Quote:
Originally Posted by barry12345
Any comments about the 2.47 rear end ratio? How does the power seem on initial acceleration etc. Downshifting required on medium upward grades? Are you happy as is? Car happy with this engine and rear end ratio in town and city driving as well?
Has anything occured to you that you might have done differently? Hindsight being a wonderful tool.
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No complaints about the gearing. It's very close to optimal. No shifting required on grades except certain 6% grades where I couldn't maintain speed. It's fine around town. Initial acceleration is good. I didn't build this as a speed demon, though.
I'm showing 2600 rpm at 70. (This took a little getting used to as my Corvette turns 1600 at the same speed)
I honestly can't think of anything I would have done differently except some really insignificant stuff that were really just my own mistakes. For example I ordered a on-off switch for my shutdown instead of a momentary and wired it into a switched circuit. So if I get careless and leave the shutdown switch in the "stop" position it won't start the next time - and if I forget to shut it down before pulling the key, I have to turn the key back on to shut it down. Easily fixed, just haven't gotten to it.
The only other thing I might do different is notch the subframe rather than use the spacers. And I also might mill the ribs on the stock 617 pan rather than use the earlier smooth one. But these are really just two paths to the same clearance end. My design criteria the first time around was to not mess with the subframe structure.
If you read through the build thread, there were dead-end paths I took that I would not do a second time - like my filled motor mounts and remoting the oil filter. Those were just steps to getting things sorted out. I truly believe that if someone were to collect all the parts and do some prep work, this swap could be done in a couple of weekends.