The Dodge Challenger Message Board

Hi what is a good over all gear to run in a 73 challenger with a 340? It has 411 in there now should i keep them in or change it out? And is there any one that rebuilds speedo,techs, clocks Thanks

awesome123 wrote:And is there any one that rebuilds speedo,techs, clocks Thanks

http://www.autoinstruments.com/
http://www.redlinegaugeworks.com/

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Roland Michelsons
rmichel@sprint.ca

AutoInstruments Corp.
20 Walnut Street
Martinsville, VA 24112

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www.instrument-specialties.com

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...and so on. //Chris

A 4.10:1 rear gear (if that is what you have) is ideal for most street/strip cars in the quarter mile.

I wouldn't use a 3.23. So you want a 3.54:1 or a 3.91:1 if you find the rears you have are too low for you. For example if you want to lower the rpm you cruise at or gain more top speed.

It depends what you want. One gear cannot do everything you want.

If you have money (i.e. $2,500 USD) you could do what I did. Fit a Gear Vendors overdive unit. That way you can have your cake - and eat it.

Hey, If you got a good strong 340, and you don't have the money for Dave's O.D. unit, 3.23:1 has performed awesome for me! Good Luck, Pat

awesome123 wrote:Hi what is a good over all gear to run in a 73 challenger with a 340? It has 411 in there now should i keep them in or change it out?

...........PERFORMANCE......ECONOMY.....NOICE LEVEL.....USEAGE
2.76.....BAD.....................BEST.............BEST..................STREET
3.23.....FAIR....................GOOD............GOOD................STREET
3.55.....GOOD..................FAIR..............FAIR..................STREET/STRIP
3.91.....VERY GOOD..........BAD..............BAD...................STREET/STRIP
4.10.....BEST...................BAD...............BAD...................STREET/STRIP

christer wrote:

awesome123 wrote:Hi what is a good over all gear to run in a 73 challenger with a 340? It has 411 in there now should i keep them in or change it out?

...........PERFORMANCE......ECONOMY.....NOICE LEVEL.....USEAGE
2.76.....BAD.....................BEST.............BEST..................STREET
3.23.....FAIR....................GOOD............GOOD................STREET
3.55.....GOOD..................FAIR..............FAIR..................STREET/STRIP
3.91.....VERY GOOD..........BAD..............BAD...................STREET/STRIP
4.10.....BEST...................BAD...............BAD...................STREET/STRIP

I would not even dream of writing "street" next to a 4.10.
That's what I had in the Hardtop Challenger when I bought it, and I could not cruise above 90-100 km/h (close to 4k RPM if I remember correctly).

Now, on the other hand, I have a 3.23 and Jamie Passon's overdrive gearset, and I have yet to go over 4k in 4th gear (haven't found a racetrack long enough yet, above speed limits on the road, and I have yet to fit the real brakes).

A friend of mine has a 340 'cuda with 3.55 gears. It's a very good car for small racetracks, but it's a bit tiring on the road. I would consider 3.55 the maximum acceptable gears on a street car.

Awesome, if you want to race your car (and the track is close enough), keep the 4.10.
If you intend to drive that thing on the street, get lower gears.

Go to the Spring Fling, it should be soon, and ask around.
You'll most probably end up picking a 3.23 or 3.55 rear.
It I was calling the shots, I'd say 3.23 with a standard trans, and 3.55 with an OD trans.

Well I have 4.30 rear gears and the overdive makes that more like 3.30 when it is on.

But even with the overdrive I cruise at 4000rpm (about 87mph) and I have no problem with that.

I also used to use a 3.91 and drove hundreds of miles with it. I don't see the problem.

I love to hear the engine "on song" and when at the "sweet spot" at peak torque the engine just sounds and feels really happy. It makes me happy too.

Maybe it is because I am used to performance cars. I just love to hear the engine doing its thing.

I still say, if you got a nice, strong 340, 3.23:1 is good to go. Unless your doing a lot of street racing. With that, you got performance, you got accelleration, you get a little bit economy. If your 340 is Hot enough, you might get a few Pink Slip's as well. If running 9's or 10's in the quarter mile is your goal. Build it up, and keep the 411's. I have a buddy that has a "68" GTO with 355's, and proud of his goat. Hate's me though, at least when we go down the strip. He's too cheep and too proud to race for Pink Slip's though. I don't have any room for a Pontiac in my garadge anyway. Bragging right's are good enough for me. Enjoy and build that small block. If they're done right, with my experience, they're wound too tight for those big block's to even compete. When your turning, Big Block's are either cleaning the ditch out or filling it up. I'm sure Dave's gagging right now but, he know's what I'm talking about . Enjoy, Pat

Like I said. It depends what he wants, how many miles he does etc etc.

You will not go much faster than high 15s on the strip with a stock 340 and 3.23 gears.

But if he never goes on a strip or race at the stop lights than it does not matter. Just watch those 5.0 Mustangs drive past and admire the tail lights.

I have a 4.10 and a 3.23 pumpkin for an 8-3/4 rear end. My friends still razz me about the long trips we used to take (uncomfortably) doing 55 mph with the 4.10's. I run the 3.23's most of the time now and tach about 3000 rpm's at 65 mph. With my mild cam I would like to run the 4.10's and an O.D. unit though.

It only takes a couple of hours to swap the pumpkin so having a spare would seem to be the ticket if on a budget.

fbernard wrote:I would not even dream of writing "street" next to a 4.10. That's what I had in the Hardtop Challenger when I bought it, and I could not cruise above 90-100 km/h (close to 4k RPM if I remember correctly).

I fully understand you but I don´t agree with you. If you ordered a Dana 60, you could get 4.10 cogs direct from the factory, couldn´t you? That fact makes me feel that the "street"-label is OK. Anything above 4.10 is strip-use only though.

fbernard wrote:A friend of mine has a 340 'cuda with 3.55 gears. It's a very good car for small racetracks, but it's a bit tiring on the road. I would consider 3.55 the maximum acceptable gears on a street car.

What is acceptable is much a thing of personal preference. Nowaday we are used with 5-speeds and 6-speeds and due to that it is harder to accept the high revvs. Back in those days they didn´t know what they were missing.

dave-r wrote:You will not go much faster than high 15s on the strip with a stock 340 and 3.23 gears.

Low to middle 15:s I would say. A 340 dart GTS with 3.23 could make it in 14.68. I don´t think that the extra weight of a Challenger would decrese the e.t with much more than 0.5 sec.

Yeah but those magzine ETs never seemed to be possible in the real world. The cars were seldom exactly stock and driven by experienced racers. Normal Joe with a car bought from a dealership could never quite find that sort of speed.

O.K. Dave. We don't have to get hasty with that Mustang talk. Still like my 3.23's though. Half the fun is getting there, and I get there fast enough. 4.11's in my car might give me whiplash or something. Maybe Mustang's up here in the North West are slower or something 'cause, they don't want any part of me. Be Good, Pat

I'm with Dave. Spend the money and get yourself a Gear Vendors OD. I absolutely love mine, 2500rpm @ 70mph.
I can't get a second gear chirp w/o blowing thru the tires in first getting it up to speed no matter how fast or slow I'm going.

Food for thought Pat

sounds like all bases are covered here but.....

Have you considered what size tire and wheel you'll be running if you increase the overall diameter of the tire then you have a whole range of gear choices...

Good point!

I've run 4.30's on the street with either 28" (with the 340 in it) and 30" (with the Hemi) tall tires. This makes a big difference rpm wise. Don't ask how much of a difference but in my mind it's not a big deal to run it on the street. Just don't expect to run 100mph for a long time, but when running around 65mph there's nothing wrong with it.

Going from a 26.5-inch street tyre to a 28-inch slick drops the rpm by 145rpm at 50mph and 290rpm at 100mph. Both figures are in drive on a three speed Torqueflite.

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