Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am a dealer's son. My Dad went into the business when I was around 5and worked almost all aspects (including repossessions) of it through his death.
I had the opportunity to own/drive so many cars over the years and considered it to be a privilege.
We all buy cars for different reasons and for most of us growing up with the post WWII cars it was HP and the looks of the cars. They did make some beautiful cars at the time.
One that I had that stood out was a 1968 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S convertible. It had the 340 motor which was unrated power wise for insurance purposes. I think it was rated at 325 but would test out more like 375 and in my case the car only weighed in about 3100#. I abused that motor over the years and it just kept on running. The car surprised many people on the street with it's performance.
The suspension was pretty good too for a factory car at the time.
I think the car looked better with the top down than up.
But I loved the high/quick revving 340 motor in that car. I have also owned a 426 Hemi and a 440 6 pack in other MOPARs over the years.
I've owned my 1970 340 Duster since 1974 (second owner). I'm pretty sure Plymouth rated the 68 340 at 275 HP (same as the 70 340) but actually made closer to 310. Great engine that I've had basically 0 issues with during the 40 plus years I've owned it.
Me either! I was at a NHRA event a couple years ago and they were STILL using the old 60's hemi as an engine platform in the top fuel cars. Couldn't they come up with something better after all these years?
Unless you're talking about top fuel Hemi's. Todays nitromethane Hemi's have no interchangeable parts with 1960 street / race Hemi's. Cruz Pedregon tried running an engine based on a big block GM design in his funny car a few years back with disastrous results. John Force Racing also tinkered with an engine based on Ford's big block in his funny car a couple of years ago. Ford was his primary sponsor at the time, so I'm sure they helped with the R&D for the motor. If I remember correctly his car was running the Ford based motor while his daughter and Robert Hight ran Hemi based motors.
I've owned my 1970 340 Duster since 1974 (second owner). I'm pretty sure Plymouth rated the 68 340 at 275 HP (same as the 70 340) but actually made closer to 310. Great engine that I've had basically 0 issues with during the 40 plus years I've owned it.
I've owned two 340 cars... a Duster and Cuda' both with sticks... good engines.
Almost any newish engine making 250HP+ with the proper tuning these days are good. What really limits their potential are the transmissions and ECU management.
Too many cars these days are programmed to slow down revs and kill the fun too quickly especially with CVT and auto trannys.
A properly tuned 4 cylinder Honda engine can outclass many 6 cylinder factory tuned engines in terms of responsiveness and usable torque.
I wouldn't say it is my favorite production engine but is one that I am intrigued by is the Cadillac Northstar V8. Yes, yes... the first decade had a weakness (head bolt anchor points) however with that weakness corrected (easily, with several options) these are bullet proof, high revving, super smooth V8s. By 1991 standards they were way ahead of their time and by today's standards they are still a sophisticated, efficient engine that could easily compete as a power plant for what is available in luxury cars; my guess is cost caused GM to phase the line out.
Right. A 1970 Corvette which sold for $9000.00 came stock with a 454 cubic inch L88 engine 456 gear ratio and performed in the 10's in 1\4 mile acceleration. Right off the showroom floor.
You can have the pedestrian Mustang it is like a bellybutton- everybody has one.
Personally I would rather have had the L88 chevy engine in a Malibu SS. Better yet in a Monte Carlo SS, a beautiful car, all leather ribbed interior. Luxurious. Really. Classic in the true sense of that automotive word.
I beat a Mustang GT with my 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis LSE. You could see this guy driving next to me -shifting away inside the Mustang.
The LSE is an all leather cruiser equipped with an automatic floor shift, 4.6 Liter cid and the Police Interceptor Package. It is quick.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffD
I don't get the love for ancient big block V8 engines. Today, boring middle class cars have 300 hp and it's nothing special to own a 400 hp car. My totally pedestrian 6-cylinder Subaru Outback has 256 hp and 247 foot-lbs of torque.
When push comes to shove, it's the weight to horsepower ratio and a flat torque curve that matter. You can get a 500+ hp Mustang for sub-$50K that completely smokes any 1960's/1970's Detroit big metal and will actually go around a corner.
Also had a rotary engine 1978 Mazda RX-2. A strange running car, no acceleration up to fifty
but then lookout, the thing would hum along like a sewing machine @ 75 mph and 8000 rpm
effortlessly.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
1970's,
