Last night a discussion gathered steam around how high the early 394 cl*** of engines were being twisted up. This centered around Ross and Mondello built motors. My position was that my 401 Ross motor was comfortable at 6K plus. Any input??? Yeah, I know early 1960s cammed motors were not happy at anything in the 6K neighborhood, bottom end struggles. But, lots of education has evolved. Help needed to educate the 'know it alls' The 85yr old Vet Thanks You, Tom
In my exp., Olds had a light bottom end. original parts should be kept under 5 grand. If you use aftermarket parts and upgrade the valve train, that limit is gone. Your Ross engine had the newer tech in it so that limit was raised. I'm not quite your age. As a young man, I was told that big blocks won't rev. Better ***embly tech and obviously better parts has changed the limits. With valve train upgrades, I have turned many engines past 6 grand. I had more failures from valve train than bottom end.
With dad's 64 Olds 394, the top rpm limit was when the valves started to float. The car didn't have a tachometer, so I have no idea what rpm it was turning, it sure sounded like it was screaming though. I can tell you the motor out lived the transmission while I was driving it. I replaced the transmission and quit driving the car about 6 months later, when the rear tires became bald (a dispute with dad as to who was going to buy the needed tires). Then the replacement transmission (and bald tires) out lived the brakes for the guy dad gave the car to (about 2 months after I quit driving it). When the brakes failed, the car rear ended the roll back truck. The guy winched the car onto the roll back and it became part of history.
Good Morning, Yeah, all great points, Thank You! I had a 371 punched to 394 in the late 50s, early 60s, with Jahns, internal balance, 6x2 home made log, Giovanni cam, 37 big case Buick box with Olds internals, etc. etc. that ran better with a 'big' 4bbl, all in a 53' '88' hardtop. Think Chev body. I did manage to get that big tank into the high 12s on big 15" recap slicks and an early set of 4:10 gears on a welded spool, BUT I spent one hell of a lot of time pulling that engine and doing bottom end work on it when I was young and full of p__s and vinegar. When that tach hit 6K in the traps, that lower end had a fit, no matter what we did. A good builder from the Phila area built the engine for me, and he finally just said put a higher rear in it and stop twisting it up. It was stored in my in-laws barn and only a few bones remained when I returned home from the Service in 66'. My point is that the argument/discussions will resume this Saturday at the local cruise night, so I need some ammo to fight the 'on line' experts, I usually just make a quiet comment and walk away. He would have me believe he is the free worlds' Cad LaSale ****** expert. I would like to sit with a brew and watch him meet the inner snap ring on the main shaft for the first time, that would clear the waters a bit. This early Olds stuff has really fallen out of favor, too bad, lots of outstanding memories in my piles of 'heavy stuff'. I still short shift most of my cars, seems like my itch is scratched somewhere north of 5K, give or take. AND it is hard to slam shift a T5 like a BW, again think broken, which means work and therefore not a day at the beach. You caught that did you, T5, not an Olds/Cad ****** of some sort, most are under the bench. I still manage to power shift my 4 BW spd now and then. Ha, I did miss 4th recently and good thing it was behind a sbc, just fowled the exhaust valves a bit, no big deal for a street car that is only exercised a time or two per month and will never see a Christmas Tree. Know-it-all blowhards really piss me off. Enough BS for now, friends coming to pick the old man up for breakfast, so time to get a move on. All the Best for this Summer, Best Regards, Tom
" I would like to sit with a brew and watch him meet the inner snap ring on the main shaft for the first time, that would clear the waters a bit."--good line there
@foxdbl you really think it’s fallen from favor? I see more Chevys in stuff than anything g else but I would say I see nearly as many offs as I do flatheads, definitely way more than Y blocks. maybe I just notice them because I like them so I look for them. But I can think of quite a lot of guys running them ands fair amount are new builds.
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