American Muscle.

[Micromag5371]

ok, i might catch some slack here, but i dont mind. Let me start by saying new cars suck. almost every new car is dumb, with exceptions for pontiac trans am muscle car, which puts out 320 HP, and all new porsche's which i have a great deal of respect for. i am only 15, but i think about this kinda stuff alot. Somebody told me that a Saab would beat a porsche in a 1/4 mile....i told him otherwise, because saab's are stupid and i really dont think they can match the performance of a porsche. Now, with that said, i dont see any reason to like other new cars. I can not tell the diference between a Crown Victoria (unless its a cop car) and a concord sitting besides it. Alot of new cars look the same. the companies are cloning other companies designs, which is only beneficial to a marketing point of view, not to the public appeal. Back in the 60's and 70's you could tell which car was which, by the looks or the sound. they sounded different, they looked different, and they ran different. American muscle cars cannot be beat by anything if you ask me. i would rather sink $2,000 + another $10,000 into restoration for an old car than spend $12,000 on a new car. its not worth it to look like everybody elses car. and when you spent the same amount on a muscle car as you did on a new car, you have a better, nicer looking, and better running car than the new one. proper maintenance will prevent any problems so dont give me any crap about reliability.
My dream car would have to be a 63' chevy nova with a 402 under the hood with some NOS, a blower, 2 quad carbs, and some 5 point restraints becasue you would need them, along with a roll cage. now, i am 15 like i stated, and i wont have that type of car for a long time, but i will have a nice car someday, and it wont be new. Chevrolet laguna's are the best!

[Major Ho]

Ive heard it at least twice recently, someone would be tuning or messing around with a car, i know for sure one time it was a mustang, that when they would revv the engine and get real high the engine or something would kinda sputter and sometimes make a slight pop sound...Doesnt sound very healthy to me and I was just wondering what was up? the initial rumble and roar is still quite impressive.

Someone said long line of Honda sport cars in an earlier post...OMGorsh I couldnt help but laugh at that...I do admit the S2000 is pretty slick though, almost kept up with her older sis, NSX in some road tests.

[Zumina]

I can't really say which is better. I've seen some Civics that really move, but they're only about as fast as a bone stock 305 camaro. Some have had some success racing against higher end cars (ie. camaros), but, most people do not know how to efectively race. Camaros will sit and spin their tires while the civic launches and takes off. Ever wonder why you never see civics in rubber competitions? So, as it is said in the great game of paintball, it's not the car, but the driver. I assure you of this. I could probably put together a civic that would wipe out all of the "fast" cars that are parked in my schools parking lot. Simply because, a good majority of them don't know what they're doing when it comes to racing. All they understand is putting the pedal to the floor and expecting to win. Much like TWiBs; lay on the trigger and expect to win. Who would win in a race, a high school kid in a SS Camaro, or Jeff Gordon in a nicely equiped Civic?

[braaatz]

Torque is what USALLY wins on the street, because thats
what gets you moving. V-8s have more torque at lower
rpm's vs. a 4 or 6 cyl.
If torque is available quicker the car will move quicker
of the line and start producing horsepower sooner.
In DRAG RACING, cars are usally set up to launch at peak torque, regardless of engine size. Available torque
is used, making it MORE of a power to weight issue.
This is general speak, a 83 Crown Vic with a v8 wont
beat an Integra type-R(on the street). But a 93 mustang with similar HP would be the favorite against the type-R, in my book.

[bornl33t]

Just outta curiosity.... how many of you have, had or worked on a car built for racing or performance?

I've had 3 mustangs and will be buying yet another soon.
When you race there are 2 types of racing.
drag and autocross. NO car can be builtt for both, period.

This is why import vs domestic is pointless. Domestics were made with v-8 up until just the last few years. Generally they where made for going straight.
Imports are generally made to turn and go on.

This is like comparing a horse to a turtle. Can a horse dive? Can a turle run?

the ONE thing they have in common is what causes them to go fast! weight vs torque vs tracktion
I think we can all agree that the lighter a car is, the more torque a car has, the better it can hook up the FASTER it will move.

This is why have had 3 and going on 4 FOX3 mustangs. @ 2300-3300 lbs they are faily light. The Ford 302 roller short block is an AWESOME engine. Not to big as to add tons of weight and not to small to lack the displacement. I have heard of ppl squeezing no less then 700 ponies outta this block before they blew it up. The fox3 chassie is light. the coupe weights in around 2300lbs the hatch around 2800lbs and the vert around 3300 lbs. If you can find a car capable of hitting 700HP with the factory block @ 2300. You have a car with some real potencial.

by the way awd or rwd is no biggie. slap a set of micky tompson et's ( dragslicks ) on a rwd car and you've more then made up the tracktion. not to mension awd is heavy. And a mustang has great weight transfer.

Anyone care to agree/disagree?

[Gunga]

Here's an old 'muscle car' of German origins. That's me driving it...unfortunately, it's not my car! DOH!

[braaatz]

GUNGA I do have a 75 pinto wagon with a nitroused
302, that is used only for drag racing(the car is
nowhere near street legal). I also am building a 66
ford fairlane with a 460.
I agree with your opinion on the 4cyl. vs. 8cyl. debate,
and also about straight line and cars built for handling.
Two friends of mine race SCCA, they both have 4cyl. turbo
AWD cars(subaru RS w/turbo kit and a celica all-trac turbo).
Understandably they get really frustrated when people
ask them how fast it is in a 1/4 mile or if there going to drag it. Some people just dont get it, but it has become
a general standard on how fast a car is.

[Zumina]

My friends and I all race our cars almost every other weekend. We're anything special, just a group of guys with predominately stock cars trying to see who is the fastest over a windy road. Here we are:
95' 5.0 Mustang GT
96' Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T (turbo)
93' Nissan 240 SX
92' Lumina Z34 (that's me)
The eclipse is the only thing that can compete with me, truth. Dunno about Mustangs that you guys own, but the 5.SLOW has earned it's namesake time and time again in our group. Sorry, I'd never buy one.

[MikeCouves]

Hey Gunga is that a Goldwing or whatever? Man they are really expensive...where were you in that beast?

[Gunga]

Originally posted by MikeCouves
Hey Gunga is that a Goldwing or whatever? Man they are really expensive...where were you in that beast?

Uh...a Goldwing is a Honda motorcycle. :P The car is a Mercedes-Benz 300SL 'Gullwing'. It's from the '50's. Not sure what year exactly. That pic was taken in Indiana. Couldn't afford a $250,000+ car while I was in college (when those pics were taken). And I still can't afford a $250k+ car. DOH!

[bofh]

One of the greatest cars ever!

It's not a Goldwing, it's a Gullwing, I'm sure the goldwing was just a typo, but it seems so people don't understand what greatness this car is. The 300sl is one of the greatest cars ever made.

The 300sl Coupe, called the Gullwing is one of the most historic cars of the 50's and one of the most recognisble.

The car was derived from the Formula One championship winning W194 driven Juan Manuel Fangio.

The car's sister, the roadster, finished 1st and 2nd at LeMans, in 1952.

The coupe won the Milla Migla, American Sports Car Championship and the International Sports Car Championship in 1955.

The 300sl was one of the first cars with working disk brakes and fuel injection. It had a 3 liter inline 6, making 240 hp. 0-60 in 7.4 sec. Top speed 162 mph. All very respectable numbers for a 1950's car.

Simply, if given the option, I would glady give a lung and a kidney for this car.

[Micromag5371]

Ok, I just want to clear something up. As somebody mentioned above, "Porsche Turbo's are some of the fastest stock production cars for their ability to plant their 400+ HP." Now dont Criticize me, but the last time i checked some porsches wwere all wheel drive. this would make it ideal to race on bendy courses, which they were in the 70's and 80's, and some still are, and i bet they can compete in a drag race.

i might be wrong, just sharing what i know.

[bornl33t]

what did I say about making fun of other ppls cars? 5.slow is like a slomaro? I've heard them all and stomped em into the ground.
The driver can make a world of differance. If you think a stang is slower then a lumina then I'm forced to assume that there was a serious problem with either the car or driver. That or the suspension on a mustang just made speed seem a whole lot easier to handle and so in you're mind it was slow.

I shure hope you find me on the street sometime. I'll take you're doors off going by you... in a stock 5.slow.

[Shaft]

I'm currently building an 81 Trans Am. The 74 400 I built is ready to be dropped in. Just waiting to get my TH350 from the shop. Didn't want to do a 4speed conversion this time. The next project will have it.

This car is to satisfy my need for torque. Something my 94 Integra lacks.

By the way, Hondas are a lot like Mags. Good all around cars, but once you start messing with the internals, problems arise. Any failure I've had on my Acura over the past 108k mi was due to some bolt on that I stuck on it.
Don't get me wrong, the bolt ons were fine for the short term, but this is a daily.
Now if I only had saved my stock exhaust....

r

[Temo Vryce]

1964 427 AC Cobra

NT