13 second truck?

[whatnow123]

Hi Everyone,

Just a question from those that may know, but how much HP does an engine need to make to push a shortbed into the 13's in the quarter? I've got the typical 3.73 rear, a 700R trans and a 30 over 350 short block.

I really want to be able to "touch" the 13's and I'd be happy so I'm wondering what kind of HP I'd be needing and if it's even possible with a 350 and the weight of the truck. The short block has flat top pistons and going with small chamber alumimum heads as well.

Thanks!

[glock35ipsc]

Here is my old 81 Chevy SWB. 350/TH350, 4.56 gears. Flat top pistons, solid Crower cam, 64cc heads with 2.02/1.60 valves, gasket-match porting, old tunnel ram (cant remember whose) and if I remember right they were Holley 390 cfm carbs, and a big converter. I always drove it to the track, swapped out tires for slicks, ran it, then drove it home. It would run low 13's to 12.90's, and I still have time slips! This was in the late 80's/early 90's. These pice were taken at Bandimere, and is just over 5000'.

I have no idea how much HP or torque it put on the ground, but it was enough. Best part was I had farm tags on it! People would always ask what I hauled with it. I just told them "@$$!"

[3/4tonterror]

Its not HP that gives you the good ET. Its weight, traction,torque, and other things.The BUICK GN would run mid 13s with less that 200hp.i was running a 70 3/4 with a built 402 from a 71 chevelle, over 400hp and ran 13.7, weight killed me.I later put that motor in my 70 camaro and ran 11.8 on street tires,with no changes to the motor.Thats 2sc difference because of weight. good luck.

[whatnow123]

Originally Posted by glock35ipsc

Here is my old 81 Chevy SWB. 350/TH350, 4.56 gears. Flat top pistons, solid Crower cam, 64cc heads with 2.02/1.60 valves, gasket-match porting, old tunnel ram (cant remember whose) and if I remember right they were Holley 390 cfm carbs, and a big converter. I always drove it to the track, swapped out tires for slicks, ran it, then drove it home. It would run low 13's to 12.90's, and I still have time slips! This was in the late 80's/early 90's. These pice were taken at Bandimere, and is just over 5000'.

I have no idea how much HP or torque it put on the ground, but it was enough. Best part was I had farm tags on it! People would always ask what I hauled with it. I just told them "@$$!"

Wow!! Small world! I used to race my Duster at Bandimere for the High School Drags that they had in the summer in the mid 80's! If you were running 12.9 at that elevation, that was one fast truck you had! I'm actually surprised that your engine ran that well with a tunnel ram at 5000 feet to boot.

Thanks for the info! I know that one of the limiting factors is going to be off the line traction, then weight but I happen to be okay with just knowing if it could hook up it would be in 13's, the time from 20 to 80mph is really what I'm after.

[KFreddy]

Simply go to google and type in "1/4 mile calculator" you should get a bunch of hits find one that you like then plug in your info. For the record what does a 1972 shortbed weigh and for that matter what is the weight on all of our trucks long or short. I bet it's not as much as we all might think. I'd say 4200 to 4500 lbs at most...

[SactoJim]

I've seen all kinds of weights posted by various sources. This was posted on here not too long ago and is a pretty substantial info listing.

About 3500 lbs for a short fleet and 3400 for a stepside.

[Evans]

Here's a good site with all kinds of calculators... http://www.slowgt.com/Calc.htm

plugging in 3500 lbs and 310 hp gets ya a 12.93

[Longhorn Man]

you guys are forgetting the aerodynamics of a barn door.
I don't know what the internals of my old friends truck, but I know he had a single holleycarb on a single plain med rise intake, 350 stock bore/stroke, a prettybug cam, TH400 with a 3800 stall and a 4.10 open rear, he got kicked off the track for breaking into the 12's. He would put one slick on the right rear, and the left would spin for about 5 feet outta the hole. His trap speed was only like 105 or so due to the aerodynamics.
The real cool part, this was his only vehicle... daily driver 70 miles or so a day. a 67 long/fleet.

[mnunn454]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

you guys are forgetting the aerodynamics of a barn door.
I don't know what the internals of my old friends truck, but I know he had a single holleycarb on a single plain med rise intake, 350 stock bore/stroke, a prettybug cam, TH400 with a 3800 stall and a 4.10 open rear, he got kicked off the track for breaking into the 12's. He would put one slick on the right rear, and the left would spin for about 5 feet outta the hole. His trap speed was only like 105 or so due to the aerodynamics.
The real cool part, this was his only vehicle... daily driver 70 miles or so a day. a 67 long/fleet.

70 mile Daily driver with a 4.10 gear, a 3800 stall and a big cam?
Would love to have that guy's fuel bill.....NOT!!!

Seriously, I think 3/4tonterror nailed it when he said "Its weight, traction,torque, and other things."

Some of my thoughts:

Aerodynamics certainly is a factor, but a lesser one at a 13.9 ET/110MPH if you're producing decent HP (say 350+).

Your 700-R4 tranny with it's 3.06 low gear plus the rear end's 3.73 gears will help. But you'll need sticky tires (I love my M/T ET Street Radials), some weight transfer onto them, and a stall converter. I'm assuming you have posi of some kind. If not, that's the 1st order of business.

Getting a high stall converter for the TH700 that retains the lockup function can be pricy. If the stall is too high, driveability will suffer.

The TH700 has a hefty leap to get to 2nd gear, so you'll need to plan your shifts accordingly to avoid falling below the cam's torque curve in 2nd. I'd examine my cam's performance profile and see if it's suited to such a leap. If not, you may want/need to change cams too.

Hope it helps.

[corkscrew]

So anybody know what a longbed fleet would typically weigh? Just wondering what kind of horse my tricked out 383 stroker would put out.

[bayer20]

I can tell you exactly how much your truck weights. I went to a landfill with my long bed and it weight in at 4100 lbs.

[bigjimzlll]

I went 14.7 with a very mild 355 in a LWB 67. This was 10-1, fueley heads and a carter 625 carb. Comp 268H cam, headers and 3.73s/th350.

I put a 100 shot of N20 on it and went 13.7. I assume the 355 was making around 285HP. So around 360-375HP should get you into the 13's. This is "real" HP, not DD2000 hp. Desktop dyno said the engine should of made 400HP

[71Dragtruck]

I'm with Jim on this one.

[cst70rocket]

I ran 12.60s with my '70 stepside with a built Olds 468 in it. I had a 2000 stall,3.73 posi and 275-60s on it. The Olds dynoed at 507hp@5200 and 567 lb.ft.@3000. This was my daily driver as well, and towed my race car to the track! It weighed 3860 with a half tank of fuel without my big butt in it. It would be over 4k with me in it.

[JHART]

You guys have me drooling .....

I'm tempted to see what my truck will do on the track now!

[bayer20]

Im in the middle of building a 383 with around 540-550 hp. My old 350 could have only had around 170hp, so it will be a nice hp bump. I cant wait!

[Voodooracer]

In our 69 SWB we bought a GM long long with 9.5 to 1 comp. and then for getting back to running mode sooner we bought the Edelbrock performer RPM package (heads, cam and intake ) and topped it off with a Demon 750. Had 3.73 gears with a 2500 stall and it ran 13. teens all day long in humid hot south Texas Summer. Never had it dynoed but she was fun.

[8696steve]

Thats a lot of hp for a 383. I hope you dont plan to drive it everyday (It would be fun) but the cost of tickets might be overwhelming.
My Short bed weighed 3900 lbs.
With a 700r4 and a 383 putting out around 445 ft lbs of torque my old camaro ran low 12's. That was with slicks 4.11 gear and a 2500 stall torque converter. You will need to get a torque converter similar to this one:
http://www.specriteconverters.com/pro_street_series.asp
good luck

[bigjimzlll]

Yea Rod at Spec-rite does nice work...