To 3.42 or not to 3.42 (rearend ratio)

[Guest]

Ive been tossing this ball around for some time in my head and the rattling is giving me such a headache.Should i retire my snail of a 2.56 open differential and go for the 3.42 that is found in many rivis of the same era as my own Electra.Key factors i ponder are increased gas consumption?,too high of an engine rev at highway speeds?,no more acceleration after 80mph? Are these valid concerns or is this ratio not enought to cause that kind of reaction.

[Guest]

I'll tell you, that is one heck of a jump. I have 2.56 to one in my wifes Skylark and 3.36 in my Gran Sport, there is a VERY noticeable difference from one car to the other. If you want real good drivability don't go more than 3.00 or so. The Buick has TONS of torque remember. <P>------------------<BR>buickfam@aol.com<BR>Life long Buick Fan.<BR>1965 Skylark H/T<BR>1965 Gran Sport Convertible<BR>1948 Chevy Pickup with 401 Buick.<BR>"Fan of most anything that moves human beings"

[Guest]

We have 3.42 gears in our 66 Wildcat GS and it does keep going after 80. We have been clocked at well above 130 mph with this gear and 235 x 75 15 tires. We are looking to go with even lower gears 3.90 - 4.10,if we can find the parts, we do race this car. However it is used alot as my company car and gets a fair amount of highway travel. It does not rev bad at highway speeds. We get about 14 -16 mpg@ 65. We are running the original dual quads that came with the car. Any faster than 65 and milage will suffer but it is fun . <BR>With the twin 750's we can get it all the way down to 2-3 mpg if we try. But if you want to add a lot of performance to your Electra than go with the 3.42 gears and posi. we had our 66 4door Electra with a 401 running a 14.9 @ 89 in the 1/4. the Wildcat runs 14.0 @101 in the 1/4.<BR>If you need help locating the parts let me know. John

[Guest]

i have 73 rivi with the open 2.93 rear. have yet to locate a posi unit for it. am looking at overdrive, so i would like to see a 3.42 posi if one is out there....<P>any ideas?<BR><P>------------------<BR>allan<BR>--------------<BR>50 special, 455/th400<BR>64 stude gt hawk, 289/auto<BR>76 poncho GP, 400/th400

[Guest]

go for the 342 posi if possible. You'll be glad with the performance and a qjet or edelbrock can be tuned to better help gas mileage if that is a concern. Something else is change your first gear set uo in your tranny to the 3.00 setup. this will give you the performance and accelaration of the mid 3's in 1st and 2nd and will keep your taller gear for the gas mileage end.<P>------------------<BR>Wildcats.Cars of comfort and speed.<BR>Looking for 70 wildcat parts.Russ

[palbuick]

I had a 3.07 in my 70 Wildcat, ran like a deer, off the line and top end over the Century mark. Best milage I got was 21 MPG<BR>highway easy driving.<BR>This lower gear will keep you from burning the tires off, but still leave a few of the pony cars sitting there.<P>Jim Schilf / palbuick

[Guest]

I have the 3.42 original rear in my '63 Wildcat 2dr coupe. The car has great lowend pick up and is capable of cruising well over 100mph. GO FOR IT!<P>Dennis

[Guest]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by kitn0:<BR><B>i have 73 rivi with the open 2.93 rear. have yet to locate a posi unit for it. am looking at overdrive, so i would like to see a 3.42 posi if one is out there....<P>any ideas?<P><BR></B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I have a 3.23 posi set from my 73 stage one Rivthat I would consider trading for some other parts which I need. I found a 71 GS riv for a donor car that had 3.42 posi and put the whole rear under the 73. I also am thinking of the O/D route and would really like to find a set of rears with a deeper gear than the 3.42 like 3.64 or 3.91. Any suggestions would be appreciated. If interested in the posi set up let me know. I need an aluminum oilpan and would like to locate a B4B intake also looking for set of roller rockers. Thanks ED<BR>

[Guest]

If ineed id do decide to do the 3.42 which is highly probable,what about the speedometer accuracy? does it have to be reconfigured? And since i will need my tranny rebuilt soon,should i just ask the shop to make part of the install to upgrade to 3.00 first gear?

[Guest]

Yes

[Guest]

Since youre doing tranny rebuild anyway I'd go with 3.00 first gear and maybe even check into the variable pitch setup.<P>------------------<BR>Wildcats.Cars of comfort and speed.<BR>Looking for 70 wildcat parts.Russ

[Guest]

What critical info do i need to give Auburn Gear,Richmond Gear,Etc when ordering my new booty booster besides the usuall(10 bolt gm b.o.p ) there was some other details they require but i cannot remember right this minute.If anyone out there knows,let me know and ill convert it to memory later.