[Singleton]

Originally Posted by Navy Horn 16

I still drill in Pensacola once a quarter or so. I'll have to invite myself over next time I'm down there and check out your bird.

Sure thing. I’m semi-retired now, so in the shop most of the time.

[hal101]

Originally Posted by ta man

The OF cam has much more lift with 1.5 rockers 570 vs 470. How much compression ?

12..09

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Lunati 10510301, 225@.050, 275 adv, .477 lift. 108 LSA. Along with the Rhodes.

I just posted almost the same thing over in BeerTracker's thread.
Your scenario is similar , but worse. lol
He's doing 455 with 2.78 AC & Heavy Car - yours is 440 with 2.56 etc..

If you keep the lift under .465 you can use the lighter valve springs.
Over that lift you have to go up on the spring pressure = more loss and stress.
I'd stay under .450 with yours , and use Rhoads.
Put you around .410 @ idle speed - practically stock.

Your ported heads will still give you good extra horses vs. stock
Could hook up an idle solenoid to kick in with AC turned on if really needed.
Those gears and car weight are going to need all the off-idle torque you can supply to get up and going without being turd-bait.
imo

[b-man]

For reference, my old 455 daily driver with 8.2:1 compression, 068 cam with 1.65 rockers, running a TH400/2.56 gear:https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...22&postcount=4

With your nicely ported heads I think the RAIV cam with Rhoads lifters would work well with 2.56 gears and a mild stall or even a stock converter in your 440.

[Singleton]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

If you keep the lift under .465 you can use the lighter valve springs.
Over that lift you have to go up on the spring pressure = more loss and stress.
I'd stay under .450 with yours , and use Rhoads.
Put you around .410 @ idle speed - practically stock.

Springs are something else that I’ve been researching. Not seeing a lot of selections for a HFT cam with a 1.800 installed height.

[Steve C.]

How about the Comp 987 ? However pick a cam first.

.

[hal101]

[QUOTE=
Those gears and car weight are going to need all the off-idle torque you can supply to get up and going without being turd-bait.
imo[/QUOTE]

i dont know why everybody is afraid of high gears just put a little horsepower and torque in front of them and the work just fine
i wouldnt call 12.2@111 a turd for a street car

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

I wouldn't be afraid of tall gears
But wouldn't go near over-camming them on a real street driven car.

H/O Racing Specialties used to get great results with 455's and 3.08 gears in relatively heavy street cars.

78 Trans Am, 2.56 posi, th350,(newly built), stock convertor, A/C. Street only.

Thats a Heavy Car - with 3 or 4 other limiting factors.

[Formulajones]

The weight of the car plays a big roll. I'm not necessarily afraid of it. When you have a car that might weigh 3200-3400 lbs. it's not too terrible. Get a car up near or above the 4,000 lbs. mark and I start to not like it.

Me personally, I'm also not necessarily afraid to run some gear in a car and drive the darn thing. My wife's daily has 3.55's and no overdrive, it's perfectly fine driving 300 mile round trips, and she goes back and forth to work daily.

My bird with 3.31's just did a 372 mile stint on Route 66 last weekend without breaking a sweat.

3.08's aren't bad, but I wouldn't even think of running them in any mildly performance oriented application unless the transmission had a low 1-2 gear set.
And I CERTAINLY wouldn't even consider 2.56's without definitely installing a low 1-2 gear set in the trans. I can't stand the sluggishness around town, I would much rather put some gear in the car and then if you simply can't stand to spin the motor a little bit on a road trip, then just bite the bullet and put the overdrive in and have the best of both worlds.

All these threads popping up about 2.56 gears, lol. I'm just waiting for a 2.29 gear thread to rear it's ugly head

[hal101]

i think i have the best of both worlds 12.2 in the 1/4 mile and cruse at 70 or 80 all day long

[pastry_chef]

Originally Posted by hal101

12.2 in the 1/4 mile

What compression ratio?
The dragtimes link says Gas: 100 octane

[Formulajones]

We still cruise at 70 all day long, with the gears mentioned above. Not a big deal really. When these cars were new that's how we all did it. My father put 180,000 miles on his 69 GTO that way.

Choosing one end or the other, because you can't have the best of both without an overdrive, there is always going to be a compromise....always...no matter how you try to sugar coat it. To have the absolute best of both, the overdrive is the solution.

I personally, without an overdrive, much rather prefer to have a little more spunk down low and give up a pinch on highway cruise. Because 99% of the time I'm happy just going 70 mph, and 3.31's and 3.55's do that fine. Trying to knock the cruise rpm down with less rear gear just hurts the around town driving pep to the point I'm not that happy. A low gear set in the trans would make a world of difference however. Otherwise, take this tall rear gear scenario too far and a much smaller engine with a bit of gear in the back will embarrass you at a stop light.

[Formulas]

LoL I have been looking for a 2.29 12 bolt gear set I have a 2.56 .. I would be pairing it with a low gear set 3000rpm switch pitch TH400

[hal101]

keep trying but you are going to embarrass me im very happy with my car
with a 60 ft of 1.7 i like stop lights

[hal101]

Originally Posted by pastry_chef

What compression ratio?
The dragtimes link says Gas: 100 octane

i run 95 octane around town i put 100 when i go to the track
flat top pistons .040 #12 heads

[Formulajones]

I think you missed the point of compromises. You're giving up 60 foot for the sake of highway cruising, and even that isn't as good as it could be. Even with your 2.56 gear and wanting to cruise at 80 mph you're still talking about 26-2700 rpm. So you're buzzing the engine, still lots of engine noise and wear etc...
Would make sense if you were keeping the engine at 2200 or so and doing 65 mph, but even that still isn't overdrive territory (75 mph at 2,000-2200, less wear and tear, less noise)
Yet you're sacrificing 60 foot and ET's at the same time. Should be more like a 1.5x 60 foot and the car easily running 11's.

That's what I'm talking about, there is give and take somewhere on one end or the other, just no way around it. Not knocking it, that's great if you're happy, that's what matters. I'm just not willing to give up that much and don't feel a really high rear gear is the best solution....cheaper yes....but there is a compromise. A low gear set in the trans changes things for the better though. Overdrive, even better yet. But I understand the cost factor.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by Formulas

LoL I have been looking for a 2.29 12 bolt gear set I have a 2.56 .. I would be pairing it with a low gear set 3000rpm switch pitch TH400

Oh man, don't even go there LOL

I do like the switch pitch idea though. At least you'll be able to keep trans heat to a minimum with those highway gears. I don't care much for a decent converter without some rear gear behind it.

I have a switch pitch here I've been wanting to play with if I ever get the time.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by hal101

keep trying but you are going to embarrass me im very happy with my car
with a 60 ft of 1.7 i like stop lights

To help put this in perspective, your car, with the power that engine is making, in a relatively light weight 1st gen, should typically be in the 1.5 60 foot range with very minimal suspension mods, with the right converter and rear gear to take advantage. That would easily drop your car to high 11's without touching the engine.

To give you an idea, my 70 bird, which weighs 3,890 lbs. and runs a bone stock RAIII 400 that doesn't make nearly the power you have, goes 1.8 60 foot times, with no stall converter (stock 13" unit) and more rear gear. I run 3.31's. The car wants more rear gear too and would likely pick up in the 60 foot department if I did.

[hal101]

since when is my 1980 TA a first gen?

2200 is 70 mph
2500 is 80 mph
yes i have 29" tires in the back

[Formulajones]

So you do understand