Automotif DXVIII...

Here's the opposite end of the C3 era from yesterday's '69 Stingray: A '78-'79 Corvette in Black.

This was peak Malaise Era 'Vette. The base 350 only made 195 SAE net horsepower and the optional L82 only put out 225. They couldn't even come up with a cool name for the color; it's just "Black".

GM had been noodling around with all kinds of ideas for the next generation of Corvette through the latter half of the Seventies, various wild ideas with mid-engine layouts and 4-rotor Wankels were floated, but between gas crunches and inflation, GM just didn't want to spend the coin. The C3 limped along for a total of fourteen years before being replaced.

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Automotif DXVII...

Here's a 1969 Corvette Stingray coupe in Can-Am White, out enjoying an ideal day for open-air motoring.

The lack of a domed hood indicates a small block V-8 lives under there, either the base 300hp 350, or the optional L46 350, with an 11.0:1 compression ratio rated at 350 SAE gross bhp.

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Plane Size

Wow, this photo really gives a good perspective of the relative sizes of these things.

Looks like a Douglas B-18, Boeing B-17 and B-29, and an early Convair B-36.

The maximum takeoff weight of the B-18 Bolo was 27,673 pounds, while a late model B-36J Peacemaker, with its six Wasp Major radials augmented by four GE J47 turbojets, could get off the ground at 410,000 pounds. The bomb load of that B-36J equalled the gross takeoff weight of 3.1 whole B-18s, or a B-17 and a half.

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Automotif DXVI...

The 1973 model year was the cliff's edge for the original performance car era in Detroit. Engines had been lowered in compression to meet new emissions standards and to improve fuel economy, and were now advertised by SAE net rather than gross horsepower ratings, as though to emphasize the haircut in output.

All cars were required to sport grotesque new front bumpers that would absorb a 5MPH impact without structural damage (they'd be joined by matching rear protuberances for the following year.) The premier performance models from Ford and Pontiac were about to enter the dark ages: The 1974 Pontiac GTO would be a Nova and the '74 Mustang would morph into a Pinto.

At Oldsmobile, the only convertible left in the lineup for 1973 was the Delta 88 Royale, like the silver example in the photo above.

The '73 Delta 88 ragtop came with a base 160 horsepower 2-barrel version of the Olds 350 Rocket V-8. For an upgrade, the buyer could opt for a 4-bbl 455 cube Rocket, in either 225bhp or 250bhp format, with the latter sporting a dual exhaust setup.

The car in the picture has had the top replaced and has been repainted in the original Silver Taupe, with its lines slightly cleaned up by removing the chrome faux louvers that normally appeared on the front fenders.

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