Ron Pope Motorsports                California Custom Roadsters               

Useable power in a T-Bucket...

Lets ask Andy Fadster about useable HP. He is a member on here, all though I have not seen him for quite awhile. I do see him on Facebook. He is still racing this street driven T Bucket. No such think as too much HP.
andy_zps05280c85.jpg

andy1_zpsead43b2b.jpg
The front end bouncing and out of control feeling is exactly what convinced me to buy mine. I can lighten up on the throttle to control it. As for the converter and downshift issues, I just use my clutch.
 
That is badass!!! That first picture even the back tires are off the ground! :)

Roadmonster- I know that is a much smarter way to go street wise. But I've always wanted an excuse to have a tunnel ram fed motor, and this seems like the perfect choice for that. I'm still snooping around all the threads on here for ideas, maybe I'll do something entirely different by the time it's time to build a motor.
 
I run a 305 chevy [ bored 30 over ,a different cam, Holly 4 barrel & headers with a 350 turbo tranny]. All the power I need & sounds mean.
 
That is badass!!! That first picture even the back tires are off the ground! :)

Roadmonster- I know that is a much smarter way to go street wise. But I've always wanted an excuse to have a tunnel ram fed motor, and this seems like the perfect choice for that. I'm still snooping around all the threads on here for ideas, maybe I'll do something entirely different by the time it's time to build a motor.
If you power it with a Chevy, parts are very available...and interchangeable. Build what you want, if it's too much, not a big deal to drop a tamer version in or detune. That's my plan. It's not like you need to drive it to work. Lol A guy could conceivably have two engines built, one for fun and one for longer cruising, and with a little planning the other components would be universal. He could have the best of both worlds and could be tinkering, improving on the down engine. That is what I am sort of shooting for, but it's going on the road built for fun, big block, big cam, tunnel ram, etc... I could swap a prepared engine out in a t in a couple hours with no problem, as could any decent mechanically inclined person with tools. They are such a simple machine, that's the beauty of them.
 
My car had a 355 sbc with a 671 blower on when I got it from Ron Pope and it turned out to be much more than I needed it was fun fun but expensive to drive and I had to be very careful on the throttle and every one in the family wanting to drive it (NO) so I sold the engine and blower as a unit and put in a 300 hp small block, still plenty of power. So I would say it all depends on what you want, and there are lots of in between ways to go
 
  • Like
Reactions: RPM
Last year I drove into a car show & parked . A guy walked over & wanted to trade my small block for a health 454 .[ He said he would trade even up.] No money exchange hands I told him no thanks.
 
Last year I drove into a car show & parked . A guy walked over & wanted to trade my small block for a health 454 .[ He said he would trade even up.] No money exchange hands I told him no thanks.
A 454 for a 305...hmm...No offense, but that was a lotto ticket you passed on. Depending on your definition of "healthy". I understand wanting to retain a abc, but a bbc if far more valuable than even popular sbc motors as long as they were actually comperable in condition. I'm sure he didn't have much trouble finding a taker on that deal.
 
A 454 for a 305...hmm...No offense, but that was a lotto ticket you passed on. Depending on your definition of "healthy". I understand wanting to retain a abc, but a bbc if far more valuable than even popular sbc motors as long as they were actually comperable in condition. I'm sure he didn't have much trouble finding a taker on that deal.
That was typed a (sbc) not abc, damned spell check is not my friend on this new iPad.
 
My 454 is very drivable.
Has a single plane, quadrajet carb, decent oval port heads, mild cam, T350 with a mild converter to prevent creeping at lights.
Scoots like a sob if you hammer it, but is docile as a regular ol grocery getter when you show some moderation.
I think its awesome...and its been on some long trips with a trailer in tow!
The only drivetrain thing I want to change is to go to a 3.08 or 2.75 rear gear.
The 3.43's in there now are a bit buzzy on long highway runs which pulls down the fuel mileage a bit.
 
With my AOD, 3:55 diff and 295-50R15 tires I run about 2000 rpm at 70 mph. Calculation shows 33.4 mph per 1000 rpm so when it's in OD just driving around town it's not much higher than no load idle. With the torque of that 454 you could easily drop to the gears you mentioned.
 
I love my 3:00 gear. It will pull away from anything but a Vette/Viper/Hellcat, etc. with no screaming revs. I know it would be faster with more aggressive gears, but I don't want the noise, bad mileage, and highway discomfort. Like Hackerbilt's ride, it can be a tame grocery getter until you light it up. BTW, the lockable turtledeck holds 5 bags of groceries and it does go shopping in the summer!
 
I feel your dilemma. I too have just started on the engine. So far I've changed my mind about ten times on what I want. I've stripped down the block and taken it to the machine shop for boring and decking and new cam bearings. motor 3.jpg motor 4.jpg motor 1.jpg Here's a few of the innards. My crankshaft is good but I'm going to need new pistons .030 over. Then I thought my block will be like new so why not buy a stroker kit that has new crank rods and pistons with all the bearings and rings. About the same price as a couple of loaded aluminum heads. (Springs and valves.) Then I can use my stock 882 heads until I can afford the aluminum heads later on. Anyway I figured its easier to bolt on a couple of heads later than to tear it down and change it to a 383 after its built. I have plenty of time to decide because the shop doing my block said he is three weeks out. More power than I'll need but cool to be able to smoke the tires. I'll post some assembly pics when I get rolling on it.
 
I feel your dilemma. I too have just started on the engine. So far I've changed my mind about ten times on what I want. I've stripped down the block and taken it to the machine shop for boring and decking and new cam bearings. View attachment 10860 View attachment 10862 View attachment 10863 Here's a few of the innards. My crankshaft is good but I'm going to need new pistons .030 over. Then I thought my block will be like new so why not buy a stroker kit that has new crank rods and pistons with all the bearings and rings. About the same price as a couple of loaded aluminum heads. (Springs and valves.) Then I can use my stock 882 heads until I can afford the aluminum heads later on. Anyway I figured its easier to bolt on a couple of heads later than to tear it down and change it to a 383 after its built. I have plenty of time to decide because the shop doing my block said he is three weeks out. More power than I'll need but cool to be able to smoke the tires. I'll post some assembly pics when I get rolling on it.
Cool, watch the compression with those 882,s, I built a stroker the old school way a few years back with 10:1 and 882's and it was too much. I had issues with preignition at cruise, no load. I was able to sort of control it with a timing computer, but the performance suffered. Aluminum heads were the cure.
 
Cool, watch the compression with those 882,s, I built a stroker the old school way a few years back with 10:1 and 882's and it was too much. I had issues with preignition at cruise, no load. I was able to sort of control it with a timing computer, but the performance suffered. Aluminum heads were the cure.
By the way, you will love that motor! I was very suprized and elated with mine. It will shock you how it revs. Good choice!
 
I found a compression calculator on the internet. With the 3.75 stroke and the 76cc chamber on the 882's and -5cc pistons, I should be around 9.2:1 cr. When I switch over to 64cc aluminum heads it will come up to about 10.4:1 cr. With the Pro Comp xe274h cams overlap, I should be about 9.9:1 with the aluminum heads. All good compression ratio's for pump gas.
Just need to remember to take a roll of TP for my test ride. Yeehaa!
 
I found a compression calculator on the internet. With the 3.75 stroke and the 76cc chamber on the 882's and -5cc pistons, I should be around 9.2:1 cr. When I switch over to 64cc aluminum heads it will come up to about 10.4:1 cr. With the Pro Comp xe274h cams overlap, I should be about 9.9:1 with the aluminum heads. All good compression ratio's for pump gas.
Just need to remember to take a roll of TP for my test ride. Yeehaa!
Sounds like you done your due diligence, lol. I ran a big cam with 600 lift and 3.08 duration, which is why I kept the compression up, 10.5 or so actually. It actually ran great and didn't knock except for the low load cruise. You can get away with higher compression with aluminum heads due to the heat dissipation, 1 point or so, they say. My 882's had quite a bit of work done to them with 2.02, 1.60 valves and clearanced for the lift, decked, ported, etc... I also ran 1.6 ratio rockers, that amplified things a bit. You will have a real neck snapper on your hands. You will love that motor! I was amazed at the difference between a comperable built 350 and the 383. I like it so much, I pulled it and put a different engine in the car prior to selling it. I remember the first time I really got into it, it smoked the tires for over 1/2 mile from a roll, by my buddies house, lol. It only quit when I lost my nerve. That was in a 86 iroc, much heavier than a t bucket.
 
Yep, I think you have a good combination there . pretty similar to what I have in my Model A pick-up. Just put a decent converter in it, at least 2800, and you'll have something that'll set you back in the seat , and a fun car to drive
 
What Golly and the others said. A healthy BB, a lightweight bucket, and some 2.73's or some 3.05's and you got 1 extremely fast car.... All that torque pulling against some tall gears.... makes sweat flow from the brow and the knuckles turn white....
 
What Golly and the others said. A healthy BB, a lightweight bucket, and some 2.73's or some 3.05's and you got 1 extremely fast car.... All that torque pulling against some tall gears.... makes sweat flow from the brow and the knuckles turn white....
 
....oooops
 

     Ron Pope Motorsports                Advertise with Us!     
Back
Top