Just How Fast Are C2 Small Blocks?

[William F.]

Re: Just How Fast Are C2 Small Blocks?

Duke,
You're right about the times for V6 Hondas and Toyotas. Hard to believe but true and points well taken about street driveability and better economy of newer cars, but our old Corvettes still aren't slow. A well prepped L79 who's owner is a regular competitor in the pure stock drags turns in the 13's. Don't some of the big blocks get down into the 12's? And would you want to swap a classic Corvette which turns heads for a rice burner? Or even a new breed muscle car? Have both maybe but wouldn't swap out my C1 and C2's for one..

[William F.]

Re: Just How Fast Are C2 Small Blocks?

Good video and fast Buick. But there are some things you can change in "pure" stock and I think compression is one of them. So, the '71 in video could have the higher compression ratio than a stock '71. One reason I think the L79 could drag a '71 stage 1 GS.

[Jim D.]

Re: Just How Fast Are C2 Small Blocks?

Here's a Buick GS running 13.2's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a_NAEtmNK4

Exactly what the new Subaru STI will run off the showroom floor. With very minor mods it will run 11's.

[Duke W.]

Re: Just How Fast Are C2 Small Blocks?

Duke,
You're right about the times for V6 Hondas and Toyotas. Hard to believe but true and points well taken about street driveability and better economy of newer cars, but our old Corvettes still aren't slow. A well prepped L79 who's owner is a regular competitor in the pure stock drags turns in the 13's. Don't some of the big blocks get down into the 12's? And would you want to swap a classic Corvette which turns heads for a rice burner? Or even a new breed muscle car? Have both maybe but wouldn't swap out my C1 and C2's for one..

We drive vintage cars for reasons other than how fast they are compared to a modern mid-sized sedan. The latter certainly lacks the visceral character of any vintage car. They are faster than they feel while vintage cars aren't as fast as they feel, and most guys won't even rev their vintage Corvettes to within 500-1000 revs of the redline.

Also, any car can be set up for drag racing, and there were even "drag pack" options back in the day that included short axle ratios, cold air induction and maybe even more aggressive camshafts that put some mid 400-inch muscle cars into the mid 13s at over 100 MPH off the showroom floor, but the vast majority of muscle cars built and sold had wide ratio four-speeds or TH 400 autos with low 3-something axle ratios, and they ran somewhere in the mid-fourteens to mid-fifteens off the show room floor with trap speeds in low to mid nineties, and that was with magazine guys at the helm who weren't worried about long term longevity of the clutch and drivetrain. They drove them abusively to get the best possible numbers that most owners wouldn't have been able to duplicate because they didn't want to beat the hell out of their pride and joy.

I doubt if ten percent of TDB participants have ever run any car at a drag strip and probably never will, and maybe one percent have run a car on a road racing track, so it's mostly about bench racing.

And, hopefully, all of us are old enough an wise enough to never engage in street racing, even though some of us did in our misspent youth.

Duke

[Jim D.]

Re: Just How Fast Are C2 Small Blocks?

And, hopefully, all of us are old enough an wise enough to never engage in street racing, even though some of us did in our misspent youth.

Duke

Raced many times at the track and even more on the street back in the 70's. Like a lot of us here, I look back at the things I did in my younger years and I'm amazed that I'm still alive. Today, the streets are too dangerous just driving the speed limit.

[Terry M.]

Re: Just How Fast Are C2 Small Blocks?

Raced many times at the track and even more on the street back in the 70's. Like a lot of us here, I look back at the things I did in my younger years and I'm amazed that I'm still alive. [B]Today, the streets are too dangerous just driving the speed limit.[B/]

You can say that again. On the expressways around here you will get forced off the road if you are not 15-20 over the limit, and the left lane is for those 25+ over the limit.
A very good friend, who occasionally posts here has a theory: "Regardless how fast you are going, there is always someone who wants to go faster."

[Mike M.]

Re: Just How Fast Are C2 Small Blocks?

label me "someone" mike

[Dennis O.]

Re: Just How Fast Are C2 Small Blocks?

BACK IN THE DAY, I had a brand new '67 L79 with 3.70's. I never raced anybody the first year I owned it because it was "only a small block". A friend and I bought a '65 GTO with a blown engine the next year for $500. We found a rebuilt 421 out of a Grand Prix and put it in the GTO. After a couple of weeks of driving it around (it was a 4-speed), I started to think "this ain't so great". So we took the GTO and my L79 out to the 1/4 mile we had laid out on the county road north of town, and the Corvette beat that GTO. For the next two years that I owned that L79, I wasn't afraid to race anybody. I never raced any big block Corevettes or Mopar hemis, but I never got beat after that. The most amusing race I had back then was with some rich kid whose daddy bought him a new '66 Austin Healy 3000. Since we don't have many curvy mountain roads in Minnesota, he didn't fare well at all.

Note : back in those days, nobody seemed to know or care about rear end ratios. I had a friend who bought a new '66 L79 coupe and opted for the 3.08 gears. That car was an absolute pig; he got beat by 327/250 Impalas with powerglide.

All that aside, please let us know the results of this matchup!

[Terry M.]

Re: Just How Fast Are C2 Small Blocks?

label me "someone" mike

Then you would be the one in the little s#!+ box between Lexington and Louisville on 4-26-15 who just had to pass me when I was cruising at 90 (2K rpm) in the C6 Z06.
Ask John Studts sometime about the South Dakota Highway Patrol, me and a New York Honda 2000. Maybe it was you in the Honda, but I doubt you would lower yourself to drive such a POS. Even in my former police-car-daily-driver I get folks who want to go faster than 20 over the limit. I love to have a rabbit in front of me.
Life IS a highway.

[Bill M.]

Re: Just How Fast Are C2 Small Blocks?

Here's a Buick GS running 13.2's.

That '71 GS455 Buick's best pass on that day was 13.031 @ 105.46; beat the Trans Am in 2 of 3 races.

Donny Brass' best pass that day was 13.321 @ 103.40 in his '66 327/350 Corvette.

The event was the 2013 Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Race at Stanton MI. Fastest car that day was a '69 L88.

[Stuart F.]

Re: Just How Fast Are C2 Small Blocks?

That's all very impressive, however; I had my 57 Bel Air post turning 13.3's to 13.4's @ 105 to 106 MPH all day long back in 1961. That was with a 292CI (.060" over) running a CR 4 speed and a 4.56 posi. I used 2 sizes over Goodyear Double Eagles (legal) on the lowered back end, and weight transfer jacking up front. The class was B/S, meaning there was A/S, B/SS, A/SS and U/S over me to deal with for top stock eliminator (money prize). The hardest car to get around then was an A/S 57 Ford Flop Top with the supercharged 312CI engine. All the other 348CI and even the first 409CI's were in the higher classes, including the tri-power 406CI Fords. What killed them was no 4 Speeds (just 3 on the tree).

Not much has changed after all.

Stu Fox

[Gary R.]

Re: Just How Fast Are C2 Small Blocks?

When driving my 72 I let the imports,Mustangs, etc think they blew my doors off. In fact they probably can but I'm more concerned they're going to crash into me. I live in a smaller city but the traffic is crazy and many cars probably don't even have proper insurance or registration if they do hit me. One scam here is people register their car in PA, not sure but it has to offer some break. I work in the city and you would be amazed at the number of PA cars all over the place. I guess my point is I don't care how fast my SBC is I just drive it out of the city the fastest I can. My son's first 75 vette was hit by an idiot pizza kid who ran a stop sign to get his tip. The vette was totaled, my son was ok.

Now my son's 2nd 75 coupe has a stock bored 350 with a set of world sportsmans, and mini blower on it. That is decent, the last trip to the track it was in the low 11's. With power comes breakage and cost. The 11 seconds of fun isn't worth all the time, money, and parts to keep it in one piece. I have built (2) 4 speeds, (2) sets of arms, and (2) 10 bolt diff's for it. Then when all those were broken with 4000 rpm launches I built a complete 12 bolt IRS, moved to a built 5 speed, 1350 driveshaft, and 31 spline outer axles- still all for 11 seconds of "fun" I must be getting old!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkPUimPZwoc

[Joe C.]

Re: Just How Fast Are C2 Small Blocks?

A well built 327 will run the 1/4 mile in 12.8 @ 113.4 on stock bicycle tires with a granny shifting driver who can't get the tires to hook up. Start watching at about 2:00:

[Edmund C.]

Re: Just How Fast Are C2 Small Blocks?

Joe:

Neat video and the question has now been fully answered: "They are very quick."

[Joe L.]

Re: Just How Fast Are C2 Small Blocks?

A well built 327 will run the 1/4 mile in 12.8 @ 113.4 on stock bicycle tires with a granny shifting driver who can't get the tires to hook up. Start watching at about 2:00:

Joe-------


Yes, with a modified engine and, possibly, drivetrain a lot of improvement is possible. But, what I'm talking about is pure stock.