Thanks guys that all makes sense and will go in vault. I enjoy learning. Yea mags are notorious for lacking in accuracy dept especially in $$ and hp that's why I don't rely on them but places like this. And admit I didn't include all minute details in original post. Lol I barely get to 2nd much less think about third. Chirps em real good about 150' before line over 70 mph. I am fairly certain i wouldnt see drive in 1/4. My speedo reg 130 and ive seen 120 in 2nd when i had 28" tall tire. Never thought of the trans gear rear gear just plain liking more rpm. Makes sense. May be couple more weeks before I get a vid for you guys. I went ahead and upgraded to 30 spline so I gotta get axles before install. If I wasn't on such a budget I would drive to Bristol and hit 1/4, but the gas and entry would set me back a week on axles. It looks like I will have to save $$ for dyno. I guess it really doesn't matter if it runs good though. My buddy swears it has 2.41 and some of what I found on the net seems to confirm. Won't know till I pull. If so I found a 3.42 Gm set ring/pin that I scooped up a while back. I can use it or sell it. My theory is if I go from 2.41-3.42 it would be same as 2.73-3.73.

 

I would use the 3.42. Very nice gear really. If you have a ton of grunt you wouldn't need much more. The benefit of not buzzing the crap out of it helps in the mental department anytime you go on long rides. Plus you have them. The Trans Ams with more grunt then any SBC offering ever came with I wanna say 3.23's. I cant remember off hand but low. Bone stock 403 Olds that was beat to its last once of life still with a 3.23's will blow the tires off like this.


The 28" tall tire isnt doing anything for you any good either.

 

Yeah the long trip headache played well on my mind. that's the main reason i used good mufflers and ran all the way out. That's the weird thing about my rear. Will throw one one time and two another. I changed from a 28" to a 25" tire a while back. Noticed a tiny difference. I def thought about 3.23 but will be going tko 600 in future so decided 3.42. It runs good, but needs constant tuning which is fine since its a hobby anyway. I have a 30 spline eaton posi, master install kit with timken and super shim, and gm gearset. All I need is axles. I'm hoping to be mid 7's. will have to see. I have another set of wheels I can put slicks on and change at track. I had an 84 Z28 and an 80 L-82 vette back in 98. Z had 3.73/700r vette 3.07/350th. I honestly liked the 3.07/350th combo better. They ran the same et in 8th but vette was always 6-8 mph faster. What happened was the z jumped about three cars from dig but the vette always caught it by 8th and never stopped pulling. They were both slow by today's standards at mid 9's stock. ran 125 shot for a long time as equalizer against the t/a's and ss's. I honestly feel like this car is faster and quicker na than the old vette with nos. never ran at track after nos, back then sr was no big deal in a small town. That's another basis of my opinion that I would run a better qtr than 1/8 bc the vette would have def been a good .3-.5 quicker than Z. We marked it off on br one time and we obviously didn't have time but vette was a good 5-6 cars out at qtr and dead locked within .1 every time in 1/8 at track. That is what I get most of time at tack now. I nail the light, but get fendered right away. Anyone that gets less than a car out of the gate I usually catch and keep pulling. Some I catch right at line but am traveling faster. It seems to help not having to shift lol. I pull on every shift of an m6 car. Can't wait to get gear in. Will be sure to keep you updated. Thanks for replying.

 

I was recommended a 3.73 with a TKO 600.

 

If you're going with the TKO600 in the near future, I'd go lower, as the overdrive gears will be way too high and you'll end up idling down the freeway at 70mph.

I run 3.73 gears with 28" tall M&H drag radials on my 327 Austin. It runs mid 7's in the 1/8 mile, at around 85-90 mph. Just guessing, but I think it's around 400hp. On the freeway it doing around 3,000 rpm at 70 mph.
Running the same 3.73 behind the 464 BBC in my Falcon, and a Super T10 four speed, and the rpm's are a bit lower with the 30" Hurst cheater slicks I'm running on it.

 

Yeah I think you're right. I can usually get a good gm gearset fairly cheap back home. Only gave $75 for this one and it looks perfect. May be a year or two before and will want od before going lower than 3.42. Not hard set on m5. May even just do 700r or 4l80. Could build one if I had a good core. 700r scares me if I go pro charger though, which is ultimate goal. 350 may be my best option but haven't figured that out yet since it is far off. Plus you know how plans change. For now it will be na 3.42 gear 350th. Maybe a tiny shot. 100 hp at most. Would only need to retard 2* for that small hit. To be mid 7's will make me happy for now and I think that's poss with just gear, especially if it is 2.41. I'm tempted to pull cover and see but don't want to have to refill gear oil. It seems to me though most high po cars do better with auto than man, what is your opinion? Rowing gears seems fun, but when you got torque you can go through the gears quick and lose on shifts. I know there is one car at my track that hits 4th in 1/8 and I pull a little every shift. We are close other than that. He has a blower. Of course in first from 2,000-7,000 is going from about 20-70 mph for me.

 

if you're going to be running a 28" tall tire, I would look at more gear then that. With a 28" tall tire, th400 and a 4.10 gear, I would do 65-70 at 3500 rpm. Why not look into a 3.89? I don't know if I would look at a 700r4, I'd be looking at a th400 if forced induction is in your future. The only issue to be aware of, is the stock steel drum in a th400 doesn't like rpm over 7k, you'll need an aluminum drum which will drive up the cost a bit

 

When you're talking quickest 1/8 or 1/4 mile times, there's very few rivers that could come close shifting gears vs. an automatic. Still, there's something that's so nostalgic and fun about shifting gears!
I've had autos in all my hotrods for nearly 40 years, but when I built my Falcon this year I went 4 speed because I just wanted to shift gears again, and do it with a clutch, not a manual shift auto. It's definitely more fun to shift a stick vs. an auto!

 

I put a stick in mine because I like to drop gears going into and out of corners. And this one time I was a the lake and a girl did the unthinkable with the ****. Glad it wasnt a T handle!

 

Funny stuff. It looks like we think the same. Fun of man. shifting vs speed of auto. 400 was on my mind, but although mpg isn't a major concern some semblance of drivability is. I do make a 500 mile round trip home in it as vacation every year. Good to know about drum I will also machine apply piston and add another clutch and steel and upgrade sprag. Autos are fairly easy to deal with especially on strip but manual is def fun on street and Od def helps go farther on same $$. I could pull off the swap, but is it worth it. Manual does seem the best option for od as I have heard 700r is weak and 4L80 only comes electronic. Maybe i am thinking too far ahead. This will be a several year build, has already been two just to get here on my budget, but i am patient. Blessing and curse huh. Oh almost forgot it does have 25" tall tire now, but tires are easy for me. My dad owns tire shop so I get at cost. All in all I will have less than 10 in it after gear swap(wife thought I was crazy when I spent more on motor than car, but I stole car) and should be able to run with much more expensive cars. It's hard being a poor man trying to make it in a rich mans world, just glad God has blessed me enough to be able to race at all. Thanks guys.