Looking for advice on getting my 66 Fairlane into the 5's

My dad and I just finished putting together our 66 Fairlane. We were able to put about 7 passes on it this fall and our fastest et was 6.37 in the 1/8. 1.40 60'. 108mph. The car is back halved and we run 32x14 goodyears (probably going to 31x10.5w next Spring). The motor is a 514 (filled block) with aluminum cobra jet heads that have flow around 380/240 (yes the clipping issue has been fixed). Ford Motorsports Dominator Intake that has been cleaned up and port matched to heads. 1050 dominator carb. Q16 fuel 0.683 lift cam, cam advertised duration: In.298, Ex. 302, cam duration at 0.050: In. 262, Ex.267. 1.8 rockers. Has not been dyno'd but would estimate somewhere around 675-725hp. Rollerized C6. We have 5.14 gears in the rear. Car weighs 3300 w/ driver. Ladder bar car with strange DA's in the rear.

SO... We want to get into the 5.9x's. Would this be possible by building a 557 short block and putting our top end on it? Long term we would like to build a 572 or 598 but that would quickly get expensive and is not practical for this winter. I know there are better heads out there but would rather not buy new heads yet. What do you all think is the best route to go to get into the 5.9x's. Thanks in advance.

The cam duration and intake type would help people advise you.

Nitrous Oxide!!

jpierce55 wrote:The cam duration and intake type would help people advise you.

Updated original post. Thanks!

Put it on a diet - weight savings alone will make it faster

to get your car to run 5.95 in the 1/8,you would need about 800 hp.your not going to get 150 hp with 43 cubic inches.my guess would be p-51 on your short block with more cam.that would be closer for sure.you would have to do the valve pockets on the pistons,but that can be done with the tool on the short block.maybe the trick flow 325 heads may do it.just my view.

Call ACME

All the numbers look low performing to get into the 5's the 60 needs to be in the low to mid 1.30's The gear ratio looks to big. I assume the compression is up around 14 with the fuel that you are running. The converter should be higher than 5,000 rpm. Where are you shifting and how high is it running when you cross the line?

Where you located? I have a pair of MT 33/10.5W I may be willing to swap for those 32/14 if they’re not worn out.

What are your all’s thoughts on this idea. Build a 598 shortblock and use my cam, heads, intake, etc and maybe go to an 1150 or 1250 carb. I know my heads would be the bottleneck but next winter I would then upgrade the heads, cam, etc to really wake the 598 up. Dumb idea to run my heads on a 598 shortblock for a season?

I think you have something to gain with what you have. Different cam and probably converter imo. A torque converter can mean everything. Best thing I did was put a msd grid on mine to see what was going on during the run. Racepak is ideal but kinda pricey.

I agree with Cool40.
Back when I had a 547 with FMS SCJ heads they flowed similar to yours and the car got solidly into the 5.90's with a little more cam duration shifting at 6400 running E85 with an 1150 dominator. I did this with a non-rollerized C6, 4500 stall and a 4.11 gear for 9.40's in the 1/4 at 3250# with 32" tall tires.
Big differences with our packages here are probably gearing, cam, and converter. Even if I set mine up for the 1/8th I dont think the gear would be anywhere close to 5.14 with my converter that slips above 12% with synthetic fluid.

Every time I lowered the gear ratio number the car seems to hold the 60ft, the 1/8th got slightly better and bigger gains at back half et and MPH

And your converter stall is?
Your shift rpm and trap rpm?
Are you at high elevation?

What lind of exhaust system is on it ...?

With a correct converter and leaving in 2nd speed you should be there at 3,300 lbs. I'd bet it is actually heavier.

Dave De wrote:I agree with Cool40.
Back when I had a 547 with FMS SCJ heads they flowed similar to yours and the car got solidly into the 5.90's with a little more cam duration shifting at 6400 running E85 with an 1150 dominator. I did this with a non-rollerized C6, 4500 stall and a 4.11 gear for 9.40's in the 1/4 at 3250# with 32" tall tires.
Big differences with our packages here are probably gearing, cam, and converter. Even if I set mine up for the 1/8th I dont think the gear would be anywhere close to 5.14 with my converter that slips above 12% with synthetic fluid.

Every time I lowered the gear ratio number the car seems to hold the 60ft, the 1/8th got slightly better and bigger gains at back half et and MPH

And your converter stall is?
Your shift rpm and trap rpm?
Are you at high elevation?

Currently have a 9" art carr 4500 stall
Shifting at 6200
We are in Missouri
I have a 4.30 gear for the car that I could go back to. Also I've been thinking about getting an 1150, do you think id pick up a tenth just by switching to the 1150? Thanks for the feedback!

rmcomprandy wrote:What lind of exhaust system is on it ...?

With a correct converter and leaving in 2nd speed you should be there at 3,300 lbs. I'd bet it is actually heavier.

2" Crites headers. Currently have an art carr 9" 4500 stall.. We scaled the car a couple months ago and its actually closer to 3200 with driver

cool40 wrote:I think you have something to gain with what you have. Different cam and probably converter imo. A torque converter can mean everything. Best thing I did was put a msd grid on mine to see what was going on during the run. Racepak is ideal but kinda pricey.

Thanks for the feedback! Going to a .723 cam has crossed my mind, wonder what I'd gain by going that route. I'm running an art carr 9" 4500 stall currently. I'm open to recommendations if you think this converter is holding me up

More duration and lift will pick it up for sure.

Lem Evans wrote:More duration and lift will pick it up for sure.

What would you recommend? Thanks for your feedback

66Fairlane-OldGlory wrote:

Lem Evans wrote:More duration and lift will pick it up for sure.

What would you recommend? Thanks for your feedback

How much lift will your springs allow?

More cam will not help much until you change the converter.

If you can get that 514 to live large at 7,000 rpm 5.90's are gonna happen.
Lem has the recipe for that to happen.

Lem Evans wrote:

66Fairlane-OldGlory wrote:

Lem Evans wrote:More duration and lift will pick it up for sure.

What would you recommend? Thanks for your feedback

How much lift will your springs allow?

More cam will not help much until you change the converter.

I would probably just have to get new springs to work with more lift. Which is fine with me. Who would you recommend me to go to for a new converter?

Lem Evans wrote:

66Fairlane-OldGlory wrote:

Lem Evans wrote:More duration and lift will pick it up for sure.

What would you recommend? Thanks for your feedback

How much lift will your springs allow?

More cam will not help much until you change the converter.

PM Sent

With c6 and that gear the car should leave pretty hard if the converter is what you said, even @3200#. 60’ don’t equate to leaving hard imo. I assumed you leaving off the foot brake? The other thing is only shifting @6200 tells me converter is tight or motor is lazy or it would be out of steam in high gear pretty early. The 3 speed is more forgiving of a tight converter but still is a deal breaker if it’s out in left field. What rpm does it cross at in high gear?

Get a cam custom ground for it.  More duration and lift and a good amount more duration on the exhaust will get it there.  And get that converter up in the 54-5500 area on the leave.  

I spun my stock block, cast crank 514 to 7200 regularly so your's should be able to take it too...

Are you shifting all gears through the 1/8th? What's it cross the line at? In what gear?

.4 is a lot. 108 mph won’t cut it. You’re not making the power you need to for that weight. I agree with others here. Put it on a diet and pick up as much power as you can. Once that’s done THEN change the converter. 5’s at 3300# needs a lot of hp. Ask me how I know.