What is the max. horsepower or torque recommended for a stock 1974 maverick body, C4 and stock rear axle?
What is the max. horsepower or torque recommended for a stock 1974 maverick body, C4 and stock rear axle?
I know the old blacks can only handle around 500hp before they start to split themselves apart and I dont believe a stock c4 will handle that. I think maybe a couple hundred horse the weakest point I would say is the stock driveline theyre SO skinny but Im no expert this is my .02
The stock rear axle with street tires will take roughly 400 horse/ 400 Lb/ft of torque before you split the caps and or shear the pinion. (This is all provided the internals are in good shape) A 74 vintage block will hold 500 HP no problem.Just dont try to wind it up too high...The rods/bolts will fail before the block will. The thin wall casting blocks, 79 and up are the ones that saw themselves in half above 500 horse. The mav chassis is fairly stiff considering when it was created but its a unit body car and is inherently mushy. Subframe connectors and a few Chassis connection components will go a long way to firming up the chassis. A cage is also a major must if you plan to compete with the car (Drag race/road race) The suspension designe is good but very limited when it comes to performance. This is an area where real improvements can be made. Ford put c4 trannies behind 300 horse engines from the factory. Your gonna have to beef it up for 500 plain and simple. They can be built to handle a thousand horse so, dont rule it out in a performance build.
The rear is supposed to be good to 400 hp with a manual transmission. My 8" and c4 have been holding up pretty good in my car with about 450rwhp, but I'm sure both are on borrowed time and I have never put slicks on it or even attempted to launch it hard yet. I don't think there is a hp limit on the body but if you run faster than 11.5 in the quarter you'll need a roll bar.
to many variables to be able to simply say what the max hp is for a stock every thing else. the stock c4 is most likely the weakest link. about 350 hp could start frying it. the 8" can be broken at about 400 hp if you have traction and are doing drag race launches.
I'd guess that the old stock c4.. with many miles on it?.. would start throwing fits at anywhere near 300 horse.
