import vs. corvette

[thumpr]

i just looked up the specs for the 2005 vette. beastly. very fast. very square.

okay, i don't get it. i understand why it's a nice thing to wonder if some super-turbo-civic could kick a vette's butt, but, the article was just talking about being faster on a track, right? or were they saying, "it should have been all chevy in the fast and the furious - everybody knows the vette is faster"

the writers complain, but then the new corvette looks like a sexed-up miata, so maybe the real problem was that nobody wanted to cruise the streets in a car that looks like a motorboat

 

[AGR]

Wow...this has turned into a kit car thread...well I think we can all agree that the current vette/Z06 is a great overall bang for the buck platform for extreme performance.

Now about the CobraTrue story coming up!

I don't like ford...but I've always been a fan of the 427 Cobra...that car is the definition of a BEAST...in fact my Dad drove an OG 427 Cobra back in the day...well for only one day ...see my uncle is a body man for museum and uber expensive cars...back in the day he had a shop in Santa Monica and sometimes Shelby (yes Shelby) cars would come in...including the mustang version...well they ran out of space so my Dad took one of the rides home (427)...he said it was amazing to drive...at the red light the cobra's idle would seem to shake the ground...every car that challenged him on the way home lost horribly...and when he drove into the garage...my Mom freaked out...thinking the noise and vibration from the car was actually an earthquake! This was years before I was even born

Im not sure if I remember this detail right but I think Shelby would bring some of their cars to my uncle to repair damage from racing and or testing on the trackcan anyone confirm that Shelby was selling/testing/racing cars in Southern Californiamaybe in the mid-late 60s? Id have to check with my Dad about what he remembers

Anyway...I love stories like that...(thumb)

Antoine:
Shelby American's offices were right next to the LA Intl. Airport. And; he also set up shop in Venice, CA - right down the road. But; all of his road race testing was done at Riverside International Raceway, which at the time (1962) was about a 2.5 hr. drive from the Shelby American offices.

Shelby and a handful of his guys literally shoe horned a Ford 260 in the engine bay of an AC Bristol. The AC was an English sports car that nrmally used a 4 cylinder at the time. It took them a day; but at the end of the day; they took that 'Cobra' 260 out and started hunting down Vettes! True Story!!

So yes; lots of legend there! Steve McQueen was one of the first customers of a 260 Cobra. The name; COBRA came to Carroll Shelby in a dream. That is also a true story.

The Shelby Mustang GT350 was called a GT '350', not because of horespower (GT350hp was 270), but because 350 feet (uh huh!) was the approximate distance from the offices to the race shop at Shelby American! True Story!

I have a few books on the subject... "The Cobra Story" you see pictured is the original from 1965 - VERY RARE!! And; the "Daytona Cobra Coupes" is even rarer. The one pictured is #373 of 400 in the World - published in 1995. 43 autographs are contained inside by the drivers and mechanics that made the Coupe happen (1964-1965). I have been offered $900. It is not for sale. Unsigned versions have been seen on eBay in the past year or so, selling for around $500. A few years back I sold and shipped the 'Coupes' book all over the World. I never took less than $500, and sometimes I received $600 for a single copy. Now; they are simply nowhere to be found.

 

[Antoine]

Wow...someone's a Cobra fan... Cool...thanks for the info AGR...I'll ask my Dad if he remembers any details about that time and Shelby...Hmmm...well it was all happening in Southern California...will see...

Didn't Chevy have a stingray vette with an alum 427 pushing out almost 600 hp (but rated lower) at some point in the 60's?

 

[AGR]

Wow...someone's a Cobra fan... Cool...thanks for the info AGR...I'll ask my Dad if he remembers any details about that time and Shelby...Hmmm...well it was all happening in Southern California...will see...

Didn't Chevy have a stingray vette with an alum 427 pushing out almost 600 hp (but rated lower) at some point in the 60's?

Very welcome! Regarding the Corvettes; they built 6 Grand Sports (1963/1964). Their engines were 377 cubic inches pushing nearly 500hp (but many said that was a conservative figure). They were supposed to build 125 or so. But; GM pulled the plug on the project. 5 of those 6 are acounted for today. I think the other was lost in a fire. Here is a bit of info on those GSs.

1963 Nassau Speed Week Prototype (This is from Exoto's website)

When the three Corvette Grand Sports arrived on the Nassau pier, they were truly an awesome sight. The wide fenders, large stock car tires, super modified hoods, and the powerful aluminum 377 cubic inch, 485 bhp Chevrolet engines with 58 mm Weber carburetors, truly made this a Corvette packed with hormones.

Team owner John Mecom, driving Grand Sport Coupe, chassis 003, led the three Grand Sports off the pier, toward the hanger that was to be their home for the Nassau Speed Week, everyone who saw them that day knew that they had seen something special. And special they were!

More info here >>>>>
http://www02.exoto.com/Collectibles/index.asp?display=RacingLegends/Menu.asp Scroll down to see more on the GSs.

 

[davco]

i just looked up the specs for the 2005 vette. beastly. very fast. very square.

okay, i don't get it. i understand why it's a nice thing to wonder if some super-turbo-civic could kick a vette's butt, but, the article was just talking about being faster on a track, right? or were they saying, "it should have been all chevy in the fast and the furious - everybody knows the vette is faster"

Ok....I've found the article and this is the context of the statement. Potiac entered a GTO into the professional drifting thing (i don't know the name...obviously). I guess that usually the cars in drifting are supras, early model nissian 240s, and some other foriegn cars. When the GTO came onto the track the people booed Pontiac. Car and driver said these people would rather see a 50000 civic that couldn't beat a Z06. They didn't specify how. But it was very general. I think we've exploded it into 10 pages of nothing b/c i think it was meant for humor. I doesn't matter. I still want a corvette.

 

[anarchistchiken]

I would boo those piece of s*** jokes for GTO's too. I HATE Pontiac for even designing that filthy piece of excriment. It makes me so mad, I really just wanna go up to the local pontiac dealership and just key the sides of every "GTO" up there. It's a total discrace to the name and does even more to weaken Pontiacs image. To think that a 2002 Trans Am could beat a 2004 (redesigned is supposed to equal better according to Pontiac) GTO is just disgusting. Nothing against the Trans, I love them, but it shouldn't be able to beat a GTO.

 

[Replica]

I would boo those piece of s*** jokes for GTO's too. I HATE Pontiac for even designing that filthy piece of excriment. It makes me so mad, I really just wanna go up to the local pontiac dealership and just key the sides of every "GTO" up there. It's a total discrace to the name and does even more to weaken Pontiacs image. To think that a 2002 Trans Am could beat a 2004 (redesigned is supposed to equal better according to Pontiac) GTO is just disgusting. Nothing against the Trans, I love them, but it shouldn't be able to beat a GTO.

The GTO was NEVER a fast car. The firs GTO was a small block (i think 396? 389?) and ran a 15.9. The T/A's have been faster from day one. The GTO is a cruiser, not a drag racer like the T/A's are. The GTO is quite different, IRS instead of solid rear just to get started. I don't think the new GTO is a disgrace, it's still the same class of car it was back then. Maybe I'd be more accepting of the GTO if it was just called something else.

 

[anarchistchiken]

I was talking about all around, but yeah I guess you're right. I just think about the crazy GTO's some of my friends have that run 9's and 10's and shatter clutches every few times they're driven and could stomp Trans Am. I get kind of mad talkin about the new one, mostly cause it looks just like a grand prix on some minor steroids. Yeah sorry about the speed thing, I just really hate the new one.

 

[Kooldino]

Yeah, but those aren't STOCK GTOs. *shakes head*

The fact that you want to go key GTOs just shows immaturity.

 

[Replica]

Although, there are new GTO's in the 10's already....

 

[anarchistchiken]

**** you dino. I Don't recall saying stock, and I apologized for my indiscretion with the speed comparison. You are a ******* asshole. Anyway, my point stands. With a good looking body, I wouldn't mind the new GTO, but the body is ugly. Period. And yeah, before anybody says it, that is just my opinion, but I'm sticking to it. I dont like them.

 

[Replica]

**** you dino. I Don't recall saying stock, and I apologized for my indiscretion with the speed comparison. You are a ******* asshole. Anyway, my point stands. With a good looking body, I wouldn't mind the new GTO, but the body is ugly. Period.

I drove past one in a parking lot the other day, had to look 4-5 times to finnaly realize it was a GTO and not a grand am.

 

[RyanJayG]

The GTO was NEVER a fast car. The firs GTO was a small block (i think 396? 389?) and ran a 15.9. The T/A's have been faster from day one. The GTO is a cruiser, not a drag racer like the T/A's are. The GTO is quite different, IRS instead of solid rear just to get started. I don't think the new GTO is a disgrace, it's still the same class of car it was back then. Maybe I'd be more accepting of the GTO if it was just called something else.

well, the 1970 GTO Judge (my favorite btw.) isn't exactly slow

 

[1 PHAT 5]

i highly disagree. I'm from the honda camp and I know plenty of civics/integras/rsx/del sols that would eat a corvette alive. Mine hit around mid 13s and the fuel/timing maps were all screwed up. Unfortunetly the car was wrecked but it would have been able to outperform stock corvettes if things came together. Also something to think about, there are some hatches with b18s or b20s that are in the 13s all motor.

Honda camp guy here too. My Del Sol had a B20 and all motor it run low 13's all day. I had a few bugs in the ecu that I never got a chance to work out so it was capable of more. Anyways, if you had 50K, including the car, to build a civic to run with a corvette, it could be done. Gotta budget the money and not cut corners. About the part of where it wouldn't last or blow up. That will happen with any modded car if you either cut corners, don't prepare the car right, and/or have a driver that pushes the car past it's limits all the time. This will make a motor go boom!

 

[Replica]

well, the 1970 GTO Judge (my favorite btw.) isn't exactly slow

That was far from a common production car.

 

[RyanJayG]

true... but it was factory.... I guess the same could be said of the MP3.... only 1500.... hmmm

Of those, 32,737 were GTO hardtops, 3,615 were GTO convertibles, 3,629 were Judge hardtops and 168 were Judge ragtops.

more Judge's than MP3's....

 

[Replica]

true... but it was factory.... I guess the same could be said of the MP3.... only 1500.... hmmm


more Judge's than MP3's....

I agree, the MP3 is another off-beat car. It's kinda like comparing a MSP to an LX.

 

[RyanJayG]

still, I would do many many unmentionable things for an original 1970 GTO Judge convertable in orange..... *shudder*

 

[Replica]

still, I would do many many unmentionable things for an original 1970 GTO Judge convertable in orange..... *shudder*

indeed.

 

[servoeyes]

still, I would do many many unmentionable things for an original 1970 GTO Judge convertable in orange..... *shudder*

I like the earlier ragtop GTO in the Honduras Maroon Metallic, personally.