I'm over 50 and have owned a 71 442 convertible for 30 years. When I bought it, my everyday car was a 1980 Cutlass Supreme 4 dr with a 260 ci v8. Being a typical kid, I'd 'burn rubber' from time to time in the Cutlass...nothing too impressive, and maybe only on a wet road (I don't remember). But I never could with the 442. No big deal to me (wife says I drive like a senior citizen)...and fast forward 30 years I've still got the 442 and it's still slow. Engine has never been out of the car...compression is fine. All along I figured it's been a carb issue (non original carb)....but could it just be that a heavy car, low factory compression, high gears (maybe 2.73 ?) is the reason the car can't spin a rear tire ? Or is something not right ?

 

More likely than not, the gear will have an impact on that. Going from a 2.73 to a 3.23 on my neighbor's Caprice with a 305, it could smoke the tires no problem and not fall on it's face when you let off the brake after the gear change.

 

Maybe you cant do a burn out or win a drag race...but if your going to lets say Indy to Louisville..the ones with the stock TH400 and the short legged gears wont be able to keep up.
I like my cruising 2.73 rear more than the 3.90 rear sitting in my shop...but if I get that urge I can switch out the whole rear assembly in less than an hour.

 

I vote for something ain't right. Back in the late 80s I drove a bone stock '71 SX convertible with 2.56 rear gears that was running on 7 cylinders and that thing would light up the right rear tire, even while rolling at 20+ MPH. Yours should absolutely smoke the tires from a dead stop, assuming said tires are not racing slicks or similar wide, sticky tires.

 

Do you a have a posi (anti-spin) rear end? If not it doesn’t take much to light up a one-wheel peeler and I’d say something is wrong even with that high a gear. If you do have a posi rear, I doubt you can light ‘em up with 2.73s. Bring that car to Colorado Springs where I live and I bet you can’t get 0-60 in under 10 seconds.

 

Check the tune, that car should be able to blow a set of tires off the rear end. If it’s a peg legger it should literally be able to shred a tire right off the rim after a few tries. These examples require trans remaining in manually selected low gear if auto trans or if manual you should be able to keep it going through 2nd gear. IIRC SAE net torque was 370 ft/lbs, That is way more than capable of melting some hides even with high rear end ratios.

 

What's your ignition timing? Are you getting 34ish degrees at 2500 RPM?

 

Yes, something dose not add up. 260 at something like 105 hpr and 195lbs or torque plus or minus can spin tires on a 3400-3500 lbs car.

But a 455 with 270 hpr/ 370 lbs of torque based on the same calculations (commonly referred to net.) on a 3800-4000 lb car cannot??

 

My stock '70 Cutlass Supreme 350-4bbl, TH350, with 2.56 posi would light up both rear tires and get sideways. This was with 255-60-15 rear tires, so a 455 with a whole lot more torque should shred the tires.

 

You say the compression is good, what is the compression? Is the timing chain worn out, retarding cam timing? You say non-stock carb, is it tuned for that engine? A carb from a late 70s 305 may bolt in place, but no way will the calibration be even close. Secondary air door opening? Is the timing correct? Advance weights free to move?

i had a 67 Olds 425 in a 78 Grand Prix, the engine was tired. And when I say tired, it was plain worn out. It has a oil filler that was held in place by 2 spring flaps ( not one of the later style screw on types) after every WOT blast, the oil cap would be blown off and laying on the intake. I have no idea what gears were in the rearend, I could run the entire 1/8 in first gear. It was slooow until about 30-35, then really start to pull. It was slow, but the most consistent car I have ever owned. As long as you cut a decent light, you could count on a 9:30 timeslip. It would’ve ready for 2nd gear just before the end of the 1/8 mile. On the street, you could leave the trans in drive, floor it, and it would go thru all 3 gears with the right rear tire smoldering by the time you crossed a intersection.

I paid 75 bucks for that car ( no engine or trans) I probably should have talked them down! I built the 350 trans with used clutches/steels, and drove it for 2 years. It shattered a piston (really smoked then!!) I finally junked the car when I broke the rearend. I sold the 425 about 6 months later

anyway, your car should be able to do a decent burnout.

 

Ya a 2 series rear sux,
Its all in the tune...fuel and spark. And verifying that's a wear item isnt worn out.
I made a 73 Century (circa 1981-2) run like a raped ape back in the day with simple attention too super tunning.
The owner could not believe how well it ran after a day of me FF-ing under the hood. I only used my senses, new ignition items, a vacuum gauge, and a carb kit. No timing light only my ear.
It blew the tires off the car and that's an early wheezing single exhaust low comp 350 smogger with a limited-slip 2 series rear.
Its all in the details.

 

Something is not right... What size tires and rims on rear ?

You have a superior car to mine across the board, my car with a open 2.78 has peeled out from a dead punch on dry asphalt since day one for me. It was a mid 16 second 1/4 mile car when i got it. Fine tuning etc has reduced ET by 1 second while gaining 4 mph. So a slight peel out has become ferocious tire scream, even from a slow roll. Forget about making a slight turn then punching it, like exciting a parking spot on the street. It will not stop ripping tire till i let up.

My car is overweight, over sized wheels since day one for me. Current rear tires are 235 60 15s on a 15 x 8 rim. Each of the rear wheels are approximately 11 lbs heavier than factory stock. Plus I have 4 wheel disc conversion, so drag and extra weight at every wheel. My unsprung additional weight is horrendous.

One of the biggest improvements in my cars performance came from adjusting the re-manufactured Rochester quadrajet replacement.

Additionally a by the book tune up should get the kinks out... I am running factory spec AC delco plugs with factory timing. Approx 20,000 miles have been put on car since I bought it, still has the same set of points that came on car.

 

My car will spin the tires only a bit with the 2.78 gears and 1700 stall converter. With a 2300 stall, for a 1/4 block. The carb could be extremely lean, post the numbers on the driver's side of the carb.

 

Bang ! My ride had what felt like small backfires at wot 2/3s of the way down the 1/4 mile when i first got her. You could here mini pops under the hood and feel the momentary pauses.The funny thing was she had a fresh tune and brand new Quadrajet reman when i bought the car. ( have those reciepts.)

I went from a 16.7 to 15.7 in the 1/4 over the course of 2 seasons at etown. Tedious attention to detail, replacing and adjusting any little thing, hoses, rubber end caps, etc. But in the end it was the carb that was way off ! This headache i took on myself, special thanks to a youtube video. I managed to adjust the air fuel mix to a sweet spot. Which in turn allowed me to get my drive idle down to the factory setting of 575 rpms.

My mileage went from about 10 mpg avg to about 15 mpg avg. While feeling like a beast. It may only run 15s but gun it on the street and its lights out. The nose looks and feels like it goes up a foot when you nail it then the tire unloads into a cloud of smoke. (My daily is a family car with 150 more horse, but from a stop the 69s characteristics make it feel similar, on the highway its a different story...)