Looking for advice on gearing

I have a '79 shortbox F100 2 wheel drive with a 650 hp (+/-) 521 stroker and a c6 behind it. Auburn limited slip with 31 spline axles. It will have a 28" - 31" tire and will run street 90% of the time. I don't want to drive it across the country but it would be nice to be able to take it on a 3 hr tour for a run on the strip.

Looking for some input on gearing but also on converter stall. I'm guessing it will weigh in at about 4000 lbs.

How would something like a 3.50 gear work? Can I go lower and still have a good jump from a dead stop? I had someone suggest a 2.86 but that seems way to low.

Thanks in advance
Kevin

3.50 or 3.70 would work good IMO. the gear you use will have a lot to do with the converter you need but also the weight of the truck.

3.89 with 31

Getting your converter to lock up at torque peak is as important or more important than the gear selection as long as you get the gear in the ball park.

I decided to go with a 3.73. I'll see how that goes.

kevin316 wrote:I decided to go with a 3.73. I'll see how that goes.

I think a 2500 stall converter to 3000 with a 3.50 to 3.25 gear would fit well with what you have.

I ran 3.25 3.50 and a 3.70 gear years a go with a big block and the 3.25 worked best for me and on a 72 with a small block the 3.50 worked the best . Just My Two cents!