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| "My folks drove it up from the Bahamas..." |
Even the highest-zoot 350-c.i. engine available in the Z-28 was a wheezing smog motor that put out four horsepower less than the normally aspirated 2.8L 6-cyl in my Z3. Car and Driver clocked 7.3 seconds to sixty and a 16.0 ¼-mile time from a 4-speed car with a 3.73 rear end, which would barely keep up with Marko's new minivan, but was pretty beastly in that benighted era. (And most Camaros then were 305-motored cars with slushboxes, which wouldn't accelerate hard enough to pull a greased string out of a cat's ass.)
Huh, a greased string out of a cat's ass. Well, that's, uh - a hell, I got nothing!!
ReplyDeleteOn the positive side; they are dirt simple to wake up with an engine swap.
ReplyDeleteThe small block chevy is ubiquitous for a reason.
A mild 350 perked my '79 Berlinetta right up once we tossed the 305 to the fishes (we joked that it took three hours to sink... it's THAT slow). 3.08 posi replaced the open 2.56 that came with it. Kept the TH350 though.
The hard part was making it handle... Which was successful, but it made it a miserable thing to be in on anything but perfect asphalt.
I was blessed that mine didn't have t-tops.
That pretty much sums up mid to late 70's performance. I don't talk about Mustangs from that decade after the '71 model.
ReplyDeleteNice find, this Z/28. My cool aunt had an '81 in a similar shade of brown. Have not seen one that color since she traded it for a new IROC back in '88.
ReplyDeleteRob
I must be, the Bahamas are islands -- but the important thing here....
ReplyDeleteHoly cow, Marko's new ride has around 40 more horsepower than the 350 TPI Corvettes from the late-80s.
ReplyDeleteWe had a used '75 six-banger in that shade, in the early 1980s.
ReplyDeleteThis October will mark the 30th anniversary of me getting my driver's license.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how much better we have it performance wise now than in 1984.
I actually inherited a '78 Z28 that my sister wouldn't make payments on, and my father, the co-signer on it, asked me to swap her my $500 1975 Monza for it, I finished paying it off. It was indeed a crap vehicle.
ReplyDeleteAll you need is different emblems and a Jerry Reed song, and you could outrun most of the South's State Patrol.
ReplyDeleteI got curious, looked up the HP of the 78 Camaro engines. 305 is within a couple HP of the Honda Civic, and the 350 within a couple of the 4 cylinder Accord, a lot less than the V6 Accord.
ReplyDeleteMcThag, I'd forgotten about the Berlinetta. That sounds like a good time, aside from the ride.
ReplyDeleteEvery car made in Detroit in the late '70s is begging for a modern engine, better brakes and suspension upgrades.
ReplyDeleteWe have it good performance wise, a V6 minivan will blow away the performance cars of that era. What's truly amazing is the new Rolls-Royce Ghost does 0-60 in 4.8 and runs a 13.2 quarter which is what a stock 454SS Chevelle would do on street tires. A Ghost weighs 5,500lbs with the Waterford crystal secured in the bar cabinet. Excuse me while I check my lottery ticket.
Al_in_Ottawa
Hey man, what kinda car you got?
ReplyDeleteMy first new car, a '76 Ford Elite (Ford's return to the Personal Luxury Car market!) ran very consistent 18.08 quarter mile times. I'm not sure how it was that quick, but the time slips said it was. The new Ford SUV I'm driving now not only is faster but gets twice the gas mileage,turns tighter and hauls more. We're living the good old days now.
ReplyDeleteI ran over my neighbor.
ReplyDeleteDon't be making fun of my first brand new car out of college. Carmine 78 Camaro would not run with the old '70 pickle green 350 but it was a much better handling car and go more than 250 miles on a tank of gas.
ReplyDeleteAnd that was important when gas got to 78 cents a gallon.
Gerry
The only good thing about that era of cars was that they rusted so fast that they were returned to Gaia quickly.
ReplyDeletePretty, though. I've always thought the 2d gen F-body Chevy was a smokin' hot looking car. If they were as rare as (say) a Ferrari, they'd be appreciated more. For the looks, I mean. (OK, and the Firebird, until they went to the doubled up square headlights. Those things got uglier in a hurry.)
ReplyDeleteThe mid to late 70's Camaros are the reason why I didn't even realize Camaros were supposed to be "muscle cars" until I was in my twenties. . .
ReplyDelete