philw@tekcae.UUCP (06/15/84)
For those who are still staying with the "MuscleCar" discussions here,
the most recent issue of Hot Rod magazine may be of interest (June 84).
The article "Musclebound" gives the results of reviewing road tests from
various old magazines. Some NHRA "Stock Eliminator" class records are
also included for comparison. The following is excerpted without permission.
All times are Elapsed Time in standing start 1/4 mile, speeds at end of same.
"Magazine test cars invariably ran somewhat quicker than actual production
models because they were tested in a near perfect state of tune and many cars
were blueprinted by the manufacturers to impress the media." [And the
magazine guys don't care if they break the cars. Blueprinting is hand
selection of best components and/or machining to the favorable side of the
tolerance limit.]
"What we have established beyond a reasonable doubt is that there were
never any 12-second musclecars and very few 13-second cars as produced
by the manufacturer.... The hard truth is that the 14 and 15-second brackets
are the real home of our beloved American musclecar.... When it came to
sheer raw muscle for moving massive amounts of weight, Detroit engineering
was up to the job."
63 showroom available cars are listed in an apparently random selection of
3 AMC, 12 Ford, 18 Chrysler and 30 GM. Elapsed times range 13.1 to 15.9.
Years are 1961 to 1970. The 6 quickest are Hemi Chryslers and big block
Chevrolets, all under 14.0 seconds. Samples:
car engine ET car engine ET
70 Plymouth Hemi Cuda 426 13.1 70 Chevrolet Chevelle 454 13.1
68 Plymouth Hemi GTX 426 13.6 69 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 427 13.2
69 Dodge Hemi Charger 426 13.9 69 Chevrolet Corvette 427 13.9
68 Plymouth Hemi GTX 426 14.0 65 Chevrolet Corvette 396 14.1
69 Ford Mustang Boss 429 14.1 69 Chev L72 Chevelle 427 14.1
69 AMC Scrambler 390 14.2 65 Chev Corvette Fuel I.327 14.3
67 Dodge Hemi Charger 426 14.2 70 Z28 Camaro 350 14.5
69 Dodge Coronet ? R/T 440 6pk 14.2 62 Pontiac something 389 14.5
70 Barracuda (AAR) 6 pak340 14.5 70 Oldsmobile W-30 455 14.4
65 Ford Mustang 289 15.9 67 Chevrolet Camaro SS 350 15.8
The factory race cars, all very rare, included a 64 Fairlane Thunderbolt with
a 427 (ohc?) running 12.9, and a 63 Plymouth with a 426 wedge running 13.1.
Phil White Tektronix, Beaverton, OR, USA
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