Hi Guy's.,
Wanting to build a SUPER TUFF sbc . Thinking 406ci ??? with Injection ??? . " 55 Chev Gasser " I want to be able to drive anywhere with 100% reliability and drivability . Happy to spend the money to achieve it within reason. I know there are some very knowledgeable GURU'S on the site some excited for some genuine feedback.

 

Boost

 

Boost is the only way to hit the checklist.

Antique car is not a daily driver. Only on TV, not in real life.

 

I'm at about 600 NA and I have zero issues with streetability I drive it to work at 5am when it nice out, tool around the city, whatever. As long as I keep my foot out of the skinny pedal it's perfectly tame. But I've also got plenty of creature comforts - radio with Sirius XM, power windows and locks, remote start, heat and AC... It's almost like a modern vehicle. I could daily it if the need arose but $100 a week in gas is kinda a tough pill to down.
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Easy to do. 406-420 cubes, afr 220 comp heads. Get with someone who knows how to spec valvetrain. Big hyd roller will have no issue getting 600 hp. Could even do mild solid roller but lashing valves will be necessary . Eddy single plane efi. Its a proven combo and will be streetable

could even do bigger 227-235 ish cc head and a smaller cam in a 420-421 sbc. That be a hot combo

 

I can drive the Firebird to work in summer too. Doesn't mean it's a daily. And definitely not 100% dependable.

It is 1000 times more effort to keep my Firebird on the road and in tip top condition than it is my F-150. All the F-150 needs is oil changes and fuel, and then it drives in any weather.

 

​​​​​​​Don't feed the trolls

 

I'm sure there's some sort of gasser forum on the web somewhere.

I hate to say this but to achieve your goals, you would be much better off dropping an LS engine into it and adding some boost although "boost" isn't allowed in the gasser classes.

 

I have a 427 SBC. AFR 220 comp heads. HSR intake. 32lb injectors. Large Comp Cam. Long tubes into a 3" dual exhaust. Vigilante 3400 convertor. Running off the stock ECM tuned by myself. If I drive "normal" I pull 14-15MPG city driving. I also have a cheap Autozone stock replacement radiator with the plastic sides that keeps the engine cool enough. Which still surprises me to this day.

 

4xx, solid roller .750 lift, 245 afrs 11.5-1 comp. Still untuned after 14yrs together. Stock ecm, 22mph highway. Stock radiator, temps set to 160. Car has 250k miles

 

****! I didn't get the memo! I drive my "antiquer" every day...it's sitting in the parking lot right now! What am I doing wrong?? It's not 600 hp tho....

 

That C4 is a "modern" car for all practical purposes.
Not a 55 Chevy gasser.

Don't encourage dumb ideas.

 

If the OP wants a hobby car then that's great, call it a hobby car and enjoy it as much as possible. Don't be silly though that it's going to meet everything on that checklist. A concept like that is a a toy.

 

I agree....hence the "600 hp" comment that I made. I thought that made it obvious enough.

 

There are 4000 HP drag and drive cars but they are not cheap and even though they could be driven daily, the maintenance costs would exceed most peoples paychecks.

When people say they want a 500+ HP street car (no power adders), I ask if they've ever driven a 500 HP street car? Most people are more than happy enough with 350-400 HP which can be a lot more streetable. Considering the majority of normal factory production vehicles especially in that era never exceeded 250 HP, that's a big jump. A typical production first gen SBC was only around 170 HP.

 

Have you lost your mind?

"The maintenance costs would exceed most paychecks" ---> by definition means it is NOT a daily driver. I don't care how much money you have, The engines have a shorter life than a Mayfly

 

Would have been more convincing if it wasn't a photo on the car lift.

 

I actually had a ~600 Hp C4 about 25 years ago (1994 Admiral blue). Supercharger makes it fast without changing the nature of the car's good drivability. It was still as much a daily driver as a Corvette can be.

The roads were not salted where I lived back in those days. Now any car I want to keep really nice must stay home all winter - no matter how drivable it is.

 

That is what makes it not-a-daily-driver. Not the antiquity of it or the hp, as much.

I've had "that car"...the car that I had to keep really nice. It was no fun, I didn't DD it, I sold it and have never missed it....but that is a personal thing, just like determining whats a DD and what isn't.


I love AlkyIroc's perspective on power in 3rd gens. They don't need a ton to be awesome feeling. Feeling.

 

Yep, that's the truth, definitely limits what you can do with the car if you want it to stay real nice.

 

I dont understand the issue. If he wants to drive it daily, then its a daily driver. Why does it have to be a 2023 corolla to be considered a daily driver

 

These '1-post dreamer' threads always seem to go sideways. Makes me wonder if the OP is actually an alternate account of a forum regular.

 

Yeah it always SUCKS when people who should know better, feed the trolls. They should just be ignored.