I suppose in 65, Buick choose the 3.08 rear-end in part to compensate a bit for the car being a little underpowered. Crunching the numbers shows that the 3.23 rear end is still reasonably comfortable.
errr, that's backwards thinking.
numerically higher gears are typically referred to as being "shorter" ( the 3.23 ) and result in faster accelleration, lower fuel economy and higher engine rpm at a given speed. they are typically used in applications where the engine is on the underpowered side OR when the application is expected to do a lot of towing or hauling.
numerically lower gears are typically referred to as being "taller" ( the 3.08 ) and give you a higher top speed ( unless drag limited ) and better fuel economy at the expense of accelleration. torque monster engines love taller gears for highway cruising and many of the mid-70s BBB applications were down around 2.56 to 1.
Car and Driver did one of their heads up tests between the Mustang and Camaro years ago and the Ford SVO guys told C&D to make their top speed run in 4th gear because the car was drag limited to a lower speed in 5th. we never found out what the Mustang would turn because C&D blew up the test mule in 4th. that's one of the VERY few times that you'll actually see somebody go for a shorter gear for a top speed run.
After some thought, I've decided to ask Jim Weise and Tri Shield Performance to build an engine for my trusty billy goat wagon.
can't hardly go wrong there.
good on you for having the stones to yank the project out of the other guys shop when it became clear that he wasn't interested in listening to you.
Yet, Jim has also surprised me with good ideas I had dismissed for lack of good information.
if Weise doesn't mind you posting some of these tidbits it would be interesting to hear. he's had a lot of success with these engines.
I've got to make up my mind on the compression ratio. If I could trust the California Air Resources Board then I would stick to Dr. Frankenbuick's suggested 9.75:1. However, I'm worried about what might happen if the bureaucrats get even meaner toward "mature cars." At the moment nothing is shaking my confidence in the good doctor's recommendation. Unless someone gets me discouraged 9.75:1 it will be!
not to completely monkey wrench you, but are you aware that LP conversions are popular in Europe? they run silly CR numbers like 18 or 20 to 1.
that might permit you to bypass the CARB board altogether.
The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.
Vladimir Lenin
Government schooling is about "the perfect organization of the hive."
H.H. Goddard, Human Efficiency (1920)
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