LOVE the MEL in the Chevy. I once installed a '53 Merc flathead in a '57 'Vette. That's how I got my badge of infamy...
I extracted the broken bolts out of the hood so that it can be reattached. Only had to sacrifice 8 nuts to the process!
I can certainly attest to being different. ive used a hemi in 2 cars, nailhead in 2 cars and an ls6 454 in another, so i get the different part. On the other hand its going to cost 70 billion dollars to get the MEL to make equal hp to a bb chevy. Not knocking your goal, like i said im into being differant. So following your build and good luck with it.
Ehhhhhhhhhh.......IF ya cam it big enough, and ya port it big enough, and use a big enough "cobb-erator" it should snatch the front wheels. After that........who cares, right?! 6sally6
I remember when street/strip was tried in the late 50s and 60s. I think the consensus was...do one or the other.
I couldn't disagree more! Over the last 50+ years almost every car I've built was a street/strip type car, and I think there's nothing better myself. Sure they can be either not quite as fast on the strip as dedicated strip cars, or a bit much on the street. But they are a lot more fun than either dedicated strip or dedicated street cars, and you'll end up using them more than either of the others. I don't find my street/strip cars to be the fastest car down the drag strip, but they're fun to run occasionally. And they're very streetable, and not so rowdy they can't get decent mileage, and drive down the freeway as good as any other cars. Not the fastest at the strip, but not the slowest either. And my latest build still gets 17-18 mpg cruising down the freeway at 70 mph, and is always great to drive, even on long 500+ mile road trips. I have more fun with my street/strip cars than most guys do with their dedicated cars.
No worries at all but to reiterate the intent: My T is too small for the whole family so something to take everyone to car shows and ice cream but also something fast enough to run at the summer Wednesday night drags at PIR and maybe the August Estranged Drag race up at Toutle, WA. This is not going to beat Finnegan's Blasphemi but I am hoping for 13s? Once the car is sorted and my kids leave home I can start working at making it faster but for not it is just to enjoy.
There is already a bored and stroked MEL package available that consistently dyno-whips BBCs, any dimension. 501 cu.in. I can post some sites. John kasse and Engine Masters. Look it up. If the 454 LS6 was ultimate, there woulda never been a Hellcat@ 4,000 lbs! Demons did wheelies.
Wow, Fordman! Glanced at your avatar and thought it was a Touring! What are you using for power? Worth it when you can street drive and run it at the digs, too.
I have a thread on the T, long story short is that my grandpa and I built it while I was in Jr and High School so he had the torque tube shortened by a farm implement shop and the length it ended with gave it the wheel base. Now the room in the truck bed for a 14ish gallon tank and room for spare parts is nice but the proportions are off. Until I can blow it all apart and start over, it will stay as is. Thus the 57 needs to get done before yet another project gets started!
Had I the chance to build something with my grandfather I would not consider any mods. That never had a chance to happen since he was long dead when I came along but............
Been a while but I have been at least getting organized. I have been working on my T to get it on the road, out of the garage and off my to do list. Secondly been working on getting my garage build underway so the 57 should be moveable and steering plus brakes would really help. Thirdly anything that can be put on the 57 means it doesnt have to be moved in a box or loose. Finally my grandpa's 100th birthday would be coming up this year if he was still with us so I will be putting undue pressure on myself to try to fire it for the first time in 7 months. In the meantime here are a few photos.
The Jalopy Journal
