Worlds Fastest Comanche

The richmond is only a single overdrive, the t56 has two overdrive gears. A cheap way to go on the dodge is to get a Lakewood Bellhousing ($500) and a used trans on Ebay. Those will cost way less than 3k even if they do need some repair.

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Looks like we are going with a 9" I will post a write up wth pictures when we do it. Fot the higher speeds, we need very high gears 3.0 or 2.89. The 9" has a better selection of gears then the D44. The rear end ratio will depend on Which trans we use. Currently the truck has a AX15, which i do not think will take the horsepower we will be putting out. The cheapest route would be to go with a T5, the were used in Mustangs and Comaros in the 90's. Twi=o versions were uses " world class" and "Non world class" . The world class is the good one. this is a 5 speed and the overdrive ratios can be .80, .73, and .63. Just depends which one you get. You would think that the .63 would be the best for high speed, but maybe not. the .80 might workout better. You have to look at the rpm when you shift. if going from 4th (1:1) to 5th (.63 ) te dropi n your engine RPM may be too much, then you may drop out of your maxium power band, a 5th gear of .8 would drop the engine RPM less, so you can stay in the "sweet spot" The other options would be to go with the t56 (tremic) 6 speed or the Prchmond 6 speed. the t56 is more available since it was used on GM and ford cars. the richmond is strictly an aftermarket unit. Both 6 speeds have a double overdrive 5th is generally .73 and 6th is generally .5 5th so if you had a .5 overdrive and the engine was going 6,000 rpm, the driveshaft and pinion would be going 12,000 rpm. No wonder the want a hoop under the driveshaft.

don't need a dana 70, Low gears, low speed, = big torque. High gears , high speed= smaller torque. the Nascar teams only run ford 9" rears with 31 spline axles ( D44 has 30 spline) the axles are even turned down between the splined ends. the axles come up for sale sometimes on ebay. You can by the lockers cheap, "only used one race"

I am not trying to copy the 1986 truck, I may paint it the same color and try and get the same number. I do think i could get some useful information from it. Things like the roll cage cage construction, or how they lowered the truck. The engine and transmission will be completely different. Probably a 262cid motor ( stroked 4.0) and a T56 6 speed trans (double overdrive), ford 9" rear, and maybe a air suspension so i can set the ride height.

I got a call form the Chief historian at Chrysler today, he said he found the 1986 Bonneville truck. It is located in the archives in Auburn Hills Mi with about 300 other Vehicles. The archives are seperate from the Museum. The muesum usually has about 75 cars on display. The truck is Red, with number "140" on side. It has been stored for about 20 years and nothing has been done to it since it was stored. I asked for a picture of it, and you woul think i was asking for state secrets or somthing. He said it would have to be cleared with corporate before they released any photos. Said it should only take a couple of weeks!!. I did ask about any other arvchive information, and he said that the archives at the jeep headquarters were in the basemant and that alot of the material was water damaged, and had to be thrown out. My hope is that i will be able travel over to Detroit to actually look at the truck and take some pictures of it. I guess I will have to wait for the powers that be at Chrysler to make a decision.

It is true that Banks spent a million bucks, but how much work has really been done on increasing the performance of a Chevy V6? I would say not much. everybody just pulls it out and drops a 350 in. If you look at all the companies like Clifford or Hesco that have invested alot of time and money into increasing the performance of the jeep motor, I bet you could come up with a million dollars. We also have the experience of thousands of people who have been building motors over the last 20 years. trial and error, experience and new technology will give this project a fighting chance.

If you want to see a run, here is a video clip to a old studerbaker that went about 230MPH

The 1990 Syclone ran in the 305cid (5.0L) class (D P/MP) the record we are looking for is the E P/MP which is for engines less than 262 CID. Banks first run with the S15 was in 1989 and he ran the 4.3 v6 in this class. The record is 183.942 mph. to answer a question on the way it works, depending on the course you are running, you get a mile or more to get up to speed, then they measure you speed over 1,2, or more miles. the average speed over a measured mile greater than .001 mph of the current record qualifies you to make a second run the next morning, you then have to run the course in the reverse direction and have a speed that exceed the current record. the slower of the 2 runs is the new record. Weight is less of a factor then areodynamics. Weight is important when you are trying to get up to speed, but once you are there its air resistance and rolling resistance that are the forces that slow you down.

The actual text in the rule book is So i mispoke when i said port location, so the hesco head is probably OK. I wish they made a version with bigger valves though.

You have to run an engine from the same family, with the same deck height. ( crank centerline to top of block). you can do anything you want with bore and stroke, intake and exhust. You have to run on gasoline only (racing gas ok). no nitrous or supercharging. the head must be the same style as the stock head, same number of valves same location, Intake and exhust ports must be in the same location as stock, but can be opened up. Any type of fuel system or ignition system is allowed, any transmission is allowed. Looking around , it would seem that the 99 and up intake would be the choice for a manifold, Clifford headers with dual collectors for exhust. Mustang injectors and throttle body, Hesco head, high performance oil system. I am still thinking about the short block, Pistons, cams, etc.

The CID limit in the class is 262, or 4.3L so if it is going to be a stroler, it will not be much of one.

The 99 and up blocks were reinforced around the cam bearing area to help with this problem, I don't know anybody with any experience though. Hopefully by by removing the distributor and oil pump, and running a timing belt on a 99 and up block, the engine will perform better. as for some of the comments about the hoursepower required, their are truck with even smaller displacment engines ( normally aspirated) that have exceded 180 mph. The fastest truck i saw was a Jessell 2003 (talk about a brick) with a 360 cid motor that went about 227mph.

The timing Belt will give you 10 more HP, and will help with the Cam harmonic problem when going high RPM, to set the record i only have to go 8 miles, to life cycle of the belt doesnt bother me. On the street, i would give you more power and better gas mileage.

No, I am not Tall peter From the strokers forum, but I am tall (6' 6" ) and my name is Peter, and i did also post on the strokers forum. What better place to find out about engine stuff. Serach is cheaper then research. I am looking to use some new technology to go for the record, for example a aftermarket efi controller, distributor less ignition, a timing belt drive for the cam, an external oil pump, a T56 ( 6 speed trans) Etc. I will document the modifications on the forum. Some things like the timing belt drive may have comercial viability.

The worlds fastest Comanche is currently located at a Chrysler building in Michigani. It was built to show the performance of the new 4.0L engine in 1987. It set a land speed record at Bonneville of 141mph and had a top speed of 146 MPH. GM did not take this lying down and hired Gale Banks to set a record with a S15 pickup in 1989. In the 240-261 cid class, the Banks truck went 183 MPH, totally blowing away the Jeep record. Banks continued to compain trucks and came back in 1990 with the Syclone, and set a record of 201 mph with a normally aspriated V6. I believe this was in the 261-305CId class. So who cares? why is this important? Well I don' think it is right that a Chevy V6 holds a land speed record over a Jeep I6. This is one of those things that just puts the universe a little more out of wack. I think the situation needs to be rectified. To this end i have purchased a 1989 Comanche, LWB 2wd ( 4.0 of course) AX15 trans, and Dana 44 rear axle. I am collecting parts, and am looking to build the engine, It will not be easy to compete with the Banks organazation. The record is 20 years old, and technology has improved during that time. So i think a 4.0 can be competitive. I will be building it in my garage, with money out of my pocket, and help from anyone who wants to lend a hand. Here is a some information on the engine restrictions. The rules state that you can run a engine form the same engine family, but it must have the same deck height as the engine that came in the vehicle originally. The E P/MP class is limited to about 261CID, so a 258 falls in good with the rules, but a 4.0 with a larger bore and a little stroke would probably out perform a 258. Some input from the group would be appriciated. You need a whole lot of HP to go 185 MPH I want the worlds fastest Comanche to be parked in my driveway, and the second fastest Comanche to be in Auburn hills MI.Peter Lechtanski The worlds Fastest Comanche Prroject