Old Muscle Cars vs. New Muscle Cars

[Bert]

to 3 SS's:

they are all cool . . .

and, you SUCK!

just kidding, pure jealousy, how can one guy own so many ultra-cool cars?

just for the record, I'd still love to own a mint condition original muscle car from back in the day . . . but since I will probably never be able to afford one, I'll have to settle for a new one

[2SSRS_2010]

Old muscle smells old.

Had a 318 73 dart sport (not exactly muscle) that ran 17.5 sec and a 71 351 cobra jet mustang that ran 15.00 at 94 mph. Both my 2010 camaro and 01 Vette can blow the doors off of most old muscle cars while getting very decent milage and running with the ac on. IMHO there is no comparison as the cars of today are so much better.

I would trade my left n** for a steel gasser willys, anglia or early nova though. Love the straight axle gasser/afx look.

[3 SS's]

Originally Posted by Bert

and, you SUCK!

why...thank you

[wildpaws]

Originally Posted by LOWDOWN

10 second cars?!

I had a friend order a new '67 Fairlane R-code 427/425 hp. $3200 out the door. Then, balanced/blueprinted/headers/CraneCam/4.71 Locker/10.00X15 Racemasters. Prepped for SS/B by Barrie Poole, the FE engine guru. Best time? 11.90 @ 121, when the NHRA record was 11.1 for strip-prepped-only dedicated race cars...

"The older I get, the faster I was..."

If I recall correctly, Hot Rod Magazine "built" a '69 Z28 with 4.88s, 7" slicks, blueprint, headers etc. for F/Stock...that barely broke into the 12s (maybe a 12.8??), but was several 10ths off the Record...

Obviously somebody at Hot Rod didn't know squat about building a 302 SBC!
Check this link for for a fast '69 Z/28:
http://www.z28camaro.com/oldrel.html

I bought a '69 Z/28 new, the loping cam, chambered exhaust, etc. were music to my ears, a pretty decent performer especially after a few mods. Today's performance cars have much better manners, get better gas mileage, and have better stock performance, but I still miss having an old high performance car. There is a certain "edginess" those old cars have that just isn't replicated in the sometimes smooth as silk newer cars. So I guess I like both for different reasons.
Clyde

[68 Z/28]

Originally Posted by SamSS

Oh man, I agree with everything you said DkknightX. If I only could get my hands on one of those old muscle cars...

You Can , I did

[Danny Thomas]

Got both ...67 RS camaro and 2010 SS/RS. They are definitely different. There is nothing like the 67 and the heads that turn when I roll into cruise or car show. The old has more room and less blind spots and with a few mods rides like a caddy and runs like the new 2010. Yes it can't beat the 2010 but as it has been mentioned earlier, it a heck alot of alot easier to work on. It will never loose it's place in time. The 2010 is the new kid that has everyone looking, but how long will that last. Newness always wears off. I love the 2010 for the new technology and the fitness of all the parts and styling. Love the power, but in reality how much is too much. As we have already seen on this forum, there are alot of unskilled people that are wrapping them around poles. The price point is allowing people to experience raw power. Vets are priced high to allow the elite few to experience awesome power, now we have the camaro. Inconclusion, old has its place and new has its. Thanks to GM, they have given back an icon that should have never left. This is America and we ned to continue that Chevy -Ford - Dodge rivalry. Old and new.

[justincase_2008]

being only 21 i don't compare new muscle to old muscle at all. when i see a old 57 chevy or 67 fastback drive by me ill almost break my neck checking it out even if im driving my 2010 SS. Back in the day cars were cars not a mobile house on wheels with every add on u can fit in it. My dad had a old farlane with just a chair bolted down cause it was faster that way. The new cars are show cars nice to look at but a pain in the ass to work on. cause god knows the pc will get angry cause u touched some unseen sensor and pissed it off.

[justincase_2008]

Originally Posted by Danny Thomas

Got both ...67 RS camaro and 2010 SS/RS.

ur my new hero

[SRM]

Originally Posted by irocnroll

Yeah, "Muscle" cars died in the 70's. I wouldnt classify any of the "Sports" cars of today as muscle cars, even if they are quicker.

I was hoping someone would mention this. The new Camaro and any other modern cars are "sports" cars.

[SleepWarz]

Maybe if you have a v6 or wagon wheels
The ls3 is all muscle.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by DkknightX

Muscle cars were built to be affordable. Power was at the center of muscle cars back in the 60's and 70's. Performance, handling, suspension, all was an afterthought at that time. Today, muscle cars are all about finesse, performance, and refinement. My gripe with today's cars is the sheer amount of computer controlled parts. I find it annoying that all these sensors and everything can trip at a moment's notice for doing virtually nothing and they are a pain in the ass to reset. Examples:

- I think the muscle cars of yesteryear were simple, easy to upgrade, even for casual drivers/owners. Didn't have to worry about calibrations, and all these transmission sensors in auto transmissions like you do in modern cars. This was probably the sole reason I will never own an automatic transmission anymore. One sensor trip and it's right to AAMCO for a $2000.00 job just to lift the transmission out to get to the bad sensor so it would STOP tripping the "Check Engine" light. Done with that crap.

- I hate the idea of trying to mod my vehicle and if you don't "tune" things exactly, the car's computer gets all flustered and puts out all this crap about error reports, etc. If I owned a '68 Camaro, I'd never have to worry about problems replacing tires or adding a supercharger. All these car companies want to reaffirm that they have elements of control on you by creating "sensitive" computers to error out so that you are either dissuaded from modding your car or you have to pay THEM to do it. Unless you are a gearhead, an average car guy like me would find all of this nonsense a waste of time and money.

Give me an old muscle car to mod, but unfortunately if you want refinement, power and finesse of modern muscle cars, you'll have to deal with a lot of crap. At least I've experienced this.

Back in the day, maybe there wasn't a computer to throw a code, but you still had to tune your engine to get everything to work right, and if you didn't the results could be a lot worse than an error code. And if you didn't know how to tune an engine, you'd have to pay someone else to do it. But that computer also eliminates the need to retune your high performance engine every few thousand miles, or when you climb a few thousand feet in altitude. Adjusting a carburetor seems like a totally different thing than adjusting a few 1's and 0's but it isn't, its just done in a different way with different tools.

[Speedfreak]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

Back in the day, maybe there wasn't a computer to throw a code, but you still had to tune your engine to get everything to work right, and if you didn't the results could be a lot worse than an error code. And if you didn't know how to tune an engine, you'd have to pay someone else to do it. But that computer also eliminates the need to retune your high performance engine every few thousand miles, or when you climb a few thousand feet in altitude. Adjusting a carburetor seems like a totally different thing than adjusting a few 1's and 0's but it isn't, its just done in a different way with different tools.

This is true. Talk to some old school guys who ran solid lifters and duel carbs

There is something bout late 68-72 cars that cannot ever be replaced.

[Blue Angel]

As many of you have pointed out, the old muscle cars and the new ones are very different, but there are some important similarities that I think we all love:

Takes your breath away when you open the garage
Draws a crowd at the gas station
Throws you back in the seat when you punch it
The thrilling roar of the engine
Permagrin


From my '68 Hurst/Olds to the '75 TransAm to the 2010 Camaro - I just love 'em all.

[68 Z/28]

Originally Posted by Blue Angel

As many of you have pointed out, the old muscle cars and the new ones are very different, but there are some important similarities that I think we all love:

Takes your breath away when you open the garage
Draws a crowd at the gas station
Throws you back in the seat when you punch it
The thrilling roar of the engine
Permagrin


From my '68 Hurst/Olds to the '75 TransAm to the 2010 Camaro - I just love 'em all.