ctandc72
Well-Known Member
I'm well into my 40's. Grew up a gearhead. First car was a '67 SS Chevelle 396 / 4 speed. I've owned and wrenched on a ton of GM muscle cars, a few Fords (mainly to fix up and flip) and a few Mopars. Part of what you are saying is true - but please don't get caught up in the "they don't make 'em like they used to" debate. It's a losing argument.I sense animosity and bad feelings here. So let me play devil’s advocate and tell you that all current Mustangs suck! A guy on this board rented a new Mustang GT and expected neck snapping acceleration and was disappointed.
Why?
Because today’s cars traded that for high end performance hardly anyone uses. My V6 is a torqueless wonder. Move up to a GT and you pay way more for slightly more torqueless wonder. “Neck snapping performance” or “pinned to the seat” - these are no fantasies as I have experienced them; just not in today’s pony cars. One car which was a modded up 60s Camaro did pin me to the seat. I actually felt my guts being squished in it was so good. I still remember it today. Driving that car to do that pull was rediculous but worth the experience.
“GT” is a running joke in the industry today. You slap on GT on a hum drum car to build fake excitement. I just saw a Challenger GT which is an all-wheel drive V6! But here GT is like magic. Blah...
Old farts like me know the truth. The aural and visceral experiences of the bygone hot rod days were different and you kids are being cheated out of that with these torque challenged gutless cars. They may have higher top end performance and a higher top speed (my V6 will put an extra 15mph over my fox bodied 5.0 but the 5.0 was more fun) but how many times a day do you use that. How many times a month do you use that. How many times a year? Or maybe just once when you got the car.
You were cheated. All of you...
You want that neck snapping low end grunt? Throw 3.73 gears in your V6. Just that one thing will make you rethink everything you now think about modern vs. old.
Big displacement big blocks? Low end torque...oh yeah. You might overlook the fact they HAD to have that low end grunt to move the 2 ton vehicles they were pushing around.
I miss some of the old styling...but other than that? Thank God they don't build them like they used to...
Drum brakes? Cork gaskets? Flat tappet camshafts? Solid lifters? 4 speeds that everyone talks about now like they were so great - jesus I could swap synchros on a Muncie in a couple of hours including dropping the transmission - not because I was some great mechanic, but because I had to do it so often.
Sure gas was cheap then - but non overdrive 4 speed with 4.11 gears? Neck snapping fun? Sure. Not so fun turning 5K RPM barely keeping up with traffic on the highway...not to mention mapping your trips by where the gas stations were.
Carburetors? As someone who learned how to tune a Qjet (when everyone was tossing them for "easy to tune" Holley carbs) there is nothing like that sound of the secondaries on a tuned QJet opening up....but now? EFI for the win. More power, better mileage...wanna tune it? Hook up a tuner or laptop.
Suspension? Don't even get me started.
Muscle cars will ALWAYS be special for me. But unless it's uber rare and worth $$$$, it's getting modern brakes, suspension, drivetrain etc.
And keep in mind...a BONE STOCK V6 S550 with 3.15 gears runs a faster 1/4 mile than a long list of "musclecars" from the 60's and 70's.
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