dtmason ss

a guy wanted to race me in a 73 chevelle with a 400 small block and my 99 camaro ss is a 6spd and stock except for the magnaflo exhaust. would i have a chance at to win? is there anything i can do to my ss to beat him that wont cost a lot of money?

odthetruth

iTrader: (4)

The day before you race him, you can pull out all your interior, back seats, passenger seat, etc. That won't really cost you anything except time.

Odds are you might be outgunned, depending on whats done to this Chevelle, but it can ALWAYS end up a driver's race. You don't know until you race 'em. I'm sure a few of the other Camaro owners might chime in on cheap mods for hp? idk

Sticks n Stones

Learn the driver mod, probably the most important part to driving any stick shift well. Work on banging them gears as fast as possible!

COPO9560

Chevelle always launched better than Camaro, at least in the old days - 4 link suspension a benefit here.

Learn more about his 400 SBC before you give it a try. Make sure it has 23 degree heads, low compression and hydraulic flat tappet cam or you are screwed. If it has 18 degree heads, burns E85 and a solid roller, he will have time to have a beer at the end of the race before you get there.

Sticks n Stones

90% of Chevelles still on the road in decent shape will get beat by you. Don't worry too much about it as his car is most likely heavier then yours and only good aftermarket heads could match your stock heads. Put it this way: old school camaro/chevelle/etc. with the basic big cam, 2.02 valve upgrade, MSD ignition, single plane intake with a good sized carb and headers will not beat a equally driven stock LS1 fbody. Ask me how I know.

ScreaminRedZ

iTrader: (3)

Not sure what engines were available that year, but if it's close to stock you got it no problem as long as you can drive. Modded and it could be a good race or a slaughter depending, lol.

69chevelleSS

I wouldnt be worried... If its anywhere close to stock its slow.

KingJacobo

If it's stock or just old school "bolt ons" (cam, exhaust, carb, ported heads, gears) you should walk him no problem. What a lot of old school owners don't realize is stock back in the day our cars were monsters. Now..a stock performance car (LS1, Cobra, etc) can murder your run of the mill big block. Old engines need to be packing serious heat to compete with todays muscle cars.

As much as I hate to admit it, it's just the way the world works. 30+ years of technology..there damn well better be faster cars haha.

COPO9560

First of all, 400 SBC was not a stock in a 73 Chevelle so some investigation is in order. I agree near anything stock or lightly modified from this era can easily be beat by your car. A non-stock 400 with current aftermarket parts will be more than capable of beating a stock or modified LS1. (800 fwhp is possible with 18 degree heads)

You should take a look at the performance section of Chevelle Forum before dismissing a run of the mill SBC or BBC used for a performance car built today. 400 for SBC or 496 for BBC is probably on the small side these days. Many are running aftermarket blocks with larger displacement. Technology has not left the BBC or SBC behind either, AFR, Dart, Brodix and many others have serious products available for these old engines. Retrofit roller cams, hydraulic or solid, are now common as well.

Lastly, other than the new 4 valve turbo engines, Mercury Racing still uses BBC for their foundations. The guys buying fast boats have more $$ to spend than your average car guy ever dreamed of. Maybe not run of the mill but it does say something about power potential as well as reliability. That kind of defines survival of the fittest.

big hammer

if he has stock heads you'll crush him. but throw some 215+cc heads on a 400sb and a high lift cam, look out.

whytryz28

iTrader: (28)

Just head over to Pro-touring if you want to see what build Gen I SBC are capable of, my forged 331 on juice in my 69 camaro would wax bikes.

ScreaminRedZ

iTrader: (3)

Sounds intriguing. Any build thread or videos of the car?

thunderstruck507

iTrader: (18)

Truly fast SBCs are as rare as truly fast NA Mustangs when you compare the number that are fast to the number on the road.

A sbc has to have a decent amount of work and some good heads to even really make a Chevelle as fast as a stock ls1 car.

s346k

iTrader: (4)

odds are you will end up at least a football field ahead by the time you guys shut down. even the baddest sbc cars won't do **** with a carb not tuned worth a damn. my experience says just about the only guys who know carbs race their cars frequently.

obviously any "run of the mill" sbc can be surprising, but the truth is 95% of them will struggle to trap 103, esp in a car that big. the lack of details regarding said 400 really leaves the door wide open.

EPIK

One HUGE misconception people have when it comes to old cars is, people think because they are large in size, means they are heavy. But remember, these old school cars don't have all the sound deadening, amenities, crumple zones, bumper reinforcements (Although 73 Chevelles do), powered seats, tons of speakers, factory amps, etc. that the new cars do.

Not sure what a 73 Chevelle weighs, but I know a 70-72 Chevelle is about 200 lbs lighter than a 4th gen F body... That being said, 73 Chevelles in stock trim were TURDS, & ugly as hell. I feel sorry for the guy even thinking a 73 Chevelle was even worth restoring, let alone modifying!

69cutlassrkt

really? how is a 3800lb chevelle lighter than a 3600lb fbody? A 64-65 chevelle probably weigh closer than those years, they were pretty heavy then. Some old school cars are alot lighter but not the one you mentioned.
I agree with you about the weight misconception though. A lot of people seem to think older muscle cars weigh 2plus tons.

heres a link to some vehicle weights done by ridetech - http://www.pro-touring.com/showthrea...database/page2

Sticks n Stones

Friend of mine had a '69 camaro with a all iron LS6 454, turbo 400 trans, 12 bolt rearend, with only carpet and headliner out of it and it weighed in at 3200lbs with a 1/4 tank of gas on a military truck scale that was calibrated. Everyone there except him was stunned by that as a big block/turbo 400/12 bolt rear combo added at least 400lbs more then a stick shift small block setup.

EPIK

I couldn't find the Curb weight of a 73 Chevelle, but from what Ive seen, a 70-72 Chevelle Curb weight is listed around 3,300-3,400 for small block V8 cars. I had a 71 Malibu 350 & there was NOTHING to those cars, manual windows, seats were light, bumpers with no huge reinforcement or cushion behind them like newer cars, plastic inner fender liners on non SS cars... They aren't really as heavy as you think.

Now a 73 Chevelle could be a couple hundred pounds heavier than a 70-72, I dunno, I couldn't find the curb weight online? BUT 64/65, 66/67, 68/69 couldn't be more heavier than a 70-72, they are smaller in physical size.

thunderstruck507

iTrader: (18)

My 71 weighs around 3650 with an all aluminum LS1, 4l60e, 12 bolt, no a/c (removed every piece of it), no sound deadening, etc. Without me in it. Most of them with big blocks are near 3800-4000# unless they have had work done to lose weight.

I need to take it for a race trim weight, but in street trim with my sub and tools it crossed the scales at 3820# with me in it (I was 130 at the time).

I wouldn't call stock bucket seats light, I replaced mine with Cobalt SS seats recently and they were a good bit lighter each.

My friends 69 that has a lot removed with a ls1 swap weighs ~3250#, but it doesn't even have full carpet.

69cutlassrkt

I meant the earlier years were lighter. I guess the way I typed it looked like I could have meant it the other way. I have noticed some websites give the wrong curb weights for older vehicles, for example supercars.net. I see your point though