Ol' Fart's Firebird Fantasy

[oldskool]

Originally Posted by Alan Nyhus

The '68 350HO 320 hp @ 305 factored hp (6/30/08) isn't totally out of line. Pretty stout little motor...good camshaft, darn near 12:1 compression ratio (at max. bore), etc.

The other thing to think about on the Ventura is that the hp factor occurred 11/10/2005. Lacking a bunch of cars running this combo, it seems a review of that factor would be in order by NHRA.

FWIW. -Al

Yeah, I thought about the 350HO. But at 305, the '75 455 is 5hp less and the '76 is only 5hp more. And the 455's have so much more low end torque. Also, the little 350 will have to turn up some high rpm to run the number. That means a crazy cam and high spring pressures.

http://www.classracerinfo.com/Engine...px?ENGINE=2008

The 455 on the other hand, will max out at no more than 6000rpm. That means you can get by with a reasonable cam, spring pressures and normal lifters. That alone will make the 455 cheaper to build and maintain. We had several 455's that ran mid 12's for hundreds of passes, without changing cams, springs or lifters. And they were running a TH400 tranny, stock 13" converter and 3.55 gears. So I would feel a lot more confident about the possibility of reaching the goal, for a reasonable price, if using a 455.

From what I have learned so far, from this site, it looks as if the higher the rpm you must turn, the more the engine will cost to build and maintain.