Any 12 second combos with 3.23s?

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71duster06

71duster06

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Hey everyone,

Anybody have any 12 second cars while using 3.23 rear end gears? I know its not desired but i put the majority of my miles on the freeway (just drove 900 miles to Mopar Nats). With that im still hoping to crack into the 12 second area with these gears.

Current setup
71' 340 Duster
4-speed with 3.23s
Mild build, Lunati 60403 cam, 273 rockers, LD340 intake with Thermoquad, Hooker heads to 2.5" x pipe exhaust to the rear bumper.
Radial street tires
Current best time is high 13s @ 103 mph on a failing fuel pump.
60' time was aweful so thats more drivers error.

I know im fighting physics but i would like to see if anyone has a comparable setup.
 
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=224063

going 4 speed this winter. (still need a clutch,shifter/rods,etc)

CDF1023 CDF1023 CENTERFORCE DUAL FRICTION 10.5" 23 SPLINE CLUTCH PKG $419.95 $419.95
ADD: - Bearing / Tool$40.00$40.00
SP68A SP68A NEW SHIFTER PACKAGE 1963-1976 A-BODY $459.95 $459.95
CSK482 CSK482 TORQUE SHAFT SERVICE KIT 1968-71 A-BODY SMALL BLOCK $69.95 $69.95

Grand Total: $989.85


I've read about a 3.06 1st gear swap that's helps get out of the hole with 3.23's.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I've only seen it done with big blocks.
 
Efficient chassis mods need to be addressed (inner-fender bracing and sub-frame connectors).

Front end alignment needs to have 0* camber, minimal caster, and NO toe-in (this eliminates resistance off the line more than a lot of people think).

And these are crucial with a 3.23 on the track IMO :glasses7:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mtt-3753r/overview/

If you cracked 12.99 you'd be the man.
 
I broke the 5.14's that was running in my D50 last year and put some 3.50's that I had out of a stock truck in it so I could still race and I only lost a 1/2 tenth in the 1/8. At the time my best ET with the 5.14's was a 6.34 ,when I put the 3.50's in it ran a 6.39 and I crossed the finish line in 2nd gear and gained 1 mph.
 
If you do make it with 3:23 gears you got to let me in on the build . 3:23 in the 12's is what I'd like .
 
68 Satellite. Street car. All steel except for six pak hood. Full interior except for big *** heat/air box (50lbs) removed. Bench seat, column shift. Frame ties. Stock leaf springs with a half leaf added. 8.75, clutch sure grip,3.23. .030 over 8.5(or less) 440. Comp 292 magnum, bowl ported 906s, old Torker with a one inch spacer and 750DP. 1/78 Hookers, Factory windage tray HV pump and a deep pan. 727 with RMVB and a 10 inch GER converter. Flashed to about 3800. Stock gas tank with 5/16 line. Stock mech pump with a Holley Blue in back. Weld Drag Lites. 28x9 MT ET Drags. Best time: 12.35 at 107. 1.69 60ft. My engine is really pretty crappy. This engine was built in 1986 when I was about 20yo. I feel that I made a lot of mistakes. Had I known how low the compression was going to be, I would have paid more and got the 2355 TRWs instead of the 2266s. And my "bowl porting" was nothing more than me blending the bottom cut into the as cast portion with my die grinder. Running 12s with a cheapo 440 and 3.23s is really pretty easy. The converter is key. I was running 13.20s with an 11 inch 2500 stall. The swap to a 10 inch put me in the 12s. Small changes after that got me deeper into the 12s. The 750DP and one inch spacer was worth 2/10 over a 750 VS and no spacer.
 
Last fall I ran a 12.24 with 3.55 gears in my Cuda. Engine is a very mild 408. Trans is a 727 with a 3500 stall. Car is pretty heavy (3700 lbs race wt) so a lighter car would do it easier. I broke the 3.55's and put a set of 3:23's in it for now and would be shocked if it lost even 1/2 sec which would still put me solidly into the 12's. Traction is a big key to turning a good number
 
spinning aint winnin but the rush of 300 feet of posi thru 3 gears at 95 mph sure was a rush when tires were cheap and chicks were free lol
 
As others have said, you have NOT found the potential of you current set up!
More HP will leave you with the same problem you have now. TRACTION!
A couple hundred on tires, will get you a much better ET, then a $2500+ 408 stroker.

Then i would say, build a "torque minded" 408 stroker, with a "Quality" Built Converter.
Then throw in some real slicks and some more weight loss/ chassis mods and you could be there or close.

Mean while, tune and enjoy what you have!:burnout:
 
66 cuda. Street car - 3430 with driver
1978 360 with 100k std bore
Kb flatntop pistons
Stock 1.88 intake valves in stock iron heads
Mopar .474 lift hydraulic cam with matching springs
Eddy street tunnel ram with (2) holley 390 vac sec carbs at the time
Spitfire headers at the time with dumps
904 with low gear set
8.25 rear with 3.23's
SS springs
Slant 6 bars at the time
Kyb shocks


245/45/15 street tire - 1.9 60 ft 13.3 @ 102

26x9 slick - 1.80 ft - 12.80 @ 108

24.5 x8 slick - 1.74 60 ft - 12.56 @ 106


Best times.
 
I went 13.30's consistently with 3.23 gears and a 28 inch tall tire. I had a mild 360 (340 cam, J heads, .030 over 9 to 1, LD340 intake, 750 dp), 727 auto with a 10 inch street fighter, car weighed approx. 3250 lbs by itself. Drove it 1hr to the strip, and raced it 100% as I drove it. I would think 26 inch tires and better cam would have put me in the 12's, keeping the 3.23's.
 
Whats everyones thoughts on the carb situation. Previously i had a 750 vac secondary carb and i could get better 60' times but only 98mph at the traps. I switched to my thermoquad and my 60' times fell but now im at 103mph and dropped 3/10 of a second on the overall time.... (both on my LD340) I do have an Air-gap intake that i have yet to try.

Would switching to a mechanical secondary DP be worth looking into?
 
flyfish said:
Why not run 12's or 11's...nitrous is your friend. :D
Click to expand...

JMHO but I could never feel right turning better times if I were relying on that crutch.

Any P.O.S. can make a lot more power with N2O if it gets enough fuel and holds together.

Power adders of any sort just make me feel like a cheating/slut/horsepower *****.

Actually, if you like power adders, you might as well just buy a 5.0 Mustang.

If it's a doorslammer and it's not naturally aspirated, I don't even want to watch.

Again......Just my view.
 
Old Man Mopar said:
Power adders of any sort just make me feel like a cheating/slut/horsepower *****.
Click to expand...
My view, I'd have to agree. I just couldn't use it. Turbos may be ok, but horsepower in a bottle?
It rewards the inefficient combination and I'd feel like one dishonest cheating M.F.
 
I'll concede that a well engineered turbo set-up shows ingenuity but that stuff
in a bottle has no place in my garage. I feel dirty just talking about it!
 
Old Man Mopar said:
JMHO but I could never feel right turning better times if I were relying on that crutch.

Any P.O.S. can make a lot more power with N2O if it gets enough fuel and holds together.

Power adders of any sort just make me feel like a cheating/slut/horsepower *****.

Actually, if you like power adders, you might as well just buy a 5.0 Mustang.

If it's a doorslammer and it's not naturally aspirated, I don't even want to watch.

Again......Just my view.
Click to expand...

That's ok, nitrous is not for everybody. I used to run a nitrous motor that I built specifically for nitrous...that was 8 years of nitrous from one end of the 1/4 mile to the other. It can be a very reliable power source with proper tuning, it just gets really expensive to run on a regular basis. The initial investment is not that much, but to run it right (and run it often) takes quite a bit of $$$$....Needles to say, I run NA now with my stroker.

So are you saying you don't like anything that is turbocharged, supercharged, nitrous injected; or runs on methanol, ethanol, e85, nitromethane, oxygenated race fuel, etc???....that doesn't leave very much stuff to watch race.

To the OP, yes, a properly tuned Holley dp carb would be well worth a try, and will probably out due both of your other carbs.
 
flyfish said:
That's ok, nitrous is not for everybody. I used to run a nitrous motor that I built specifically for nitrous...that was 8 years of nitrous from one end of the 1/4 mile to the other. It can be a very reliable power source with proper tuning, it just gets really expensive to run on a regular basis. The initial investment is not that much, but to run it right (and run it often) takes quite a bit of $$$$....Needles to say, I run NA now with my stroker.

So are you saying you don't like anything that is turbocharged, supercharged, nitrous injected; or runs on methanol, ethanol, e85, nitromethane, oxygenated race fuel, etc???....that doesn't leave very much stuff to watch race.

To the OP, yes, a properly tuned Holley dp carb would be well worth a try, and will probably out due both of your other carbs.
Click to expand...
I took it as if he was saying that you can throw a 200 hp nitrous can at a junkyard motor and hit 12's. No knowledge, no skill, not much time, thought, or money. I saw a guy do it to a 318 and ran mid 12's and it stayed together the whole Saturday.. LOL
 
It's a lot easier to get an ET with an Auto trans and 3.23's than a 4 speed.

3.23's work the converter harder. Tough to get the same results unless you can efficiently slip a clutch in first gear
 
flyfish said:
So are you saying you don't like anything that is turbocharged, supercharged,
nitrous injected; or runs on methanol, ethanol, e85, nitromethane, oxygenated
race fuel, etc???....that doesn't leave very much stuff to watch race.
Click to expand...
Nitro and blowers are great for the T/F & F/C classes but all of those cars run it.

A car built for E85/ethanol/methonol with accompanying high compression is a
very mechanically efficient machine and that is a good thing.

As far as turbos and superchargers go....fine, but let them race each other, not
cars which are making their horsepower by the ingenuity and tuning expertise
of their owners/drivers instead of adding artificial atmosphere..

I am definitely not a fan of N2O which lets equipment perform beyond it's inherent
design capabilities. It's not fair and I believe in that context, cheating.

Do you think it's right for someone to spend 10 grand for a 2 second improvement
and then have to run-for-the-money against someone who screwed a bottle onto a
beat up 10-year old Mustang to get the same result?

Nothing personal. I guess I'm just an old school tune-it-to-make-it-run dinosaur.

Nitrous seems worse than doping athletes.
 
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