this guy on my street wants to race his classic car he just finished restoring. the engine is all original 396. do i have a chance? how fast were these things?

 

forgot to add i have a t5

 

Well it's not a 396 if it's original, it's a 402 which is a lower hp motor but it is still a big block in a light car, so I think he'll have the advantage.

 

The book says that motor only has 210 hp but it probably has alot of tq. Considering the fact that the car had been restored, theres a chance that the motor may have been rebuilt to put out some extra ponies at some point in time of its life.

 

If its in good running shape, it should beat you. My father had one in his 67 Camaro, and that was quite quick. Of course, he now has a 454 in his camaro. The low end torque of a big block is astonishing, even with a lumpy cam. His 454 would destroy my 350 powered trans am. But even if he only has 210 horsepower, he still has gobs more torque than that. Race him anyways. Hes dumb for wanting to race you, as he has nothing to gain by beating you, as he should win. If he does its no surprise, but if you beat him, he looks like a fool.

 

well he is my friend and we always help each other in our shade tree mechanic adventures so hes not trying to be a dick or anything. he just wanted to race and we are going to tonight. who ever loses has to change the other guys oil. lol great wager. are you sure there werent any factory 396 ss novas made in 72? he swears its a 396 and im positive its a bigblock becuase of the massive valve covers lol. they look 6 feet wide compared to my 305s.

 

The tags say it's a 396 just like the 71/72 chevelles but the motors are really 402's they just didn't make any 402 tags. Impalas that had 402's in 'em had 400 tags.

 

any websites were i can find info on these? like hp/tq numbers? is a 402 worse than a 396? whats the difference?

 

In 68 the 396's were bored to make them 402's but the 396 name was at full steam and they didnt want to lose customers. It is a big block 402 even though they called it a 396

 

Here's some #'s for you to chew on

1970:
402 4bbl Roch 350@5200 415@3400 10.25
402 4bbl Holley 375@5600 415@3600 11.0

1971:
402 4bbl Roch 300@4800 400@3200 8.5

1972:
402 4bbl Roch 240@4400 345@3200 8.5

The 402's werent bad engines at all the only thing is after 70 emission devices began to kill the hp/tq ratings on 'em as the performance era was coming to a end and we were thinking of saving the environment
But don't let the #'s on the 72 motor fool you, it's more like 300 hp but the ratings were net instead of gross so it'll look like less.

A 402 is nothing more than a .030 over 396.

 

so its the same thing as boring a 350 over .30 and still calling it a 350. i see. wow how did they drop 130 hp? i see lower compression maybe the big block got the peanut cam treatment too? still 240 hp and 350 tq is pretty impressive. i bet with headers and a good intake/carb it would push 300 hp and 400 tq

 

Now the inevitable question... is that gross Hp or Flywheel Hp? because there could be a difference of 80 Hp just because of that distinction. If they switched rating systems between 71 and 72 that might be the reason.

It is not hard to pull horsepower out of an engine... just look at the LG4. they put a cam in with a shameful .350 lift... now you drop in a .460 lift cam and bam! 40 Hp gain. That isn't any solid figure, but not unlikely.

 

Shoudn't this car have been a 350 when stock?? I know those run like mid 15's.

 

Some came with BBs like these guys mentioned above. Just like an SS Camaro 1st Gen came with either a 350 or 396, correct??

 

yah i'd say race him for fun......i wanna race a 2002 SS on my block and he said he will when his motor breaks in...lol...and this other guy in a nitrous s-10 that runs high 11's........its fun to see how fast those cars are............and hey last week i raced a 351 mach 1 mustang and hung with him....coulda MAYBE beat him if there wasnt a hill comeing up....



p.s. do u have any pics of his car.......cuz i would really like to see it cuz im sure it looks sweet!!

 

In 72 they went from gross hp ratings to net, so the drop in hp/tq isn't as bad as it seems. The 240hp is still probably around 290-300

 

Yes. The only engines available in 1972 for the Nova were:
250 I6 (L22), 307 V8 (L16), 350 V8 (L65), 350 V8 (L48). I dont know where the idea that the 402 was available in the '72 Nova came from.

Officially GM converted to SAE net ratings in 1973, but you will find that most of GM's ratings in 72 were net.

 

In any event, they made 240hp net in stock form and 330tq. So it's the equivalent of a stock L98.

 

He may have less HP but his torque will walk you off the line.

 

1) Chevy only offered a big block in the Nova in 1968,69 and 70.
2)70-72 396's are actually 402's
3)my 70 SS396 Nova runs 11.70's all day long (not stock)
If he can hook that thing up, you will be beaten,probably even if it's mild.Big block torque rules.Then again, if he hasn't got any traction aids (slapper bars,drag radials,VHT track-bite,etc) he will
probably just create clouds of rubber smoke while you drive on by.
My 2 Cents.
-Rich-