I have a 68 camaro with a mildly modified 454 cu in. Munci 4 speed. The car has a ford 9" rear end with a 3:89 gear. The rear tires are 25 1/4" tall. This gear is fun to play with but just a little to low for me to drive around or across town with. Anything over about 20-25 miles. What gear do your folks think would be a good gear to drive across town and still have plenty of get up and go?

Which Muncie do you have M20 21 or22?

I have the M-20 trans. Thanks

Depends on your trans. 2:20 first gear low with 3:89 rear gear would put you at 8.55 start line ratio .. That would work but better would be 9 or even 10 slr. But , you got a bbc and lots of torque. Sounds like you are fine where you are.. Have to juggle it back and forth to find the sweet spot.

You are sorta limited with the Muncie if thats what you are running but a 3:30 or 3:08 gear in back would allow some easy crusing.

I am kinda leaning towards as 3.50 or a 3.55 rear end gear. Do you think it will help some on highway driving and not reallly hurt my takeoffs. I don't drag race this car but do like to play from time to time around the streets.

http://richmondgear.com/101032.html you can find out the rpms at 60mph here.Going from a 3.89 to a 3.55 changes the rpms at 60 from 3106 to 2834.

Check out the gear calc., but my recommendation to you would be to really consider 3.55's. There not bad off the line and at 65mph your still only spinning @ 3100rpm, which is fairly moderate for that speed.

you might also think about a 3:73 setup, although it might be a bit low with your torque...

A 3.50 would be a good gear for driving around town. If you want to get out on the highway much then a 3.25 would be better. Most of the GT Mustangs and Fairlanes had the 3.25 gears, and most 4X4 trucks had the 3.50.

Remember this guy has more torque than most fords too. Running bbc

My bud has a 454/m20/3.31 Chevelle and its perfect w/that gear. Still launches hard even w/28" tires. Still reving on the highway though. He will NOT go any steeper than that.

http://image04.webshots.com/4/1/21/11/55412111WwzJMF_ph.jpg
If you're not set on the rear tires (25.25" is short), you could get 27 or 28" tall tires to lower the rpm's too.

Thanks for the help!!! I think I will try the 3:50 gear to start with and then when I need to replace tires, I may consider a taller tire to help out even more.

3.90's to 3.50's is going to be about 300 rpm drop, maybe 500 max.