I have a street car. Nothing fancy. It's a '64 with a 327, 3.55 rear end and a 570 cfm carb. It has cast iron heads that had some port work done. I do not know what the upper limit is for the car but I had it going 105 MPH tonight and it was still pulling hard. I'm just curious where small block street cars, especially the small displacement engines, usually tucker out.

Thanks,
Tony

First, let me say that if you're not at a track then you shouldn't be going 105 mph.

Displacement doesn't have much to do with it, those crotch-rocket bikes don't have many cubic inches and they can go pretty fast. More to do with max rpm's of the engine and gearing. With 3.55's and I'm guessing a 26 inch tire, you were probably getting close. I'll say 125 - 130, but do not try this again. Keep it to 0 to 60 blasts so you can keep posting here.:beers:

In `72 I baught a new 340 Cuda, My wifes cousin had a `70 Road Runner 383, and a friend had a 70 Cuda 383 car, I could stay with them door to door until 4 th gear, and I could walk away from both of them, with 323 gears and larger than stock tires, the car would pull to 5600, and red line was 5800. I know it was going 140 +...

It depends a lot on the engine. A 283, 302, or 327 will all pull well in the upper rpm range due to the short stroke. a 305 will make a bunch of torque down low, but run out of breath by 4k. The relative thing here is bore/stroke ratio, not cubic inches.

Devin

there are too many varibles to correctly answer that question...If you are wondering when yours quits ,we would need more input ...But then again all engines act different...

ANSWER= you quit pulling when you do not have enough torque to overcome weight and drag

A solid lifter cammed, forged crank/pistoned, 327 will keep rpmming until it blow's up! 8,000+ rpm easy!

And there's been little-bitty, .060" overbored 265's and 283's that were shifted above 10,000 rpm way back then.

I'm going to shift my next junk301 at 8,000 just for the fun of it.

pdq67

When do they quit pulling?

Not till the valves float..... :thumbsup:

A solid lifter cammed, forged crank/pistoned, 327 will keep rpmming until it blow's up! 8,000+ rpm easy!

And there's been little-bitty, .060" overbored 265's and 283's that were shifted above 10,000 rpm way back then.

I'm going to shift my next junk301 at 8,000 just for the fun of it.

pdq67

What about Modified Production 277's that were de-stroked 283's turning 10,000-11,000rpm on the track making power with Edelbrock or a Weiand Pro Tunnel Ram and two 660 holley's ??

Cam them right and they don't quit pulling is what we are trying to say. But streetability goes right out the window.

pdq67

I asked the guy who built the engine, how high (how many RPM's) I could safely wind it up. He said:


I'd say 5500 is fine. You should not need to wind it above that as you will be running out of cam and valve springs.You know when the motor quits pulling you are just beating on it with a stick

I asked the guy who built the engine, how high (how many RPM's) I could safely wind it up. He said:


I'd say 5500 is fine. You should not need to wind it above that as you will be running out of cam and valve springs.You know when the motor quits pulling you are just beating on it with a stick

That's actually pretty solid advice. He should know given the cam he installed so listen to his advice.

My L79 (350hp/327ci) pulls great from about 2000 and can wind easily to 7000 but the power output drops off pretty steep after 5800 so anything above 5800 is done purely for the sound, not for improved performance. I proved this at the track when I found that my best 1/4 mile times were made by shifting at 5800 instead of winding it higher before shifting. Winding higher between shifts SOUNDED a lot cooler and FELT like it was faster, but time slips don't lie! A whole lot of "when it stops pulling" depends on the intake system, heads and most especially the cam.

Of course another thing you'll learn is that a camshaft that is pretty radical in a smaller displacement engine can become more and more tame in a equally prepared but larger displacement engine. Displacement, more specifically bore and stroke characteristics, does factor into it all but are not purely the only part of the equation.

Right Rich,

Stroke over-rides bore here w/ regards to intake valve cam timing closing event as long as rod length stays the same!

pdq67