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Classic Cars MY FUTURE OLDER CAR?
81 messages, Last post on Apr 03, 2009 at 12:54 PM
You are in the Classic Cars Forum. Your Host is mr_shiftright
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Replying to: andre1969 (Jan 14, 2009 10:46 am)
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Replying to: andre1969 (Jan 14, 2009 10:46 am) A 440 in that car wouldn't even run that. Show me the time slips is my skeptical response. I'm thinking 7.5 to 8 is more real world. |
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jan 14, 2009 11:02 am) I know those buff rags tend to get a bit optimistic with their 0-60 times. Case in point, the infamous 3.9 second 1965 Catalina 2+2. However, stuffy old Consumer Reports once tested a 1969 Charger with a 440-4bbl. automatic tranny, and 3.23:1 gears. Even they got 0-60 in 7 seconds flat...and CR's times tended to be a lot more conservative than the buff rags. I remember an old test somewhere of either a Barracuda or a Dart GT with the hot 273-4bbl V-8, and with the automatic it came in around 7.5-8 seconds. I think even a 1974 or so 360-4bbl in a Duster/Dart Sport was still good for 0-60 in around 6-6.5 seconds. And the 360 wasn't the performer that the 340 had been. Peak hp, when you're comparing net ratings, was similar, but the 340 had a broader power range.
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jan 14, 2009 11:02 am)
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Replying to: lemko (Jan 14, 2009 10:59 am) |
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Replying to: texases (Jan 14, 2009 11:20 am) Magazines of that time were notorious in faking numbers or....more excusable, very sloppy in how they did the tests. The old big blocks make a lot of noise but they can't get much power to the ground, like a modern car. I'm sure you could get 6 seconds out of a GTS with a balls to the wall modified 440.
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jan 14, 2009 12:27 pm)
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Replying to: texases (Jan 14, 2009 1:16 pm) And sure, you can install very low rear ends, use racing slicks, aviation gas, radically advanced timing, ice up the fuel supply, take out the spare and back seat and all that stuff and get at least another second or two out of it I'd guess.
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jan 14, 2009 12:27 pm) The usual caveat about taking it with a grain of salt applies here, but I remember a test back in the early 90's, where some Mopar buff magazine got ahold of a '69 Dart with a slant six, and a '69 New Yorker with a 440. Not a hopped-up 440, but just the regular one, that put out 350 hp gross (rather than the hotter 375 hp version, or the 390, which I guess was a 6-pack?). Anyway, they dumped the NYer's engine and tranny in the Dart. I'm hoping they also found a way to get the NYer's 8 3/4 rear in there too, because I imagine a 440 would shred the Dart's 7 1/4 rear! Still, even with that relatively low-suds setup, they got 0-60 in about 6 seconds. And more than likely, that was just with a 2.76:1 axle. Again, take it with a grain of salt. And I wasn't there, so I couldn't tell ya how they measured the acceleration, whether they power-braked or took off normally, or what. As for using a stopwatch, sometimes that can give you a pretty sad 0-60 time, too! I timed my '69 Dart from 0-60 once. This one had a 225 slant six. Well, I was stopped at a traffic light and had to make a right turn, so that threw it off I'm sure! Plus, there were four people on board. Anyway, I clocked it at 0-60 in 17.9 seconds, under those less-than-optimal conditions.  But if you want to hear one even worse...one of my friends back then had a 1980 Accord with an automatic. We timed it from 0-60, with only three people on board, and a straight launch from a traffic light rather than having to turn. Came up in a whopping 26 seconds!
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jan 14, 2009 1:19 pm) Actually, even the time of year and weather can make a difference. MT or C&D tested a 1986 or so Buick Grand National once, and got 0-60 in 4.9 seconds! However, even they discounted the time, because it was in the wintertime, and temps were a bit extra brutal. They said that most drivers should expect 0-60 in about 6 seconds. When the Michigan State Police did their annual police car test, which was in August, the 1985 models they tested all did horrible, compared to the 1984's. Now one problem was that the Mopars went to different carburetors that gave more peak hp, but the torque bands were narrower. However, that was also a brutally hot, humid summer, something the MSP noted in their testing.
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