Best 4-speed gear ratio with 2.94 differential

[b5cuda]

Hey gang, my project has a 2.94 rearend and the '71 4-speed with 2.47 1st gear. It really scoots in 1st. But if I start out on an uphill I have to rev the engine and feather the clutch to keep from stalling. The rearend is new so I'd rather replace the trans, which I have not rebuilt. I see these transmissions were available with 2.66 and 3.09 1st gears. Anyone run one of those with a 2.94? Curious which alternative works best. As always, thankful for the input!

[RUNCHARGER]

3.09 first would work well with that rear but I believe they were only available in early slant six A833's. The OD gearsets have a 3.09 as well but they have poor ratio splits and top gear would be useless with your 2.94.

[Mr Cuda]

 I put together 2,  3.09 first gear transmissions.
 Early 6cyl trunion trans are good donors,  as the rest is junk. The later 70's had the ratio again in A body trans with the small output shaft. (904 spline) also a good donor.  All non overdrive.
One is in my 340 with 3.23 as it has
 a large cam, so cruising rpm needs 3.23 for cam life. I cruise it at 3000+. It comes off the line numerically like a 2.65 first with 3.91.
 The other one is in my m46 318 car with 2.76's. Makes 2.76 possible off the line here with the hills.
 I'm building another for my 1/2 ton pickup that was O.D. equipped originally.
 If you had a stock 340, and minimal hills, a 2.65 first would be much easier to source, and probably be ok.

[MoparLeo]

It all depends on how tall ( diameter) your tires are.

[b5cuda]

Thanks guys, appreciate the input! My tires are 26.5 and I'd rather not change them out so my best option sounds like a 3.09 first gear (non-OD) 4-speed.

[MoparLeo]

OK, now we are getting somewhere. We now know what diameter the tires are so we can now calculate gear ratios.
 We could not do that with out this important info. We also know you for some reason not told are stuck on this diameter( Rim size, tire size ?) Thee has to be more to this story.
Rear gear change is the cheapest and has the most biggest effect on overall performance. So are you concerned with feathering the clutch going uphill from a stop or RPM at hi way speeds ? Is there something special about the tires you have or what else.
More info always gets better answers...
https://www.bgsoflex.com/rpmmph.html
http://www.wallaceracing.com/Calculators.htm

[b5cuda]

Thanks Leo. I think you rebuilt my door hinges, they worked out well.
I'd rather not change tires/wheels as they're all new. Same with rearend, it's completely rebuilt. My goal is a nice highway cruiser. The only thing I haven't messed with is the trans - got it in a parts deal and installed just to get the car on the road. But I find myself riding the clutch if there's any uphill start involved so I'm looking at other options. I got this tip from rumblefish360 on the a-body site.

"Multiply the gear ratio by the first gear ratio. The target sum should be as close to 10.00 as possible for arguably the best take off ratio.
2.44 X 2.94 = 7.17 - Not to great.
2.66 X 2.94 = 7.82 - An improvement, not so great though.
3.09 X 2.94 = 9.08 - Getting pretty nice here."

Also talked to a couple guys who used the 3.09 gear with 2.94 and they were happy, so I'm looking to go in that direction.