I just recieved an adjustable shift light in the mail,its a summit racing brand. Its going in my stockish 1977 oldsmobile cutlass. The cars interior is super nice and original and sticking a just didnt seem like the right thing to do. The shift light is small and attaches to the steering column with a clamp and is very non invasive. Reason i got it is because i bracket race and i like to shift manually the same rpm each run for consistency. 2 questions... where is an ideal shift point for it...and 2 whats the maximum safe rpm. Stock 77 350 olds with headers and a qjet,th350 auto and 2.73 gears.

 

My guess would be start at 5,000rpm and try up/down 100rpm from there and see what nets you the best ETs.

Once you figure that out, you can then play with different shift points for the 1-2 shift and 2-3 shift. Since there is less RPM drop from 2nd to 3rd you may not need to wind out 2nd gear as much. Then again with 2.73's do you even hit 3rd gear at the track?

 

In stock form I think you are going to find you get your best ET around 4500. The engine just isn't going to rev and make power much above that and will slow you down, IMO. I am also a fan of short-shifting the 1-2 in a heavy car with no gear. I had a fairly warm 355, 3.42 gears, converter, headers, 9 to 1 with a 210/216 cam and best ETs were at 4600.