I have a lot of guys in my neighborhood who drive the 96 Impala models, and they think they're fast when they race someone, I just wanna know if I take an old 302 and just install a mild cam & headers will that be enough to give me 300 HP or enough to beat those jokers off a stand still?
lots of Variables there... I would think a true 300 HP in a car as light as a Maverick would be right tough comp for a Chebby Impala... Lot bigger/heavier car and probably around the same STOCK HP ??? I guess it depends on what's been done to the Impala and what rear gears you are planning on using to put that 300 ponies to the ground. 300 HP and some 3:55 gears would certainly be quick off the line
My cousin has one of those impalas with a mod chip and exhaust and lambo doors...it runs mid-high 14's if it was RWD it would be a solid low 14 car. I think it takes less than 300HP(maybe 250^) to get a mav run 14's.
I would figure since a Maverick is probaly at least 1000 lbs lighter than an impala a good Maverick with around 200 Hp and a good gear should give the big impala a run for its money
Need to open those heads or swap them for something more free-flowing...should easily get 250 with heads (starting an argument here, but GT40s), headers, moderate cam. Then posi gears in 3.55 or 3.80 and you will have em beat everytime. REALLY fast off the line.
The 96 Imp is 275 HP LT1... They get roughly 240 HP to the ground IIRC. They are very heavy, but are geared decently and the LT1 is tough competition from a stand-still. I figure (conservatively) that they have about 1 hp per 15 lbs of weight. If you pass that threshold, and have decent gears, you should be fine. A big bumper car with you in it should be around 3200 lbs as a guess. So you need to get 230 HP to the ground in order to best him by a little. That is roughly 285 HP at the flywheel... assuming you have a C4. Now the gears... He has roughly a 9:1 first gear ratio... (working off the top of my head here) IIRC, the C4 has a 2.30 first gear... Correct me if I am mistaken... If you have 2.79 gears, then you have a 6.41 gear in first. If you have 3.00 gears, then you have a 6.90 in first. You're way under geared, even if you boost your power. 3.55 gives you 8.16 in first. Getting closer.
a fresh stock 302 bottom end with a set of 66 289 hp heads with valves changed to 1.84 in and 1.46 ex(they push the size limit with small chambers)a comp cams xe274h cam kit and a stealth intake.top it with a 650cfm holley with stock jetting.run about 36 deg total timing at 3000-3400 rpm.A set of headers and 2 1/4 in pipe pushing into a set of 3.89 gears got my stang ii into low 12s in the 1/4 at about 111-112mph and was still drivable without any problems.i couldn't get below a 2 in 60 foot but pulled hard after that.i think a ii is heaveir than a mav so an impala would have to work real good to run away.if it did run away they'd have earned it.this combo works well if milder is wanted just drop a size in cam xe268h or xe262h. the gt40 heads are ok for this set up as well if they are planned about 30-40 thou
I ran 289 heads on my 75 for a while, with 1.94/1.60 valves, no porting. It had about 10:1 compression with the small chambers and flat tops. The cam was a little stout for a hydraulic. Anyway, my point is that with a wide ratio toploader and 4.11 gears, I had an 11.42 first gear. Even with the under-headed 302, that thing was a monster in any gear. Traction was the biggest problem, but if it hooked, look out! Anyway, if you can get your gearing right, you don't need a bunch of high dollar parts to take on a yacht like the Imp.
You have to figure in torque as well. If a V-6 is producing 300hp, it is not producing as much torque as a 300-horsepower V-8. Getting power to the ground (hooking up) is obviously going to be another determining factor in whether or not you dust an Impala with your Maverick...
The 96 Imp used the same LT1 V8 as the Vette, Z28, and TA. They are monsters off the line. Much easier to deal with from a roll. Btw: They are RWD too...
Think back to the last Chevy RWD police cruisers... They were Caprices, but the Impala was the high line civilian version.
Speed costs money; how fast do you want to go? In other words, how much money do you want to spend. That's the deciding factor. You'll get the most bang for your buck by changing rear end gears. Do that first. And install a posi unit when you change the gears. After that (assuming the bottom end of the engine is sound), buy a good set of aftermarket aluminum heads and choose a cam, intake, carb, headers, and ignition to match what you want to car to do. You can't make good power without good heads, doing the other things (cam and headers) first is just a band-aid.
