Posted on 01/16/2015 5:22:43 PM PST by Beowulf9
(Excerpt) Read more at americandigest.org ...
The 1973 Ford emission crap slowed the Ford LTD to a crawl going up hill. Had to go in for service several times.
Look up the drop in horse power between 1969 and 1972.
I think we can blame the late 60's for the start of rampant drug use but I agree with you regarding the devastation of the 70's on that subject. Destruction of the family is not limited to the 70's. Not sure when that started to happen.
Oh I know. I rebuilt several of Ford’s Emissions motors from that era.
They retarded the all cams several degrees, shrunk port and valve size in several engines and eliminated the 4BBl in all but the 460 IIRC by 79.
The fix on a fresh build? Strip the emissions, replace the cam with a pre 70 cam or even an Edelbrock Performer, add a 4BBL intake and a smaller 4bbl like a Holley vac secondary.
Swap the distributor and ignition with an MSD and without ever touching valves, ports or compression you are into solid HP/Torque numbers. Basic step 1 hot rodding like that will damn near double the mileage as well.
With a fresh build, 1.5-2 points of compression, headers and free flowing exhaust, you have even more of the good with zero downside. And mileage increases yet again.
My last build was the much reviled 400 ‘boat anchor’ done with all the useable Cleveland parts and the above basics in a 79 F250 4x4 W/Danas, C6 and a 205 case. It will light up 37 in Goodyears with no issue. 15 MPG highway.
When the feminists began the crusade for ALL women to avoid childbirth and/or leave their kids at home; and replace them with a job.
Heh-heh.
Yea, but did they get 30 miles to the gallon at 70 mph? Just being funny and taking note of how far cars have advanced.
And the air is so much cleaner so who can fault the early initiative to solve that problem even if it sucked the HP out of the early 70s engines.
A 1969 Impala, the best selling model of the era, would do 0-60 in 10 seconds with the 327 V8. Lucky to get 15 mpg.
A new 4 cyl Camry will do 0-60 in 8.5 sec, and get at least 25 gpm.
The past ain’t what it used to be.
I can. The emissions crap ended up burning more gas and improperly burning gas besides during the combustion cycle. The result was worse emissions when the vehicle was under an actual load. In the smog test shop, idling, they were ‘cleaner’. One of my modded Fords actually smogged cleaner than the spec called for for a fully smogged engine. So I know it’s true. When you actually drove the (factory smogged) things, the pollution was worse than ever. Especially considering they never worked properly to begin with from day 1. It was another govt scam to steer people away from big cars and into shoeboxes.
Once tech got to the point (80s) where functional emissions control were doable without making things worse, the 70s tech was almost entirely scrapped. I think Cats are all that remains.
And today of course, with engine management/fuel injection, many cars actually scrub the air. While still making big power.
Those were the good-old days....sigh... Drag racing my 1969 AMX at Sunshine speedway.... Burgers with the buds at Frisch’s Big Boy after.
Your point is well taken, you're not wrong. But keep in mind they started using SAE net hp figures instead of bhp figures around '71 - '72.
Im guessing you know more on the subject than I. I was not aware of that change. Do i have it wrong on the significant HP drop?
Wow am I enjoying this conversation. Seriously. Cars are such a good thing...unless your a liberal and think they are the devil.
Destruction of the family is not limited to the 70’s.
***
Most definitely agree with you on that point. The progressives set the wheels in motion on destroying the family well before the 1970s, but the train really picked up speed during the ‘70s, and it has shown no signs of stopping.
No. Sad to say, you got it right.
Starting in '71...compression ratios dropped, weaker cam specs, exhaust restrictions, parasitic air pumps, leaner mixtures, smaller valves, smaller and fewer carbs, etc., etc., etc., ad nauseam.
It was all bull$hit! Not hopeless though, heh heh. I showed 'em, I showed 'em good.
Shortly after the 2cd gen Mopar Hemi came out in '66, (street version, race version came out in '64), my entire life was devoted to getting one. Saved every penny I made and waited until I could get a drivers license, which would be in '73.
They discontinued the Hemi at the end of the '71 model year. I was teary-eyed for months.
A new plan was required. I ended up buying a new '73 'Cuda 340. Enjoyed driving it mostly as it was for a few years while gathering up Hemi parts.
Combine ingredients, stir, bake, drop the clutch, bang those gears.
And he spewed much exhaust and tire smoke into the air happily ever after.
PS Emissions wasn't the only issue that brought it all down, the insurance companies also helped screw it up. Tremendous premium increases on high horsepower was a real strain on the musclecar market. My opinion...Detroit changed the way they measured hp to lower the numbers and mitigate this situation.
By the time the insurance companies caught on, nothing had enough horsepower to worry about.
We used Farah for a dart board in college. You can guess where the bullseye was.
Was it drugs from the 60s?
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