Technical automatic overdrive?

Your combo comes out with a 2.40’s rear gear on the highway. That’s a little more than I’d like unless I had the inches to pull it. No doubt 3.60’s from a start is better than 3.00’s

 

That set up doesn’t suck nor does hind sight.
You are just using it wrong because it needs to be in a land speed racing vehicle.

 

I put 200R4s in my '59 Elky and '53 Chevy pickup projects. New stator shaft, shift kit, and total rebuild plus shaving weight on the governor weights to increase shift RPM and they are super performers. Only tranny I will use on a street rod.

 

I actually have both. The old Chevy has a four speed with 3.70 gears, the Stude, which will be on the road shortly after a three year build and I am using a 700R4 with 3.31 rear gears, one for short sprints and the other for the long haul I am a lucky SOB!

 

Absolutely. The 352 is setup to build big torque down low (the motor is all done at 5K), and it is very happy chugging along at 1800 to 2200 rpms at highway speeds. Also, the lock-out feature was removed from the trans, so there is still a bit of slip in the torque convertor at highway speeds.

 

Depends more on your actual diving plans than anything else. 4.11 and no overdrive says that you aren't going to take the rig more than 50 miles from home on a regular basis.
The car might have more poke around town but you tend to find reasons not to take it to events that are a piece of cake for the 3.54 and Over drive and do you really need stiffer gears or is it part of the American graffiti fantasy world mentality that dictates that. The oh I have to have a big cam and 4.11 gears to take on the car from out of town .
Outside of a half dozen local events a year that are within a 40 mile circle the fun events are all over 90 miles away and most are 150 to 200 and that includes several fun one day events. Quick acceleration around town doesn't count near as much as being able to eat up highway without having the engine wound out past it's cruising down the highway comfort zone.
One last thing, for us who live in the west and tend to travel to far flung events like Bonneville there are a lot of long roads and there are a number of main highways with signs that say "next gas station 105 miles? A mile up the road is a sign that says next gas 55 miles. so If I turn right rather than left it is 55 miles to a gas station and 35 miles to the best coffee in the area. I've been known to run up there just to get coffee pick up a jar or two of jam that the nuns make on site and book back. Gears I can show off to the kid with the Honda with the fart pipe are useless to me.

 

It’s all a package in each package is different.
Do you want spirited driving ?
Do you just want Daily driving quality wrapped in old tin?
Do you want high RPM power ( really is useful in racing )
Are you looking for more area ( the most) under torque curve. That will give the highest power average. Probably the most fun to drive to.
Does the engine start making power off idle or at 2500 rpm?
At what rpm does the torque fall off? 2800? 5200?
Is the engine a big torque monster - like a 401 nail head that makes 480 ft lbs @ 2800 ?
Or maybe an olds 455 W30 that can’t get out of its own way till it sees 2000 then pulls like a freight train?
Or a Chevy 301/302 that does it’s thing at 3500 and up.

 

Almost everything I own has an overdrive gear, or two, the exception being one vintage bike, and my current build.

On my current built, there is no way to pack one into the design. It does, however, have a quick change rear end (and I have a fat stack of gears). That one will get a large fuel tank, as it will have a blower, too.

Each of these, save for the current build, has passed Bonneville to the East, and L.A. to the South.

For me, a "local show" might be 90-100 miles away. Reno is 220-miles away. L.A. is 400, 450, if you take US-1. Bonneville is 620. There is no way I am doing that at 3500+ RPM.

You can build like it is 1955, if you want. That will make for a cool look, but it might make for an overheated, and/or broken ride.