manicrodder
$50 site donor 2022
Yes you did. Charlie had one in a 70 Nova. It would scare Corvettes.The 325 hp 396 was not that fast. The L78 396 was rated @375 hp but was closer to 425. If you wanted a fast Chevelle you ordered the L78
Yes you did. Charlie had one in a 70 Nova. It would scare Corvettes.The 325 hp 396 was not that fast. The L78 396 was rated @375 hp but was closer to 425. If you wanted a fast Chevelle you ordered the L78
Not only are you allowed to modify them to be the "best" version, but you are also allowed to raise compression 1.5 points and upgrade to electronic ignition. Gaining 17Mph in the 1/4 says a fair bit about the power difference between showroom stock and "pure stock" as tested.
It appears you could also run a 4.0 plus set of rear gears which would have really helped.
"Electronic ignition" is limited to a conversion that can fit under the cap to get rid of the points. No distributor replacements with tricky electronics and no external boxes. Rev limiters are allowed for engine safety. Compression bumps are worth, what, 4% per point? A 1.5 point bump would be 6% increase.
None of that explain the HP bumps they're getting. Like you say, the trap speeds are showing huge power. Just good engine building and a solid tune-up. This is through factory heads, factory manifolds (intake and exhaust), a factory grind camshaft, and factory carburation. Moving air in and out, the path to power, is strictly limited.
I'm just providing a counterpoint. Saying something like "375 HP gross is only like 300 net" doesn't always tell the whole story. That same combination of parts can produce 500+ HP. The counter to that is usually, well, you'll never hook up that much power unless you put a tire on it. 11.5x on a bias ply G70.
A Chevelle in 1969 had 6 available gear ratios: From 3.07, all the way to 4.88.
That's kind of the idea though with the racing. Finding a L78 396/375 Chevelle with an M22 4-speed, 4:56 gears, posi, no smog pump, no power steering, no power brakes, bucket seats with no console, G70 tires, and so on is largely impossible. Sometime during 1969, Chevrolet could have made that exact car though and that's a fun concept to explore and race, especially if you limit what you can do to what the factory did.
Let’s put it up against 1970 Buick GS 455 Stage 1.I'll put my 2017 Regal GS 2.0T against that Malibu anyday.
I think the ignition box was an allowance for Mopar guys who had converted to electronic ignition using the "orange box". I work with a couple guys who race or have raced pure stock. I'll hit them up on IM and ask.I noted in the rules that they used to allow ignition boxes at one point, which is interesting. I'm curious as to how many of the records might have happened before that change?
Yep. I had a 66 GTO Tri-Power (3 two barrel carbs), 3.55 limited slip diff, 4 speed manual B-W T10. I could smoke the rear tires all the way through first gear on those old skinny tires.Did they have to run stock ignition curves? They were slower than Christmas. What about pump gas? Sunoco 260 would be nice...
A '66 GTO torque monster came with 7.75x14 bias ply Uniroyal tires. Shreadable....
How long did 2nd gear hold up to all that torque?Yep. I had a 66 GTO Tri-Power (3 two barrel carbs), 3.55 limited slip diff, 4 speed manual B-W T10. I could smoke the rear tires all the way through first gear on those old skinny tires.
In HS my friends dad had a 409 Impala. Just like the song...4 speed,dual quad,positraction 409. We kids would take it out. Definatley more to it than sound and other noises! That car was a handfull with all 8 barrels openMuscle cars especially old ones feel faster because the beautiful engine sounds along with vibration/rattles/harshness/noise emitted into you.
It would lay down a pretty long "II" in second gear also.How long did 2nd gear hold up to all that torque?
Cool.In HS my friends dad had a 409 Impala. Just like the song...4 speed,dual quad,positraction 409. We kids would take it out. Definatley more to it than sound and other noises! That car was a handfull with all 8 barrels open
The good old days. Rear axle torque steer, when you needed 3rd gear to straighten out.But it did make some Torque.....Tire spin really hampers 60 foot & 0-60 times.