Re: IML: Fatest Mopar

[SpicemanII@xxxxxxx]

Lowering the compression was because at the time we were all concerned how much lower the Octane rating would be in the future. I get about 200,000 miles easy from a vehicle. I was thinking way into the future. Now, with cam designs, and several other things to compensate for the fuel issue, it is not necessary to do this. Now, I have my engine compressions done around the 9.7 compression range. 
   I since have returned a 10.1 engine, a 413 to the LeBaron about 6 years ago. A tall gear in an Imperial is a way to get some sort of reasonable gas mileage as you have a lot of torque at midrange. An engine in a muscle car has a higher power and torque rpm curve and so it gets a lower gear, higher number, and it turns a higher rpm so it is in its range of power band better and cars of that time were driven hard from signal to signal. They were not meant to be driven 180 mph on the highway. The tires were not sufficient to operate at that speed for a long period of time due to lack of heat dissapation. Bias ply tires were two ply sidewalls and had a lower basic air pressure to allow for heat build up. There were other concerns like the one of General Motors. They had a company policy that no engines over 400 cubic inches in the intermediates like the Chevelle or Camaro, Firebird, etc. This due to the liability issue of the day. The Insurance companies would have had a field day with cars going 180 plus if they were advertised as such. Today, for some reason, it is not looked at the same way. There are probably many more points about the good and bad of tall and low gears for various reasons, I did not mean to stir up something, just added that all that had to be done back then to make a car faster was a gear, no horsepower need be added to make a car almost a 200 mph automobile, even as big as they were being made. Having the most fun from all my Mopars is where it's at, joe Machado