4:56 gear on the street

Yeah I got the .515"/.515" Cam specs says it needs gearing, a big stall converter and headers from what I remember.

Rob if your going to drive this car on the open road the 400 turbo is the better choice its built strong enough to hold up to a high horse motor and still cruize the hwy. If its straight line draggen or streetlight to streetlight you want the by all means the glide with a stiff set of gears the thing about the 400 is you can still run a fairelly large gear set probley up to a 391 and still cruze the hwy. and not over rev the motor and stay in your power band as well with that cam setup either will work it just up to you to decide what you want to do with the camaro tow it to the track or drive it and hope nothing breaks the powerglide can be fun but it needs to be used more for the track and a little street use if you got someting to prove to a ford owner LOL if you think you can.

I just can't remeber who told me to get a Powerglide?

How does the Glide with a 3:90 gear sound? I'm putting the 8.5 rear end in the car. I could always if I wanted to change the ring and pinion when I go out to the track.

After a little number crunching, here is what I have come up with. As far as takeoff goes, a 4.56 with a power glide would take off like a turbo 400 with a 3.23 gear. Nothing to write home about in my opinion. Then on the top end, it would be revving out the wazoo. I have had the 3000 rpm at 55 mph thing and I don't recommend it. On the other hand, with a 3.90 gear the top end would be fine but on takeoff it would be like a turbo 400 with a 2.73 gear. Need i say more about that? I think that I would put the 'glide aside for another project. You might want to consider something like a 700r4 (I think that is what it is). They seem to hold up and they have an overdrive. I don't know if they are expensive or how hard they are to come by but it is just an idea.

The reason I wasn't wanting to put a 700r4 in it was because that is what came factory. Even on all the Camaro rebuilds everyone puts a 700r back in the car. I was wanting something different. On another site I frequent, it seems like the majority of transmission problems come from the 700r4. Next in the Chevy line would be the Turbo 350. I rarely see problems with Turbo 400's though.

With the 400 in second gear and a 3.90 rear gear and 26 inch tall tires I will be at 2000 RPM at 52 MPH.

With a 3:90 gear on the powerglide at 2000 RPM I would be at 51.59 MPH. Hey, how did you calculate that stuff up?

You told me that this car wasen't going to be a every day driver and you wanted to run it at the track when you started and i said use a powerglide there was less to go wrong with them and the drag racers all seem to use them now are you going to drive it everyday or just to thrash on on weekends everyday the 400 . if what you want is to beat the eyeballs out of it on the weekend the glide we have two different applacations here . which is it?

I have told ya' several times that it is not going to be a drag car. I have said countless times it is not going to be a everyday driver. WEEKEND CAR. I am trying to build it STRONG above anything to take a beating! I don't really care what it runs at the track, I'm not about the numbers. I am about the fun. Now with that said, I am still trying to figure out which to use. Im probably going to go with the Turbo 400 and 3:42/3:73/3:90 for the street, then when we go up to the track put the Glide in with a real big gear like a 4:88/5:13.

Just put the 400 turbo in it. It is strong enough to handle what ever you put in it. Build a decent small block and just beat on it some and down the road you coulkd change the stuff around. With you living an hour out in the boonies you need something that you can drive 55 or 60 MPH at least without taching the engine. If it was me I'd stick with a mild 28oo stall and 355 gear for now. You can always move up later if it's not fast enough for ya. Think of it this way. Joe ran in the 10's in the 1/4 with a 330 gear. It's a 10 second street car that can cruise to your house and baclk without over doing the engine. Other things you have to understand besides the engine is with that hi RMP of a 456, 411 ect you have stuff like over heating. The more rpms the engine turns the hotter the engine will be. Oil break down and other stuff. With a Hi stall speed you are still taching the engine hi even without a gear. A car with a 308 gear and a 4000 stall will still be taching almost 4K going up a steep hill. Same effect with the engine you run a hi stall the trans will be under more preasure. I'm not trying to slow ya down but with where you are at and it being your first car on the streets you would be better off with less to start out with. Not stock just not full race. When you speak of 456, power glides with 4k stalls that is pretty racey stuff. Like I said if it was me I'd stick with a mild 2800 to 3K stall and 355 gear for now. I know it is very confusing but look at everyone that has a fast car and ask about gearing, cams ect. Not everyone will agree but you will get a more clear pic.

I can't find a 3:55 gear for an 8.5? I found one for an 8.2. What would you think for an 8.5?

DEMONSPEED wrote:I can't find a 3:55 gear for an 8.5? I found one for an 8.2. What would you think for an 8.5?

342

or 373

DEMONSPEED wrote: Hey, how did you calculate that stuff up?

As far as takeoff goes, all I did was multiply the rear gear times the first gear of the trans. So, for the 'glide that is 4.56 x 1.76 = 8.02. To compare it to a turbo 400, take the 8.02 and divide it by its first gear which is 2.48 which comes to 3.23.
I have played around with the online calculators quite a bit over the years. I don't take the info as "the gospel" but they generally get you in the ballpark for what you re doing. In the case of the gear ratio/RPM calc, I must say that I have my doubts. My Granada had a 4.11 gear and a 29" tall tire and it was 3000 rpm at 55 mph. That is an absolute fact. When I plug those numbers in the calc, it tells me 63 mph. With you having a 26" tire and with a 4.56, that makes it that much tougher for me to buy into what it is saying. If anyone knows a gear/tire setup that they have or had and what RPM it turned on the highway, please chime in. This is throwing me off a bit.

SPEED IN TOP GEAR 1:1 NON OVERDRIVE

AT 3000 RPM:

TIRE SIZE...R/225/70/15
DIAMETER .....27.402"

GEAR ................MPH
4.56 .................53.63
4.11..................59.50
3.70..................66.09
3.55..................68.9

SAME RPM

TIRE SIZE...R/225/75/15
DIAMETER .....28.287"

GEAR..................MPH
4.56..................55.36
4.11..................61.42
3.70..................68.23
3.55..................71.11