When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Low compression 350 Olds GT/JA 170 factory HP 9.86@135
Went to the last Can/Am Stock/Super Stock race of the season here yesterday. Bill Littles SB Olds powered Grand Am was killing it. It’s an FJ Smith built chassis.
this is a 9.3 low compression 350 Olds, Factory rated 170HP, NHRA rated at 280HP. dyno’d 597HP/508 TQ.
Q jet, Batten heads and intake, glide with a brake. Old school still taking out the latest and greatest.
Proof you don’t need sky high compression to make power. Good heads help A LOT.
Exactly what I am counting on with the new Edelbrock heads with the same 9.3 to 1. I assume a big stall and very deep gears to run what it does. Curious what the cranking compression is? What can they run for a cam in that class?
Went to the last Can/Am Stock/Super Stock race of the season here yesterday. Bill Littles SB Olds powered Grand Am was killing it. It’s an FJ Smith built chassis.
this is a 9.3 low compression 350 Olds, Factory rated 170HP, NHRA rated at 280HP. dyno’d 597HP/508 TQ.
Q jet, Batten heads and intake, glide with a brake. Old school still taking out the latest and greatest.
can you explain the class? GT/JA?
An Olds 350 in a Pontiac V6 Grand Am?
GT class is for front to rear drive conversions. The engine has to be the same manufacturer of the body. so the 350 Olds can run in any FWD GM like the Alero, Ciera , Gran Am , Chev or Buick .
J is the weight break for the NHRA factored 280 hp divide by the heaviest V8 engine in the car that year , minus 250lbs, or add 250 to run a heavier class. …it’s 3,110 race weight for the lighter one. A is for automatic
the factory 350 170hp is for 1975, with Omega shipping weight.
Last edited by CANADIANOLDS; Sep 28, 2025 at 11:47 PM.
...........Curious what the cranking compression is? What can they run for a cam in that class?
In S/S, a roller cam is allowed, with any lift/duration you choose. As mentioned, Batten heads; any intake/spacer combination that will fit under the hood, and uses the "allowed factory" carburetor. Cranking pressure would be relatively low, due to the huge amount of overlap. These things are engineered for very high rpm.
In S/S, a roller cam is allowed, with any lift/duration you choose. As mentioned, Batten heads; any intake/spacer combination that will fit under the hood, and uses the "allowed factory" carburetor. Cranking pressure would be relatively low, due to the huge amount of overlap. These things are engineered for very high rpm.
Thanks, what I was thinking. Probably a 4000+ stall and 5 someone gear to overcome the lousy first gear in a power glide. Although the light will help as well.
Thanks, what I was thinking. Probably a 4000+ stall and 5 someone gear to overcome the lousy first gear in a power glide. Although the light will help as well.
the car does not use either of the factory first gear ratios
.................. to overcome the lousy first gear in a power glide.................
Years ago, Paul Forte, owner of Turbo Action, did a test with his S/S small block Camaro. He found that leaving in 2nd gear on his T350 netted better times than using 1st gear. No other changes to the car; back to back comparison. On the other side of the coin, our '70 W31, F/SA Cutlass, with a standard ratio T350 (2.52; 1.52;1.0) needed 5.00 gears in the type "O" 8.5" factory rear to get down the track; however, out mph suffered. We changed to 4.66 gears and could now get more mph, but our ETs were slower. Paul built us a low gear T350 (2.75 1st) and we were able to run 11.84 @ 112+ mph. This was back in the mid '80s, when Stock Eliminator was a lot stricter than it is today.
I'm really impressed with this car. Also very confused with the engine specs. I know you explained some of the class rules but is there a limit to compression? Obviously it's a dedicated race car, so why not run maximum compression like 15:1?
I'm really impressed with this car. Also very confused with the engine specs. I know you explained some of the class rules but is there a limit to compression? Obviously it's a dedicated race car, so why not run maximum compression like 15:1?
Exactly, big ports, low compression with probably a huge cam. Plus a Powerglide, even with a better first, only seeing 2.18 first as the deepest, it must be geared and stalled just right to make up for the massive short fall in compression.
