[Stan Weiss]

Originally Posted by Greg Gay

I don't know the purpose of the 4.56 gears, but the more that I think about it, I think I described what they called the Junior Stock Classes. As to the transmission rules, they had separate manual and automatic classes, and I THINK you had to run the transmission that the car came with. Of course with our modern version, you'd probably get 4 speed manuals and 3 speed automatics, too. I remember one guy, Jean Plouffe, won the points championship with a 66 Chevelle, 327 and 3 speed manual transmission.

The 4.56 gear rule might have inadvertently closed the advantage of the small cubic inch engines as the larger engines might have been able to take advantage of their torque, leveling the playing field somewhat, and also kept the combinations more mild. Perhaps they thought that 4.56 was about all that you could reasonably drive on the street? I'm just guessing.

There was also a Top Stock class, which may be more like the Formula Stock classes. I BELIEVE about the only difference was unlimited camshaft, though I don't even know if roller cams existed then, and no gear rule. There were also 3 levels of Classes in Top Stock A "1" designated multipIe carburetion. A "2" was for 3 and 4 barrel carburetion, and a "3" was 1 and 2 barrel carbs. I know that there is a rule book or two in my parents' cellar, but they are in their 80's and quarantined, so I haven't been in their house in about 5 weeks.

I do not know when then is. I also do not know when the first roller cam was made. I can say the in the mid '60s I ran an Engle roller cam. And if anyone thinks that tight lash is something modern it had 0.012" I and 0.014" E lash.


Stan