69 camaro running in the 10s

[markjohnson]

Hearin' ya loud and clear, Wayne. I recently purchased a book about managing personal finances and how to make wise investments, but for the life of me........I just can't find the chapter on Drag Racing.

[70 ls6 convert]

Well first off,happy new year to all,and Thank you everyone who responded,it looks like i just got decades of information in one thread,and i thank you so much,Im up here in the sticks of alaska,racing on an old abandoned air strip,so i dont want to get to crazy,i just want to go fast and give a good show for the crowd that shows up there about 16 of us racing i took third last year with my 70 ls5 4 sp chevelle with the origenal born with motor,i dont want to run that motor again,i would hate to break it, so ive got this 69 camaro and this new zl1 block,and now that the trucking season is over, i got time to get started on this project,i think i like the idea of putting a stroker asy in the new block with the 077 heads,and i just love racing 4speeds im confused on the gear ratio,im sure glad i didnt by 456 gears im starting to think 411or 373 like andrews car would be a better option,i also have a line on a used zz502,but i sure like the idea of the zl1 block,for now im gonna reread all these post and thank you wayne and everybody for all the great info ,happy new year kris...

Happy New Year to you too Kris. Hey, I took the liberty of crunching some numbers for you (and that’s all drag racing boils down to – plenty of numbers). With a 3850 pound Chevelle (a guesstimate with you in it, fuel and a iron rat motor…but a rag might be heavier I think), it will take approximately 585-590 horsepower to run 125 MPH and change in the quarter mile. If you can run a buck and a quarter, then I’m pretty sure you’ll get your magical ten-second time slip.

To move that Chevelle, you’ll need some gear. It’s a big car with a big frontal area and more than likely will carry a lot more weight than a 1969 Camaro. Torque will be your friend too. The combo I came up with goes something like this:

590 HP (at roughly 6,500 RPM) 502
Turbo 400 (stock 2.48; 1.48; 1.00:1 gears)
10-inch converter (3200 RPM or so stall speed)
3850 pounds ready to race
4.56:1 rear axle
10X28-inch tire (slick or drag radial)


This should give you something like a 10.90-something ET with a trap speed in the 126 MPH range, provided everything is dialed in, the weather cooperates, you use good fuel and the planets are aligned. Usually a shift point 10% or so over peak is what you’ll find necessary (I didn’t take the time to plot RPM drops….that’s really what determines it).

A stick can do the job, but I don’t know if I’d be too willing to play that game with a big car and big power. If you decide to go with a stick, keep in mind you’ll probably end up side-stepping the clutch at big RPM numbers to make it all work. That usually tears stuff up,uhm, rather quickly, especially when you’re in this territory.

I might catch some flak on this, but I’m no fan of aluminum blocks. If you look around, you’ll find that most of the top shelf big power stock based or style engines in North America still use good old fashioned iron blocks (NASCAR, NHRA Pro Stock, etc.). Its because aluminum doesn't make heat (heat makes power), some of them move around a lot (dimensionally), they tend to have smaller bore sizes than say something like a 502 (a big bore size unshrouds the valves a lot on a rat motor). And for the price of an aluminum block, you can buy a pretty fancy big bore iron rat motor block. And don’t confuse the use of aluminum blocks in Top Fuel and Funny Car (and maybe some mountain motor classes) with the above either. The big reason they use aluminum is because they can fix ‘em when they put a window in it (plus they can change sleeves at the track).

Bottom line here is, the cubes from the 502 will work a whole bunch better than a 427. I’d send the heads to someone competent, get hooked up with a good (and I mean Good) cam designer like Harold Brookshire, piece together a decent oiling system and in the words of my late (but esteemed and sorely missed) pal and mentor, Steve Collison, “let the big dog eat”!

Catch ya’ later man…


Wayne Scraba

Hey Kris...My bad...I should have re-read your question instead of rushing in.

If you go with the Camaro, you can probably get away with a bit less grunt and gear. Weigh the thing though <g>. You could be surprised. I've witnessed more than a few that proved a wee bit heavier stock than their owners anticipated. In any case, cubes and torque are your friends!

Wayne Scraba