Is your 235 tired? I would have guessed this combo would have worked. Joker has 273 rear and a t-5 and says he pulls overdrive fine. The stock 235 puts a lot of torque out at the 1500 - 2000 rpm range. I find it odd that at 1700 rpms that old girl won't pull.

I am asking so many questions because I was planning to run at a similar rpm range for maximum fuel efficiency. My numbers would give me about 1900 rpms at 70 mph. I don't have the rear or the trans yet, so I could change that. I am also running a 302 gmc which is a little more stout than that chevy. I was thinking that it would be a quieter ride to be just under 2000 rpms.