1968 Road Runner '383' vs. 1968 Chevelle 'SS 396'

-
6

69 Cuda 440

Legandary Member
Legendary Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2012
Messages
4,244
Reaction score
437
Location
Wilton, Connecticut
New Style 1968 Street Musclecar Battle

1968 Plymouth Road Runner 383
vs.
1968 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396

An equal battle of Street-Style Musclecars.
 
69 Cuda 440 said:
New Style 1968 Street Musclecar Battle

1968 Plymouth Road Runner 383
vs.
1968 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396

An equal battle of Street-Style Musclecars.
Click to expand...



That's not how I remember it. At least from the passenger seat of the Road Run er killing the Chevy daily.
383/4spd vs the 396 auto.
 
Save my seat while I go get a box of popcorn.

Anyone else need anything from the concession stand?
 
There were four different engines for the Chevy back then. The'68 four speed car I had would pretty much take out any Plymouth or Dodge or 454 for that matter, until it redlined at about 100mph, then it was all over. The final straw for me came when an R/T car dusted me on the Eisenhower near Chicago. I bought a '70 RR, jerked the 383, dropped in a 440, and after that I just mostly looked behind me. The 383 went into a '69 Dart, but that's another story.
 
1968

Road Runner 'Coupe'
* 383/335 HP {H-Code}
* Shipping Weight #3424 lbs.
* NHRA > 10.22 Wt/HP = E/S or E/SA

Chevelle SS 396 'Hardtop'
* 393/325 HP {L-35}
* Shipping Weight #3510 lbs.
* NHRA > 10.80 Wt/Hp = F/S or F/SA

This could be fun for the 'Road Runner'
 
Race these two cars and see witch engine stay's together, 396 chebbies was blowing up all around me or spinning bearings back in the day :toothy1:
 
just beat my buddys 67 4 speed 396/325 Chevelle last summer. his was 30 over, headers, slightly bigger cam, aluminum intake, and BG 4 bbl. it has 4.11 gears. My RR had the hi mile stock 383hp bottom end, rebuilt pocket ported 915 heads, 474/220 lift cam, stock intake and AVS, stock exhaust manifolds and a 3.23 with a 4 speed. we raced between a 1/8 to just short of a 1/4 mile, we came of the line about then my RR slowly pulled about half a car length by the end. All the guys i spoke to from back then say the 383 RR would beat the 325hp 396, was a toss up on the 350hp and would usually lose to the 375hp 396.
 
What I want to see is a race between a Hemi RR & a '69 COPO Chevelle. THERE'S your story about which mid-size car is "best". The best motors that were availible in the most desirable mid-size car.
 
396/325 HP 'L-35'

The 'base' 396 Engine

* 325 HP @ 4800 RPM's
* 410 Ft/Lbs. of Torque @ 3200 RPM's

* 10.25-1 Compression ratio
* Dome Pistons +.201"
* Oval Port Cylinder Heads
* 2.07" Intake ~ 1.72" Exhaust
* Closed Chamber {109.0 CC Factory} ~ {96.4 CC Minimum}

* Camshaft #3874872
* .398"/.430" Lift
* 244*/286* Duration
* 192"/203* Duration @ .050"
* 38* Overlap
* 110.5 LSA

* Valve Springs
* #90 lbs. Valve-Closed
* #220 lbs. Valve-Open

* Cast Iron Intake
* Dual-Plane High-Rise

* Rochester 4-MV #7028217
* Spread-Bore
* 750 CFM

1968 Chevelle SS 396 ~ 396/325 HP 'L-35' ~ 4-Speed ~ 3.55 w/Posi-Traction

Performance ........... 15.10 @ 93.0 MPH

Somewhat disappointing for a Big Block Chevelle.
 
^^^ For a Chev Rat, that's a lawn mower engine.The only decent 396 is a 396/375 mill, o.o.t.b. Rats need headers, to even think about running hard.
 
The 1968 Chevelle SS 396 looked fast.

https://sp.yimg.com/ib/th?id=HN.608055541376417928&pid=15.1&P=0

But the 396/325 HP 'L-35' was nothing more than a general street performance
car that 'suffocated' at 5000 RPM's.

The nice feature, was that all SS 396 Chevelle's came thru with a 12-Bolt Rear,
and Gear Ratio's {3.07, 3.31, 3.55 and 3.73} were available.

Transmissions > 'Wide-Ratio' 4-Speed, 'Close-Ratio' 4-Speed and T-H 400 Automatic.
 
69 Cuda 440 said:
The 1968 Chevelle SS 396 looked fast.

But the 396/325 HP was nothing more than a general street performance
car that 'suffocated' at 5000 RPM's.

396/325 HP 'L-35'
396/350 HP 'L-34'
396/375 HP 'L-78'

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/...MPrMTyNG3YhPWwuGJBSwl0ThS3vUoBTRkWL4ELc0_Wmpw
Click to expand...

Yes, and then some.... The 396/325 was a station wagon mill, with dual exhausy & and a four barrel carb, The usual rebuild of higher compression forged pistons / gears / head work/ square port swap/ kept aftermarket , Chevy aftermarket parts dealers busy. [ just my take]......
 
1968 Chevelle 'SS 396'

396/325 HP 'L-35'

Performance Results

* Powerglide w/3.07 Gears ............... 15.56 @ 92.00 MPH
* T-H 400 w/3.31 Gears ................... 15.40 @ 92.25 MPH
* 4-Speed w/3.55 Gears ................... 15.10 @ 93.30 MPH
* 4-Speed w/4.10 Gears ................... 14.41 @ 97.35 MPH
 
Not a chevy guy, but after reading this the 396 mystique is a little tarnished. I thought all versions of the 396 were performance engines. Maybe more like a 348 chevy. or a 352/390 ford. Kinda like the universal "truck/station wagon" engine.
 
My brother owned a few SS 396 cars. From my personal experience, they were under achievers big time. Dogs from start to finish. He had one in a 68 Camaro with headers, aluminum intake, Holley, and a bigger cam with a "rock crusher" 4 speed. Wouldn't race my 70 duster stock 340 (even stock exhaust manifolds) and 3.55's. Just what I experienced and rode in....
 
my fathers first car was a 1969 chevelle ss396 lemans blue. he allways reminds me he had the 375 horse version now i know why lol
 
69 Cuda 440 said:
1968

Road Runner 'Coupe'
* 383/335 HP {H-Code}
* Shipping Weight #3424 lbs.
* NHRA > 10.22 Wt/HP = E/S or E/SA

Chevelle SS 396 'Hardtop'
* 393/325 HP {L-35}
* Shipping Weight #3510 lbs.
* NHRA > 10.80 Wt/Hp = F/S or F/SA

This could be fun for the 'Road Runner'
Click to expand...

Now compare the REAL performer: the solid-lifter, steel-crank 375HP L78!
 
69 Cuda 440 said:
396/325 HP 'L-35'

The 'base' 396 Engine

* 325 HP @ 4800 RPM's
* 410 Ft/Lbs. of Torque @ 3200 RPM's

* 10.25-1 Compression ratio
* Dome Pistons +.201"
* Oval Port Cylinder Heads
* 2.07" Intake ~ 1.72" Exhaust
* Closed Chamber {109.0 CC Factory} ~ {96.4 CC Minimum}

* Camshaft #3874872
* .398"/.430" Lift
* 244*/286* Duration
* 192"/203* Duration @ .050"
* 38* Overlap
* 110.5 LSA

* Valve Springs
* #90 lbs. Valve-Closed
* #220 lbs. Valve-Open

* Cast Iron Intake
* Dual-Plane High-Rise

* Rochester 4-MV #7028217
* Spread-Bore
* 750 CFM

1968 Chevelle SS 396 ~ 396/325 HP 'L-35' ~ 4-Speed ~ 3.55 w/Posi-Traction

Performance ........... 15.10 @ 93.0 MPH

Somewhat disappointing for a Big Block Chevelle.
Click to expand...

That's because it's the station wagon motor!
 
Accurate Performance

1968 Chevelle 'SS 396' ~ 396/325 HP 'L-35'
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Powerglide ~ 3.31 Gears {Open Rear}............................. 15.56 @ 92.00 MPH

* T-H 400 ~ 3.07 Gears {Posi-Traction} ............................ 15.40 @ 92.25 MPH

* 4-Speed {Wide-Ratio} ~ 3.55 Gears {Posi-Traction} ........ 15.10 @ 93.30 MPH

* T-H 400 ~ 3.73 Gears {Posi-Traction} ............................ 15.08 @ 93.50 MPH

* 4-Speed {Close-Ratio} ~ 4.10 Gears {Posi-Traction} ....... 14.41 @ 97.35 MPH

The 396/325 HP 'L-35' was nicknamed 'Quiet and Mild'.
 
Jarlaxle said:
That's because it's the station wagon motor!
Click to expand...

So? I had a '68 Fury with a 383. BONE STOCK with automatic and 3.23's it ran 15.19 in that huge 4 door. I weighed it and it weighed about 4200 even with 1/4 tank of gas and no spare or jack. And stock means stock exhaust, intake, etc., etc. I'm sure if it had been in a Road Runner I'd had plowed well into the 14's with ease.
 
1968 Chevelle 'SS 396'

Production Numbers

* 396/325 HP 'L-35' ............ 45,553
* 396/350 HP 'L-34' ............ 12,481
* 396/375 HP 'L-78' ...............4,751

* Total .............................. 62,785
 
He's trying to compare apples to apples here.

In order to get a comparable match to an optional chevy engine, you'd have to start adding perf parts to the Mopar.

Plus, looking at the production numbers, that's the mill you'd most likely run into on the street....by far.
 
If you think mopar put small cams in the 383-440, take a peek at that monster in the 325hp 396. LMAO

The 396-350hp was more of a comparable match for the 383, not the 325.
 
YY1 said:
He's trying to compare apples to apples here.

In order to get a comparable match to an optional chevy engine, you'd have to start adding perf parts to the Mopar.

Plus, looking at the production numbers, that's the mill you'd most likely run into on the street....by far.
Click to expand...

Which is kinda why I mentioned the Hemi/-COPO camparison. Both were "special order" , race oriented engines, that came in street-legal, bare bones body styles & were the best each manufacturer could offer
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top