Why a 4:11 in an L84?

[Perry M.]

Re: Why a 4:11 in an L84?

My first car was a 57 Chevy two-door hardtop which I installed all the running gear from a 62 340 HP Corvette, 4 speed and 4:56 positraction. It was a beast and well known in the Seattle area. I was always being challenged and rarely beat. Filling the tank was never a problem Since I worked at the Shell station in the U District. Burgermaster and Dicks Drive In were two of the local hangouts in the U District so being challenged was a regular event. Loved that car. Duke, do you remember my car? Those were the days and just writing this brings back so many memories.

[Charles P.]

Re: Why a 4:11 in an L84?

Thanks for the note. ITs great to understand the thinking in the day. If I find a car, the diff would not be an issue for me. While I would not want to take a car on the interstate where everybody drives 80+, we still have old country roads where 55 is about a fast as you want to go. If I find a L84 car, thats where I would use it most of the time....Thanks Again!

[Charles P.]

Re: Why a 4:11 in an L84?

Great to get a perspective such a yours. As several posts pointed out, it was a different era. Fun to get a better 1st hand understanding of car guys who bought and enjoyed these cars...

[Charles P.]

Re: Why a 4:11 in an L84?

Duke, thanks for the post and the perspective. It was supprising to me to see how many cars were ordered by the dealer with the 4:11. As many posters pointed out, 1/4 mile was king so I guess it was a selling point.

I had read that the fuelies were developed by Chevrolet for racing where the fuel unit would avoid the issue of power loss in the turns which a carb car would suffer. As such, I assumed that fuelie buyers in the day would be race guys vs 1/4 mile guys. So it sounds that you were ahead of your time with your 3:08.

Thanks, again, for your post and perspective. It helps guys like better appreciate how these cars were valued in the day...

[Patrick H.]

Re: Why a 4:11 in an L84?

The days of lower gas prices and lower wages. I worked in a Mobil station in the 65 time frame and remember prices in the $0.25-$0.30 range. One Saturday evening the Marathon station kept cutting prices so I called my boss multiple times for a penny cut. Finally Roger said go to $0.199 and if he goes lower close up. He went lower.

Note that $0.30 equates to $2.86 in 2023 money.
I paid $2.56/gal yesterday.

In reality we have cheap gas and faster cars today.

[Perry M.]

Re: Why a 4:11 in an L84?

Faster cars, yes, but cheap gas, no. Yesterday, I paid $2.72 a gallon for 87 octane. That’s after a $.90 discount per gallon because I had an accumulation of points from the local Safeway store. I wonder how much a high octane fuel would cost if you could even get it at the local gas station.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Why a 4:11 in an L84?

Faster cars, yes, but cheap gas, no. Yesterday, I paid $2.72 a gallon for 87 octane. That’s after a $.90 discount per gallon because I had an accumulation of points from the local Safeway store.

You just live in the wrong spot for cheap gas.

High octane (91-93) is usually $1/gal more around here. Racing fuel is entirely different for multiple reasons, so you really need to compare the high octane needed for today's cars.

Corvettes were $4321 in 1965 and $69995 base price now. They've gone up twice as much as gas, on a relative basis.

[Michael J.]

Re: Why a 4:11 in an L84?

You just live in the wrong spot for cheap gas.

High octane (91-93) is usually $1/gal more around here. Racing fuel is entirely different for multiple reasons, so you really need to compare the high octane needed for today's cars.

Corvettes were $4321 in 1965 and $69995 base price now. They've gone up twice as much as gas, on a relative basis.

Yes, on my trip from Santa Fe to Bakersfield last week I made the mistake of stopping in Needles, Calif. to fill up. $6.86 for 87 octane regular.....

[Patrick H.]

Re: Why a 4:11 in an L84?

Yes, on my trip from Santa Fe to Bakersfield last week I made the mistake of stopping in Needles, Calif. to fill up. $6.86 for 87 octane regular.....

OUCH!

That's worse than when I visit Canada.

[Mike E.]

Re: Why a 4:11 in an L84?

My bowtie 62 fuelie still has the original 4.56 rear in it. A Chicago area car. No freeways in 1962, and street racing was more important and available than highway driving. I-80 through that area wasn't completed until 1967/8.

[Duke W.]

Re: Why a 4:11 in an L84?

My first car was a 57 Chevy two-door hardtop which I installed all the running gear from a 62 340 HP Corvette, 4 speed and 4:56 positraction. It was a beast and well known in the Seattle area. I was always being challenged and rarely beat. Filling the tank was never a problem Since I worked at the Shell station in the U District. Burgermaster and Dicks Drive In were two of the local hangouts in the U District so being challenged was a regular event. Loved that car. Duke, do you remember my car? Those were the days and just writing this brings back so many memories.

There were a lot of souped of mid-fifties Chevys around back then, but I don't recall any specific examples. The Burgermaster was a common weekend hangout my last couple of years at Queen Anne High School and my first couple of years at Udub. But by the time I was a Junior we were hanging out at the Sandpiper Tavern on 45th. I lived in a rented house house a couple of blocks south at 4249 8th Ave NE. There was a small Ford dealer at the southeast corner of 45th and 8th, and I recall they had a 427 Cobra for quite some time before it sold. I can't recall if it was an S/C or not, but I do recall the sticker price was over $9000.

My first time taking the SWC to 150 was coming back from closing the bars downtown the night I graduated and got commissioned as a USAF 2LT on the reversible express lanes, which were open northbound and empty. I got on the brakes at the apex of the ship canal bridge, exited at 42nd St, which was a little dicey, and immediately drove to my garage a couple of blocks away.

The next morning when I opened the garage door I could still smell of the J-56 brakes.

Duke

[Perry M.]

Re: Why a 4:11 in an L84?

Yeah Duke, I remember those days well and knew the area like the back of my hand. That cobra you mentioned used to come to the Shell gas station for fuel on occasion. If my memory serves me right, they also had a GT 40. I remember seeing it, of all places, at the University Chevrolet dealership on 45th and Roosevelt.

[Owen L.]

Re: Why a 4:11 in an L84?

You just live in the wrong spot for cheap gas.