Gary, to answer your question.....
Automatic 56 Fury's have a
373-1 rear end from the factory. For performance up to 95 MPH the 2 speed is
quicker. I drag raced and owned several 56, 57,58 Fury's and never got
beat by a stock 3 speed in my 2 speed 56 Fury's unless it was a stick
shift. If it was a stick shift, then it was not as consistent in time and speed,
but it did have a 373-1 rear gear plus an extra carburetor. Above 100
MPH the 2 speed and the 3 speed automatics are about the same. But the 57
& 58 should have a higher top end. However in the quarter mile the
57 and 58 Fury's with 2/4 bbl carbs could not stay with the single 4 bbl carb 56
Fury off the starting line, because they would bog down with too much gas. Once
they got moving above 30 MPH they would run strong in the high RPM's but when
they would shift into second and the RPM's would drop off and they would
drop out of their power zone until their RPM's got higher again.
By that time I was way ahead and shifting into high gear for the final push over
the finish line. The 57 and 58 Fury's did not have time to close the lead I had
built up by the end of the 1 4 mile.
Now one of my best friends had a 57
Fury with the stock 2/4's and he wanted to beat me really bad. So he changed his
dual carbs and put on a single 4 barrel carb and changed his 331-1 rear end
gears to 4.10-1. From then on I had to really use my driving experience to beat
him in the quarter mile because he sometimes would cross the finish line
less than a car length behind me. A couple of times he jumped me of the
starting line and beat me. The factory really should have stayed with the
373-1 rear end in the automatic 57 and 58 Fury's instead of 331-1 and 336-1
gears. If my memory serves me right the stick shift 57 and 58 Fury's did have a
373-1 or 354-1 rear end. Gary if you are looking for great performance and great
gas mileage spend a little more money and go to an Automatic 4 speed.
You will get the best of both worlds!!!!
Ron Swartley
PS. Hey, did you know a 318 with a two barrel is quicker than a 4
bbl or 2/4 bbl carbs for the first 30 feet from the starting
line.!!!
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