Quote:
Originally Posted by CamaroSSStlfan
So you wouldn't take an 1969 427 Stingray L88 versus a small block??
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It depends. A big torquey big block is very satisfying. But its not necessarily going to be faster. Its going to put a lot more weight on the front end and cause understeer. The small block cars handled better. The big block is going to cost more and be valuable enough and irreplaceable enough that Id be worrying driving it in NJ.
Plus the Vettes from the 60s and 70s were pains in the ass. Electrical problems... vacuum operated headlight doors and wiper covers.
I had 3. a 65 vert. with a 327 with a cam and headers along with Hooker side pipes that burned your leg. It was a wild ride. Fast and brutal. No heat. Nor radio. Roof leaked... Froze your but in the cold. But I couldnt stop driving it.
I had a 70 T top that was made from 2 crashed cars and had a 2 bolt main 350. It was really a POS but... I drove it for 2 years as a DD and it never broke. Drove it in the snow without snow tires and everything.... Sold it for what I paid.
The 69 27 vert was a beautiful car. I only drove it about 1,000 miles in a year because I was as likely to come home on a flatbed as under its own power. Electrical gremlins. I sold it for more than I paid. Spent more time waxing it than driving it. And was relieved when it sold.
The first time I took it out I went east on Rt 78 to Newark airport. Smooth concrete roads then. 1976. I had the other 2 Vetts first and had an expectation of handling... I was wrong. I went way to fast in to a sweeping ramp and the car just went straight. I had the skill to downshift and nail it and throw the car sideways through the turn. But a normal person would have left 4 skid marks straight into the guard rail.
So my opinions are not based on the potential ownership experience of a 427 car over a small block.
Its more like how the cars treated me.
The 65 was by far the most fun.
The 70 was the best transportation but it was a garbage barge built out of crashed cars.
The 69 was probably the coolest car I ever owned. Certainly the most special. But it was a terrible vehicle. It was great posing for pictures.
If I could only buy 1 Vette.... It would be a 65 396. Coup or vert.