How fast will these things go, anyway?

[Big Port Jimmy 6]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

There's already a square body salt truck...210mph.http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=473510

151 mph in C/MP trim at the world finals in 2007
148 in C/PP trim
I'd be interested in seeing the 210 mph results
Jay

[foamypirate]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

My 81 c30 with 6.0, nv4500 and 4.10s will hit a 100 before you know it..when they had it on the dyno they had it showing 140..

I hear ya! I hit that 90mph number awfully quick with the LQ9! I finally got a license for HPTuners, so I'll be bumping the limiter up to just under my max driveshaft speed so I can see how she does.

[mr.chevyblack]

came across montana with the cruise set at 115mph. on the dyno rwmph was 137mph it would do it but a lifted suburban has no business doing that on the highway lol

[Domer]

I got 150 out of my 6-71 blown c10 on a straight highway before i got scared and shut it down. at about 135 the front end starting floating and 150 i shut her down. that was with a gps speedometer running on the dash.

[87 STEPPER]

About 15 years ago I had the '87 STEPPER goin' 130 down I95 just as she sit's now I could fire her up and take her out and hit that speed. BUT!
I don't think I'd do that today for 3 reasons the tires are at least 18 years old maybe older and there is too much traffic here now and I haven't even driven the truck in about 3 or 4 years but I do start her up once in awhile.

[Edahall]

My 1982 Suburban diesel with straight pipes would go faster than the 85 mph speedometer. Newer trucks would hit their 95 mph speed limiter and this turdmobile would slowly pull away.

[anubisani]

with my 88 GMC 3500 I have been 90mph but scared to go faster might break something 454 BBC F.I TH400 4:10

[Woodyboat]

A few years back, I was working with my 1987 Crew Cab SRW. Equipped with the 454/400TH, I had two of my employees with me. We were heading to a job and going down the interstate. Two young girls in a Saturn were jawing and texting and suddenly had to swerve in my lane to keep from rear-ending a semi that had slowed in front of them. But then the young girl that was driving flipped the finger at ME! We were all in a super good mood and so, it didn't make any of us mad. Rather, we started laughing and, of course, the girls took issue with that and started weaving at us and screaming profanities that we couldn't hear over the wind. It got funnier and funnier until finally, the driver decided to get in front of me and slow down so much that I had to pass or stop. Then it became a drag race to the next 18-wheeler where the girl slowed down again. She repeated this several times until my man that was riding shotgun said: "C'mon Dave, show the girl what this old Chevy will do." So, I just decided that I was going to really nail the gas at the next opportunity.

Well, I'm sure it doesn't take a genius to know which vehicle is faster, the Saturn or a Big Block Chevy truck. Yeah, I blew the girl's doors off at somewhere around 100 mph. Cheers all around.

But here's the kicker. My old Chevy did it with my 20 ft landscaping trailer behind with two ZTR riding mowers, a 54" walk-behind mower, all the string trimmers, back pack blowers and about twenty 40 lb bags of grass seed and starter fert in the bed. Oh yeah, that was a wild ride. LOL

[Woodyboat]

Oh yea, I just remembered this other incident too. I wasn't going fast or anything, but I did have something of a wild ride in that truck while towing the trailer.

My biggest mower was a Kubota diesel with a 72" wide cutting deck. It was the size of a small tractor. One night, my guys had gone on home and I went out to cut a customer's yard before I lost the light. When I finished, I loaded up the Kubota and was heading down a two-lane road in the dark. I was going slow and it was fortunate that I was not speeding at all. Some guy in a Camaro came flying around me and, no sooner did he pass me that he just absolutely SLAMMED on the brakes. Of course, I had to stand on my OWN brakes to keep from running up into his back seat. I was always glad I was running good trailer brakes but the sudden stop caused the Kubota to tear loose from the mounts. It slammed forward to the front of the trailer and when it hit, the shock load sent my entire rig into a jack knife with the old Chevy getting pushed sideways down the road. It all skidded to a stop right in the middle of the road and blocking both lanes. Amazingly, I didn't hit a thing. The only damage that was done was that the corner of the trailer put a big dent in the quarter panel of the truck's bed.

I climbed out of the seat into a huge cloud of tire smoke. I was scratching my head and wondering why in the world that Camaro would suddenly hit the brakes like that. Suddenly another car came up behind me. It was a cop. He said he saw me jack-knife the truck and wondered how in the world I could do that running straight down the road. I told him about the Camaro that passed me and then suddenly jammed on the brakes! The cop chuckled and said: "Oh man, I'm really sorry! That Camaro slammed on the brakes cause I was working RADAR right there. I would have gotten him if you hadn't blocked the road."

So, we had a good laugh, I wondered if I would ever get my drawers cleaned and I put my guys on fixing the quarter panel the next time it rained.

[Alex V.]

Good stories, Woodyboat!

That brings a memory back for me. Moving from MO to KY in September of '14, we had my '85 C3500 loaded with all the heavy stuff (totaling around 9,000 lb. over bare truck weight), with a friend in his '89 E150 towing my CJ5 chassis on a smaller trailer, and my BIL running blocker in my Cruze - all of us had CB's and he'd dodge around the two less agile vehicles to alter traffic flow when we needed it. Our average pace was 60-65, but somewhere in IL on I-64, after dark, I think we were making small talk on the radios and something said caused my BIL to whip the Cruze out from the back of the pack and overtake the van - however, as he accelerated past the van I got the notion to stomp on the ol' 454 and we had a nice run up to about 75 when I let him have the lead. Next time we stopped he explained he had backed out of it as he came alongside me, intending to merge back in front of me, but realized I was gaining and had to pour on the coals again to overtake me! The Cruze feels great at 100 and will get there without much effort, but the old big blocks pickups just have raw power on their side. There are similar stories of my BIL's dad with his '98 K2500 Suburban (Vortec 454/4L80E) hauling their 32' cargo trailer over I-44 west of St. Louis - setting the cruise at 75 and letting the 454 talk through dual Flows...

[Woodyboat]

Originally Posted by anubisani

with my 88 GMC 3500 I have been 90mph but scared to go faster might break something 454 BBC F.I TH400 4:10



Attachment 1532500

I have to tell you that, every time I revisit this thread, I have to stop and just study this photo. I LOVE this truck. It looks SO much like mine only a whole lot better! I'm using your photo for inspiration! I hope my truck will look this good.

Alex, I am very familiar with those highways you mentioned. I-44 west of STL is well known but I haven't been that direction for a very long time.

From Mt. Vernon Ill heading towards St. Louis, I always needed to be careful going through Fairview Heights Ill just before getting into East St. Louis. You top a hill there and the man is almost ALWAYS sitting right there running a speed trap. He's been doing that for DECADES.

When I was a lot younger, I was driving around in a 1969 VW Beetle. I don't know how much you know about those air-cooled cars but they had one intake port for two cylinders on each side of the engine. That little engine only put out about 50 hp. On the interstate, I had a simple cruise control - I would just mash the gas all the way to the floor and let my foot rest there. The car would eventually build up enough speed (around 80mph) that its momentum would carry up the hills where, if I was going slower, the hills would really have the car down on its knees. So one day, I was heading west into STL and approaching Fairview Heights. A new Corvette was going the same direction but it was going a lot slower than me and it was in the LEFT lane. The speed limit was 55 back then. Instead of waiting for the Corvette to move over to the slow lane and risk losing my momentum, I just passed the guy on the right. Just as I pulled even with him, we topped that big hill where the man always sat with the RADAR and sure enough, there he was. I was so panicked that I froze and didn't let off the gas. I blasted past that cop doing at least 80 in a 55! The cop came tearing out of the median and nailed the Corvette.

I've felt guilty about that for years!!

[anubisani]

Originally Posted by woodyboat

i have to tell you that, every time i revisit this thread, i have to stop and just study this photo. I love this truck. It looks so much like mine only a whole lot better! I'm using your photo for inspiration! I hope my truck will look this good.

Alex, i am very familiar with those highways you mentioned. I-44 west of stl is well known but i haven't been that direction for a very long time.

From mt. Vernon ill heading towards st. Louis, i always needed to be careful going through fairview heights ill just before getting into east st. Louis. You top a hill there and the man is almost always sitting right there running a speed trap. He's been doing that for decades.

When i was a lot younger, i was driving around in a 1969 vw beetle. I don't know how much you know about those air-cooled cars but they had one intake port for two cylinders on each side of the engine. That little engine only put out about 50 hp. On the interstate, i had a simple cruise control - i would just mash the gas all the way to the floor and let my foot rest there. The car would eventually build up enough speed (around 80mph) that its momentum would carry up the hills where, if i was going slower, the hills would really have the car down on its knees. So one day, i was heading west into stl and approaching fairview heights. A new corvette was going the same direction but it was going a lot slower than me and it was in the left lane. The speed limit was 55 back then. Instead of waiting for the corvette to move over to the slow lane and risk losing my momentum, i just passed the guy on the right. Just as i pulled even with him, we topped that big hill where the man always sat with the radar and sure enough, there he was. I was so panicked that i froze and didn't let off the gas. I blasted past that cop doing at least 80 in a 55! The cop came tearing out of the median and nailed the corvette.

I've felt guilty about that for years!!

thanks

[Woodyboat]

anubisani, THAT WAS YOU????

ROTFLOL!! I'm really sorry, man. I promise I won't let it happen again.

Oh wait! you're talking about your truck. My bad. I though you were the guy in the corvette.

[Alex V.]

Originally Posted by Woodyboat

I have to tell you that, every time I revisit this thread, I have to stop and just study this photo. I LOVE this truck. It looks SO much like mine only a whole lot better! I'm using your photo for inspiration! I hope my truck will look this good.

Alex, I am very familiar with those highways you mentioned. I-44 west of STL is well known but I haven't been that direction for a very long time.

From Mt. Vernon Ill heading towards St. Louis, I always needed to be careful going through Fairview Heights Ill just before getting into East St. Louis. You top a hill there and the man is almost ALWAYS sitting right there running a speed trap. He's been doing that for DECADES.

When I was a lot younger, I was driving around in a 1969 VW Beetle. I don't know how much you know about those air-cooled cars but they had one intake port for two cylinders on each side of the engine. That little engine only put out about 50 hp. On the interstate, I had a simple cruise control - I would just mash the gas all the way to the floor and let my foot rest there. The car would eventually build up enough speed (around 80mph) that its momentum would carry up the hills where, if I was going slower, the hills would really have the car down on its knees. So one day, I was heading west into STL and approaching Fairview Heights. A new Corvette was going the same direction but it was going a lot slower than me and it was in the LEFT lane. The speed limit was 55 back then. Instead of waiting for the Corvette to move over to the slow lane and risk losing my momentum, I just passed the guy on the right. Just as I pulled even with him, we topped that big hill where the man always sat with the RADAR and sure enough, there he was. I was so panicked that I froze and didn't let off the gas. I blasted past that cop doing at least 80 in a 55! The cop came tearing out of the median and nailed the Corvette.

I've felt guilty about that for years!!

Good show! I've been leery about Illinois law enforcement since before I was even behind the wheel driving through that state, so I really watch my manners inside those borders. Here in central KY you can pass a cop at 68 in a 55 with no problem 90% of the time, but in MO you can only have 5-7 over speed limit before you run the risk. I've been in a few old Beetles and have wrenched on a type 2 bus - I believe your description!

[Woodyboat]

One other problem with Illinois - and now I'm really wrecking this thread - is that my Tennessee gun carry permit is no good there. If I cross state line from KY into Ill, I need to stop, unload my handgun, lock the gun in a gun safe and place the gun safe IN THE TRUNK. That way, if I have my life threatened, I will be sure and die long before I can defend myself. LOL

So that brings back around to how fast my truck will go. Trust me, it goes a LOT faster in Illinois cuz without my gun, I'm not getting caught by any muggers. ROTFLOL

[Alex V.]

Originally Posted by Woodyboat

One other problem with Illinois - and now I'm really wrecking this thread - is that my Tennessee gun carry permit is no good there. If I cross state line from KY into Ill, I need to stop, unload my handgun, lock the gun in a gun safe and place the gun safe IN THE TRUNK. That way, if I have my life threatened, I will be sure and die long before I can defend myself. LOL

So that brings back around to how fast my truck will go. Trust me, it goes a LOT faster in Illinois cuz without my gun, I'm not getting caught by any muggers. ROTFLOL

Ditto!

[MikeB]

You guys are making me second guess my decision to build a mild 355 to work with a TH350 and 2.73 axle. And you may end up costing me a lot of money!

There may be a SCAT 383 stroker kit and 3.42 gears in my future!

Anyone need a very low mileage, balanced 350 assembly with .030" pistons? Or maybe the entire 355 with new Vortec heads and RamJet 350 roller cam?

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by Domer

I got 150 out of my 6-71 blown c10 on a straight highway before i got scared and shut it down. at about 135 the front end starting floating and 150 i shut her down. that was with a gps speedometer running on the dash.

Seriously? I mean, my 2016 Mustang GT will top out at 155 (not that I plan to do it), and it has virtually no aero drag, compared to a square body.

[Domer]

She could have gone faster.. but i got scared.. at the time i had 3.08 gears, and a very large cam. i was at the upper end of my power band, turning about 5500 rpm. I was about a 1" off the ground.

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by foamypirate

I'll be bumping the limiter up to just under my max driveshaft speed so I can see how she does.

Max driveshaft speed is something that I wouldn't have thought about. How did you determine it?

Recently had my truck's stock driveshaft straightened and balanced, but I have no idea how many RPM it's good for.