Re: Help in Iowa

14 posts and still no idea about what trans is in it or stall if automatic, still no idea about rear gears.

Gears can make or break your combo. let's say you have a manual trans, and 3.55s. Your starter gear is 2.66x3.55=9.44.. That means for every foot pound of torque coming out of the crankshaft,~9.44 will be going into the rear axles. Lets say your 360 has 180 ftlbs at 1800rpm at WOT. That means when you floor it at 1800, then 180x9.44=1700 are going into the rear axles. That's torquey but not exceptionally so. with 4.10s this works out to 1960 Ftlbs into the rear axles, still not exceptionally torquey.

If you have an regular Mopar automatic, the low gear is 2.45, so then the starter is 2.45x3.55=9.70 and the output into the rear axles is 9.70x180=1570; still at 1800rpm. ( 4.10 would make it 4.10/3.55x1570=1813)
Well it would be except for the wonderful workings of the Torque Convertor. Inside the Tc a strange phenomenon of Torque Multiplication happens. And it is expressed as a ratio. So this ratio varies from a high of up to 2:1 to a low of perhaps 1.05:1. The highest ratio is attained with the greatest torque differential thru the TC, usually at zero Mph. Lets say yours can hit 1.7 (I'm just guessing). so then into your rear axles would go 1.7x1570 =2660ftlbs with the 3.55s; (still beginning at 1800rpm) and that gets instant tirespin. Now, that's getting torquey! As soon as the tires break loose, the TM starts falling, and eventually it might hover at 1.08 typically, in higher gears. But your rpm is simultaneously rising, climbing up the torque band, and as long as you stay on the gas, the tires will continue to spin, until you either run out of rpm or power, or the speed catches up to the rpm. So 2660 is a good starting number at zero mph. By 3000 the engine torque might have risen to 300ftlbs, and because you are now accelerating,the ratio might have dropped to 1.4, so the new TM into the rear axle might be;
300x2.45x3.55x1.4=3650. That's really torquey!This is easily enough to sustain the tirespin.
With 4.10s the numbers could be 4.10/3.55x3650=15.5% higher or 4215 ftlbs. That's outrageously torquey!! That is a really impressive number, making the engine feel really powerful............ but it's a lie; The engine is still the same one I started out with, now having it's power enhanced by the total TMs available.

What I'm saying is even a 318 can make that number in first gear.

The problem comes in top gear, where the TM in the trans is down to 1:1, and the TC has settled down to 1.08. Now the playing field has been leveled and it's all motor. And of course, with a manual trans you don't get the TM from the TC. This is why, from the factory, manual trans cars usually got 3.55s as compared to autos getting 3.23s. Guess what the difference is; hyup 3.55/3.23=1.099, just about the same as what's in the TC. They did that so the manual trans guys wouldn't "feel" the TM loss and interpret it as a genuine engine powerloss.

So the bottom line is you keep saying the engine "is" torquey, but you don't know that; Cuz you have no dyno sheet nor a speed-test timeslip, nor do we know anything about your TM.
The thing that you do know is that it "feels" torquey.
It may in fact "be" torquey, I'm not arguing that point; it's all in the combo. I'm just pointing out the difference from feeling to being.
And here's why;
A torquey engine is a pleasure to drive, with any gears. It may not be quick, but it can be fun in at least one or maybe two gears.
Whereas an engine that is a PITA to drive is usually not very torquey. It usually requires a higher stall TC and/or gears to eliminate the softness at the bottom, and the powerband is often severely restricted...... making it
" uncomfortable" and "not much fun".

But then in post 12 you spring a new one on me at least; Now you are talking about more power and less gear, but still have only hinted at what makes it "not fun, or uncomfortable", which I'm guessing,could be, at least partly, the 3000rpm at cruising speed.
This is the same problem every StreetRodder ever born has run into.And the solutions are always the same, either;
a lower final-drive ratio, and a bigger engine; not a more powerful little engine. OR;
a close progressive ratio trans with an overdrive, and more gears, and a higher performance rear gear, and an engine powerband to exploit the new combo.Going bigger now, only exacerbates the tirespin. Think 80s 5.0Mustangs; tiny engines and 5speed manuals.
For a streeter, it's all about TM and torque; the right amount at the right time.
Unless you just like burning rubber....and have the wherewithal to do it. I mean I can't argue that lol, cuz that has my name written aaaaaaall over it, lol.