In praise of less than "King Kong" models....

In the last post I talked about lowering your sights a little and finding a car you could live with. As gearheads we tend to always lust after the biggest and baddest of anything, but that isn't always pracitcal. I was talking to a friend the other day and we were discussing how we'd like to have a '60's 427 Stingray to play with. I said I'd be fine with a 10:1 390 hp 4bbl model or a 400 hp Tri-Power model, because they could run on pump gas,and with a hydraulic cam would be pretty much maintenance free,and would still be fast enough that I wouldn't have to take crap from little boys in WRX's or soccer moms in Hemi Cherokees, and would be fun to cruise up to tahoe or to the wine country in the summertime. My pal brought up an article about the Pure Stock drags champion. The champ has an L88 ( not numbers matching, but built to L88 specs ) '69 'Vette that ran a blistering 11.43 at the Pure Stock drags. "I couldn't afford a for-real L88 but I could build a 390 hp model to those specs." My friend said. "You could, if like this guy you only raced it." I said. "But it's totally impractical if you intend to drive the car at all." "Why would you say that?" he asked, dead serious. "Did you read the spec sheet?" "First off, it's got 12.5:1 compression." "You'd either have to run racing gas or put two cans of octane booster in every tankful." "The cam recommends open exhausts, and solid lifters need regular lash adjustments to get optimum performance." "And it's got 4.56:1 gears." "Do you really want the motor buzzing at 4,000 rpm on the freeway?" "I get that nothing feels like a Rat motor-but if you want to drive it at all-I just think you'd be happier with a milder 427 combo-or maybe even a LS5 454 / TH400 '70-72 model." "I never thought about that." he said. "Your right-unless it's a trailer queen the lesser powered model would better." That got us to talking about some other people we knew who made the choice for a lesser model in the name of drivability. One guy had a '69 Shelby GT350 Mustang that he absolutely loves, and drives often during Hot August nights and sunny weekend days in the spring, summer and fall. It goes in storage every winter and never sees rain or snow. Another mutual friend had ribbed him about how for the price he paid for the Shelby-he could have bought a Boss 302. "Yeah, I thought about that." "I even test drove a Boss 302." "There's a reason most of them have 3.90:1 or 4.30:1 gears." "They have very little torque below 3 grand." "The motor is peaky,has 11:1 compression and solid lifters, and if you read old road tests their not any quicker than a 351W or 351C Mach 1." "If the Boss has got 3.50:1 gears their not as fast as a 4-speed / 351 Mach 1." "The 351 in the Shelby idles smooth, has lots of low-end torque-if your in any gear but fourth around town you can just accelerate without having to downshift,the 3.25:1 gears are a nice compromise between jackrabbit starts and easy freeway cruising, and it has power steering, and A/C." "Sort of a "Gentleman's hot rod" like a Hurst / Olds." "No, I don't regret not getting the Boss." "The Shelby's just as elite, but much more user-friendly." "And I've played grab-ass with Boss owners at Mustang club meets." The Shelby'll give 'em a run."  Similar words from an Olds 442 owner. He had seriously considered a W31 Cutlass. If you don't know the W31 package took a strippy Cutlass / F85 coupe and added a hopped up 350-special big valve heads,a 308 degree cam, an aluminum high-rise intake, special exhaust manifolds. They were only available with a 4-speed and 3.90:1 or 4.33:1 gears, and couldn't be ordered with power brakes because the lumpy cam didn't make enough vacuum to operate them! They were blisteringly fast and grossly under-rated at 325 hp. The base model Cutlass / sedan / station wagon 350 was rated at 310 hp; all those go-fast goodies are only worth 15 hp? Puhleeze. Anyhow-like the Mustang guy-he drove a couple W31s, was impressed with how quick they were, and ended up buying a a 400 / TH400 442 that had A/C, power steering, power brakes, power windows,and an AM / FM radio with a still functioning power antenna. "With 350 hp and 440 lbs ft of torque, the 442 will literally spin it's tires as long as I want to stay on the throttle." he said. And it's a nice car to drive-the 3.23:1 gears give it good oomph off the line and easy cruising on the freeway." "Plus 5,700 rpm is something like 138 mph." "Its got some serious top-end." "The W31 was a rocket through the 1/4-but with 4.33:1 gears you were all done by 110." "You'd almost run out of rpm before the end of the 1/4." "And it was so low geared, that around town even if you weren't hot rodding, you were always shifting."  "Plus the motor was buzzing at 3,800 rpm on the freeway, and even though it had front disc brakes, and would stop, I didn't like the pedal feel." "The 442's brakes feel a lot better even if they don't actually stop any quicker, and it's only spinning about 2,500 rpm on the freeway." "The W31's a great street fighter or drag racer, but under any other driving conditions the big-block 442 is much more pleasant to drive." "I haven't raced a W31 yet, but I bet my 442 would beat one or at least give it a helluva run."  Actor Barry Newman who along with Stuntman Carey Loftin did some of the driving in the cult-classic "Vanishing Point"-said in an interview with Muscle Car Review-"There were 5 Challengers" "4 were 440 / 4-speeds, and the Camera car was a 383 / Automatic." "They were powerful-you'd pop the clutch in first, and it would almost rear back." "But I tell you, I honestly think the 383 would run just as fast as the 440s." "That 383 was a great running car."  Good advice from real people. I'm not saying DON'T buy an L88 'Vette, or a Boss 429 or a Hemi Charger, or whatever-if you want one and can afford it-by all means get one. I'm just saying that you may be happier in the long run with something that isn't "King Kong". Especially if your going to drive the car more than on and off the trailer!  Mastermind