Now this is cool!

[eytonxav]

2X Hemmings celebrity, nice Now I am waiting to hear if Jay calls and wants his calendar autographed

 

[veremchuka]

So you have some rare options on a car that was produced in low numbers. You actually have the original fan belts on the engine? I assume you have garaged it from new if it's the original paint? Ever consider calling Barrett-Jackson can seeing what they think it is worth? I know you wouldn't sell it but you could pretend. How many miles are on the car? 73 really saw some serious damage to horse power with pollution controls. A 454 with 245 hp is pretty sad, 5 or 6 years earlier it probably would have been in the upper 300 or low 400's.

 

[T-bird]

Nice ride!

T-bird
Class of 2013

 

[73ss454]

So you have some rare options on a car that was produced in low numbers. You actually have the original fan belts on the engine? I assume you have garaged it from new if it's the original paint? Ever consider calling Barrett-Jackson can seeing what they think it is worth? I know you wouldn't sell it but you could pretend. How many miles are on the car? 73 really saw some serious damage to horse power with pollution controls. A 454 with 245 hp is pretty sad, 5 or 6 years earlier it probably would have been in the upper 300 or low 400's.

I am the second owner of the car and have had it for 12 years. I bought it out of Hemmings Motor News. I looked for a car like this for many years and when I found it I did something you should never do. I bought it over the phone without seeing it. Turns out it was in a Museum for many years and the guy who owned the car put it there for viewing only and it was not to be sold. But for some reason the guy signed the title and left the car there. Years later the owner of the museum got sick and sold the building to a car dealer. He had the 63 cars in the museum appraised and put them in Hemmings. When I got the car home I tracked the owner down and reached him by phone. I asked him if he was the original owner and he said he was still the owner. Gulp! Turns out the car was not for sale but the owner of the museum forgot he had given the guy a letter that he would never sell the car. Anyway, he didn't really want the car back and the museum owner paid him off and I kept the car.


When the car arrived at my house I was shocked at the condition as it was untouched from original. It needed a bunch of detailing which I have done over the years. I just changed the original mufflers which were rotted out after 39 years.

As to the HP, yeah it's a slug compared to others. In 1970 you could actually get a 454 with 450 HP, it was called the LS6. By 1973 the muscle car era was pretty much over.

 

[Keim]

By 1973 the muscle car era was pretty much over.

That is the truth-and a real shame. The big 3 continued to put out some potentially decent muscle cars, but one needs to do some aftermarket mods to get the performance out of them. The HP went away, but the MPG didn't greatly improve! Seems like they simply de-tuned the motors they were already using.

I'll use my 76 Monte Carlo as an example. Decent looking car, sporty handling. A different cam, carb/manifold, and dual exhaust get it to a nice performance level-and it gets better gas mileage than the detuned motor did! Done at the factory this would've cost very little. Cost me a bundle as an aftermarket project.

Sweet SS, 73-as I've said before.

 

[73ss454]

Thanks, Keim!

I had a bad lifter in the 73 and took the motor apart to change it and I also changed the cam. I was very tempted to put a bigger cam in it but the car is so original I left it alone.

I was going to put in an LS5 cam and have the heads done to warm it up a bit. These were changes that couldn't be seen but I just felt it was more important to leave it alone.

Not too many original muscle cars left after 40 or 45 years.

 

[Keim]

I think you made the right decision. Your car is rare, and should remain unadulterated.

OTOH, my car was driven by three teens (myself included). Not much that hasn't been replaced over the years. Good candidate to have some fun with.

 

[Tom52]

Way Cool, I would be popping the buttons off my shirt! The best I could muster with my Impala was a brief interior/exterior view in the TV series My Classic Car with Dennis Gage. It was interesting though because he told me he learned to drive in his Grandma's Impala just like mine...except it wasn't a convertible...and except it wasn't a SuperSport....and except it was Evening Orchid.....I wonder how many here know what Evening Orchid is?

Being a car guy I bet you know.

 

[Texas Proud]

My neighbor (when I was a teenager) had a 69 SS 396 with cowl induction... he had work done to the engine.. it was SCARY fast...

I remember one time we were on the freeway doing about 65 or so... he smash on the gas and it pinned me to the seat... in a couple of seconds we were doing over 90...

Another time I was in the car and he raced an Olds 442.... left it in the dust... when he stopped accelerating we were doing about 135 to 140... and the car was bouncing around like crazy... it was made to go fast, not handle worth anything....


The biggest problem I saw with the car was that he had to work on it almost all the time...

 

[73ss454]

My neighbor (when I was a teenager) had a 69 SS 396 with cowl induction... he had work done to the engine.. it was SCARY fast...

I remember one time we were on the freeway doing about 65 or so... he smash on the gas and it pinned me to the seat... in a couple of seconds we were doing over 90...

Another time I was in the car and he raced an Olds 442.... left it in the dust... when he stopped accelerating we were doing about 135 to 140... and the car was bouncing around like crazy... it was made to go fast, not handle worth anything....


The biggest problem I saw with the car was that he had to work on it almost all the time...

If I remember correctly the cowl induction was introduced in 1970 so you may have the year wrong.
But that was from the factory. A handy guy would have made it himself but I never remember seeing anyone that brave to cut their car up.

Yes, any piece of machinery that gets thrashed will need work. I had an SS 396 1966 Chevelle I bought new. I had that thing apart every weekend. (heh)

 

[Texas Proud]

If I remember correctly the cowl induction was introduced in 1970 so you may have the year wrong.
But that was from the factory. A handy guy would have made it himself but I never remember seeing anyone that brave to cut their car up.

Yes, any piece of machinery that gets thrashed will need work. I had an SS 396 1966 Chevelle I bought new. I had that thing apart every weekend. (heh)

He did not do it himself, so I must have the year wrong... (but I do remember his saying it was a 69).... it has been awhile

I found a link that gives a lot of info on various cars...

http://www.automobile-catalog.com/


It is interesting that my TL with a 6 cyl has a better 1/4 mile than my old Formula 350... it is not as fast off the line, but is faster to 60 and just faster at the 1/4....



Edit to add: this is what his looked like... (it is a 70)... but his was blue

 

[omni550]

I had an SS 396 1966 Chevelle I bought new. I had that thing apart every weekend. (heh)

OMG, I learned to drive a stick shift in an '66 SS 396 (360HP) Chevelle. What fun. Brings back lots of memories.

It was my BF's car. We were forever working on it. We took the engine completely apart one summer. Another time we tore the Rochester 4-barrel carb to bits and rebuilt it.

The Muncie 4-speed tranny was another teardown and rebuild project for us. For whatever reason, it sometimes used to get stuck in 2nd and 4th gear. He kept a 9/16" wrench in the console to get it unstuck, IIRC.

As you mentioned, there was always something.

I remember cruising on the NY Thruway at ~125 mph.


omni

 

[Tom52]

If I remember correctly the cowl induction was introduced in 1970 so you may have the year wrong.
But that was from the factory. A handy guy would have made it himself but I never remember seeing anyone that brave to cut their car up.

Yes, any piece of machinery that gets thrashed will need work. I had an SS 396 1966 Chevelle I bought new. I had that thing apart every weekend. (heh)

1969 was the first year for Camaro with the optional cowl induction hood. I had one on my 69 Indy Pace Car Camaro and also on my SS/RS 396 Camaro. Very cool option. Chevelle SS had the cowl induction starting in 1970.

 

[73ss454]

OMG, I learned to drive a stick shift in an '66 SS 396 (360HP) Chevelle. What fun. Brings back lots of memories.

The Muncie 4-speed tranny was another teardown and rebuild project for us. For whatever reason, it sometimes used to get stuck in 2nd and 4th gear. He kept a 9/16" wrench in the console to get it unstuck, IIRC.
omni

Funny you mention the tranny. My 4 speed in my 66 did the same thing. I would lay down on the side of the road and reach under and move the shifter bars around to unstick it. The problem was the linkage, not the tranny. I bought a Hurst shifter to cure the problem.

 

[Purron]

I feel like I'm reliving "American Grafitti"

American Graffiti (7/10) Movie CLIP - Must Be Your Mama's Car (1973) HD - YouTube

 

[73ss454]

2X Hemmings celebrity, nice Now I am waiting to hear if Jay calls and wants his calendar autographed

Actually 3X's, Sept 04 Hemmings Muscle Machines, summer of 07 Hemmings Motor News and now the calendar. All in all I'm a happy camper.

 

[Ronstar]

That is cool - congrats!

 

[obgyn65]

Well done !