I have a 72 that is a SD code 350 with a 4bbl carb. The car has A/C and has been upgraded by the prior owner with a Edelbrock Performer intake and cam package. I have a set of Richmond Gear Ratio 3.73 and 41-11 teeth Part # 49-0041-1. Is this too much gear?? It has a factory 10 bolt rear end

 

Back in the day i had a 72 with your same setup , I put 373 gear in it and it worked awesome , but back then gas was cheep . If you don't go on long tours it'l be fine.

 

Thanks! Nice color 72 by the way!

 

Thanks . Whats the paint code on yours? Mine is 56 Sunfire .

 

Other than the gas mileage, the only thing to be super concerned about would be the A/C. Factory air cars usually couldn't have much deeper than 3.23 gearing to keep from over-revving the compressor.

Now, if you have an OD transmission I'd say 3.73 will be a lot of fun in that car and will keep compressor speeds down.

 

You can't pick a gear without considering tire size. If you are running stock tire sizes on the rear then you will hate the 3.73s. If you have a 275 60 15 out back then the 3.73 is just fine. 3.42 gears are a great all around choice with 26-18" tall tires & readily available for your carrier.

 

SD axle is 2.73:1 from the factory. I changed mine to a 3.42:1. I believe you'll need to upgrade the carrier if you want 3.73:1. That ratio wasn't offered for 72 Olds A body IIRC.

 

In the late 80's I had a 70 W30 with 391 gear 26" tall TA's on SS11 rims , pretty much stock factory setup . The 455 had some mods , some head porting , torquer intake , 750 holley and hooker headers . I drove that car all over the place , sure it ate lots of gas but thats the way it was. If I still had that car it would still be the same. It comes down to personal preference I think. Just sayin.

 

How do you like the 342"s Allan?

 

The reality is that whether or not you will like the taller gears is purely subjective. Personally I have no problems with the 3.91 gears in my 69 H/O. I'm running relatively tall 255/60-15 tires. The RPMs on the freeway are obviously higher than on a newer car with an O.D. trans. Whether or not this will bother you is entirely up to you.

 

i am running the same size tire as well

 

According to the Richmond Gear site, the carrier break point is 2.73, so his existing carrier should work with the new gears.

Also, there was a fella in the local Olds Club that had a '72 W-30 manual trans with 3.73 rear gears.