How much power will it handle

[curtis]

How much power willthe stock drive line handle. I have rebuilt my engine and should be 390HP with 430ft/lbs torque.
will the stock rearend and other stuff handle this if I put on some drag radials?
what if I install a 700r4? will the lower ratio kill by stock driveline?

 

[Corvette-Dave]

curtis,
In the latest addition of hot rod magazine there is an article about the 77 fastest street machines, one of them was a 76 corvette which had a 350 hooked up with nitrous, it says that the car had stock components and
runs a 10.80 at 124 mph in the quater with slicks.

 

[curtis]

thanks dave, I'll get a copy and check it out.

 

[JohnZ]

Big power, slicks, and stock half-shafts usually results in this....

 

[curtis]

Ok John, how much power did it take to do this?

 

[JohnZ]

A 540 Merlin and 8" slicks, and those are (or were) shot-peened BB half-shafts; here's a set that were caught just in time, just twisted, on a stock '67 L-89 with 205/75-15 radials. The stock tires are the "safety valve" for the drivetrain - as soon as you go to anything stickier, the half-shafts are the first thing to go, and they're also the upper control arms - not a fun experience.

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

Those half shafts look very, very familiar John. :L I still think Jer did it on purpose just for bragging rights.:cool

 

[curtis]

Ok now I'm really confused. The speed and ET of the car in Hot
rod calculates out to over 640hp at 3400 lbs, and its alright , but the 67 L-89 tore up stuff. I run 275/60R15 Kelly tires and have a severe traction problem. time slips with 1.8 on up to 2.2 60 foot times and 14.2 qtr @99mph. A local muskrat embarrassed me and I need to know if I'm gonna wreck stuff if I keep it up. He ran DOT slicks.

 

[rgtrough]

Hey Curtis, something is going to break if you continue to flog your shark. They just didn't build the stock driveline to handle the hp that we are adding to these cars. As always the chain is only as strong as its' weakest link. Just start running it hard and be prepared to fix what you break. Trying to guess what to replace before is wise but very expensive. peace Bud

 

[mike weyman]

pardon my blasphemy on easter sunday, but can you say 9 inch ford rear end with a spool.??i know it's a 4 letter word. but it's one of the best rear ends,mike

 

[curtis]

Thanks for the input Mike, there will never be a F____ part on my Chevy. See I can't even get the word to type out.

 

[Robin7TFour]

HELLO, well if the F@#$ is a bad word then maybe try a Mark Miller center section and shortened housing. here at disney we use one based on a 9" design. we've gotten them almost bullet proof.
considering Disney's using them to move a 5500lbs vehicle using a 200hp electric motor,plus the diff is also used ,at the same time as a dynamic brake.i'd say it's worth looking into.

Robin....aka mr roller-coaster

 

[AKRAY4PLAY]

How much power willthe stock drive line handle. I have rebuilt my engine and should be 390HP with 430ft/lbs torque.
will the stock rearend and other stuff handle this if I put on some drag radials?
what if I install a 700r4? will the lower ratio kill by stock driveline?

going on the assumption you're running an auto tranny right now, those numbers should not hurt anything in the rear. shock loads kill parts no matter what they are in. banging gears is a great example of shock loading as well as side-stepping the clutch at 4500 rpms. i was very worried about it when i installed my 406. did the same thing you're doing now. i decided to run mine stock until something let go. three seasons later, still running stock and no problems. i do have the VB&P performance plus suspension, it may be a reason for the longevity. my motor puts out 606 hp and 588 tq and i am running a th400 with 3.70 rear gear. i would shy away from the 700r4, look at a 200r4 they are a little stronger and easier to install. your numbers are getting close to the limits of the 700r4 for reliability. i would hate to see you replacing a tranny every summer. Brian