65 Biscayne

[Alan Roehrich]

Originally Posted by The Colonel

I just acquired a 65 Biscayne with a 12 bolt/4 spd., and a complete 1965 396/375 hp motor not original for the car. Car is originally 230 6 cyl. 3 speed floor shift.
My question is....what class/classes would it fit into with the 396? Is it feaseable? or should I go the 283/327 route? I have a 1966 283-2 barrel motor also.
I'm a bracket racer, and am about thinking about trying something different. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Go to the NHRA website, under the "rules" tab at the top of the page, you'll get a drop down menu that shows the "Stock Car Classification Guide". The guide will give you the basic information about the car and the engines/transmissions available, the curb weights, the HP factors, and what the class factor is. The classes start with AA, which is 7.5 pounds per HP, and each lower class is 0.5 pounds more per HP, so A is 8.0, B is 8.5, and so on. At 9.11 pounds per HP, the Stock Car Classification Guide shows the 1965 Biscayne 396/425 (the 1965 396 is factory rated at 425, not 375, but NHRA rates it at 385HP with iron heads) to be a natural C/S car. It cannot run the 396 with an automatic transmission, by the way. It could possibly run B/S or D/S with the 396 as well. It's a fairly heavy car, I'm not sure how quick it would be, or how hard on parts. But the thing would be way cool.