More on "gotta haves" you don't need......

In a previous post I talked about the original Shelby Cobra and several other swaps that were popular in the '70's and '80's when i was young. A longtime reader inquired about the safety aspect of such swaps and how they affected weight distribution and braking and handling. I answered him, but after thinking more about it, I thought it merited a full examination. This guy raised very valid points. If you've driven a pre '67 GTO or SS396 Chevelle ( with 9.5 inch drum brakes at all 4 corners ) you know what a hairy ride is!!  Or a late '60's Mopar with a 440 and drum brakes. They'll stop from 100 mph plus one time. Multiple times-they fade so bad that it's scary. Well the engine swaps I was talking about worked better than that. The 350 Chevy / 240 / 260 / 280Z swap is a great one. A small-block Chevy only weighs 20 pounds more than the Datsun 6 it replaces, so their is no effect on weight distribution. With their short wheelbase and independent suspension they are great drag racers. They get surprisingly good traction. You can smoke the tires if you want, but they squat and go!!  The one I built used a TH350; other guys have used Muncie and T10 4-speeds and T5 5-speeds. Even dropping the clutch at 3,500-4,000 rpm these guys never broke the rear end. A couple got kicked off their local tracks because they ran faster than 12.0 ( 11.50 on some tracks ) without a driveshaft safety loop or 8 point roll cage. As for braking the "Z" car had front disc brakes from the factory, and although the power level was almost doubled-the car weighed the same and the weight distribution was the same, so they stopped fine, even in back to back to back runs at the drags.  The same for the SPL 311. The all-aluminum 215 inch Buick V8 was actually lighter than the 4-banger it replaced, ( they only weigh 324 lbs ) and setting the engine back a couple inches actually improved handling. We had to shorten the driveshaft, but that was easily done by a driveline shop. And again-the SPL311 had front disc brakes stock, and worked just fine. The car only weighed 2,300 lbs, so the front disc / rear drum brakes were more than adequate regardless of power level; which was about 225 hp-about double what the 4-banger had. ( The 215 was rated at 185 hp stock; ours had headers and an Offenhauser intake and 600 cfm Holley carb ).  In no way was the chassis or brake system overloaded. My dad had a 4.33:1 geared '64 GTO with 9.5 inch drum brakes. I remember some hairy rides wondering if that sob was going to stop before we went off the road or hit something!!  A ladyfriend had a 289 Pinto that was really quick. I did break the rear axle on my V8 Vega; but a V8 Monza rear end solved that problem. And both the Vega and Pinto had front disc brakes.  Another guy I knew put a 289 Ford into a Fiat 124 Spyder back in the early '90's. That was a fun car!!  The 289 didn't weigh much more than the 4-banger it replaced, and the 124 had 4-wheel disc brakes from the factory. He showed his taillights to many a shocked "5.0" Mustang owner!  I do agree with my colleague that just stuffing a big engine in a little car is not always a good idea. A friend had a Cobra replica with a blown 454 Chevy. It was ungodly fast-it ran something like 9.90 in the 1/4. It also overheated if it idled more than two minutes, you had to crane your neck to the left to see around the blower, and about every 5th run it would spit a half-shaft out the Jag rear end and have to be towed home. Stuff like that I'd stay away from.  But getting back to engine swapping and hot rodding. Summitt Racing sells brand-new T10 4-speeds with different ratios. They list the torque ratings from 300 to 375 lbs ft of torque. I'm laughing out loud. Pontiac used the T10 behind the Super Duty 421. Motor Trend estimated that the engine had 465 hp and 505 lbs of torque-quite a bit more than it's 405 hp rating. The 1965 2+2 tri-power 421 was rated at 376 hp and 459 lbs of torque. People drag raced these cars and rarely broke the transmissions!! These trannys were also used behind 409 Chevys and 406 Fords which had 450+lbs ft of torque. And the new trannys have much harder gears and mainshafts ( because of modern metallurgy ) than the T10s of 1963!! So a 300-375 lb torque rating is laughable. Would I put one behind a 720 hp 572? Probably not. But I wouldn't have a problem using one in 400 or 455 Firebird or GTO or a 396 / 454 Chevelle, or 390 / 428 Mustang.  The T5 only has a 280 lb ft torque rating. Yet I know guys who swapped their 305 Chevys for stompin' 350s and 383s in their '80's Camaros and have no problems. I know "5.0" Mustang racers that run in the 10s and 11s with stock T5s!!  The Camaro guys who are making due with the T5s are also running these cars with the "weak" 7.5 inch rear end that '80's "F" and "G" bodies have!!  Again-I wouldn't swap in an LS6 454, without upgrading the rear axle, but these "weak sisters" seem to do fine behind hotted-up 350s!!  See what I'm saying?  I mentioned in a previous post that "experts" will tell you if your building a small-block Chevy that you "Gotta have" a 4-bolt main block, a forged crank, "pink" rods, forged pistons, and screw-in studs in the heads. If your building a NASCAR Nextel Cup engine that has to go 7,800 rpm for 500 miles at Daytona!!  If your building a street / strip machine or even a short-track racer-2 bolt main blocks and a cast crank and cast pistons are fine!!  I would only recommend forged pistons if you were going to run a blower or nitrous. And then my question is if you have that much money and need to go that fast, why aren't you building a 454 instead of a 350?  I applaud my reader for thinking about safety when attempting major modifications on a car; however sometimes I think the buff magazines influence people too much. I've said it before and I'll say it again-the magazines have to sell their advertiser's products to stay in business. Rest assured every single project car doesn't  "NEED" a custom Currie built 9 inch Ford rear and a Wildwood or Brembo 4-wheel disc brake system worthy of a Formula 1 car.  I have a friend who ran a '70's Camaro in Street Stock and Super Stock circle track classes for years. I have seen him run an 8 lap heat race,a 20 lap semi, and a 50 lap main event back to back to back on a 1/4 mile track, and the stock brake system never faded, even with the rotors glowing red. All we had to do was use Police-Spec Metallic Pads and Dot 5 fluid. Yet Hot Rod's "Project Disco" ( a '79 Z/28 ) HAD to have a Wildwood 4-wheel disc setup!!  For daily driving and a weekend trip to the drags??    Anyhow all I'm saying is any and all reader input is greatly appreciated even if you don't always agree with me. That's what an open forum is all about right?  So take "Gotta Haves" with a grain of salt and keep building your cars, and feel free to chime in anytime. Mastermind