starr@unmvax.UUCP (02/26/85)
Having followed the discussion between the "no substitute for cubic inches" proponents of the old musclecars and the "1.7-liter turbo four is IT" fans, I feel compelled to reminisce about a vehicle I used to own (sigh...) which struck a reasonable balance. It was a 1965 Shelby GT-350 Mustang, which was at the time made in quantities over 500 to qualify for homologation and therefore was a legal B-Prod car in SCCA racing. A guy named Jerry Titus used to regularly beat the pants off Cobras (the *real* Cobra) and Vettes with the old 350. The one I bought was a demo...I had to rebuild the engine soon after I bought it, but what do you expect. The old "thinwall casting technique" 289 V8 was a joy to work on, the block weighed about 60 lbs... With the 289 rated stock at 271 hp, adding the center-pivot Holley and headers brought it up to a rated 306 hp. The engine would pull from a smooth idle up to 6500 rpm without a cough. With the lowered upper A-arm pivots in the front, stiffening tube between the fenders over the engine, rear axle locating arms over the axle (the back seat had to come out), Detroit Automotive "locker" differential (no spider gears), the battery in the trunk, that car *handled* on a smooth road...many Porsche 911s on So. Calif. Hwy 74 in the San Jacinto Mts. will attest to that. On a rough road, well...don't bother. Oh yeah, the H70-15 "Polyglas" (remember them?) tires didn't hurt matters (I had to radius the front fenders to fit them in). With the fiberglass hood (with tasteful scoop), aluminum wheels, aluminum-case Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed (with an oh-so-nice 1.20 third gear...none of this 1-2-3-then fall off a cliff to 4th) the car weighed an honest 2840 pounds. One thing I din't like was with the stock 3.89 final-drive ratio the engine was always a little busy over 70, so I installed an overdrive which bolted on the front of the third member, brought the final drive down to a 2.72 . Now THAT was touring...rolling along at 85-90 with no sweat. Top end was rated 128 mph, can't attest to that. It would probably run about 14.0, 95-98 mph 1/4 mile. Fast enough. And those nice noisy side exhaust pipes... After I installed the OD it would get an honest 24 mpg at 60 mph. This is what I call a performance car. Now why did I ever sell it? Anyway, I wish I had it back. It had class.
horton@fortune.UUCP (Randy Horton) (03/07/85)
> Having followed the discussion between the "no substitute for cubic > inches" proponents of the old musclecars and the "1.7-liter turbo > four is IT" fans, I feel compelled to reminisce about a vehicle I > used to own (sigh...) which struck a reasonable balance. It was a > 1965 Shelby GT-350 Mustang, which was at the time made in quantities > over 500 to qualify for homologation and therefore was a legal B-Prod > car in SCCA racing. A guy named Jerry Titus used to regularly beat > the pants off Cobras (the *real* Cobra) and Vettes with the old 350. . . . > Anyway, I wish I had it back. It had class. This is a good example of the fact that good cars CAN come out of Detroit. Perhaps not often enough, or many enough, but they can do it. For GM fans, substitue SS-350 Camaro or Nova for Mustang, and you have a similar situation. Also, these cars were safer in a collision than the light Japanese cars, and often more durable. Japan has produced some nice cars, but so have we! Randy Horton {ihnp4,allegra,cbosgd,etc}!fortune!ranhome!randy