Gearheads, 60's/70's Detroit muscle or imports?

In My Humble Opinion
21

Beagle - all of your points are totally valid. I can’t argue with a single one of 'em. You’re 100% correct.

All that I’ll say is this… when I park my 66 Shelby Fastback Mustang with Scarlett Red paintwork with white Le Mans stripes running down the length of the body - everybody, totally EVERYBODY agrees that it looks the champ. I know it’s old. It’s been totally restored with magnificent headliner and matching colour coded upholstery and dash etc. Just magnificent. But hell, if I want safety and creature comforts, I’ll just drive my Lexus.

But if I want to feel special and drive around and make every one from 16 to 60 just stop and drool, out comes the 66 Shelby Fastback Mustang. Nothing beats it. I don’t have to go fast in a car like that to feel “king of the world”.

My attitude towards speed these days is this - you wanna play race boy? - go visit the racetrack. Leave the highspeed stuff to the safety of a closed road course. Anyone who wants to prove what a Fangio they are on open streets is a menace.

Hence, my Shelby Mustang is just right. Awesome looks with no need to prove anything.

22

labmonkey, have I got the car for you. Looks like a daily driver to me. It has the necessary power for passing and merging.

23

Not fair Boo Boo Foo, there are specific horsepower requirements that must be satisfied, as per the OP.

Don’t make me come over there… :wink:

24

Oh it does Beagle. Well, put it this way… the engine is a K-code 289 which was rated at 270hp new. But since then, a previous owner installed Edelbrock alloy heads, an Edelbrock torque cam from 1500-5200 RPM, and an Edelbrock fuel injection system which replicates the original manifold and butterfly mechanism. I haven’t put it on a dyno, but my investigation of the Edelbrock site would indicate it’s probably good for at least 340hp I suspect. I never use it though. Too much horsepower for the kind of laid back driving that I like to do. The best thing about the fuel injection system is that it delivers about 28 mpg if you drive it mildy, and yet it still has that great carby sound.

By the way, my “race boy” comment wasn’t directed at you personally - just that “cafe racer” scene if you know what I mean.

25

I’ve been up too long already. You did say “Shelby” Mustang? One last internet search before off to bed. This should be interesting. Maybe we can get him a beat up 289 for $40,000?

Eh, too lazy, must close eyes.

Call “Pete” and offer him 70K. Sure, it’s “sold.” That’s a nice 428 if you can get past the color.

Hopefully, while I’m dreaming, I’ll race Superbirds, Corvettes, and stuff. I’m afraid some little AWD Evo with over 400 HP is going to come eat my pie though.

26

Who looks twice at 80s and 90s imports and F bodies… they’re everywhere and all look the same.

27

:confused:

Those 1968 Firebirds, 1969 GTOs, and 440 Chargers were – for a short time – the screaming chicken 6.6 liter Trans Ams, IROC Zs, or Cobras of today and yesterday. If I were to say, “mullet ride,” would you know what I mean?

You want the next Shelby Mustang, or as close as you’re going to get that’s affordable from a crappy era (1970s)? Pick up one of the old screaming chicken Firebirds.

Nothing worth driving from the classic muscle car era is affordable. They have been collectible for quite a few years already. If one is affordable, in the face of a strong demand, ask yourself why. Where will the “unexpected 5K” end up going first?

28

All of the classic muscle cars are based on regular production vehicles. The only thing different was bigger engines and in some cases heavier suspensions and bigger brakes.

You could get a 68 LeMans and easily put a 500 inch Caddy engine in it and still be below the price of a hot rod import.It would be fun to drive and still have the nostalgia vibe.
That is just one example.

You don’t have to buy a numbers matching original muscle car to have fun.

I recently sold a 73 road runner with sunroof and presentable paint and interior for $2500. It was not a fast car but it was fun and turned heads. The guy who bought it loves it and drives it 50 miles round trip to work everyday in the summer.
Stone dead reliable.
Same fuel milage as my 2001 Dakota Pick Up.
Besides I think the OP is looking at Muscle car era for nostalgic reasons.

Last Year my brother sold a professional resto 68 AMX two seater. It was for all intents and purposes BRAND NEW. It ran 13’s and handled well on modern radials. $15,000 took it away.
To be fair he had more than that in it but deals are out there.

You know, modern suspensions that utilize Mcpherson (sp?) strut technology really rely more on their tires for adequate handling than a superior design. The wheels move in an arc in their travel reducing the tires contact with the road. the advantage to a strut design is that it’s cheap and light weight.
I would rather have a parallel double wishbone type that keeps the centerline of the wheel perpendicular to the road.

New is not always better, but it is new.

29

Oh come on man! From your location, I would believe you should be able to find a nice quite stretch of road where you could open it up. You do not have to thrash it, but it would be a shame to not feel all the mods you have done.

30

Just as a point of reference, my friend, but it would be unfair to claim credit for the Edelbrock mods I mentioned earlier - they were done by the previous owner, and a fine selection of mods they are indeed. The one thing that I personally am considering is fitting the 13" discs and calipers of the Ford Falcon XC GT which was made down here from 1973-1978. That’s the car which was immortalised as the black monster in the Mad Max films. Apparently, a lot of the parts on the Mustang range and the local Aussie Ford cars were interchangeable, and I’m told that the disc brake system of the car in question is a very fine bit of work with lots of alloy bits and superior calipers and that kind of thing.

Also, yes I have a good stretch of quiet road which would do the trick - but alas, I’ve been pinged too many times in the past for being reckless in a hot little Alpina BMW 323i which had a great 2.7 litre Alpina engine in it. I suspect I got my “need for speed” permanently out of my system with that car - and the fines and license suspensions which went with it. I was never silly in traffic, just occasionally on country roads would I give it a fang but I got pinged enough times to end up being paranoid that there are coppers bloody everywhere these days.

31

Check out Hemmings Motor News and you’ll see how far $1000 will get you.

Me? I’ll take a 66 or 67 Goat, black withe maroon interior, convertible.

32

I bought an 89 Corvette Ragtop in 1996 for $15k. between 1999 and 2002, I dropped another $15k in motor and transmission. Plus I think I’ve touched or replaced just about every moving part it’s got to date.

After the twins were born, the time I could spend puttering with it was cut by about 15/16ths…but I sure do enjoy that 1/16th!

33

This is pretty typical, and UB sounds like someone who can turn a wrench. Personally, once it involves seals or gaskets, I’m reading the instructions twice and putting it off a week if I can.

Any car, even one rolling out of the lot new, can break down. I love older cars. I’ve owned several. I had a 1968 Firebird with a 400. Drunk drivers suck. That car hit the crusher. [sub]:sob: Yes, I know I suck. You go back to 1982 and buy it from the insurance company! [/sub]

If you don’t mind frayed jeans, cats clawing your couch, squeaky hinges, or leaks, old cars are for you!

34

Boo Boo Foo: The cop situation is understandable - but as I tell my friends that say “aren’t you a little old for that” - we are able to afford the trouble now!!! :slight_smile:

But man, you are destroying my image of your country as being a hard core - wild and free place.

I just rebuilt the automatic overdrive in Blown and Injected (I have now done every type of mechanical work that can be done) but the weather is again not cooperating I really wanted to get to the track and look for a possible crack into the 10’s (I have been running 11’s in street trim). Guess I’ll have to settle for some third gear blasts on the highway (no traffic anywhere within 1,000 feet of me when I hit it - no side streets either - just enough to get some A/F readings and make sure I have no knock at high boost)

Beagle: Tell me more about your ride - what’s it run?

35

You rang? Hey was that you in my living room? And I thought it was just a cat…

I saw a teal coloured Malibu, ummmmm 70’s I am sure, one time while on a delivery. OMG! I was in lust. I coulda thrown everyone of those boys outta there and TAKEN that car! So I am telling my friend at work about it and the Manager says" Krisfer those are kids!" I looked at him and said “If you listen hard enough I am raving on and on about the car and only mentioning the cute boys in passing.” mmmm I still dream about that car! :wink:

36

So, does that mean anyone in this thread want to buy my 1968 Cadillac Eldorado? It has a 472 in it.

Oh. Wait. The 472 is in my garage. In pieces. I guess I should put that together sometime, eh? :slight_smile:

37

How hard could it be? It’s got, like, 8 moving parts, right? :smiley:

38

And they’re all bigger than my head! [Tim Allen grunt]

39

Well, I reckon that depends on the temperature of the air and who drives it.

With me driving – it really depends. I’ve tweaked the air in, air out (I don’t weld, farmed that out), thermostat, weight savings, a couple suspension parts, hacked the computer a bit. BUT, I have very street tires. It’s all legal. I have EGR, cats, the works. I really don’t care about racing. I like the car to pull harder at high RPMs because, well, you get it or you don’t.

That’s no BS. I’ll answer, just wait. Right now, in the middle of the afternoon, maybe mid-13s or even higher. I have those 16 inch tires. Sometimes it launches, sometimes it spins. Low 13s with some decently cool air and a good launch. If I could really power shift really well-- without banging the rev. limiter – that time could be brought down. If I did not worry about slamming up into first from second, that time could be brought down.

If I actually raced a little instead of using the no-back-seats as the SUZ-28, Caninero, or back yard delivery truck (largest to date: ten foot crepe myrtle tree)…

If I actually drove the way it may sound like I drive…

OTOH, I was thinking about doing some minor modifications to the intake, heads, and cam. They are looking a bit old. I have the LS-6 intake sitting in the garage. (That will go to Norris Motorsports if they are still in business)

There are some 3.83 gears – just a wee bump from 3.42, and I can hack that with the Hypertech – and a stronger rear diff cover just waiting for the 10 bolt to explode (no, I will not touch that job other than resetting the computer for the correct gears).

But first (guess what!), REALITY CHECK, it’s pads, rotors, tires, and shocks. The intake and gears have already collected dust for a couple years.

40

I have a 1970 Chevelle, ground-up rebuild (I won’t say restoration, awful changes were made). It’s been stripped to the frame, painted, coated with protective liner, and put back together with a slightly radical 350. The lumpy cam and the laissez-faire approach to exhaust mean it sounds meaner than hell. Cragar SS wheels for that I-don’t-know-what-decade-it-is look. It is a thing of beauty, but enormous amounts of money, yelling, blood, busted knuckles, slimy body-shop guys, terminally confused parts salesmen, and junkyard forays in the hot sun went into it. It was all more than worth it to me, but unless you have a deep and abiding love for old cars, maybe you need something more modern and forgiving.