Having NEVER driven a car with any kind of real performance with any respectable hp/tq..... I hear all you muscle car guys talk about a car being "not well-mannered on the street" or not being very "street-able"...."only good on the track, not on the street"....etc.

I assume it relates to idle, stall speed of the converter, hp/tq...?

What exactly does a car exhibit when its not very "street mannered"? Is it idle quality, or acceleration, or too much torque, or just what???

Since I may be looking for a bigger motor for my "not yet finished" 72/ZZ4/2004R/3.08 Vette, I'd like to know what to start thinking about...

Just food for discussion!


Rob

 

It really is a subjective thing. The only real hard and fast rules are that a manual transmission makes it easier to live with a big cam. It also pays to build the most cubic inches you can as the bigger the engine, the tamer the cam can be given the heads are a good match. I have a 502 with a 258 @ .050 solid cam and it is tame to me, but my buddy thinks I am nuts based on his perception of streetability. I think killing off a little of the bottom end on a car makes it more liveable on the street, and it sure is fun to rev it a little and have it hang on a little longer. My car idles at 900. I do not have power brakes , but I think they would work with my cam. However, put my cam in a 427 with the same compression, and it would be a different story.

 

All that is well and good (I guess??)...but I'm not an engine guy, so most of what you tried to describe doesnt mean anything to me. I'd like to hear it explained STRICTLY from a driver's perspective. In other words, if I drive a certain car, whats to make me say..."wow, this car isnt very streetable"??

I honestly have no clue....

Thanks,
Rob

 

Engines/trannies built for racing leave you with a high idle RPM, an idle that is not [necessarily] smooth, and...if you have an automatic...a requirement to rev the engine to get the thing to move at all. In other words, driving to the local grocery store is a pain in the a$$. If most of your driving is going to be around town, don't go the "full race" route with the drive train.

 

Thanks! That I can understand!!

So then.... a higher hp/tq (mid 400's+) 350, 383, or 400 can be made acceptably "streetable"?? Is it mainly a function of head/cam combo??

Sorry I am sounding so ignorant...it cuz I am!!!

Thanks,
Rob

 

Hi Rob,
I think the ZR-! is a great example of 'streetability'.
600+ horsepower plus MANNERS!
Just one small problem...$107,830.
Regards,
Alan

 

You just turn the key and drive. No idle problems, etc. You simply drive your Corvette like an Impala of the day. I do with an L-48 and like it.

 

If it jars your nuts, won't go around turns very well, gets 3-5 miles per gallon, and your head hits the roll bar, but turns the 1/4mile in 10 secs or under it might not be considered very streetable.

But it sure would be fun!

 

That's the best answer yet! Way to Go

Rob,
I asume you car is running. If so, why don't you take it for a couple of rips around the block and see how you like it.

I guarantee you'll be all teeth without changing a thing

 

My '69 327/435 has an L88 cam installed...it's a barely civilized beast...hard to start when cold, rough idle and very cranky until it warms up, lousy gas mileage and can probably pull tree stumps so I guess it barely qualifies as "streetable".

But...it is a ball to drive!

 

Chump change.....yea right..

Gotcha..

OK, now I'm starting to understand...

I DROVE IT TODAY for the FIRST TIME!!!! Well, only down the driveway, up the block, then back down the block, then back up the driveway..

Made DAMN sure the brakes worked, and I didnt even touch the parking brake (those who have been around here awhile know why....)

Anyway, it ran pretty good though I doubt I got out of 2nd. Seat was not bolted in, no windshield, windows are loose inside the doors...so I'd classify it as not very "streetable" but I was smilin'!!!

I think it could use a little more work on the timing. I was a little timid about really getting into it...baby steps!

Rob

 

I bet you were grinnin'. Congrats on the first ride! It must have felt good.

BTW, I entered my first show without the seats bolts in. Nobody new!

Now back to your car....take her out again!!!!

 

Streetable means running pump gas so you can actually leave town and fill up on the road without dialing the timing back 10 degrees. Streetable means having adequate vacuum (or a hydroboost) so you can use power brakes to stop your 3200 lb beast. It means allowing enough suspension compliance so you don't need a chiropractor's visit every Monday after the weekend cruise. It also means DOT approved rubber. Having heat if you live above the Mason-Dixon line or A/C if below. Functioning doors are nice but optional on verts.

All of the above suggestions can be mitigated to a large extent by either the possession of youth and exuberance, youthful exuberance or a stubborn adherence to the desire to seem youthful. Or high tolerance of discomfort. Or excessive testosterone production or consumption.

I saw a full tube frame blown big block alcohol burning "pro street" C3 at a cruise in in Virginia this fall... Had a 5 gallon fuel cell, race seats and a big stall convertor with a 'glide... but also a legal(?) license plate. "Streetable" in the sense that it was trailered to within a mile of the event, unloaded and driven to the Hardee's parking lot so people could gawk. Not my idea of a good time.

Same show had a Lingenfelter 427 small block powered C3 with rear mount turbos, rack and pinion, custom suspenders and a full leather interior. I'd drive that one to Cali tomorrow. Both "street legal", different realisations of the concept.

 

I love this type thread because the answer means something different to each person you ask yet each person like to make their answer fact not opinion and personal tatse.


streetability...I recall years back when the Hillbillies at Car Craft considered a sub 10 sec whatever with a sick cam and gagging on avy fuel a "street" car because it did have a license plate and could drive a block from the trailer to the staging lights.

I used to be far more **** about what I personally considered a "street" car,
But now and for me in my world a street car has to meet a list of criteria,

It has to be legal...IE no slicks, no tall things sticking out of the hood.
It must have doors and windows that function.
It must run on pump gas with no additives.
It must be able to idle in 100 plus degree FL traffic with the AC blowing cold.
It must be able to take a 100 mile plus drive in any weather.
It must turn a corner as well as it's non modded counterpart.
Anyone who can drive a car has to be able to drive it if need be.
I could come up with more but that is good for now

In 69 a L88 or ZL1 was not streetable

In 2010 a crate 502 is streetable

Point is times and technology do change the baseline....

The real question is how will you be using your car...a full race car on the street is just posturing anyway.
For example see most AC Cobra replicas....

 

If you have to ask if it is....

or make excuses when you let a friend drive it...

It ISN'T!

 

I figured this thread would result in quite alot of responses...that's good for discussion...

But really, I only meant to ask about the powertrain. I am considering an engine project for next year, and that's the root of my quest for knowledge..

I have a new VBP sport suspension, a sturdy 2004R, a 2400 (or maybe 2800, I'd have to check) converter, Hooker sidepipes, stock 3.08 rear. Strictly a fun street car.

I want to take extended trips in it, as well as drive it down to Starbucks to show off..I want the best compromise between low/med power/tq and .....you guessed it, streetability!!!

I already have the creature interior comforts (T/T, PW, A/C, tunes, etc) so I really will be asking (in the future) about powertrain...

I will have a budget of around $5k, so my choices would be to upgrade my ZZ4 (top end), a crate 383 or 400, or build one myself...

Even though I havent finished my resto-mod yet, I'm just trying to get smart early..!!

Thanks for everyone's input!!


Rob

 

Streetable to me means you can drive it in a parade or stop and go traffic with the a/c on (if you have it) in the middle of July and it won't overheat. It means something you COULD drive coast to coast with no worries of finding racing fuel at every stop. Something that always starts even if it is 0 degrees outside. Something quiet enough to hear yourself think and not get stopped every time you go out. That is my definition. I purposely left out fuel mileage, but that should also play a factor.

 

I'd agree with Markids, "streetable" simply put, means it will run on pump gas. Anything not streetable uses racing fuel/104 octane/etc..
Why does it need to be more complicated than that?

 

[QUOTE=markids77;1572680089]Streetable means running pump gas so you can actually leave town and fill up on the road without dialing the timing back 10 degrees. ...[\QUOTE]
So under 10 is streetable.

No PB is streetable.


It is not very streetable if it overheats.

 

IMO, the transmission is a factor also. I have a BW Super T-10 in my '80 with a street & strip clutch that is heavier under foot than a basic street clutch. (Some of the street & strip clutches are lighter under foot.) In long periods of stop & go traffic, a "heavy" clutch is tiring.

A friend of ours has an auto trans with a 2500 rpm stall converter attached to a high HP engine with a very loud exhaust. Watching him in heavy stop & go traffic is a bit comical after a while. It's hard to "creep" in traffic with 400 hp, a rough idle, and a 2500 rpm stall.