I will just leave this here


 
Yeah by then the 440 was only 8 to 1 compression, the cam was changed to allow for a lot of exhaust gas to stay in the cylinders, the timing was REALLY retarded and the carb was set up to burn as lean as it could. The "real" 440 was "rated" at about 375 hp but everyone knew it was a lie. Back before 1971 the true 44 was actually documented to be putting out upward of 450 hp STOCK but from 1971 on only about 250 realistically. Sad days for the muscle cars then (1971 and on). I was working for a Chrysler/Plymouth dealer at the time and driving a pre 71 version of the same car was disheartening when you got into a 71 or later. IT was very sad to say the least. Pre 71 was the true hey day of the real muscle machines. Though I will admit nowadays, we are getting tremendous performance from much smaller engines. Heck I just picked up a later model Toyota Highlander. AWD and V6 with 5spd auto. That thing puts out 275 hp with 256 lb ft from only 213 cu in! It will if not careful light up all 4 wheels, rated to do 0-60 in 7.2 also. And that's just some plebeian soccer mom SUV. Recently I drove a Nissan 370zx. Driving at 60 mph if you turn off the traction/stability control, nail the gas it lit up the rear tires! I have not felt power like these engines since the 60's HP is back. But with great fuel economy too! My Highlander averages 20 mpg back in the day performance like that cost you to the tune of about 6 mpg (or was that GPM :D)
Look at the new Challenger. Even with the corporate 3.6 V6 it'll pin you in the seat better than any mid 70's big block could dream of and still give you 30 mpg! Oh well on to grilling LOL
 
Back in Europe we kids could only dream of such cars at fuel prices 5x higher and cars being taxed by the size of the engine. No way I could have afforded one like that. My first car was the Opel/GM counter offer to the VW Rabbit/Golf Mark 1 Diesel. An '83 Opel Kadett 1.6L Diesel with a whooping 54HP. But I got around 50 mpg.
 
Stefan H said:
Back in Europe we kids could only dream of such cars at fuel prices 5x higher and cars being taxed by the size of the engine. No way I could have afforded one like that. My first car was the Opel/GM counter offer to the VW Rabbit/Golf Mark 1 Diesel. An '83 Opel Kadett 1.6L Diesel with a whooping 54HP. But I got around 50 mpg.
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Don't feel too bad . My very first car was a Ford Pinto LOL. I drove it for a year. At 17 my father took pity on me and helped me get the Mustang Cobra. Not a good car in some ways but it as a looker and definitely impressed the girls.
 
Naw I don't feel bad. I had that car for 7 years. It got me all across Europe. From far south as Corsica to the northern tips of Scotland. Not fast or impressive but handy, reliable and efficient.
 
I was watching a Barret Jackson auction a while ago when a 70 GTO Judge convertible came up with ram air IV four speed. A rare goat for sure only 168 made. It was a professional body off restoration. Sold for a heart stopping price in the mid $400,000 range plus 10% buyers premium. Probably real close to $500,000 OTD.
The price of muscle cars is still climbing, but that's way out of my league.
I only go to one show a year the January B/J auction in Scottsdale AZ, that gives me my fix for the year. Barb and I and a program on Saturday will set you back $100, but it's worth it some of the most beautiful cars you will ever see.
When you go into the main auction tent where the cars are auctioned off all you smell is money.
 
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Greg M said:
Don't feel too bad . My very first car was a Ford Pinto LOL. I drove it for a year. At 17 my father took pity on me and helped me get the Mustang Cobra. Not a good car in some ways but it as a looker and definitely impressed the girls.
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Mine was even worse. Bet you don't remember the Plymouth Cricket:p! It was a car made from 1971 to 73 by Chrysler's UK subsidiary that was rebadged for the US to fill the hole for competition with the Pinto and Vega that Chrysler didn't anticipate. What a hoot! 0-60 ... maybe in another life:rolleyes:. Once described in Collectible Automobile as "rusting on the assembly line." It did have bucket seats, but the drivers side was so broken down that the very girl I so wanted to impress came up to the car and said to me, "I thought you were supposed to be tall.":( A Mustang Cobra or a Trans Am:cool: sure would have been a lot better for that!

Mine looked almost exactly like this one:

9UorNqq.jpg
 
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Bruce said:
Ahhhh, the Chrysler K- Cars. I remember that with Lee Iacoca.
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Bruce,
The Cricket was even before the K cars. It was when Chrysler was run by accountant types (I hope not like me:rolleyes:). They weren’t prepared for the import and small car onslaught. Lacking any way to manufacture an entirely new car, they just imported one from their English subsidiary. It was an absolute piece of junk. I got it in high school because my father had bought it when he retired and felt he needed to “downsize.” That lasted a couple years before he went back to a bigger GM car like he was used to. My friends and I made the rounds in that little junker.

One of my friends had an equally pitiful bright red Chevrolet Chevette we also ran around in. We definitely missed out in the muscle car thing. We could only dream of having a Trans Am a la Burt Reynolds (from Jupiter next town south of Hobe Sound;)).

t3mowoU.jpg


That's me on the left. 40 years younger and 40 pounds lighter:o!
 
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Jon Tofte said:
Mine was even worse. Bet you don't remember the Plymouth Cricket:p! It was a car made from 1971 to 73 by Chrysler's UK subsidiary that was rebadged for the US to fill the hole for competition with the Pinto and Vega that Chrysler didn't anticipate. What a hoot! 0-60 ... maybe in another life:rolleyes:. Once described in Collectible Automobile as "rusting on the assembly line." It did have bucket seats, but the drivers side was so broken down that the very girl I so wanted to impress came up to the car and said to me, "I thought you were supposed to be tall.":( A Mustang Cobra or a Trans Am:cool: sure would have been a lot better for that!

Mine looked almost exactly like this one:

9UorNqq.jpg
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OMG.. A British car of the 70s/80s. What can go wrong...
I guess since they could not sell these junkers in mainland Europe they brought them to the US. My condolences.
This just remembers me of one of the Top Gear episodes.
https://youtu.be/bf7q8lWEd-o
 
I had a buddy with a chevy vega that had more of its body missing from rust than it had left. Another buddy had a restored 68 Camero with a 327ci and tubo 350 trans. I loved that car.
 
Jon I think your cricket has my pinto beat.

You mentioning Lee Iacocca takes me back. My father was a CPA. Very conservative. But he took a chance when Chrysler was sinking right before Iacocca took over and bought a Chrysler dealership on the cheap with a client that was a general manager at a local VW dealership.

Of course Iacocca turned Chrysler around and buying the dealership turned out to be a great investment. Dad was a car guy and he got to drive new dealer cars for years. The wife and I always got to buy our cars new or used at cost. It was a sad day when they sold it.
 
I remember the Cricket very well. It was made by Sunbeam (not the appliance company LOL) and sold as a Plymouth here in the US in the early to mid 70's what a POC. though I imagine for the UK they weren't too awful. We have to remember the time period and also the hugely disparate emission laws between here and the UK/Europe. Ours were much stricter at the time and this caused Sunbeam to have to "detune" the engine in a huge way.
 
Larry,

I was just reading about it, and it looks like the Cricket was made by Hillman, which was owned by Chrylser. I do remember seeing a Sunbeam or two when I was a kid in the 60's. Seems like I remember them being a pretty cool looking car - at least to us as kids.

Here is an article about the Cricket that puts this sad car in perspective. Leave it to my well-intentioned Dad to buy one of these things. When my much older sister was in high school ~1959 he traded in his '57 Chevrolet with the high performance engine and bought a Rambler:eek:!

https://carbuzz.com/news/rebadged-disasters-plymouth-cricket
 
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I knew about the Hillman angle but was told they were a part of Sunbeam (back in my Chrysler dealer days). Walked away from the automotive service business in 75 IIRC maybe 76. Just as catalytic converters were just coming into play. We had a lot of them blow up in those early days. Cars were still on carburetors and it was prior to electronic feedback carbs (precursor to EFI). Controlling fuel/air ratio was VERY sketchy and if those converters got a just too rich or too lean mix they became VERY hot. We had cars catching on fire, converters exploding, name it. Even had a brand new Camaro have one explode and catch the interior on fire in the shop while it was being prepped for new car delivery LOL. You could only imagine the sound and white hot ceramic platinum pellets flying through the shop with metal fragments not far behind. Scary times. The prep guys were not allowed to do pre delivery carb adj indoors any more. They had to do it outside it was that scary.
 
Larry,
My friend with the red Chevy Chevette that I posted the picture of had one of those experiences. He had a very dry sense of humor. His catalytic converter set the inside of his car on fire. He drove in to the Chevrolet dealership and calmly parked the car in the middle of their lot. A salesman, probably annoyed at a teenager standing there asked him what he wanted. My friend calmly said, “That car is on fire.” When the salesman saw it he went berserk! They replaced much of that car’s interior, but you could still tell. An American piece of junk not much better than my Cricket:rolleyes:.
 
Oh well I kinda liked my Chitvette. I always told people I drove a Vette. I had 2 of them. Glutton for punishment. They were actually rebodied Opel Kadette vehicles. You could tell by the offset steering wheel
 
I have a cousin who used to call his Chevette his "vette"! He rolled it one time slipping on some wet leaves (like 25 years ago). The lady behind him ended up going to the hospital because she was so freaked out! My cousin drove it home I believe :)
 
Yah, my buddy with his Chevy Vega rolled his and drove it home as well. Has just drunk.

Anyway, those later 70's and early 80's were a bad time for US Auto manufacturers.
 
My sister and one of my friends had Chevette's. We called them Shovettet. I was amazed at how gutless those cars were. The one my sister got came at a very high price IMO. My grandfather wanted to help her with nice first car. So he traded his 1970 Chevy pickup for the car. Figured it was newer, so better and more reliable, and would do better on gas. Well, it did do better on gas. I really liked that truck and was sad to see it go for a Shovettet.
 
Mine was really quite good I had a 79 I bought brand new. 4 door with 4 spd manual and the high performance LOL engine and suspension (IIRC it was called RPO9C1). One time back in the old double nickle days I picked up my brother form ISU as we were going to CA to see our cousins, aunt and uncle in LA so it was over the T/Giving break for him. We were following a semi who apparently knew there were no cops (Kojacks with Kodaks) and he had that thing rolling. I had that little vette wound as tight as I could get it. Foot planted for about 60 miles trying to keep up. My bro was amazed not at how fast the truck was going but that even planted through the firewall I was losing him! I got just a whisker over 85 mph from it and it was all it had. My right foot was cramping from trying to push the pedal harder. But honestly no matter how much I trashed that little car it never broke. And I put some taller tires on it for a bit more ground clearance and it went through places no other car could go in the snow. I got around better than all the FWD cars out there. And it did handle great as well. So it wasn't all bad.
 
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