just out of curiosity...only looking for a ballpark figure...what can i safely rev my engine to? the valvetrain is stock except for the crane roller rockers and the stocker 351w 2v cam, and i have flat top pistons...i was thinking about 5500?
My two cents: shift at 5K at the latest. With stock valve springs, you'll be close to floating the valves and you probably stopped making peak power back around 4500 (if not before)!
With my 289, I'll float the valves right around 5200. On the plus side, both my brother-in-law and I drive my 289 at Road Racing courses and, thanks in part to the low shift point, we can get about 5 hours of open tracking in a weekend and drive it home on Sunday afternoon! Plus, I'm only making noise by 5K anyway!
i know this post is long dead, but i have shift point question that pertains to the subject:
I have 289 in my 65, with a edlebrock intake, and holley street deamon carb, stock heads and flat top pistons. is between 4500-and 5000 the best shift point?
mike
Other than chest beating that is what dynos are for, to show you where your power peaks are for shifting.
To answer the redline question...two things will limit your RPMs.
1. Valvetrain. Your cam/lifters/rockers/springs can only go so far so fast. Once you reach their limit your power will drop so far that you CANNOT rev any higher.
2. Bottom end. Your crank/rods/mains/bearings and their various connectors can only go so far so fast before they begin to lose stability and cause the oil pan to fail.
On my car I had the short block overbuilt for my purposes and the blueprinter (DSS Racing) said my bottom end was good to 8,000RPM due to oversized rods, mains, and connectors (plus the girdle). Then I chose a camshaft that will basically give up at 6,250-6,500. Doing that keeps things fairly safe if you ask me.