engine input needed, new truck pull class in my area thinking about competing...

A grand isn't too bad if the body is good. Is this a 4x4? Bottom and midrange can be overcome by gears and HP. Cam it up and get all of the power you can.

IMO. Use some lower gearing if needed to bring you off the line and let rpms take care of you the rest of the way. You want as much wheel speed possible by what ever means, ie big torque-low rpms x higher speeded gears= speed) high rpms x lower gears=speed From my experiance pulling I like plenty of rpm w/ lower gears & tall tires(33-35's). IMO Alot of people think truck pulling is ALL about low end torque, which is not really the case, you need enuff to get you moving good but then you need topend power to carry you out on the other end. Nothing wrong at all with a torque motor just gear it right. I run a c6 w/5.13's low range & turn 8000-8300rpms. If I had a engine that only wanted to turn say 6500 because it was a lowend torque monster (557/stock heads)I would run @ 4.56 gears. Hope this helps to get you thinking in the right direction, don't want them chebby's wopp'n no Ford -A

x2 on what 4 speed is saying. It aint low end torque in truck pulling thats needed.
Only thing i would "disagree" with is the gear ratio of sorts. I wouldnt be dead set on the rear end ratio, rather be more concerned with the final drive ratio. IMO somewhere in the 26-30:1 final ratio is where you want to be depending on tire size, tire type, and track conditions.. If you run a 205 with a 5.13 gear that is still a higher ratio than a 208 or 1356 and a 4:10.

205---1.98 x 5.13 = 10.15:1
1356--2.62 x 4.10 = 10.74:1

Obviously i left out the trans....that has to be factored into your final ratio.

Good point Diggindeeper on the final gear ratio! In order to get your final gear ratio "right" you have to factor in what transfer case & trans you're going to be using & take tire height into consideration.
My final ratio is @ 25 & my tires only measure @ 33.5'' tall even though they are 35's. MaddMatt Go to 4lo.com they have gear calc. that maybe helpfull.-A

Thats another reason i like the newer chassiz. LOTS of 1356/4.10 trucks right from factory. no gear sets to buy.

I would think the drivetrain in the newer truck would be better. the old truck has a 9 inch rear not an 8.8 but the bigger rear and front in the newer truck has lots of gear choices too. all the guys around here run big gear and big tires like the guys above said.

Yea id been thinking about all the gearing and tire size all week.
bought the truck, got it in my new pals spare bay halfway torn apart. wasps can be a royal PITA

anyway i have been throwing tons of questions at the officials for the class and found something interesting.
There cannot be any fuel additives BUT you can have a second fuel system with oh i dont know say methanol injection thrown in there somewhere

gotta love them loop holes! maybe asking questions can be useful

IMO this build should be based totally around high torque at high rpm's. Torque is what moves you or how much work can be done, that's whats needed more than anything with this build. I have no clue how high of rpm's those rods will hold up to though.

As for the methanol injection run a high compression ratio. I've heard of someone on here with 49 windshield washer fluid in their methanol injection system for on street use. It is 49% methanol 50% water and 1% detergent so its good for keeping the engine cool, clean and under control.

Matt, what parts do you already have, and how much do you have to spend on it.
I'm not trying to be a smart ass at all, theres just a lot of directions one could go, some are more money costing than others.

IMHO if you can run stock valve placement heads, and you have a limited budget, i'd forget about a stroker and run TFS streets on a stock 460 bottom end.
IDEALLY run TFS streets on a 557.
I bet more knowledgeable folks could tell you better where the better bang for buck is.....

Diggindeeper wrote:Matt, what parts do you already have, and how much do you have to spend on it.
I'm not trying to be a smart ass at all, theres just a lot of directions one could go, some are more money costing than others.

IMHO if you can run stock valve placement heads, and you have a limited budget, i'd forget about a stroker and run TFS streets on a stock 460 bottom end.
IDEALLY run TFS streets on a 557.
I bet more knowledgeable folks could tell you better where the better bang for buck is.....

Im keeping my eyes peeled for TFS at a good price. or a set of A429's those can be worked over to flow some real nice numbers. theres a guys selling a pair of A429's for 350 that im going to check out today being my first day off in over 14 days!

I have a spare 429 thats .060 over, 429 is fresh, C9VE block. was going to run the rods out of that engine with the motorsports crank for a 528 if i cant find an 8.1L gm motor. I also have a set of C9VE heads that are ported and flow some rather nice numbers now that we went to the 2.19/1.76 valve arrangement. over 200 exhaust and right at 340 on the intake. Gotta love the mad porters site
Victor intake with a dommy flange. Oh and one other thing, Chrome Valve covers to blind the chevy guys

as for the stroker i already have a scatt 4.5 cast crankshaft laying around. anyone know which GM vehicles used the 8.1L engine?

So were the 2.19/1.76 valves the biggest you could go? The guy that did my valve seats said that's the biggest he could go and it ended up to be 80.4cc's when they were in but before I polished up the chambers. I thought they were 72cc heads because they were 429 D0VE-C heads, I don't know for sure. But he also cut into the chamber's side a little bit to get the 1.76 valves in there. I have pictures if you want to see what I mean.
Remember, strokers are known for making big torque. That's a reason why I'm making my build a 466 now.

ya we need pic's

Maddmattmustangs wrote: anyone know which GM vehicles used the 8.1L engine?

The 8.1L came in the HD Silverado's.

Maddmattmustangs wrote:
as for the stroker i already have a scatt 4.5 cast crankshaft laying around. anyone know which GM vehicles used the 8.1L engine?

i found this
http://www.newgmparts.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=getJointLocator&siteid=213815&chapter=&Sectionids=10,4117&groupid=10044&subgroupid=60306&componentid=0&make=6&model=Silverado 3500 pickup&year=2005&graphicID=T010045&callout=23&catalogid=1&displayCatalogid=0

I'm going to have a shower now then go see the doctor after searching for that GM stuff....i feel sick and dirty

Edit: idk why the whole thing wont act as a link but if you copy/paste it to your addy bar it takes you right to where you need to go.

Diggindeeper wrote:

Maddmattmustangs wrote:
as for the stroker i already have a scatt 4.5 cast crankshaft laying around. anyone know which GM vehicles used the 8.1L engine?

i found this
http://www.newgmparts.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=getJointLocator&siteid=213815&chapter=&Sectionids=10,4117&groupid=10044&subgroupid=60306&componentid=0&make=6&model=Silverado 3500 pickup&year=2005&graphicID=T010045&callout=23&catalogid=1&displayCatalogid=0

I'm going to have a shower now then go see the doctor after searching for that GM stuff....i feel sick and dirty

Edit: idk why the whole thing wont act as a link but if you copy/paste it to your addy bar it takes you right to where you need to go.

haha i know what you mean, thought discusts me to use a chevy part in my engine but hey it will let me spank them!!!