39 Ford with Y Block

[tubman]

Originally Posted by Henry Floored

Well you are comparing a Ford which had a curb weight of around 4100 pounds to a Chevy that weighed about 3600 pounds. Additionally the 3 deuce setup while cool looking actually come up short compared to a 4 barrel carb on a well designed intake manifold.

How did the transmissions compare?

Another thing that comes into play is rear end ratio. When I was in college, a friend of mine bought a new '66 Corvette with the 350 HP 327, a close ratio transmission and 3.08 rear end gears! (he wanted to get good mileage with his new car). Everybody in town that had "Daddy's car" (if it had a 4 bbl V8 and an automatic) would beat him in a drag race. Back in those days, we raced to about 70, then backed off. He never had a chance. A year later, I got my own new L79 Corvette, only mine had 3.70 gears (see? I do learn). There was absolutely no comparison between those two cars; his was "pig" and mine was a "killer". Back then, we had no idea what a difference the rear axle ratio could make.