Think I found a use for my 429, need opinions

Maddmattmustangs August 10th 2010, 9:14 pm

Apparently my neck of the woods is going to start running road races down an old section of highway, 2.3 mile course lots of turns ( sharp ones at that) I think a 429 would whip azz at this with a good set of aluminum and good bump stick. I could easily run there route because that's where I learned to cut hard corners and maintain control of a car Twisted Evil

They did it last year with a good turnout.

Anyone else think a .060 over 429 (440) would run hard in this field?!

72mav August 10th 2010, 9:50 pm

You might want to ask Bo and Luke Duke about that.

DanH August 10th 2010, 10:05 pm

351 C or W built for it would be better .

Maddmattmustangs August 10th 2010, 10:18 pm

Yea A Cleveland just kicks azz in general Laughing

I may still gear my 410 in that route...

But a 429 would probably offer more room to grow in the long run and with aluminum heads might actually weigh less.
I'm just trying to figure out what to do with this 429 it's slated for a fun street engine right now but may get this job instead Very Happy

In the meantime my 73 wit it's Cleveland shall take a different route of road race/ occasional drag duty. Which is fine seeing as how I'm ordering new suspension systems for it next week.

ThndrChkn August 10th 2010, 10:18 pm

Sure it would. But there's alot more to it than the engine. One would need the correct chassis to start with. Proper suspension, gearing, etc. I would run a standard transmission for any type of road work. Depending on how long their straight stretches are, I'd gear it the best you can to best use the torque of that BBF. And stay away from smaller lighter vehicles. Something in the mid-sized category would be best. Any of the Mustangs from '69 to '73 would be good candidates in my book with the BBF for a power plant.

Doug... Cool

DanH August 10th 2010, 10:29 pm

ThndrChkn wrote:Sure it would. But there's alot more to it than the engine. One would need the correct chassis to start with. Proper suspension, gearing, etc. I would run a standard transmission for any type of road work. Depending on how long their straight stretches are, I'd gear it the best you can to best use the torque of that BBF. And stay away from smaller lighter vehicles. Something in the mid-sized category would be best. Any of the Mustangs from '69 to '73 would be good candidates in my book with the BBF for a power plant.

stay away from smaller and light ???? that hold true on drag cars too ?

Doug...

Maddmattmustangs August 10th 2010, 10:40 pm

I just happen to have a 73 mustang coupe Very Happy

The only straight stretch on the whole course is the last 1/4 the rest are about 500 feet before hard turns there a section locals Named "the three bitches" back to back to back hard 100 degree turns, If I can nail that I'm home free.

bb429power August 10th 2010, 11:39 pm

Maddmattmustangs wrote:I just happen to have a 73 mustang coupe
The only straight stretch on the whole course is the last 1/4 the rest are about 500 feet before hard turns there a section locals Named "the three bitches" back to back to back hard 100 degree turns, If I can nail that I'm home free.

3.5-4.10 gearing should be good then. Want to be able to get going after hard turns and pull hard getting out to the straight away. What rpm's would be the max for this engine? Tight suspension should whip you through the corners. I'm no expert on this though. Laughing

Maddmattmustangs August 11th 2010, 12:09 am

It's going to be tuned to the driver Very Happy

I know where I like my car loose and tight Laughing

I was thinking 355 and a tko transmission would be good for this, or a full manual auto but that would be rough on the trans

bb429power August 11th 2010, 12:13 am

Maddmattmustangs wrote:It's going to be tuned to the driver I know where I like my car loose and tight

I was thinking 355 and a tko transmission would be good for this, or a full manual auto but that would be rough on the trans

Mmy auto teacher had the suspension tuned on his car while he was in it so it was made to work with him in it. Cool

ThndrChkn August 11th 2010, 12:22 am

If the straights are no longer than that, I'd opt for a gear that would work the most optimum for how the engine is built. Then you would be optimizing the whole combo. I wouldn't run an automatic trans if it was mine, it would get awful hot after awhile. If you could find one, I'd just use a good close ratio Toploader. They worked for years. There just happens to be one for sale on here. Very Happy

Or if you have the funds, get yourself a Jericho. But I'd build it around the engine.

Doug... Cool

ThndrChkn August 11th 2010, 12:32 am

DanH wrote:stay away from smaller and light ???? that hold true on drag cars too ?

What are you, freakin' retarded!!? Heavier cars do tend to handle better than light cars. How much road racing have you done? I've not done alot, but I've done enough to know. Don't try and bust my chops, 'cause you ain't got enough!! Wink

Doug...

Maddmattmustangs August 11th 2010, 12:45 am

ThndrChkn wrote:If the straights are no longer than that, I'd opt for a gear that would work the most optimum for how the engine is built. Then you would be optimizing the whole combo. I wouldn't run an automatic trans if it was mine, it would get awful hot after awhile. If you could find one, I'd just use a good close ratio Toploader. They worked for years. There just happens to be one for sale on here. Or if you have the funds, get yourself a Jericho. But I'd build it around the engine.

Doug...

I think I'm going to set the engine up to do it's work from 3000 to 6800 rpms. Shouldn't be to hard with the short stroke crank

AZFairlane August 11th 2010, 1:08 am

I'm not going to get into the debate over heavy and light cars and which handles better. But I have never seen a Towncar out handle a pinto. Now, the reason I made this post, that's a heavy ass mustang and you want to put more weight on the front where it doesn't need it. You don't need big block torque for such a short winding course. Build a nice high winding small block and gear it appropriately. You'd be lucky if the weight of the BBF doesn't push the car off the road in some of those 100* corners. This isn't Talladega you're racing here. Mad

ThndrChkn August 11th 2010, 1:19 am

I think common sense would point out I wasn't comparing "those" 2 cars. WOW! Laughing

Doug...

AZFairlane August 11th 2010, 1:24 am

It doesn't matter which two cars you compare. If equally prepared the lighter one will always handle better, it's not common sense it's physics. Inertia will not let the heavier one handle as well as the lighter one.

ThndrChkn August 11th 2010, 1:28 am

I had a '70 'Cuda that would beg to differ. It was built to work. And it did so, very well. Oh yeah, and it had a BB in it too. Very Happy

Doug...

reeseracing23 August 11th 2010, 1:29 am

put a high winding small block in it, set it back a foot , throw some glass on it, stiffen the chassis, put a mans tranny in it (toploader), lower it to the ground and go racing

AZFairlane August 11th 2010, 1:30 am

Doug, you can argue all night long, but you're wrong. If that cuda had a smallblock in it and was lighter it would have handled much better.

reeseracing23 August 11th 2010, 1:32 am

thats my opinion, but i also think dirt is for racing and pavement is just another waste of government spending, sorry doug

ThndrChkn August 11th 2010, 1:32 am

I wasn't saying it wouldn't work with a SBF in it. Just that it can be made to work with a BBF. The SBF would be easier due to the weight, but it's good to be different.

Doug... Cool

AZFairlane August 11th 2010, 1:38 am

The weight balance is wrong on most cars. With too much weight up front, they plow through the corners, now add a big block and it gets worse. You can either put in a small block or move the big block back to equalize the weight bias. You still would have to deal with the additional weight of the bigger engine, but it would be better than having it out over the front wheels.

ThndrChkn August 11th 2010, 1:39 am

I guess that's why out of the 3 races I ran it while I was in Texas, not once did I lose to a small block car. Nowhere did I say a BB car would be better, just that if done right, it will work. I stand by what my experience has proven. It worked great the way we built it, and if I had/have a chance to build another one, I'll stick with a BB. Just my preference. Wink

Doug...

Maddmattmustangs August 11th 2010, 1:44 am

Unless you sbf Is an iron headed 4v Cleveland pig like mine. An aluminum headed BBF would probably weigh in at alittle less. And I planned on dropping the engine 1 1/4 back atleast even if I have to mod the firewall. My cars not that heavy, last time it was on a scale iron headed Cleveland, power steering and crap it came in at 3356 with
Me in it. I'm now 20lbs lighter, cars gonna loose the tank bumper, glass, hood and fenders for fiberglass. Probably the trunk lid too since I found a bad rust patch by the hinge

AZFairlane August 11th 2010, 1:45 am

Any combination will work, it's just to what extent, I would have to say that you just didn't come up against the right small block, or the track was just wide open with very few corners.

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