NO BULL; how fast was a B-body 383 HP car compared to a GTO or a Chevelle SS 396 car?

[super-bee_ski]

So;
The question is:
How "Quick" was a 68-71 Superbee OR Roadrunner "383 Car" compared to a comparable Chevelle SS 396 (325HP-350HP) car or say a 68-70 400CI GTO?
I know what the "books" say, but does anyone have Real World experience?
Set up like perhaps a day 2 or day 3 car is Okay.
Competitive Rear end, perhaps a 3:54 or?

 

[eldubb440]

probably depended more on the driver than anything....... not sure what the disagreement is?

 

[WesleyK]

I agree, driver would play a bigger role. But I'll argue with any Ford or Chevy guy till the day I die, Mopars are faster!

 

[monaco66coupe]

Being a young guy back then, I can say it was 90% driver skill.I knew a kid with a rich dad that would get beat every week,so he would buy the type of car that beat him. He still got beat every weekend. Now I also knew an older fellow with a 69 roadrunner that I never saw lose a race, no matter what car he raced against. But he knew how to push that car, and he did it from the minute he bought it, until he went to Vietnam. Great driver, no fear,pushed the runner to the limits all the time. Guys were afraid of him on the street. Unfortunately he never returned from Vietnam.

 

[SublimeSixpack]

As far as being "quick" driver skill was important but so was the rear gear ratio, and maybe more so the proper state of tune.
Back in the day I know of a stock 383 Road Runner with auto. trans., 3.23 gears that beat a stock 375 horse 396 Chevelle three times in a row street racing.

 

[69a100]

I always heard that the Mopar guys would slap on a 750CFM carb and a set of headers and clean house.

 

[Fran Blacker]

So;
The question is:
How "Quick" was a 68-71 Superbee OR Roadrunner "383 Car" compared to a comparable Chevelle SS 396 (325HP-350HP) car or say a 68-70 400CI GTO?
I know what the "books" say, but does anyone have Real World experience?
Set up like perhaps a day 2 or day 3 car is Okay.
Competitive Rear end, perhaps a 3:54 or?


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Jesus what is there to disagree about a question like this? Or was it a fat finger?

 

[ws23jrt]

As far as being "quick" driver skill was important but so was the rear gear ratio, and maybe more so the proper state of tune.
Back in the day I know of a stock 383 Road Runner with auto. trans., 3.23 gears that beat a stock 375 horse 396 Chevelle three times in a row street racing.

I did exactly that with my 69 383 4sp super bee-3.23 gears. A 396 Chevelle was several cars lengths behind me.
Two stock cars beat mine in those street racing in our small town days. One was a 390 Rambler Machine. The other was a 427 4sp Galaxie.

 

[oldbee]

Not really pertaining to OP, But a stock ‘68 383 Bee & a stock ‘68 R/T Hemi, both auto&3.23 went at it one night. 0-60mph got me by a car length; 20-100mph got me by 2 cars. 2weeks later he wanted to go again(headers & different gear) I passed. Kinda different equation if ur talking 396/375.

 

[dadeo]

Ok, from my days racing the streets in motown (Telegraph) & while my 383 Roadrunner was stock, never lost to 325hp or 350 hp Chevelle, never lost to a GTO but never raced a ramair 4. Raced a 375 hp Nova SS and beat him but he just couldn't hook up, he was coming. One Z28 gave me a run for the money, was even. Olds W30 cleaned my clock as did a 455 stage 1 Buick.

 

[RT K_line]

I only have experience against them. 396 and 427 Camaros and impalas 351 mach 1s 389 6 pack GTO. and 70 superbee like the one in the pic only burnt orange with a 383. walked away from all of them in 1st or 2nd but only the superbee came back around me on top of 3rd. I had a sleeper 66 4 door coronet with a transplanted 400 260 comp cam dual plane with a 780 and headers.

 

[ws23jrt]

My 68 hemi RR auto 3.23 gear never felt as snappy as my 4sp bee did. What it did do many times -out on the freeways- is run away from most that wanted to play above 80mph.

 

[YY1]

Skinny tires and "high" final drives were kind of a curse from the factory for Mopars.

IIRC the gto axles started at 3.5 and got optioned lower.

LOTS of fomoco products came with 7" wide wheels.

I had no trouble hanging with and beating 390/396/400 gm and ford products in my "day three" 70 Super Bee (383/727/3.55 with 10" tires) in the very early 90's

 

[oldbee]

My 68 hemi RR auto 3.23 gear never felt as snappy as my 4sp bee did. What it did do many times -out on the freeways- is run away from most that wanted to play above 80mph.

Yup that extra cfm from 2nd carb will always do it!

 

[ws23jrt]

Yup that extra cfm from 2nd carb will always do it!

It would kinda hesitate like pulsing. I suspected the fuel pump was barely able to keep up the supply at WOT.

 

[oldbee]

It would kinda hesitate like pulsing. I suspected the fuel pump was barely able to keep up the supply at WOT.

Nope that was the slug of good gas coming in!!!

 

[steve from staten island]

Well my stock GTO beat two 383 Road Runners with no problems and i lost to a Dart with a 340 six pack. That Dodge was really fast. My 65 Corvette had a worked 327 and i won races against a Superbird and a big block Mach Mustang. The GTO was consistent and the Corvette was temperamental.

 

[steve from staten island]

When i was around 16/17 i was pumping gas and on the midnight shift there was this black guy who was older and a VN vet. He was a mechanic at a local Ford dealership and he had a 67 B body i dont recall what model car it was other then a Plymouth. It had a worked 440 that shook the ground when it was running. Two big Holleys are all i remember. Im kind of sure he street raced for money and in the early A.M. hours back then 45 years ago the streets at that time were deserted. Since the gas station was very slow at that time of night he worked on his car and his buddies hung around with there cars. He was a really cool guy and nice to me and taught me a few things.

 

[Tempest 455]

Totally depends on the options. So I don't get flamed, I'm going to use the 325-350HP 396 as example. Would be probably pretty close race with a base 400 GTO in similar equipped and geared car. However, with a Ram Air GTO with 3.90 or 4.33 gears, the base 396 would not stand a chance. The 375 HP 396 although closer, probably would lose. The late 60's 400 Ram Air motors were highly underrated.

The '68-69 RR was a mid to high 14 sec car. Many test were low 15's back in the day stock. Was a cheap quick car and fast as most middle of the road muscle cars for a lot less. I have a 50,000 mile '69 RR, mostly original and completely original drive train. I love it and it's a blast to drive but it's not a screamer by any means. A good running 340 would smoke it.

I've always wished Mopar would have made engine packages with options. An "Air Grabber" 383 car with more cam and gears as a "package" would have been an appreciable difference with the short stroke 383.

 

[dual fours]

If these cars were quick from the factory we would not have modified them to make them quicker. "QUICK" not FAST. On the street, from the green light, the race could have been over seconds after the light turned green, because someone backed down already or you run till someone pussed out (or had more sense). My limit was... the next red light, but my longest run in the city was over 1/2 mile (2,883') running against another Charger. Me having short legs, I had to come out in first gear quick and hard, scary as 5hit.

1970 Dodge Charger se, 383 magnum, DC electronic ignition, Winters automatic trans. built for quick, 2 carter 500cfm. competition Afb 4 bbl., L60-15 rear tires, 3.91 gears, yes and yellow traction bars on SS springs, Gabriel adj. shocks up front, the 40/60 50/50 60/40 type. This was the late '70's, anytime after dark. Things on the street are very much different now. On the long runs 1/2 mile and more as I say, "My legs were to short.", so I stayed off the interstates. So in my teenage/no money life, "Quick" got er done. "ON GREEN, GO". Oh yes...a lot falls on the drivers.

If you want to read some fun stuff about my Charger here you go.
http://www.1970chargerregistry.com/mboard/index.php?topic=3546.0