NorCal breakfast Oct. 18th

[Clayboy]

Ron, I think a good start time would be 9:00 a.m. or so in Ione...hang out and yack for a bit and then eat and possibly a drive to Shenandoah Vally after. Sound good? If the group consensus is later, I'm O.K. with that too.
Bob

[decooney]

John,
See you at Peets then. That is great news about the gear swap. As you described your motor and car to me, you are going to be happier discovering the new benefits of the taller gearset with your motor in such a lightweight car. Not just 4th gear benefits, but wait to you see how much more usable 1st/2nd gear become, and the newly discovered "slingshot effect" as I call it, as you load that torquey motor on takeoff and coming out of 2nd into 3rd will be more fun too. And, not to mention, not having to shift immediately and so frequently like you had to do with the 3.73s now.

Did you decide on 3.25s, 3.31s, 3.42s, or 3.54s/3.55s, as I don't recall if it was a Ford or GM diff in there?

[jrjmac1]

Hi Duane,

I got a complete Ford 9" posi third member with a 3.00 gear ratio off of eBay for $204.00. Sean is going to check it out and install on Tuesday. What do you think of the 3.00 ratio?

John

[decooney]

Originally Posted by jrjmac1

Hi Duane,

I got a complete Ford 9" posi third member with a 3.00 gear ratio off of eBay for $204.00. Sean is going to check it out and install on Tuesday. What do you think of the 3.00 ratio?
John

My answer depends on a few things, and we can chat more about it on the next drive. But here is a first answer based on limited information. The wet weight of your car, the camshaft you have in it, and the ratio of your gears in your trans are also part of the equation in giving you a final answer of how it will behave. It all factors in to the final result. I've run 3.08s in my first Cobra with a Big Block (smaller than yours), and they were fun to drive in a Cobra, but can be a little questionable "at first" until you get use to it. We put 3.08s in Alans Red Arntz Cobra, and he has a wide ratio trans. It would be good to know if you have a close ratio (1-3/8) or (1-1/16th) wide ratio Toploader trans? Going from 3.7 to 3.0 is going to be a noticeable change and less noticeable on a wide ratio trans, but still very noticeable. Close ratio makes for a very long 1st gear, but many of us do it. You will notice that 1st gear is not quite as responsive as before with the 3.73s right off the line for the first split second you let out the clutch (minor) but once it starts rolling at all you will enter a whole new spectrum of time between gears through 4th, and you'll actually be able to drive your car on the freeway, longer trips, with less RPM, it will be less noisey on long trips (better on the ears), and not having to fill the tank up so quickly as before on those longer trips. Give yourself time to adjust to it and realize the new benefits.

[jperickson2001]

Originally Posted by jrjmac1

Hi Duane,

I got a complete Ford 9" posi third member with a 3.00 gear ratio off of eBay for $204.00. Sean is going to check it out and install on Tuesday. What do you think of the 3.00 ratio?

John

I run 3:08 and it is a blast. 1-4 is like a traditional 4 speed trans and the 5th is an overdrive just for long trips. There is nothing like lobbing in 5th and downshifting @ 80mph in 3rd to get your blood pumping -John

[Bxx1]

Originally Posted by Clayboy

Ron, I think a good start time would be 9:00 a.m. or so in Ione...hang out and yack for a bit and then eat and possibly a drive to Shenandoah Vally after. Sound good? If the group consensus is later, I'm O.K. with that too.
Bob

OK will seeya

Any Sacramento area folks want to caravan to Ione .... meet ya at Starbucks at 8am...and leave at 815am...