Again, the main reason for exploring the '76 455 possibilities, is because I already have a running 455 with 6x heads, in my '68 bracket Bird. I can get it running good in the bird and see if it has the potential to run the index in a heavier '76 body.
At 3664lbs, the TA is the lightest body I could run. That's an 11.82 weight break. If I understand the rules correctly, you can add weight to make the next lower class, or take out weight to fit the class better. So, to fit the 11.50 weight break perfectly, that would be 11.5 x 310 = 3565lbs.
http://www.classracerinfo.com/Engine...px?ENGINE=2107
That would run H/SA, which has a 12.15 index. Some of you guys who know how to figure all this, please check my calculations and see if I am correct.
http://www.classracerinfo.com/NHRA_Classes.aspx
I think my 455 will run at least mid 11's in the '68 Bird. I haven't weighed it, but it should weight just over 3000lbs. So, if I put it in a '76 Bird which weighs 3565, that should slow it down by about .57 sec. So, if the motor runs an 11.50 in the 3000lb Bird, then it should run between 12.00 and 12.10 in the heavier '76 TA, with the same trans, converter and rear gears.
Now I'm not use to figuring out all this stuff. We just ran a '68 Bird at 3300lbs with a 330 hp engine and it came up exactly 10.00. So some of you guys who know how to figure all this out, please check my calculations and see if I'm anywhere in the ball park. Thanks !