"Black Dahlia"
- Thread starter tfeverfred
- Start date
tfeverfred
Well-Known Member
Okay, today I learned about s10 rear ends and the codes.
I found 3. Two were 3:42 gears. One was a 3:73 gear. My last T Bucket had the 3:73 and it was quick, but my rev's were screaming on the highway. So, I was leaning towards a 3:42 this time around. I figure, since I drive a lot on long stretches of road and a little on the freeway, the 3:42 will do the job. But, I like "zippy" on city streets. So, here's what happened. Prices were decent, one was stupid. It'll also make my decision. The stupid price was the 3:73. They wanted $450, I didn't drive away, I RAN. The guy wouldn't even barter on it. I would have went $350. The two 3:42's were $250, which was what I paid 10 years ago. Again, kinda making my decision. One of the 3:42'a had a $25 core charge, but they're less than 10 miles away. The other one is "cross town". If you've ever been to Houston, you know that "cross town" is about a 50 mile drive one way, so I may just pay the $25 core charge and save some gas and time. All in all, it was a nice afternoon.
Now, on my seating. the buckets are appealing, but I remembered my bench and how nice it was, so a bench will probably get the go, but I'm keeping an open mind. There's a company called Mac's and they make genuine Model T parts and they have genny seat bottoms, with the springs and frame.Ford - Ford Model T Ford Seat Spring - Front Cushion - Roadster & Roadster Pickup & Touring - Macs Auto Parts Just like Henry did it! They also sell the backs, but I think the back may be too thick. I'd have to get them upholstered, but the bottom would fit with a little room to spare. May just get the bottom and make my own top. Again, I've got a lot of time to make the decision on my seats, I just like looking and planning.
I found 3. Two were 3:42 gears. One was a 3:73 gear. My last T Bucket had the 3:73 and it was quick, but my rev's were screaming on the highway. So, I was leaning towards a 3:42 this time around. I figure, since I drive a lot on long stretches of road and a little on the freeway, the 3:42 will do the job. But, I like "zippy" on city streets. So, here's what happened. Prices were decent, one was stupid. It'll also make my decision. The stupid price was the 3:73. They wanted $450, I didn't drive away, I RAN. The guy wouldn't even barter on it. I would have went $350. The two 3:42's were $250, which was what I paid 10 years ago. Again, kinda making my decision. One of the 3:42'a had a $25 core charge, but they're less than 10 miles away. The other one is "cross town". If you've ever been to Houston, you know that "cross town" is about a 50 mile drive one way, so I may just pay the $25 core charge and save some gas and time. All in all, it was a nice afternoon.Now, on my seating. the buckets are appealing, but I remembered my bench and how nice it was, so a bench will probably get the go, but I'm keeping an open mind. There's a company called Mac's and they make genuine Model T parts and they have genny seat bottoms, with the springs and frame.Ford - Ford Model T Ford Seat Spring - Front Cushion - Roadster & Roadster Pickup & Touring - Macs Auto Parts Just like Henry did it! They also sell the backs, but I think the back may be too thick. I'd have to get them upholstered, but the bottom would fit with a little room to spare. May just get the bottom and make my own top. Again, I've got a lot of time to make the decision on my seats, I just like looking and planning.
tfeverfred
Well-Known Member
Zandoz, I had been considering the 8.8 posi and I was going to go for it, but pinion the off set and prices here just kinda talked me out of it. Prices in Houston are stupid. $450 to $600 at a junk yard. Everybody wants one. As I stated earlier, a 3:73 was a lot of fun, stop light to stop light, but I was turning 3,700 rpms at about 60 mph on an open stretch. It sucked.
tfeverfred
Well-Known Member
67 mph?
First, I drive a shit load faster than 67mph on the freeway. Second, my tires were 29". I have a calculator for that, too. In fact, they're all over the net. I figure to drop 500+ rpm's by using a 3:42 and cruising the freeway. You made my day, man. 67mph on Houston freeways? Shit, man, that's the speed we ENTER the freeways here. LMFAO
Now, 500rpm's may not be much to you, but shit, it's my car, my engine and I'm the one that'll be driving it.
67mph...... wow.
OH!, it didn't rain today. So, Houston didn't flood.
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tfeverfred
Well-Known Member
YOU said...3.73--3700 rpm----60 mph ...I simply pointed out that your state numbers were incorrect....or embellished for dramatic effect
I personally couldn't care less how fast you drive....
dave
Yea, the 10 minutes ran out to edit and I hadn't checked what I wrote. I wrote my highway speeds here in Houston as matter of reference for your 67 mph. I'm not even sure why you chose to "check my post for accuracy", but hey, it's all good, man. But as stated, when I drive I'd like the rpm's to be lower than they were before. I'm sure that's the idea that should have come across. Maybe my use of adjectives was confusing or misleading. Believe this, when I decide to use "dramatic effect", there will be NO confusing it with anything else.
"I COULD care less."
tfeverfred
Well-Known Member
No calculator here, just personal experience with my old car. I'm looking at an over drive as a possibility. See, when I had my T, I drove everyday, weather permitting. 40...50 miles, just for fun. On a good weekend a few 100 miles. Yea.... a few HUNDRED. 10 out of 12 months. I don't wait for weekends to drive around. So, I figure a 3:42 would be less of a strain, in the long haul. Hell, maybe I'm wrong, but as always, there's only one REAL way to know for sure.
As for missing the "zippy" between stop lights, the power to weight ratio of these cars is a great equalizer. I probably won't even notice.
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Think about a 700r4 with a 3.73 or 4.10 gear. the 700 has a real low first gear 3.06 I think and a .6 OD I think. To tired to go double check.
The pinion offset varies depending on what model it comes from. The T-bird unit I have has a 0.56" pinion offset. If the 3.73 is too revy, the manual trans Turbo Coupe axle is 3.55...other models vary from 2.somethings to 4.10 or so. At least around here the $450-$600 prices are typical for Mustang and full size truck units. When I was looking Ranger/Explorer unit were around $250 and Crown Vic disc brake non-ABS units were $100-$300.
The axle ratio for my car was a subject of some debate for me. My bucket will by no stretch of the imagination be a speed demon. In fact it will be a casual cruiser that will suffer from IBMS...Itty Bitty Motor Syndrome. It's expressway/interstate miles and time over 60 mph will be minimal. 2 facts sealed the decision for the 3.73. First, the car my engine & transmission came from had a 3:23 ratio axle, but was close to double the weight...and was still capable of typical day to day driving. Two, the most fun car I've driven was about the same weight as the bucket should be, but only had about 2/3s the horsepower and 65 MPH was probably as fast as was mechanically comfortable....what made it fun besides the handling was that it was geared to be ABSURDLY quick. What it boiled down to is that for me being quick is more fun than being fast. With a 3.23 ratio the engine and transmission were capable of propelling a vehicle with double the weight to horsepower ratio on the street/road situations that will be typical for me, so I figured I had some gearing room to pick up a bit of quickness.
Intrepid
Active Member
I am kinda in the same boat on concern for my rear ratio. Like I said I only have to gears, planning on big Micky's, but I want to cruise the highway doing 65 without revving the snot out of my little 283, but I also want that punch when I giver the beans and not have to worry about some rice rocket taking me off the line.
Right now my rear is a 292 ford 8" and I am thinking I need maybe a 312 or more like you say.
Right now my rear is a 292 ford 8" and I am thinking I need maybe a 312 or more like you say.
fletcherson
Well-Known Member
The weight of the car is going to offset the radio difference imho. The cam selection is or should be a consideration, but for a cruiser with a mild small block the 342 is a good gear. I had one in my iroc with a 700r4 and it was quick as hell. You will be at least a third lighter. We need to coordinate shipping with someone, we could make some cash on rearends, they are about half that around here. There is nothing wrong with a ten bolt rearend. I have punished them and they do fine. Not my first choise, but very fitting for your intent. If you haven't yet ordered from macs, order some trivial stuff to get on their email list, then they send discounts about every week. They have some cool stuf, not cheap, but hard to find stuff. They are part of a company that bought out several similar type business, so it's sort of like a monopoly, prices fixed... Seems to be the way of the world. Bad for us...
fletcherson
Well-Known Member
Bill, you won't have any loss of power with a v6 if it's healthy. We used to put them in all kind of things from Toyota trucks to diesel Mercedes with bad engines back in the late '80's. They are easily capable of 200-250 hp with mild upgrades.,with a decent gear, that thing will be a sleeper!
tfeverfred
Well-Known Member
When I FINALLY made up my mind to build a cruiser, I called the guy building my engine. He hadn't ordered any internal parts, so he threw the list away and made a list of parts for a nice cruiser with a bit of spunk. He says it'll be almost like my last engine. So, with that taken care of, my search for a S10 rear began. I no longer needed a 9" and a S10 was a money saver. I punished the last one and it never failed. Never even hinted that something could be wrong. So, for this time around, which I really hope is my last time around, I want a car that's going to look nice, perform well and be dependable.
In a world of terms and niches, I guess I'm building a "Street Rod", instead of a "Hot Rod". And I'm cool with that. In younger days, I had FAST cars and life was grand. I fixed them during the week and broke them on the weekends. But as I creep up in age, I find myself enjoying nice long drives. Tearing apart a Hot Rod every other month is no longer fun, like it used to be.
With the old GM iron head 60° V6s 200-250hp would take some serious mods...,and mine will be minimal mods. Basically just manifold, carb, distributor, and headers...and most of that is for eliminating the electronics spaghetti nightmare, not for performance. I'll be surprised if it hits 150 hp. With a V6 variant of the 700R4, the 3.73 rear end, and 28"-29" rear tires I'm hoping it will be a fun casual cruiser.
Hmmmm...to me any pre late '30s car with a hopped up drivetrain is a hot rod <shrug>
fletcherson
Well-Known Member
What motor is it? A 4.3 is rated a 220, I have a older mercruiser branded 4.3 that is advertised at 235, its carbureted with a Rochester 2 v with hei ignition and
150 hp in a 1800 pound buggy will move ok. I thought you had a 4.3... Those are what we used to swap into stuff that a v8 wouldn't fit or wasn't wanted. I think those little v6's were rated for around 125 or so. Carb and ignition is about all I would do. If you wanted more, a different engine would be more money wise than upgrading it.
tfeverfred
Well-Known Member
Well, shit. Got called to come in to work tomorrow morning. So, it'll be this weekend before I get the rear end.
