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4.56 and 4.30 factory gears

3K views 13 replies 13 participants last post by  dyno jonn 
#1 ·
Any special value those factory gear sets ?
 
#14 ·
You'd love 5.57's, 5.86's or 6.17's then. Had all three in my small engined drag cars.

4.56's used to be common street fare for stoplight to stoplight cruising when the drive-in scene was in full swing.
 
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#4 ·
One special memory value of a 4.56 geared street car. I was 17 it was 1974 in the LA Beach area and worked at Jack in the Box on a busy street. Saved up and bought a 55 Chevy 2 dr post car sky blue is was a friend of someone from the Box. He built it for his wife as he told me a grocery getter. Nothing directly was said about the 4.56 posi under this car but the more i learned i loved. I thrashed that car and none of the fun would have been the same without the gears. Not a day would go buy someone would comment on the car as they came through the drive through.
4 times some ss 396 chevelle wanting to race me in the worst way lost to the chevy. I would tell them i bet $20 when i hit second gear I would turn back and look at them. They all laughed and did not really drill me about my gears and I would be clever and ask something about does it ride nice on the hwy and get comformention about hwy gears. (Ha Ha a burn out contest against a drag race i would think)

This was near LAX and some pretty open streets were around. I had the perfect spot already planned and would get the $20 leave it with the other gal at the counter with mine and off we would go on my morning brake. Every time i would bang second and look back at them in a cloud of smoke in almost the same place and I was goooon!! 2 quick turns back in the perfect parking spot by the back door and drive through visible, and grab my money. Minimum wage was $1.60 and that was a $375 car. So $20 bucks was a nice payday.
So Pete is right great for 1/8 mile drags.
 
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#6 ·
I raced a built 302 with a M21 (2.20:1 1st gear) in a 71 Vega with 4.56:1 gears. It was a wheel stander. Then went to a DNE 5 speed with a 3.26:1 first gear and found that I couldn't shift before I pegged a 10K tachometer. Had to change the gears to a 4.11:1 and then to a 3.73:1 to get a better ET in the 1/4 mile.
Don't know what transmission you have, but you will need an overdrive to enjoy a 4.56:1 gear on the street.
 
#9 ·
Have had 4.10s in my car mostly for years. I put 4.88’s in it for a little while but it was too much. For a couple years i had a 64 Chevelle saturday night special with 5:38’s but only used that if the camaro wasnt enough. I wish i had that chevelle back.
 
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#13 ·
Never heard of 4;30 in a Chevrolet or 3,90 but Pontiac had a 4;30 gear set and I believe 3;90 also. way back I owned a 67 ssCamaro coupe that I bought as a rolling chassis, the engine was blown good 4 speed and 4;10 gears.I built a stout 355 for it with domed pistons and 186 fuely heads it was an LT 1 plus with a Hot General Kinetics cam. it was a beast for the day. Long and short I blew the rear end. The only thing available for miles around was a 67 / 68 firebird rear that I bought for a C note drum to drum and everything was good. I believe I had to change the rear u joint . it popped right in the guy in the bone yard told me it was a 4;33 posi when I bought it. that one did not blow up. It was great for the stop light acceleration tests with other cars but tough on the highway at anymore than 55 / 60 mph . Alex
 
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