65 L76 with 3.08 gears

[Lawrence S.]

I think I know the answer to this but since I have never driven one will ask. With the above setup would this car be a toad off the line during normal driving? During normal driving around town 45 MPH, I suppose third gear would be your best friend?

Thank you

Lawrence

[Wayne H.]

Re: 65 L76 with 3.08 gears

Turtle is more like it, especially with a Manual Transmission. The L76’s Torque & HP kick in with high rpm’s.

The 3.08’s are great for highway travel - quite sluggish in start/stop traffic. You can always change the rear axle ratio gears - but there goes your “Originality”.

I have a ‘65 L76 w/4.11 Ratio & manual transmission. Even with that set-up…. My Low end is not impressive. But it’s a rocket above 3000 RPM, and you can’t beat the sound of the solid lifters & 30-30 cam. Love my L76.

Good luck,
WaikikiWayne

[Terry D.]

Re: 65 L76 with 3.08 gears

A wide ratio 4 speed would help that combo. but how would changing rear end gears affect originality? Who would know?

[Michael J.]

Re: 65 L76 with 3.08 gears

Yes, I have had 2 C2s with 3.08 rear ends. The '64 fuleie I had was pretty doggy, but changing to the wide ratio helped a lot. The '66 I have is a 427, so there is so much low end torque, you don't even notice it.

[Tim G.]

Re: 65 L76 with 3.08 gears

I've got a 3.08 with my '67 427/390 horse motor and I'd love to change it to a 3.70 (but I never will).

[Duke W.]

Re: 65 L76 with 3.08 gears

I think I know the answer to this but since I have never driven one will ask. With the above setup would this car be a toad off the line during normal driving? During normal driving around town 45 MPH, I suppose third gear would be your best friend?Thank youLawrence

I ordered my 340 HP SWC with a 3.08 axle and, of course, the only four-speed with this engine was the 2.20 low CR. I lived in Seattle back then that has a lot of hills, so I was careful about routing to not get stopped at a red light on a steep hill. As a peremptory maintenance task I replaced the clutch at about 50K in 1968 before driving back east for my first job as a Pontiac production engineer and then on to grad school at the U. of Wisconsin Engine Research Center. It's like a five-speed with no first gear, but you get used to it.

I was not into drag racing, but I did spend a few Saturday nights at Puyallup, with a best run of 14.42 at about 102 MPH with open exhaust cutouts and 6.70-15 Michelin X radials tires. Any attempt to "launch" by dropping the clutch from even as low at 2000 revs just smoked the tires, so I had to basically just "drive" off the line from just above idle with minimum clutch slippage and the floored the throttle. I shifted to second about halfway down and went through the lights at about 6500 in second.

Cross country trips were a breeze with an easy 3100 revs at 80 and 20-22 MPG. On that first cross country trip in 1968 I was cruising at about 100 MPH in North Dakota on a fresh and nearly empty I-90 when I hit a rain squall. The fresh 205HR-15 Pirelli Cinturato CN72 radiasl shed water like a duck as did the windshield, so I didn't even have to turn on the wipers... just like flying a C-150 in the rain.

On a trip to Las Vega from Southern California in early September, 1967 before returning to Seattle to complete my senior year at the U. of Washington I drove to Las Vegas for a few days of fun. There were no speed limits in Nevada back then and after dealing with horrible two-lane roads in California (not much has changed since then), Nevada greeted me with a fresh, glass-smooth slab of I-15 that was virtually flat, dead straight, and empty! So I dialed up 5000 revs from the engine room and with the speedo indicating 130 (I was still on the Michelins) I made the 40 miles to The Strip in about 18 minutes.

The night I graduated from Udub and commissioned as USAF 2Lt, I and a buddy drove downtown and bar hopped until the 2 AM closing. We took the I-5 reversible express lanes northbound back to the U-district, and they were deserted, so I went through the gears shifting at 6500. (The Pirellis were newly installed) As I approached redline in third (about 130) I asked my buddy if he wanted to "go for it". He said "hell yes" so I shifted to fourth and by the time I hit the Ship Canal Bridge apex I was doing about 150. Since I needed to exit at 42nd street and the exit actually starts on the bridge I had to get hard on the J-65 brakes and start grabbing gears. The exit has a fairly sharp 90-degree right sweeper with a signal a the bottom. I got through the sweeper okay and fortunately the light was green because I'm not sure I could have stopped if it was red.

So do I regret ordering those tall gears? Hell no! It was one of the best decisions I ever made. What a ride I had back in those years! Of course the 30-30 cam has less low end torque/power than the Duntov cam, but if set up right it will pull without protest from 1000 revs in fourth (about 26 MPH with OE rev/mi tires and a 3.08). It just won't pull real hard from that condition, but will easily keep up with traffic.So give the 3.08 a fair try. If you really feel you need a shorter first gear, rather than mess around with the axle, install a Super T-10 with the 2.88, 1.88, 1.34, 1.00:1 gearset. The 2.88 first with the 3.08 axle has nearly the same same overall multiplication as the CR with a 4.11 axle.

Duke

[Lawrence S.]

Re: 65 L76 with 3.08 gears

Duke, great story thanks for sharing.

Lawrence

[Tim G.]

Re: 65 L76 with 3.08 gears

I too enjoyed your stories, Duke. Thank you.

[Mark M.]

Re: 65 L76 with 3.08 gears

Thanks Duke, I too enjoyed your post

[Richard G.]

Re: 65 L76 with 3.08 gears

Duke, thanks again for the posting. Always enjoy your musings.

Back in the 70's I had a Camaro with 3.08 gears and a 4 speed. I had a 302 in the car with the LT1 (1970) cam in it.
Of course it had no low end torque, even less than the L76. It was a proverbial dog in the Camaro.
I pulled the motor and installed it in my 1957 Corvette with 3.73. No one would believe it was the same motor because the performance was so much different.
Can it work, well yes Duke proved it. It was the correct choice considering the state to state trips he often made.
Hardly anyone does long distance driving with a C2 anymore.
I would install the 3.70's in my car. Just a blast to drive that way.
I live 60 miles from the beach and it's a 55mph drive.
It also has a tunnel on the way. Just outside Astoria OR on the Washington State side.
Best entertainment on the coast. A blast through the tunnel at 6000 rpm with the noise ricocheting off the sides and the top down!
It has been and will continue to be my favorite ride in my 1957 Corvette.
This is the 50th year I have owned the 57.

[George J.]

Re: 65 L76 with 3.08 gears

I've had 3:36's in my '65 fuel injected car for about 20 years. 3500 rpm at 80mph. The nice thing about this ratio is that the speedo and tach coincide. We have a Saturday cars and coffee across town, the drive being a sparsely populated four lane (each way) freeway. Early morning at 90mph with side pipes is a great way to start the day.

George

[Steven B.]

Re: 65 L76 with 3.08 gears

Duke, thanks again for the posting. Always enjoy your musings.

Back in the 70's I had a Camaro with 3.08 gears and a 4 speed. I had a 302 in the car with the LT1 (1970) cam in it.
Of course it had no low end torque, even less than the L76. It was a proverbial dog in the Camaro.
I pulled the motor and installed it in my 1957 Corvette with 3.73. No one would believe it was the same motor because the performance was so much different.
Can it work, well yes Duke proved it. It was the correct choice considering the state to state trips he often made.
Hardly anyone does long distance driving with a C2 anymore.
I would install the 3.70's in my car. Just a blast to drive that way.
I live 60 miles from the beach and it's a 55mph drive.
It also has a tunnel on the way. Just outside Astoria OR on the Washington State side.
Best entertainment on the coast. A blast through the tunnel at 6000 rpm with the noise ricocheting off the sides and the top down!
It has been and will continue to be my favorite ride in my 1957 Corvette.
This is the 50th year I have owned the 57.

Richard, Congratulations on 50 years with your '57! Steve