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60s-70s big Chevrolets vs. big Fords
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Of course, the passenger could be sprawled out all over the front of the car, legs crossed, not a care in the world. The car offered so much room in the front.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
What the hell was wrong with the car that it took 13 seconds to do 0-60? A heavier '72 Impala, with a 165 hp 350-2bbl, could do 0-60 in about 12-12.5 seconds, and that was with much more conservative Consumer Reports testing it!
I also had a '69 Bonneville, and while it had its problems, handling, acceleration, and braking were not among them. Its 400-4bbl would move it from 0-60 in about 9 seconds, I guess. It handled pretty well for a car shod with 75-series tires (225/75/R-15). Braking wasn't bad either...it had disk up front, drum in the rear. Basically the typical full-size RWD car as it existed up until around the mid 90's, just in a more swingin' 60's body shell.
We forget how easy it is to lose control in a full-lockup panic stop if you don't have ABS. I've swapped ends twice in my life and all it takes is for one wheel to lock up before the others.
As for the handling, I think Chevy went to full-soft settings in '69 based on my dad's car and now seeing this one. If you ordered the F-41 suspension it was much more capable.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Detroit forgets who buys their cars, and instead thinks what car reviewers say is what everyone wants. Never been a Buick man, but who knows. Bonus on the LeSabre, it has about the lowest insurance rates, and lowest theft rate, of any mass produced car available.
I know Mercury's are kind of also-ran cars right now, but weren't kind of the same way back in the 60's? Didn't Ford outsell them by a huge multiple back then?
"It's as hot as it looks!"
(which can be taken two ways, don't you know?)
When did Chevy finally phase out the Powerglide tranny? Did they still have it in 1969? I know it was available in '68, and probably part of the reason that Chevies that CR tested usually did so bad. They tested a '68 Impala 307 with the Powerglide, and it took something like 14.5 seconds to hit 60. Maybe that '69 with the 396 was stuck with a Powerglide?
This same book also lists a 265-hp 396 (RPO L66), available in '69 only, which I assume is the two-barrel (cost $68.50). I'm guessing they didn't sell all that many, as the four-barrel 350 (RPO L48), with 300hp at $52.50, was also available.
As for Powerglide and its availability on full-size Chevys - I thought the 396 engines were only available with Turbo Hydramatic. I can't imagine Powerglide being strong enough to handle the torque of that big engine. This was one area where Plymouth had a definite advantage - all engines, from the slant six to the biggest V-8, were available with Torqueflite, which was far superior to Powerglide.
I also see a reference to a "hi-perf and police original equipment" crank, identical to the regular version but with grooved mains and larger harmonic balancer, available after 1/15/62.
The 390 PI used the same rods as the 390HP, 406 and '63-4 427. '66-70 PIs used a rod with a slightly thicker beam and rod bolt, shared with the hydraulic cam 427 ('68 only) and 428 CJ.
It looks like the early mechanical cam in 390 PIs was C3AZ-6250-T with "only" 282 degrees duration, .440" lift and 54 degrees overlap. Compare that to the Medium Riser 427's 306/.500/78, pretty manly specs. I can't tell what later PIs used but the hydro GT cam would be a good bet.
My source says the PI intake manifold is the same as the "special order" 428 CJ aluminum version, although the regular 428 intake is identical but cast iron. The CJ used a 735 cfm Holley. IIRC the Autolite 4v came in 480 (small block) and 600 cfm (big block) versions and the latter may be the 4300 used on the 428 PI.
'61-5 390 330 hp @ 5000
'66-9 428 360 hp @ 5400
This one was very clean, kind of a grey blue with black vinyl top, and with the Caprice roofline that says "personal luxury car" (or maybe it's "rich Corinthian leather"). It certainly got my attention.
The family who lived almost directly across the street from us owned a 1968 Impala Super Sport fastback with a four-speed. I still remember the sound of that engine (the exact engine escapes me). At the same time, my grandmother's "gentleman friend" had a 1968 Bel Air four-door sedan with dog dish hubcaps, a three-speed on the column and a six cylinder engine! Kind of amazing to think how versatile the full-size Chevy was even in the late 1960s. It could be a stripped family sedan, luxurious coupe or sporty fastback.
In many ways, I think the Caprice and LTD undermined Cadillac and Lincoln. By the early 1970s, there really wasn't anything on a Cadillac or Lincoln that you couldn't get on a properly optioned full-size Chevy or Ford.
Except maybe the snob appeal of driving a "real" luxury car...
I know that nobody buys these kinds of barges for performance, but it also seems that an Electra or 98 with its corresponding 455 V-8, and lighter mass, might be a slightly better performer than Caddy with a 500. But then, you still lose the snob appeal!
Oh yeah, Lemko, if you've never seen it before, check out this website: http://www.100megsfree4.com/cadillac/
The guy who put it together is a real Cadillac nut, and has tons of pictures, info and tidbits on it.
I wonder if any of GM's downsized full-sizers in the late '70's would've been able to break the 10-second barrier? My guess is that a Catalina with a 400 or an Olds Delta with a 403 might have the best shot. But then they tended to play with gearing back then, to give weaker engines an advantage, and hold back the bigger engines in a lame attempt at improving fuel economy.
In '77 and '78 you could order a base Delta 88 coupe (lightest model) with the 403. Assuming you could order an optional rear gear, that probably moved out reasonably well.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Let's suppose you had one car with a 2.94 rear and 2.45 first gear, and another with a 2.45 rear end but a 2.94 first gear. All other things being equal, should they both take off about the same? At least until they hit 2nd gear?
I think first gear on most GM trannies was 2.48:1, until they came out with really tall rear gearing. Then they went to a 2.73 first gear. At least, I've seen both first gears mentioned on that Caddy website I posted earlier. They also listed a variety of rear ends, from something like a 2.24 on up to a 3.08.
I'd imagine if you could get a 2.73 first gear with a 3.08 rear end, your typical smogged '70's cruiser wouldn't be too bad, would it?
A friend of mine used to have an '82 Cutlass Supreme sedan, with the 260 V-8 and the 3-speed automatic. One night we did a little drag race out on the highway, when I had my '86 Monte with a 305 and 4-speed automatic. I was actually suprised at how well that Cutlass did. My Monte was still faster, but not as much faster as you would think, considering they both weighed about the same yet the Monte had 50 more hp (dunno about torque though...I think the 305 had 245 but I don't know about the 260...maybe 210-220 ft-lb?)
1969 caprice
It not only worked, it made them very easy to "hop-up"
My book also shows 3 different 429's being available for the Monterrey: a 320 hp version, 360, and 370.
What body style is it? And is it a Monterrey or Monterrey Custom?
But, I tell you, I haven't really found affordable cars that have the kind of torque and horsepower as those old tanks.
Modern affordable cars may or may not have less horsepower than the old Detroit tanks, after you account for the changes in how horsepower was calculated then versus today, but modern cars tend to develop their horsepower at higher rpm than the old ones. I agree that the old barges tended to have more torque, especially at low speeds, than the new cars. The fact that new transmissions have more gears than the old ones is a compensating factor. In addition, the new cars tend to be lighter than the old ones you refer to, but maybe not all that much lighter, due to all the new safety and emissions regulations. Lastly, modern cars are much more aerodynamic than the old ones, but the benefit of this is minimal in accelerating from stop sign. The upshot, though, is that a new four cylinder Accord/Altima/Camry/Fusion/Malibu can probably out-accelerate an old Fury/Galaxie/Granada/Impala/or whatever by a comfortable margin, and V6 versions of the '08 cars would absolutely blow the old ones away. Even the old cars with the big engine options wouldn't stand a chance against the new V6s.
The old cars felt faster than what they actually were, compared to newer cars, because of the sounds they made, and the fact that the back of the car went down and the hood came up more under hard acceleration. This contributed to the feeling of quick acceleration.
Can anyone help with horsepower (after conversion to the new way of calculating) and torque (including rpms, if possible) comparisons?