The Ford Thunderbolt. A completely stock 'bolt, on modern tires, will run around 9.3 second 1/4 mile times. The fastest 1/4 mile time ever for a factory vehicle.
Posted on 07/15/2016 6:04:55 PM PDT by mdittmar
A Chevy Impala that defines “Muscle car”
My Dad’s ‘70 Duce and a Quarter would quickly get to the maximum traction available from the tires upon heavy brake pedal force application. Though a little rough on balance, the drum brakes had a high gain and would lock-em up way quick.
Needed the last 2 inches in the back of that Monza wagon to fit the bowling ball leaving college for the first duty station.
Needed the back seat and ALL the space every else to move a wife, baby and all other stuff 13 months later back to Texas.
We rebuilt a 1932 (I think it was) Ford back in my teens.
The thing had mechanical brakes. My gawd, I don’t see how women drove cars before hydraulics came in.
Shoulda put the Cosworth in it
Well, my hat is off to you for getting the job done with a vehicle that was barely up to the task. My earliest memories are of playing in the back deck of my parents’ olive green Pinto station wagon.
I thought the “Cash for Clunkers program” was over with?
Oh yeah, ..... Chevrolet is to big to fail, - as well as too big to bail!
The Ford Thunderbolt. A completely stock 'bolt, on modern tires, will run around 9.3 second 1/4 mile times. The fastest 1/4 mile time ever for a factory vehicle.
Drum brakes were quite grippy with good shoes, but try a few 80-0 panic stops and you will be coasting with your foot jammed through the floor board................
Disc (actually better termed caliper) brakes are one of the best improvements made to modern cars. You have to have driven the old stuff with enthusiam to appreciate the difference.
Same thing with motorcycles, having gone through an intersection or two with totally faded front drum brake. I loved good brakes on bikes so much I modifies three Hondas to have dual front discs, before any stock bikes were offered with them.
My brother had a yellow version of the black Chevelle Super Sport. 396, four-barrel, four-speed. If you wanted to pass someone on a two-lane road, it did not take long!
Thunderbolts were fast, but stock ones cannot run 9.3 ETs.
The best NHRA teams managed to get low-11s from them at best. That’s fast but they were not nine second cars.
Smokey was always a really big thorn in nascars backside.The guy was brilliant with the way he could taunt nascar and their rules.Do you remember the 7/8 scale Malibu/chevelle? One of the greatest stories ever told.
Had a 1984 Chevrolet Malibu wagon a bit later.
Floored ... Could do a 0-60.
In 18 seconds flat. 8<)
LOL! Was watching a "Bones" show last night and there were two folks in an old Mini-type that had seen better days and hadn't caught up with technology. The owner said it was a classic and the passenger said that "classic" was code for "old piece of junk I spent money on".
that is why I always kept a big hammer and a pad of sandpaper in my trunk....
Yep...sandpapered them good when we got to Idaho. Plenty of life left in that set. They were glazed as well as fine pottery.
There's not a car available today that can do that, from the factory. That's over 2 seconds faster than the Hellcat.
Lots of HP, tons of torque, and a very light car make for quick quarters!
That 427 wasn’t factory installed...
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