6,500 RPM Red-Line?

On the Charger, the speedometer had the white bar around the speedometer numbers, so I painted it something like green from 0-70 MPH, yellow from 70-120, and red 120-150 MPH. I think that was the MPH splits, but I will have to take a look.

V-Belt Considerations:
Belt width to Pulley grove Width, or how deep the belt rides in the pulley. I think most of the common V-Belts are around 3/8" wide, but many old Mopars had pulleys designed for 11/32" wide belts?
Alignment is always important. I think someone showed a trick of placing a laser pointer in the pulley grove and seeing if it aligned with the center of the other pulleys.
Pull contact is also important, but usually not mentioned, important if you don't want the belts to squeal. Usually we are working with the stock bracketry so not easy to change the location of the accessories unless you build your own brackets.
Belt length can also be changed if making brackets. Shorter belts should withstand higher rpm stretch/harmonics.
Pulley ratio if changing pulley sizes, or have an engine that RPMs really high, or you need more low speed alternator and cooling for something like a RV.
Belt Tension. This is a double sided sword. Snug, but not too tight. To loose and the belt can squeal or fall off. Too tight and the accessory bearings can wear out fast. Also, if the bracketry is flimsy, too tight will pull the accessories out of alignment causing the belts to toss or roll over in the pulley.
As mentioned above, bad brackets can cause all sorts of issues. Being flimsy, out of alignment, or just positioning the accessory in the wrong location where the belt may only contact a small part of the pulley.

Look at a modern serpentine belt system and how the belt wraps around the accessory pulleys keeping the belt in contact with much more of the pulley.

The spedo goes to 150......think the car will go that fast? You are way over thinking it

I had the wives Charger showing 148 one Sunday afternoon. That was before GPS was common. Would be interesting to know just how fast we were going.

71 Charger R/T, bone stock, HP440 4bbl 727 auto and 3.23 R&P. Had about 58k miles on it. 135 on the highway, took some miles, and I blew the stock thin metal head gasket in the process.
Hard to see how a 383 could do better, but so MANY variables!

Had my 70 383 3.55 Bee speedo buried passing a guy in an 87 350 gta.

He said we were "only" doing 135.

I said- yeah, but I was passing you!.


I've had my 73 318 2.76 to 112. Let off as I had only had the car for about a month.

Gear and motor felt like there was plenty more left.

Well since we’re telling tales, year 1967, Billy M had the GTX, Sonny S had the 60 Chrysler (2 fours) 300. Both had 150 Speedo’s. They raced from a 30 mile roll and both had the speedos buried till the oil truck appeared in front (slight curve). Dived highway good shoulders they passed on each side. Both had a hard time walking because of the size of their balls. More to that story but no room to tell. Jimmy P’s X was clocked at 152 on I95, took a road block to stop him, all of 17 years old. X’s will fly.

Dibbons, to the best of my knowledge the 8000 rpm tach with the yellow zone was standard issue on 70 and 71 Challengers and Cudas with a rallye dash. 72-74 rallye dash cars got a 7000 rpm tach with no yellow zone.

Ceedawg said:

Back then any hipo engine would turn 65 of course most where done pulling before that. I attribute that to the 260 Sonoco gas we had, better than racing gas today, $.34 a gallon. My max wedge liked 6800, went over 8000 a couple times when I missed a shift. Those MT rods held good. 1977 and Still in it.

Click to expand...

Back then Sunoco 260 was only 102 octane.

Slap Stick said:

Back then Sunoco 260 was only 102 octane.

Click to expand...

And used in 13 to 1 engines too, no knock or ping. Different times

Quick note. I've written this in other germaine threads.
I live near/on the water, and there are a lot of hunting and fishing activities here.
I have a gas station 5 minutes away that sells only ethanol free gas, and diesel. Other than one span of several months during the dark days of the prior federal administration, with its endless regulations, I have 93 octane no ethanol premium gas available. It happens to come from a Mississippi distributor that also has a chain of gasoline/convenience stores. Keith's. I was able to buy a 55 gallon drum of Sonoco race fuel from them, and they sponsor some of the Street Outlaws people from "New Orleans" although most of them are from towns in South Mississippi no one would know.
There is a Keith's on the coast highway along my regular route for Cruisin the Coast w/no ethanol premium, and a gas station right off the interstate on the exit to Gulfport Dragway. I can also get 100 octane AvGas from the local airport about 15 minutes away, although my understanding is that AvGas has a "dry" additive blend that may not be good for our engines.
I despise the entire crony network of greased palms that is the ethanol fuel industry, and the bullshit propaganda that is used to perpetuate it. If people want to use E85, I understand that, but forcing consumers to buy ethanol laced fuel so politicians can earn points with certain groups at the expense of consumers as a whole is unacceptable.
That's another reason why I like my no ethanol premium...it's my little way of "sticking it to the man"...

They also don't allow anyone to stockpile gas. I miss the old days and old gas. How is it todays gas goes bad in 90 days...