Who owns a muscle car? I DO!!!

thefed

thefed

Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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Oct 29, 2005
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And she's just hit the road full force with her new powerplant, a 383 chevy stroker built from the ground up by ME!

It's been a 4 yr learning curve...from knowing maybe 5% of what I knwo now, to building a motor from scratch and installing it in my 79 camaro.

It's a 383, AFR 195 heads (my 'secret' weapon), xs282s cam, holley 650, weiand stealth intake, th350 trans, 3.42 posi rear end

All this is in a rust FREE alabama 1979 camaro, red wiht flames. lemme dig up a pic or 2....

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gived...=&.done=http://photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

I'm hoping to put out about 350 to the rear wheels on a dyno and run low 12 second 1/4 miles.

But that's a lot of tuning to go....
 
TheFed:

I have had 6 different Camaro's and Firebirds. They were all Gen III and Gen IV versions though.

For the past six (nearly) seven years I have owned an 85 Corvette that I drive on the weekends. My 95 Firebird with the LS-1 engine was much much faster but I enjoy the Corvette more. On a nice spring day I like to take the Targa Top roof off and go cruising.

It doesn't get much better than that... Good weather, The wind in your hair, A high horsepower car that handles well, a great stereo and that deep V-8 growl in the background.

Ahhhhh..... Life is good
 
Just hope you don't come up across this wood-grain minivan in the time trials:

http://www.turbovan.net/van.html

:D

Seriously, congrats - it sounds like an extremely cool car and quite an accomplishment. I can only imagine how much effort you put into it.
 
73 SS 454 chevelle. A/C with 44K original miles and original paint.  

Take a look at the cover of the 2004 Sept issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines.
 
Your ride looks great.  I wish I had more engine ability.  I've had a bunch of that muscle car misery also.  I'm down to one, happily, but I'm shopping a new Mustang GT vert.
img_379473_0_fd97c9f5b5d1d6edd7d8c7349c3301c0.jpg


The vette has its' own website, but it is down at the moment.  I'll post it later.
 
I had a muscle car... Formula 350 for about 15 years and just shy of 100,000 miles... cost me a lot on repairs... but it was fun to drive...

NOW, have an Acura TL with 270 HP 6 cylinder!! It is fast, but so smooth you do not get the same sensations... oh well, I enjoy it anyhow....
 
yer camaro's a beauty. two of my favorite things, slow boats and fast cars. i'm in a t-bird now. 289 horsies but very heavy car. drives like a caddy with it's top ripped off. also i can't put a bike rack on it and i'm getting tired of trunking it. thinking mustang gt vertible for next year.

i looked at the s2000 little rocketship and the z. also no place for a bike rack on them. i said to the salesguy, "why can't i put on a bike rack." he said "that defeats the purpose of the car." i said to him, "i won't be towing a travel trailer; it's a bicycle."
 
Fortunately for my life span, my muscle car days are behind me. My first car was a mustang with a 351C. Not long after that I had an L82 corvette followed by a porsche 911SC.

A couple of weeks ago when I was driving my truck it occurred to me that I now drive like a little old lady and probably could have had a chicken egg or two under the gas pedal and never broken it. Stomped it. Laid out a nice carbon smoke screen after the motor spent a second or two going "What the @#%$@?!?" :LOL:

Ha ha...i'm an old fart.
 
The frugal FIRE option for affordable speed is to spend $2000 on a 6-8 year old sportbike (like my Suzuki TL1000R) that goes 160 mph and does 10.75sec quarter miles at 130mph (but not when I'm driving it).

Or you could spend a little more and buy a later model GSXR1000 or similar bike that has 30% more power.

:D

cheers,
Michael
 
Great looking Camaro!!! I can totally relate to all the work that was involved with getting your car to that level of performance.
Here is mine. It's not a muscle car but I've owned it for 17 years (since I was 16) and it goes link a scawlded dog!!!

CopyofLowrear.jpg


Too bad it's collecting dust in a GA storage.
 
The Other Michael said:
The frugal FIRE option for affordable speed is to spend $2000 on a 6-8 year old sportbike (like my Suzuki TL1000R) that goes 160 mph and does 10.75sec quarter miles at 130mph (but not when I'm driving it).

Or you could spend a little more and buy a later model GSXR1000 or similar bike that has 30% more power.

:D

cheers,
Michael
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I don't believe that the car guys can even imagine the performance you're talking about. I've done the Mustangs and Corvettes in my youth.  Lot's of noise and tire smoke.  I thought I was great.  That doesn't compare to the thrill of horsepower pulling the front wheel off the ground as your passing through 100 mph.... in 3rd gear.   They won't believe me will they?

Non
 
Yeah, I've got a V8 with over 300 horses, but my F-350 weighs a ton (or 3). Horsepower doesn't matter -- it's the horses to weight ratio that determines how fast you go.
 
lazygood4nothinbum said:
yer camaro's a beauty. two of my favorite things, slow boats and fast cars. i'm in a t-bird now. 289 horsies but very heavy car. drives like a caddy with it's top ripped off. also i can't put a bike rack on it and i'm getting tired of trunking it. thinking mustang gt vertible for next year.

i looked at the s2000 little rocketship and the z. also no place for a bike rack on them. i said to the salesguy, "why can't i put on a bike rack." he said "that defeats the purpose of the car." i said to him, "i won't be towing a travel trailer; it's a bicycle."
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Sounds like a Forrester XT or similar would fit you better...
 
I've never had a muscle car, but about the closest thing I had was a 1968 Dodge Dart 270 hardtop. The guy who sold it to me back in 1992 said it had a 318 in it, but a few years later I decoded the VIN and found that originally it had a 273. He told me that he rebuilt the engine around the 243,000 mile mark, but I can't remember now if he said he rebuilt the original engine or put a different engine in it. Anyway, it definitely kicks. Or did, when it ran. When I first bought it, it was primer black, and had oversized tires on it that made the rear-end stick up. It looked like pure evil...kinda like "The Car", "Christine", and the truck from "Duel" all rolled into one!

I remember a few months after I bought my Dart, the local junkyard, that specializes in Mopars, had a 1968 Dodge Dart GTS sitting out in front for sale. I think they wanted $1400 for it. Nothing really major wrong with it either. Damn I wish I'd bought it. I remember thinking at first that it would annoy me because it didn't have air conditioning, but I'd imagine the 340 under the hood would've made the wind rush by quickly enough to cool me down. :D

About a year ago, I bought something that a lot of people think is a musclecar, but it's really just a muscular looking wuss that sounds good. There are some pics of it here: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v247/jgandrew/1976 Grand LeMans/ It's a '76 Pontiac Grand LeMans. It has a nice, deep rumble to it, and dual exhaust, but looks tougher than it really is. It has a 350-2bbl that originally only put out something like 155 hp. One of the owners before me did some mods to the engine, messing around with the cam and such, and putting a shift kit in it, but it's still not that fast. It's held back by really tall gearing, too. 2.56:1 I think. The 1979 New Yorker that's in some of the background pictures is actually a bit faster in acceleration. But, I didn't buy it to race it!

Oh, it's anything but a musclecar, but way back in 1990 I bought a 1957 DeSoto Firedome. There are some pics of it here: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v247/jgandrew/1957 DeSoto/

And a few shots of my '67 Catalina convertible: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v247/jgandrew/1967 Catalina/

As for the Dart, here's how she sits now, with around 338,000 miles on her: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v247/jgandrew/1968Dart/

And here's some old pics of my New Yorker, that the previous owner took of it when he had it on eBay: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v247/jgandrew/1979 New Yorker 5th Avenue/
 
Gotta love those MOPARS, Andre
A 1970 Hemi Barracuda Convert sold for $2,160,000 a few months ago.
Only 7 of these were sold in the USA.  Wish I had the other 6  :eek: :eek:
 
My Kid Brother was a KAR NUT, my favourite one that he owned was a Yellow Job with a little Bumble Bee deco on the side, you pressed a button and a little hood scoop came up.(Super Bee, does that make sense?).

I really liked that car, better than his Corvettes etc, too bad he lost his license for speeding so often.

Now, he's almost 60, lives in BC, prefers to drive a Harley?

I am a total Car Nerd, but I did own a TR6 once.
 
7 years ago I sold a l969 GTX Hemi super track pack car for 25K.

This car was one of 99 produced and today fetches about 150K.

I'm glad I got rid of it before it put me in a higher tax bracket.
 
Pleased and proud to tell you about MY muscle car. Inherited it from my dear Dad, it's been in the family since 1972.

1971 Mercedes Benz 300 SEL, 6.3. That's a SIX-POINT-THREE liter engine. Rips off from a standing start like you can't believe!! Rumbles like thunder. It's a thing of beauty and a joy to drive.

Alas, we are actually now considering selling it, as it does love expensive fuel and is quite complicated to maintain.

So, we'll just keep Dad's other car, the 1968 Mercedes 280 SL, pagoda top convertible. This one was the car I got to drive to college in the early '70s. Boy, I was something!

Dear Ol' Dad!!
 
thanks for all the input guys

and regarding motorcycles: 160 mph is not my idea of GETTING to early retirement the way i want to (alive!)

I've had my fun on sport bikes and quads...but fear for my life has kept me away recently
 
Hey fed... that stroker should motivate your Camaro pretty well.  Great low-end grunt.

I've been blessed/diseased with the car gene.  I have a '72 Chevelle with a .030 over 454.  10/11 mpg if I keep my foot out of it...  :angel:

The wife has a '94 Impala SS.  4200 lbs of attitude.



JPatrick - beautiful Vette you've got.
 
bow-tie said:
Hey fed... that stroker should motivate your Camaro pretty well. Great low-end grunt.

I've been blessed/diseased with the car gene. I have a '72 Chevelle with a .030 over 454. 10/11 mpg if I keep my foot out of it... :angel:

The wife has a '94 Impala SS. 4200 lbs of attitude.



JPatrick - beautiful Vette you've got.
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I'm thinking of going to the dark side (big block) for my next ride...but unsure of what kind om car. I'm thinking early 70's olds 442, mid 80's monte carlo ss, or a 60's/70's vette. Hmmm...

And tw, I love those impala's/caprices. Those are sweet, and you can def make them FAAST
 
thefed said:
I'm thinking of going to the dark side (big block) for my next ride...but unsure of what kind om car.  I'm thinking early 70's olds 442, mid 80's monte carlo ss, or a 60's/70's vette.  Hmmm...And tw, I love those impala's/caprices. Those are sweet, and you can def make them FAAST
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BBs make great power, but they are heavy and I've had trouble finding parts (original ones anyway).  Anymore, with all the technology, SBs are making big power, especially when using turbos or superchargers.  You can even buy new SBs with BB cubic inches (454 / etc)  I guess it boils down to what you want.  If I had to do it over again, I might pick a different path.  But popping the hood and seeing that BB is worth something too  8)....

Re the Impy... there are a lot of dudes on the Impala forums running stroker motors.  More and more are experimenting with turbos and superchargers.  Gotta do something to motivate those lead-sleds.
 
'62 Chevy Belair was my first car!! 283 2-bbl, three-on-the-tree... 8)
 
HFWR said:
'62 Chevy Belair was my first car!! 283 2-bbl, three-on-the-tree...  8)
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Aw, man... I absolutely LOVE that bodystyle.  You can wind the guts out of those 283s...

Gimme a '62 bubbletop... and a 4-spd 409... :smitten:
 
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