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I also found the results from an old comparison that MT or C&D did in 1976, where they pitted an LTD with the 460 against a Gran Fury with a 400 big block and a Caprice with a 400 smallblock. The LTD was the quickest in 0-60, at 11.3 seconds. The Plymouth came in at 12.2 and the Caprice at 12.8. But then, in the quarter mile, the Caprice clocked in at the quickest, 17.6 seconds. The Gran Fury and LTD tied for 18.2.
Kinda interesting that the LTD came off that much quicker than the Caprice initially, but then the Caprice would catch up and end up beating it in the quarter mile. I guess the LTD would just run out of breath, while the Caprice was a slow starter, but just happier in the higher revs?
They were also putting ridiculously tall axle ratios in the cars by this time, too, which I'm sure held them back. They were probably around 2.41:1 for the Caprice, 2.45:1 for the Plymouth, and 2.50:1 for the Ford. I dunno if they were doing similar things in trucks though, since a truck would be more likely to get put to serious work, rather than just hauling one or two people around.
ford engines are usually configured to make their torque at lower rpms, so that kind of lines up with your post about the big sedan accelleration numbers.
Today, I finally got around to changing spark plugs on the car. And for good measure, change the ignition coil. Then, as I was putting the air cleaner back on the car, I noticed a loose hose. I couldn't figure out where it went, so I used my 5th Ave as a reference point. I knew having two of these things around would come in handy! :P It just came from one part of the air cleaner assembly, and hooked into another part of it, right behind the carburetor.
After doing all that, the car fired right up. So I don't know if it was the spark plugs, new ignition coil, or the vacuum hose that did it.
I was so psyched up that I drove the car around the neighborhood, came back home, and washed it. And then, just to keep me from being too proud of myself,it refused to start back up when I wanted to move it! It was back to its old tricks of starting up fine the first time, but then getting iffy with subsequent starts.
I did go out about an hour later though, and it fired right up. Still, I'm thinking of just giving in and taking it to the mechanic. I've done about everything I can do under the hood. Replaced the cap, rotor, spark plugs, coil, and fuel filter. I have a feeling that any further digging I try with it would probably do more harm than good!
I was just inclined to think that it was something causing a weak spark, like the coil or spark plugs or something, and that was letting it flood.
Would a weak fuel pump allow it to flood?
He trust's his mechanic, he's the best in town, but this guy has no idea how much it is to fix all this stuff. Thats hard to believe.
http://southbend.craigslist.org/car/618357265.html
barrel and it would fire right up.
Getting tired of this ritual, I replaced the fuel pump, and it started up perfectly from then on.
And the bad shifting must be a vacuum line that costs .25 cents. It couldn't possibly be a bad vacuum pump or transmission governor. Whatever it is, that vacuum line was too difficult for my mechanic to replace. He never said anything at all about needing $2,000 in repairs. No really. The subject never came up.
My NYer started up just fine this morning, and I drove it about 8 miles. Then, about 20 mins after I got back home, I tried it again and it fired right up. But a couple hours later I tried it, and it refused, so it's still messing with my mind!
Oh well, at least it's back to the point where it starts sometimes. I was really getting concerned when it refused to fire up for about a month and a half. So if nothing else, if I end up giving up on it, I can get it to the mechanic under its own power.
This one doesn't look too bad in pics, but I have a feeling it wouldn't look as good up close. I like the color, but don't care for that odd half-vinyl roof. I'd also be tempted to lose the rear skirts, although I guess then I'd have to hunt down some wheel well trim to make the car look complete.
james
Yeah, they had different grille inserts to differentiate the LeMans from the Grand LeMans in '76, and then they changed them both in '77. They also did that in 1975. I can't remember though, if they continued this habit in '78-81.
This eBay '76 is wearing the correct Grand LeMans inserts, which is what mine should have, in order to be correct. However, I discovered that while the inserts are all the same shape, the places where they bolt on are different. The '76 Grand LeMans inserts bolt up one way, while the '76 LeMans and '77 LeMans/Grand LeMans bolt up a different way. It's not all four bolts that are different though, but I can't remember if it's the upper or lower that they changed.
When I had first bought my coupe, I figured that one of the inserts had just gotten broken, and they were replaced by whatever one of the previous owners was able to find. But then when I found out the '76 Grand LeMans header panel was a bit different to accommodate the bolts, and other little details such as the stand up hood ornament and a couple of "Grand LeMans" badges that mine is missing, I surmised that my car had probably been in minor collision at some point in its life.
And yeah, I agree, the coupe is a lot more attractive, but for some reason the sedan still appeals to me, too!
Well, this duo is back on eBay, so maybe I could use the sedan for that? For some reason, I always hated that style hupcap, that those are what Buford's car had.
Hmm, I see dude lowered his buy it now price a tad. First time around, I think it was $6500, but now it's "only" $6150. Still way too high, I'm sure.
1977 Can-Am
james
And how do people get by with stuffing 351W's into Focuses and 426 Hemis into PT Cruisers, and still have them streetable?
I'm not sure about other states, but Maryland has a "Street Rod" classification, where if you have a heavily modified older car, you can get special plates for it.
"Canned Ham"...lol, I've never heard that one before. Cute. :P
Well "smoggable" is a market factor, not a local one---if you sell a non-smoggable car, you limit your market to those states that don't have smog laws.
Fer instance, if you own a Ferrari 308 with carbs instead of fuel injection, you can forget about selling it in California, which is a big market for these cars. So that hurts.
Well "smoggable" is a market factor, not a local one---if you sell a non-smoggable car, you limit your market to those states that don't have smog laws.
Fer instance, if you own a Ferrari 308 with carbs instead of fuel injection, you can forget about selling it in California, which is a big market for these cars. So that hurts.
I think it's also interesting that restorers are putting on the smog equipment if the car was so equipped.
Not something you'd expect to see in this part of the world
I really didn't care for the style of it that much. I like the '65-66 Chrysler and Dodge C-bodies, but just thought the '67-68 styles were too heavy-handed and kinda clunky. Now the Plymouth Fury, I thought that was a good looking car all four years. I prefer the '65-66, but I think the '67-68 still wear that heavy restyle pretty well.
One thing I remember about it too, is that for as big as it was, that Newport didn't seem all that roomy inside. One reason I usually preferred Chrysler products is that, model for model, they were usually roomier inside than their Ford or GM counterparts. But with this one, I swear my Catalina felt like it had more room, both interior and trunk space. This, despite the Pontiac being a convertible and the Newport being a hardtop.
I think the 4-door versions of these cars were pretty cavernous inside, but my coupe just wasn't that big. Oh, it would seat 6 people better than any non-limousine sedan built today, but then so would my Catalina.
james
Of course, those hideous vinyl-topped roofs on hardtops and sedans had a much shorter lifespan.
Oh I think the Polara, once it got moving, as with a small planet or large asteroid, would continue to move along very nicely in a pre-appointed and steady orbit. I always thought the combo of the 383 and the Torqueflite 8 transmission were about as bullet proof as you could get, presuming you did NOT slam it into reverse, at which point you have (congratulations) just broken your reverse servo in half.
They did suck gas, though, in city driving. You could hit 8 mpg all day long. Hwy mileage was tolerable for the time at least, probably as good as a brand new Chevy Suburban---about 15 mpg was all you were gonna get.
I had (shared) a Chrysler Newport 383 and we could hardly ever get the wheels to spin. But 4 people tried to kill that car and couldn't. It was like trying to bring down a woolly mammoth with wooden spears. It's probably still running out there, somewhere. We even took it off road on occasion, in Colorado.
Just on Sunday, I noticed that the steering wheel on my '68 Dart is starting to flake apart. I moved that car from where it had been sitting on the grass, to the driveway, so it wouldn't look so derelict, and that's when I noticed the steering wheel felt kind of greasy, and appeared to be peeling apart, almost like sunburned skin.'
Still, after 40 years of sitting out in the weather, I guess it's to be expected. I wonder how newer steering wheels hold up in comparison? My Intrepid's steering wheel actually started to deteriorate after about 2 1/2 years! It's made out of this padded rubbery stuff, and the natural oils in my hands started to break it down.
My '85 Silverado's steering wheel is padded as well, but it feels like it's rubbery all the way through, whereas the Intrepid's steering wheel seems like the rubbery part is just a veneer, waiting to peel away. A friend of mine had the same thing happen to one of his cars awhile back, but I can't remember which one it was now. I wonder if that's a common occurrence with newer cars?
Nah, unfortunately it hasn't moved under its own power in at least 6 years. :sick: I think the fuel pump went bad on it. It would turn over and would fire up if you dumped gas down in the carb, but then would stall once that burned off. At that time, I didn't have the time or money to mess with it, but looking back I wish I had. 6 years of sitting hasn't been kind to that car.
To move it, I chained it up to my pickup truck and then pulled it up to the entrance to my driveway by the road. Put it in park, unhooked it, hopped behind the wheel, and let it roll downhill till I got it where I wanted it on the driveway.
A kid came out on Saturday, and expressed an interest in the car. I told him to make me an offer, but I was also brutally honest about everything that was wrong with it. Still, he seemed interested. He said he drives down my street fairly regularly. I just hope he doesn't see that the car is in a different spot in the yard, and get his hopes up thinking that it moved under its own power! You can see it off to the side in this picture. I ended up moving it to roughly where the blue NYer is parked in this pic. There are some closer shots of it here. Enter at your own risk; it's actually kinda sad. :sick:
It would probably still be good as a parts car. And it has an 8 3/4 rear end, which has got to be worth something. And I have some old Dart GT bucket seats that I'd throw in if I sold it.
It was kinda cool, seeing it in motion from the rearview mirror of my truck. Even if it wasn't under its own power.
I thought those "hard plastic" wheels were actually hardened rubber?
Yeah, definitely. I don't want to turn into one of those grumpy old men who hangs onto something swearing I'll get to it "one day", while it just rots into the ground! I really hadn't thought about how much I'd want for it. At one time, I thought about asking $900-1000 and seeing what kind of counteroffers I got. But that was a couple years ago, and it's only gotten worse since then.
The kid (and I probably shouldn't call him that, as he's probably in his early 20's, but maybe that's a sign I'm getting up there :P ) said that he'd worked on a few Japanese cars of "his" generation, but had gotten bored with those types of cars, and wanted to try something older. Oh, and Lemko would like this...he pulled up in a mid 90's or so Cadillac Seville! It was black, and pimped up somewhat with some chrome on the roof pillars, tinted windows, and blingy rims. But at least no carriage roof!
Once this kid saw the Dart up close, it probably did scare him away and he just didn't want to say anything to hurt my feelings. But who knows? Maybe he'll come back?
I was thinking about trying to put it on Craigslist this summer, maybe spread the word on my Mopar Mailing list, and if it wasn't gone by the time fall rolls around, I'll just call the local junkyard to come get it. They specialize in old Mopars, and are pretty well known, so whatever useable parts and sheetmetal are still there would get used. It would help other cars live on, and wouldn't just get immediately pancaked.
Wow, I just thought of something...I've had that Dart for 16 years now! I bought it on 4/3/92.
Weird story Didn't think to go to a real shop for that BMW head gasket?
Just in time for when gas hits $4 a gallon
Tasteful wing
"Only one bad spot"
Old school You think that it still has that 4 - 6 - 8 and that it's working?
94 'burban --- that should pull in a good 12 mpg in the city. At $4 a gallon, that would mean each mile costs you about .33 cents....ouch! But if you have a large family or a ski lodge---maybe okay. Cheap enough compared to a new one.
Tiburon Wing -- that should slow you down enough.
78 Malibu--- well, good winter "salt" car for kickin' around. Try $1,200
81 Eldorado Coupe--- okay, mint condition. Congratulations. Now try $4,000.
Kind of a neat old thing
I wonder what year it was they finally stopped highlighting it? I'm guessing somewhere between 1989 and 2000, as my '89 Gran Fury's was highlighted, but my 2000 Intrepid isn't.
Sadly, if that '94 Suburban could actually pull 12 mpg, it would still be more economical than my old '85 Silverado! I'd almost be tempted, except that I have more use for a pickup than a big SUV.
Old Suburban -- 2 door Suburbans are in pretty high demand. This would become a street rod, no doubt. 3 on the tree with a 6 cylinder just isn't going to cut it. I'm always leery of the term "very little" rust, which is like saying "you have very little cancer". I'd say a crate engine, a TH400 transmission, nice wheels, decent paint job, new upholstery and rebuilt suspension and you're on your way to....to.....something......$15,000 to $20,000 later.