[pal]

i am a new guy here and could use some advice or opinions. i have a 68 c10 pickup and i am putting the drive train togather now. 3.73 or 4.10 rear, m-20 muncie, 406sb. need help on engine. i am looking for all pucker facter not gas milage. will not be daily driver, just go out and torture the tires now and then. this 400 has the old trw 24cc dish pistons that will make about 9.4-9.5:1 with 64cc heads. now i am bent on running a solid lifter cam. should i live and work with this CR, or bump the CR up to say around 10.5:1? if i do bump it can i getaway with the stock rods and some new pistons? or should i plan on changing the rods as well? i dont understand all this stuff about the factory rods being to short and junk. engine will not exceed 6000 rpm. i will be using the old school stuff like camel back heads, holley 750x2. i am building this on a buy here and there and trade type budget. any ideas on this?
thanks, pal

 

[poncho62]

My advise.......................If you want to go fast, you don't start with a "BRICK" of a truck. Horsepower is one thing.....but light weight is free performance............Something to think about.

 

[pal]

no doubt its a brick, but its the brick i have wanted for years. its coming along nicely. this is a frame off job that i am very happy with and i am usually very critical of my work. i wont be out to impress anyone with this 400Sb. just want the grin and pucker factor to kick in when i poke it. pal

 

[FordMan1951]

Sounds like you want to do a little tire smokin'. The rear of a pickup is light and it should be easy to light em up. Plus there are a lot of Drag trucks out there and with proper suspention you can still get a grip when needed. Have fun with it and start a Journal. I love to review other's Project Journals and get ideas on how to do things when I do get started on a Rod again.

As to the CR question, with todays fuel you might need octane boost with high CR. But given you will not be doing a LOT of grocery getting with it, then what is a few bucks extra for fuel. Plus a HIGH compression motor sounds so much meaner, I'd go 10.5+ if I could afford the Fuel.

 

[wyomingoutlaw]

why would you say it's a 'brick'? I don't believe a c10 is particularly heavy, and besides how your weight is distributed (and I don't know what it is on a c10) is far more important than your total weight. there were some posts on this about a year ago, along with a formula to figure what the best weight to wheel ratio is. also two 750's are going to be too much for them camel hump heads (I'm running two 600 edelbrocks on my 427, makes unbelievable power, and two 600 double pumps on my 455 that has had alot of work done to the heads, haven't tried this combo out yet, though). camel hump heads were good heads for their time, but they are old out dated technology now. I would go down in carb size and get better heads. I wouldn't mess with your cr; 9.5:1 is plenty high for pump gas. and I like the solid lifter idea; I run solids in both my street rods. I just love the way they sound, and it might just be my imagination, but I swear you get better throttle response with solids. well, those are my opinions on your set up. good luck. let us know what you decide and how well it performs.

 

[pal]

thanks, thats the way i am thinking. there are several ways to get the 10.5:1 i need. just want to here from some folks on how to do it right without supporting all the big name aftermarket guys. pal

 

[pal]

sorry about that 750x2. went to say 750 double pumper. i may look at some different heads as time and money permit. driving such small distances with this adding fuel additives will be worth it if 10.5: is going to give me some more seat of the pants power. i would think it should, because it will allow me to be more aggressive with cam. later i might want to mess with some dual carbs. always liked the look of those old cross rams.