Awesome Thread... [Automotive Edition]

No, afraid not :p

I think the smallest engine you could get in a corvette of that generation was a 305.

And, in fact, you could get a 305 that made about as much power as the Iron Duke, if you so wanted. :p
 
This is the reason I love american muscle cars. Imagine hearing the discussions over at the dealerships:

"No sir, I am afraid you can not have anything under 5 liters"

"Liter? You a pinko commie-lover?"

FTFY
 
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N26O_kWM6jM[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiczkbLezSg&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]
 
Do you honestly believe that THAT has a 4 banger. I was thinking more along the lines of 427, or 383 or something.

of course not, I'm just saying that I wouldn't even care if it did have a 4banger in there, because of the sheer awesomeness and badassery of the thing itself
 
of course not, I'm just saying that I wouldn't even care if it did have a 4banger in there, because of the sheer awesomeness and badassery of the thing itself

Very true, the looks do count for a lot, but just imagine the sound that must go along with that!

@ Spectre: Oh trust me, I'm fully aware that said 305 made a mighty 170ish hp :lol:
 
Very true, the looks do count for a lot, but just imagine the sound that must go along with that!

@ Spectre: Oh trust me, I'm fully aware that said 305 made a mighty 170ish hp :lol:

I'm pretty sure it was less than that. My mom's old 1979 Z28 with the 350 made 167hp stock ;)
 
IN 82 they couldn't muster (with the 305 anyway) 140hp. I know of factory miata's that have more hp & torque than some of those cars.

Well, those engines just don't work without fat carburetors and a lot of leaded petrol juice for high compression ratios.
We here in Germany say: Von nichts kommt nichts! (Out of nothing comes nothing):burnrubber:

I just love the scale of the engines you could buy back then. In Europe, 3 liters is about the biggest thing "normal" people drive around in. Anything bigger is outrageous. I once drove in a Z4 3.0, and the seamless power and torque from low down was amazing. Yes, our turbodiesels (I usually drive around in an E220 CDI) do produce a lot of torque, but you always have to be in the right gear to keep the turbo on boost.
 
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Well, those engines just don't work without fat carburetors and a lot of leaded petrol juice for high compression ratios.
We here in Germany say: Von nichts kommt nichts! (Out of nothing comes nothing):burnrubber:

I just love the scale of the engines you could buy back then. In Europe, 3 liters is about the biggest thing "normal" people drive around in. Anything bigger is outrageous. I once drove in a Z4 3.0, and the seamless power and torque from low down was amazing. Yes, our turbodiesels (I usually drive around in an E220 CDI) do produce a lot of torque, but you always have to be in the right gear to keep the turbo on boost.

What do you mean "back then". We still have tons of people driving around a 4+ liter engine.
 
Yah, I still consider anything under 5 litres small. (in V8 form) And anything under 4 litres (in 6 piston form)
 
I'm pretty sure it was less than that. My mom's old 1979 Z28 with the 350 made 167hp stock ;)

IN 82 they couldn't muster (with the 305 anyway) 140hp. I know of factory miata's that have more hp & torque than some of those cars.

From Time Magazine's "The 50 Worst Cars Of All Time", regarding the nadir of the Corvette:

1980 Corvette 305 "California"

Federal emissions requirements of the 1970s took a big neutering knife to American muscle cars, and no car bled more than the Corvette. The worst of it came in California ? dang hippy librels! ? where stricter state regs required that the barely adequate 350 cu.-in. smallblock in the 1980 Corvette be replaced with a wholly inadequate 305 V8, putting out 180 hp of pure shame. On top of that, the "California" Corvette sucked its pitiful rivulet of horsepower through the straw of a torque-sapping three-speed automatic transmission. That gave the Corvette ? the very totem of hairy-chest, disco machismo ? acceleration comparable to a very hot Vespa. These were dark days indeed.


Well, those engines just don't work without fat carburetors and a lot of leaded petrol juice for high compression ratios.
We here in Germany say: Von nichts kommt nichts! (Out of nothing comes nothing):burnrubber:

Actually, it turns out they do quite well on unleaded if you add multiport fuel injection. See the LT1.
 
Heres a good serving of matte black awesomeness.

https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/6ozoqo.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/43.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/Matte_Enzo-10.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/45.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/205z4mv.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/35829.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/35832.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/50501murcigtrbyicd10122og6.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/50509murcigtrbyicd11122rm3.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/480321176_8d7249e819_b.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/2514161790_f5ab728239_b.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/2978868796_2d3367934c_o.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/3251258976_02d33c53a5_o.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/bild2008673091840dodgevbm0.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/c214748364826082008124912_3.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/image_02.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/IMG_1002.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/IMG_1185.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/IMG_9253.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/IMG_9311.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/LamborghiniMuseum67.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/Matte_Black_Mercedes_SLR_722_4207_20070626.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/Matte_Black_Mercedes_SLR_722_4211_20070626_l.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/Pics.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/reaper935-albums-935-76-3-8tt-black.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/SICKPORSCHE.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/2547152733_214d76397f_o.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2009/04/02/Untitled-2_copy.jpg
 
Am I odd in thinking that matte black is not really a good color for cars? It just doesn't look right, in my opinion, to see a car that looks like it was painted with chalkboard paint...

There are exceptions, however. Specifically, that Enzo... :drool:
 
Am I odd in thinking that matte black is not really a good color for cars? It just doesn't look right, in my opinion, to see a car that looks like it was painted with chalkboard paint...

There are exceptions, however. Specifically, that Enzo... :drool:

I agree. I think the curvier the car, the worse it looks. The Lambos, especially the Gallardo's straight lines, look amazing. Porsche and Ferrari (except the Enzo), not so much.
 
the 599 and the Rauh-welt 930 are hot hot fire... Though to be fair pretty much any Rauh-Welt 911 is damn beautiful even their pink car is hottness
 
Umm... bad drug trips of the Baby Boomers aside, during the golden age of the muscle cars, the average American car had an inline six of between 150 and 305 cubic inches displacement. The V8s were the upgrade option, and while many people bought those, the majority of cars were actually *sixes* back in the 60s. The American six began to die off when smog controls appeared, as they were almost totally unusable with those controls installed.

Proof of my statement - you would expect that the Mustang (a pony car, but still, it is associated with the golden age of muscle cars) to have sold almost all V8s, right? You'd be wrong - to this day, the V8 powered Mustangs are in the minority and the type is supported by the non-V8 sales. Of the '64.5-'68 Mustangs you see powered by V8s today, something like five out of eight started out life as six cylinder cars.
 
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