I am building A 31 coupe for Street and Strip. I have acquired most of the parts for the engine build which consist of .80 oversized pistons, 1.70 intake valves, a Brierley cam, 6.5 head, dual strongberg 81’s, reds headers and a FSI centrifugal distributor. I plan on using a 39 synchromesh 3 speed tranny with lightened flywheel and V8 clutch. I am running 1936 Ford 16 inch wheels with 6:00x16 tires. This brings me to the rear end and what ratio will be best suited for both track and street. I plan on racing in the race of gentlemen which is on the sandy beach of Wildwood NJ. I am looking at a 325:1 which will give me good road speed but wonder if that is too high for drag racing on the sand at TROG. I notice most guys start in second gear in the sand but with the 39 synchromesh tranny with a 1st gear ratio of 2.82 and a second gear ratio of 1.607, it could make up for the higher rear end ratio by starting in first and speed shifting with the fully syncro trans. What are the thoughts of the Ford Barn Guru's that have a lot more experience at this that I do. Are there others I should look at? I would like a quick change unit but they are very expensive and hard to find.
Sounds like you want a car that will do everything well..........but still want to use nostalgic components. You have to be realistic that todays roads and the speeds at which people drive on them requires you to gear your car in a manner that can cope with current conditions. Your engine will be underpowered by todays standards and you need to make up as much as you can by providing more gears to help the engine make up for its power limitations. I'd think about adapting some type of 5 or even 6 speed manual transmision and just use a shifter that resembles an older transmission shifter. You will then have better results both in sand racing and driving on todays roads. Probably not what you want to hear, but better to consider it now that a couple thousand dollars later.
TROG is fun but building your car for 1/8 mile exhibition runs (note that I said "runs" not "racing", because TROG is not real racing) once a year is nuts to me. If you want to use all nostalgic components then you can't have your cake and eat it, too. You have to make concessions. Build the car for the street and for it's most predominant use. The car will look great in the pictures at TROG, and nobody knows how fast you're going in still pictures.
I would hope that you have the 3:78/1 stock gear and stay with it and your 6.00 x 16 tires...then 7.50 x 16 for the road my $.02
@57JoeFoMoPar makes a good point TROG is a once a year deal, here in the Northeast, there are about five or six other true vintage racing events so you can race a true vintage car half a dozen times a year. I know there are a few vintage oval clubs in Florida but how many real vintage drag racing event are there? If you want to race more than that you are going to have to make your car legal for bracket racing your local drag strip, which may require you to veer pretty far from the vintage look and feel you want.
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