'70s rides, decade of disaster or delight?

[Mr Twisty]

I grew up in that era... never heard the Vega or Pinto described as being "Ahead of their time" .... If you jacked one up with the doors open you risked popping the windshield out

[King T]

Originally Posted by Mr Twisty

I grew up in that era... never heard the Vega or Pinto described as being "Ahead of their time" .... If you jacked one up with the doors open you risked popping the windshield out

[King T]

Always thought this was a good article about the Chevy Vega

How the Chevy Vega Nearly Destroyed GM
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...t-destroyed-gm


And this one too
The Chevrolet Vega--What Went Wrong?
http://www.carlustblog.com/2010/12/t...ent-wrong.html

[upflying]

Originally Posted by 05stram

So you say the gremlin was a failure? Ever ran one with a V8?

No I haven't. But road tests of the era put the Gremlin X at around 8 seconds 0-60 with the 150hp 304 V8.
Not blaming AMC though, all v8's were smog choked, low compression pigs.
By failure, I meant styling. That's subjective of course.

[ChrisBlair]

Originally Posted by MikeSVX

My dream car is a 1970 to 1972 Buick GSX with the 455 engine. It was actually faster then the Chevelle SS 396, handled better and had more luxury.

Faster than an SS454 too. Less rated hp but so much torque it would beat tow trucks in a tug of war

Mike, you are a man who knows muscle cars. But get a GSX Stage 1 or better yet, a Stage 1 with factory Stage 2 heads



There's a guy in my old car club that owns the 100% street legal factory prototype 1970 GSX Stage 1- one of none produced, street legal from Buick when made, original car not a recreation. Unbelievable it survived.
http://www.buickperformanceclub.com/GSXPrototype.htm

My 1970 Buick's a clone and it sadly needs to be sold. I haven't the money or time. Here she is in happier times, 2003, just out of the paint booth. Got sideswiped while parked two years later. Owned it since '89

[05stram]

Originally Posted by King T

Always thought this was a good article about the Chevy Vega

How the Chevy Vega Nearly Destroyed GM
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...t-destroyed-gm


And this one too
The Chevrolet Vega--What Went Wrong?
http://www.carlustblog.com/2010/12/t...ent-wrong.html

Like the second article says it was ahead of its time in a lot of aspects and of course corporate greed in others. I had a 75 model the first year with a five speed transmission and found a Cosworth Engine and enjoyed that car well into the 80s until it was ran down by a drunk idiot on the road one weekend.

[Scott@Bjorn3D]

Zebra3

[05stram]

Gran Torino which then became the Thunderbirds chassis of choice.

[cvp33]

Everybody knows the 70-72 stuff, but the 1974 T/A 455 super duty was truly the last of the muscle cars until the Buick Grand National.

http://www.transamflorida.com/1974superduty.htm

The 1974 Laguna S3 was a good looking car and could be had with a manual and a 454. Unfortunately it was a 200hp 454.

[05stram]

If the scoop said SD-455 then you did not fool with it not even many vettes fooled with them.

[Angrybird 12]

One thing about the 70's emissions choked vehicles, those of us that drove them can really appreciate the cars we have available to us today. When you have 4 cylinder cars that equal the power of some V8 from back then and V6's that surpass most if not all of them then you have to admit the good old days were not really all that good.
My 74 Camaro with a 350V8 had 145HP and a unrestricted top speed of 115.
My 76 Malibu with a 305V8 had 140HP and couldn't break 100 MPH.
Then things improved, my 79 Camaro had a 305V8 with 130HP and had a top speed of 120MPH.

[BloodRain]

But at that point, wasn't there many older cars (pre 70s) that could be had at a bargin?

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by BloodRain

But at that point, wasn't there many older cars (pre 70s) that could be had at a bargin?

Speaking of bargains in 1974 I bought a 65 Sting Ray Convertible for $2,100 ....wish I had it back....

[05stram]

Originally Posted by Angrybird 12

Speaking of bargains in 1974 I bought a 65 Sting Ray Convertible for $2,100 ....wish I had it back....

2100 in that day was still not a great deal, back then 2100 was a good chunk of change. My favorite buy I have to say is I bought a 62 SS Impala with a 409 Tri Power. Miss that land yatch.