Results: My Dart vs 1969 Chevy Chevelle "396"

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69dodgedart360

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sorry guys but no race....

I have been trying and trying to make sure everything went planned and my spring break was last week and that was originally when we planned to go down but he said he couldnt and that it would be better to just run it on the local 2 lane blacktop country road nearby but i refused and then that led to no race. Plus his engine still isnt even broken in, in the time since i posted this 1st message he has only put on maybe 100 miles. Who knows what would have happened i coulda won he coulda won or maybe one of us would have to have called a flat bed to take the car home. if anything changes you know you all would be the first to know...
 
Congrat's on sticking to your guns and not doing it on the street. You are the winner in the long run. If he was serious about wanting a piece of you, he would have found a way to get to the track.

Jack
 
Engine is'nt broken-in.........come on,the race will break it in...
 
Way back in the early '70's (when I was younger and stupider - well, younger anyway). I took on a new 396 Chevelle on Whittier Blvd. with my 340 Swinger. My Swinger had a 3.23 geared non-SureGrip at the time. All the guy in the Chevelle could do was roll up alongside of me at the next red light and say 'What have you got in that thing?' He was a bit embarrassed when he found out his big, bad Chevelle got hammered by a small block!
Like I said, back when I was younger and stupider - wouldn't street race today and do not condone it.
 
Still don't see why everybody thinks 396 Chevelles are fast. My best friend had potent 350 smallblock that I admit ran well, however when it finally broke I helped him put in a 396 with rectangle port heads. Needless to say, we were very excited about it and couldn't wait to get it out on the street. Wow, what a let down. I was disappointed, I didn't say much, but I could tell he was really disappointed. I could understand a 427 or 454 Chevelle being fast, but 396? I wouldn't sweat it. A 396 Chevelle is no more potent than a 383 RoadRunner, and a potent smallblock A body will toast it. No problem.
 
340srule said:
Engine is'nt broken-in.........come on,the race will break it in...
Click to expand...

x2

i had about a years worth of smack talking with a guy i went to school with. it took him picking a track day where i had to work and 'couldnt make it' for him to go. every other day i was free, he wasn't. so he went with some mutual friends of ours that all knew i was high tailin it there after work. walked him twice and went home. takes trickery sometimes :toothy7:
 
Sorry I cannot help myself but interject. Nowadays you can take almost any of the lighter bodied big or smal block V8s into the 10s with enough $$. But back in the day the under-rated solid lifter L78 396 375hp Chevelles, Novas, and Camaros were running with the big boys. It was not hard to get them into the low 12s and stock 340s didn't stand much of a chance. The lower hp hydraulic cammed 396s were much more common and fair game for good running 340s.

I hope to someday have enough time to put together a fast A Body. I miss my '73 340 Duster but it never got out of the 14s. I bet I can do better the second time. Anyone want to buy/trade for a '97 WS6 M6 TransAm?
 
I'm sure with enough work the 396 is a formidable running engine. However I've yet to be impressed by any stock or mild 396 in a Chevelle. Maybe in a Nova it would be quick. However from my first hand experience with one in a Chevelle, a good running small block Chevy would eat it's lunch. Even Chevy people look the other way regarding a 396 unless it's a numbers matching resto thing. If a 396 Chevelle is considered fast, then a 383 RoadRunner must be a beast.
 
ive got a complete L-78 396 standard bore engine from intake to pan,last time it ran was with a friend who wanted to upgrade to a 454, I had a shotblock 454 and the guy actually traded it for my shortblock, that 396 had tufrided crank,factory dot3/8 rods solid cam,original snoflake foundry intake, dont know cam specs but it ran 10.78 in a camaro,I took it apart to inspect it and it had the 840 heads,its apart now just sitting and waiting for the right buyer.
 
mopar1962 said:
ive got a complete L-78 396 standard bore engine from intake to pan,last time it ran was with a friend who wanted to upgrade to a 454, I had a shotblock 454 and the guy actually traded it for my shortblock, that 396 had tufrided crank,factory dot3/8 rods solid cam,original snoflake foundry intake, dont know cam specs but it ran 10.78 in a camaro,I took it apart to inspect it and it had the 840 heads,its apart now just sitting and waiting for the right buyer.
Click to expand...

So, again, obviously it wasn't stock.
 
I had a friend that had a 69 ss chevelle with the 325 horse 396, auto and probably mild gearing. I raced him with my 68 Form. S B'Cuda FB 340, auto 3:23 gear. Both cars were bone stock and mine had at least 150,000 miles on it (when I bought the car from the orig. owner it had 145k). I beat him but no more than a car length. I was dissapointed. I have to say this 340 ran better than any 340 I had ever been in, stock for stock. I beat other stock 340's quite often. It was either just incredibly loose or I got a motor that was put together well. Side note. It came with a factory dual point dist. I wonder if I got a stick shift motor? That motor finally started making noise at 189k. The miles I put on it were not easy ones either. That is why I love small block MOPARS!!!!
 
I outran a 69 396 4 spd. Chevelle with my 76 400 auto Power Wagon back in the mid 90s at Byron. Did it three times. Neither were fast.
 
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