stall and gearing

albertaborn

Daily Driver
Dec 29, 2015
37
0
0
I have an 80 bu with a 408 sbc. About 450 hp. I have the converter out and rear gears out. I only run on the street but the guy who I bought the motor off of ran a 4000 rpm stall and 4.10 and it hauled. It was 79 stingray. I'm looking at changing my unknown stall of my converter to a 4000 as well and changing my gears in my 8.5 to 4.10. Any reasons not to? He also had his Rev limiter set at 6k. He had a th400. I have a th350
 

lilbowtie

Pro Stocker
Oct 5, 2004
1,736
0
0
Canton Mi.
Not really - it's a package deal and depends mostly on what cam is in it. Make sure you have a GOOD trans cooler and I would monitor the trans temp.
 

albertaborn

Daily Driver
Thread starter
Dec 29, 2015
37
0
0
My cam is a comp cam xe274h 10 (230, 236 dur and .490 , .490 lift) I've kinda heard bad things about these cams but seems to be ok for me. It also has edelbrock performer heads and kb flat tops. Stock crank. 10:1 I think or close to. The guy I bought the motor said the block was decked. Quick fuel 750 carb. Performer rpm intake. 5.7 gm rods.

Just wondering what changes you would all make to my small block 408
 

lilbowtie

Pro Stocker
Oct 5, 2004
1,736
0
0
Canton Mi.
I had to take a look at the cam spec's it looked wimpy but it's 230, 236 duration @ .050. Quite honestly you probably going to blow through a lot of mid range power the cam was designed for,especially on the street.
 
You have a good combination of parts for a street car. Your engine will produce a lot of low-speed and mid-range torque, making it a lot of fun to drive on the street. You don't need a converter with a 4,000 RPM stall speed rating, nor do you need a 4.10 gear ratio. Your engine is going to have an effective power band from around 2,000 RPM to about 5,500 - 5,800 RPM.

If you're wanting a fun street/strip type of build, then I recommend sticking with a 10-inch torque converter that will provide approximately 2,800 - 3,000 RPM of flash stall speed, and a 3.42 or 3.73 rear gear ratio. You could run anywhere from a 26-inch to a 28-inch tall rear tire with this combination, such as a 235/60-15 to 275/60-15 drag radial, with excellent results. Take advantage of all the torque your engine generates. Don't waste it by running excessive stall speed and excessive rear gear ratio.
 

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