simply by peoples looks they were givin me and by the headlights aiming from someone's bumper to above their truck cab. i'm not sayin i want to be able to do it.. but with the extra hp and torque i'll be getting and if my tires would be able to stick (doubt it) i could probably get an inch maybe.. lol. my sisters bf could get about a half foot with his 70 chevelle when he had that about 5 years ago. he had about 400- 425hp at the flywheel with an auto trans to it. but then again that's a whole different thing compared to my truck. *shrugs* just a thought, not anything i'd wanna do because i'd most likely bottom out on the way down and break something. when i jack my front end up, my wheels hang at least a foot or more before they come off the ground if i don't jack under the I-beams. But thanks for the insight on that.

I also have another question for anyone who knows trannys. If I had wanted to go to a stick, what would you recommend? At work we have a '91 F250 2WD with an EFI 460 and it has a 5speed overdrive manual trans in it. I was thinkin that'd be cool to have in my truck until I drove it a few times and first gear is like a granny gear in a 4WD. That truck was deffinitely made for towing and unless I could change the gears up in it, I'd rather stick with my 3speed auto than find one of those trannys to put in it. Any suggestions on a trans of choice would be appreciated. Not that I'll switch to one anytime soon, but for future plans. Ugh.. i have so many questions I can ask.. but i'll limit it to one more for now. What kind of difference to my engine performance would ram air make? I was planning on making a custom ram air system for my truck via the front of the hood where a 78 would have the ford letters on it. And that's all for now.. thanks!