There are fast cars. Then there are legends. Nothing is more American than the iconic muscle car. Manufacturers built them in limited numbers for one purpose: to allow gearheads to drive as fast as physics dictates. The introduction of industrial gearbox and Falk drives helped fuel the nation’s craze for speed, paving the way for powerful automotive engineering.
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What is a Muscle Car?
Once referred to as “supercars,” muscle cars typically are smaller American-made two-door vehicles. They contain powerful high-displacement engines generally found in larger automobiles for the purpose of boosting speeds.
History of Early Muscle Cars
While the origin of muscle cars is up for dispute, some historians trace hot rodding back to the prohibition era in the 1920s. To get an advantage over the police, Southern bootleggers and moonshiners began modifying their vehicles for cargo capacity, handling and speed. After moonshining lost its profitability, gearheads modified their cars for racing, inspiring the design for the 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88, which some consider as the original muscle car.
Rocking a V-8 with a high-compression overhead valve in a lightweight Oldsmobile 76 body, the Rocket 88 was the star of the 1950 NASCAR circuit, sparking public interest in speed and power. The powerful 135-horsepower supercar purred at 3,600 rotations per minute. No mid-range vehicle at the time came close to its 263 pound force-feed of torque at 1800 RPM. Ike Turner’s band, King of Rhythm, was so inspired by the vehicle, that it sang its praises in the 12-bar blues hit “Rocket 88.” The song was the third-most played jukebox song of 1951. Interestingly, some in the music industry consider the “Rocket 88” single to be the first rock-n-roll record.
After the introduction of the Rocket 88, the muscle car industry boomed in the 1950s. The invention of the hemi and other innovations in the 1950s and -60s forever changed the performance of American hot rods.
The Roll of Falk Drives in Muscle Cars
Muscle car drivetrains have two sets of gears: a transmission that regulates torque and sends power from the engine to a hot rod’s wheels, as well as a differential that allows wheels to spin at different speeds. Muscle cars can have multiple Falk gearbox parts that help the engine deliver maximum power at certain RPMs.
In vehicles with manual transmissions, drivers must shift the gears using a stick and clutch pedal, which allows the engine to rotate while the wheels and gears remain stationary. Vehicles with automatic transmissions change gears using an oil pressure system controlled by a shift valve. A torque converter performs similar functions as a clutch.
For a vehicle’s engine to operate at different speeds and drive in reverse at the same RPM, the gear ratio between the drive wheels and engine must change by connecting gears in different combinations to increase torque and decreases speed. For this reason, vehicle transmission systems have up to eight forward speeds, one reverse, and a neutral position. Muscle cars tend to have between four and six speeds. A speed reduce gearbox in first gear sends engine power to the wheels at a reduced speed as a vehicle begins moving. As a result, the engine turns faster than the output shaft, generally at a 4:1 ratio. Changing the gear ratio closer to 1:1 changes the torque output and vehicle’s speed.
The 2000’s brought back America’s love for muscle cars. Falk gearbox parts and speed reducers, while no longer an innovation themselves, continue to contribute to the automotive industry’s advancements as consumers continue to push the limits of power and speed.
Posted under Falk Gearboxes on Thursday, September 28th, 2017