HEMI!

[Shrike6]

Farm Girl!

[Torqaholic]

Originally Posted by GTOguy

I still have a car magazine (CARS Illustrated?) from the early '80's where they drag test a stock '70 Roadrunner 426 Hemi dual quad 4 speed 4:10 Drag Pack car against a stock '70 Buick GSX 455 TH400 3:42 in the quarter mile. The Buick smoked the Hemi car 3 for 3 by over a full half second...

Had a 455 TH400 (w/shift kit) GS. Topped out first gear at 90mph and snapped your head back putting it into second. Loved that car.

[2manycars]

Originally Posted by GTOguy

Mine are a '65 Tripower 4 speed hardtop I bought in 1982 and a '67 convertible I bought in 1983. I've had many, but kept these two because the '65 is a real deal tripower car and the convertible was hard to find, even then. My first car at age 18 was a 4 speed tripower platinum silver/black '66 GTO. That spoiled me.
Attachment 74826

Nothing else like the 65-6-7 GTOs. A neighbor across the street drove a 66 GTO convertible for quite awhile. It was red with a white top and interior. I think it was a 4 speed too. When he was trading out of it he was willing to sell it to me for $600. I didn't have $600. If I had, I would have bought it and likely would still own it now. A couple of years later, I came across a 70 Cougar XR7 convertible, pretty much every possible option, 351C with a C6. By the time I could get some cash to me to put a down payment on it, it was sold. I definitely would have still had that car now, and deeply regret letting it get away. I own several cars now. The only 60s car is a 67 Camaro RS conv that needs a full restoration. I have owned that one for 44 years. Used it a lot. Cowl is rusted out left bottom, so it is unsafe to drive now.

[GTOguy]

2many, ALL the body parts are available now for the first gen Camaros. Being an RS it would be worth it to repair and put back in service. Not necessarily restored, just repaired. Mine have never been apart or restored either, but CA= no rust. The GTO's and Chevelles, etc. are better driving cars than the Cougar by a long shot, which uses a unibody construction and a Ford Falcon suspension. They LOOK great, but drive poorly. The F body Camaro and Firebirds are unibody as well, but have a much better suspension and drive well. Much better all around cars. The full frame GTO's and other GM A bodies drive great due to their relative rigidity. I've put over 130,000 miles on my '67 GTO ragtop. And it's more fun to drive with every passing year. When I bought it, it was a used car that was too old. Now it's a classic muscle car. LOL....

[RMVette]

YouTube (Short URL)

[2manycars]

Originally Posted by GTOguy

2many, ALL the body parts are available now for the first gen Camaros. Being an RS it would be worth it to repair and put back in service. Not necessarily restored, just repaired. Mine have never been apart or restored either, but CA= no rust. The GTO's and Chevelles, etc. are better driving cars than the Cougar by a long shot, which uses a unibody construction and a Ford Falcon suspension. They LOOK great, but drive poorly. The F body Camaro and Firebirds are unibody as well, but have a much better suspension and drive well. Much better all around cars. The full frame GTO's and other GM A bodies drive great due to their relative rigidity. I've put over 130,000 miles on my '67 GTO ragtop. And it's more fun to drive with every passing year. When I bought it, it was a used car that was too old. Now it's a classic muscle car. LOL....

Yep. I have a full rocker panel assembly, cowl side 'tulip' assembly, and repair section for the bottom of the door hinge post. Once I settle in in FL and get the garage set up, the car will come apart, get braced, and then repaired properly. Unlike a hardtop, on the convertible the entire rocker panel assembly should be replaced, when any section of it has rusted out. They are at least two layers thick, possibly three. They are VERY heavy, I can tell you that.

[Yadkin]

Hemis will be history in two years. ChryCo is going with a 3.0L straight six, twin turbo that will put out more torx and pow.

[GTOguy]

Originally Posted by Yadkin

Hemis will be history in two years. ChryCo is going with a 3.0L straight six, twin turbo that will put out more torx and pow.

Easy for you to say so and not be concerned.

You have a Z-code 300 HP big block FE 390 sitting in YOUR garage!

[Iron Chef]

Back when I had just graduated from high school, I worked for a Dodge dealership in Los Angeles for two years. One of my jobs was to drive the parts van to the Chrysler parts depot in Fullerton and pick up orders. I became friends with one of the guys in the receiving area. One day he said to follow him into the plant. We walked back to a caged in area, he unlocked it, and inside were several crated 426 Hemis and 440 Sixpack engines, Purple Stripe cams, Dana 60 rear ends. I about fainted. He said some of the executives squirreled them away after they were discontinued. Then he handed me a pair of 340 Six Pack fender decals that were out of print. This was 1979 and 1980, so things had been "NS1" and "NS2" for several years (at the time, this was Chrysler's designation for parts no longer produced or stocked).

I've owned a 440 Six Pack and a 440 Magnum Challenger, a 440 Charger and a 383 Super Bee. I can tell you that there is NOTHING that sounds as good as a Chrysler Big Block.

[Yadkin]

Originally Posted by GTOguy

Easy for you to say so and not be concerned.

You have a Z-code 300 HP big block FE 390 sitting in YOUR garage!

396 with 30 overbore. With a Lunati Voodoo roller cam, Sanderson headers and F.A.S.T EFI, may be a bit more torx and pow.

[GTOguy]

Originally Posted by Yadkin

396 with 30 overbore. With a Lunati Voodoo roller cam, Sanderson headers and F.A.S.T EFI, may be a bit more torx and pow.

With that three-ought rear screw, that thing will cruise 'the ton' easily.

In my old '61 T bird, we'd go out and drink and then drive home from the bar, totally waxed, the 20 miles or so home on the freeway. Never got in trouble. Young and dumb. But we felt incapsulated in the 'bird with the wrap-around seats, deep cockpit design, cool green gauges, and unrivaled build quality. Like riding in a bank vault. Glad we never hit anything.

[Yadkin]

Originally Posted by GTOguy

With that three-ought rear screw, that thing will cruise 'the ton' easily.

In my old '61 T bird, we'd go out and drink and then drive home from the bar, totally waxed, the 20 miles or so home on the freeway. Never got in trouble. Young and dumb. But we felt incapsulated in the 'bird with the wrap-around seats, deep cockpit design, cool green gauges, and unrivaled build quality. Like riding in a bank vault. Glad we never hit anything.

AOD from a late 80s Crown Vic, 1600 rpm at highway speeds.

[GTOguy]

Originally Posted by Yadkin

AOD from a late 80s Crown Vic, 1600 rpm at highway speeds.

You sneaky bos!

[snide]

Originally Posted by Yadkin

AOD from a late 80s Crown Vic, 1600 rpm at highway speeds.

Had a '91 Crown Vic, ex cop car. Cruising down the highway was great. EVERYBODY got out of the left lane.

However, my Crown Vic was the most uncomfortable car I had owned.

[2manycars]

Originally Posted by GTOguy

With that three-ought rear screw, that thing will cruise 'the ton' easily.

In my old '61 T bird, we'd go out and drink and then drive home from the bar, totally waxed, the 20 miles or so home on the freeway. Never got in trouble. Young and dumb. But we felt incapsulated in the 'bird with the wrap-around seats, deep cockpit design, cool green gauges, and unrivaled build quality. Like riding in a bank vault. Glad we never hit anything.

There's a very good reason for that. It was built on the Continental platform, in the Continental assembly plant. More accurately, the Continental WAS the proposed 61 TBird. Ford execs pirated it for Lincoln, and told the TBird guys to re-do theirs, on the first car's platform. This is why the Continental had suicide rear doors. It was designed to be solely a 2 door car. They couldn't stretch it enough for conventional rear doors without ruining the design. That TBird basically WAS a Lincoln Continental. Ford also considered front wheel drive for it. TBirds used a Lincoln platform from 1958 through 1976. It went back onto a standard Ford platform in 1977.

[GTOguy]

Originally Posted by 2manycars

There's a very good reason for that. It was built on the Continental platform, in the Continental assembly plant. More accurately, the Continental WAS the proposed 61 TBird. Ford execs pirated it for Lincoln, and told the TBird guys to re-do theirs, on the first car's platform. This is why the Continental had suicide rear doors. It was designed to be solely a 2 door car. They couldn't stretch it enough for conventional rear doors without ruining the design. That TBird basically WAS a Lincoln Continental. Ford also considered front wheel drive for it. TBirds used a Lincoln platform from 1958 through 1976. It went back onto a standard Ford platform in 1977.

I was aware of this. But it's arcane, not well known info. Note also the '61 Continental had the T-bird headlamp bezels and grille style. It also was the first American car with curved side glass. That proved expensive so it was back to flat side glass for the '62 and up models, IIRC. (may be '63-up).
The biggest unibody car I ever drove was a '60 Continental with the Pagoda styling and canted headlights with the breezeway rear window. It was cherry and for sale for the right price, but would literally not fit in my garage. That car was sooooo big it actually had a bit of cowl shake on the freeway.

[Dan47]

Originally Posted by Yadkin

Hemis will be history in two years. ChryCo is going with a 3.0L straight six, twin turbo that will put out more torx and pow.

Hopefully makes the current, 21’ and up Challengers collectible or at least spike their prices for a year or two.

Ford might have shown it’s not just hp that sells as their Raptor is going back to an 8? For me personally, I like the sound a V8 makes and wouldn’t trade that for double the torque and hp.