1970's 'big boats' - owned one of them?

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Originally Posted By: VNTS
Yes people on here need to experience the Tourque of a 440 RB in a B Body.

My father has a 69 Road Runner A12 440 6bbl. Real sweet when the carbs kick in :)


Congrat's on owning a very cool, pretty low production number, classic MOPAR muscle car. Hands down the Road Runner is my favorite muscle car of all time. I am a HUGE MOPAR guy anyway but the RR is just my favorite of all of them. Have any photos of that 69 1/2 Road Runner( A12 code/package was the 440-6 and was issued on both the RR and Super Bee, for just the later part of the model year, right? )

You know, one thing I always disliked that Chrysler( Plymouth/Dodge )did was call it the 440 6BBL on the RR's vs 440 6 Pack on the Super Bees. Never liked the 440 6BBL moniker. I always seem to refer to them as the 440 6 Pack regardless of year and model as do most I think. It caught my eye when you named it accurately as most do not.

I have driven 340-6's and 440-6's and they are a blast as you say when all 3 carb's open up. Of course they are a royal PITB to sync and get setup but once you do they are really fun.

Great car. I am envious even site unseen. Post some photos or PM them to me. I need a RR fix!
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Had a roomate one time who had a 68 Charger with the 440...I drove it a few times...That car was the most powerful car I ever drove...It looked awesome and drove awesome...He ended up selling it cause he got a job 100 miles away [each way] and wanted a/c as the Charger did not have it...He later told me he regretted selling it and should have stored it somewhere.
 
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: VNTS
Yes people on here need to experience the Tourque of a 440 RB in a B Body.

My father has a 69 Road Runner A12 440 6bbl. Real sweet when the carbs kick in :)


Congrat's on owning a very cool, pretty low production number, classic MOPAR muscle car. Hands down the Road Runner is my favorite muscle car of all time.


And definitely one of the best logo/emblem designs ever... Seen here on a '70 RoadRunner:

rr.jpg


:D
 
The first -and only- big American boat I've owned was a 1974 Monte Carlo with the 350 SBC and TH-350. This was GM's first attempt(along with the Cutlass Salon and Grand AM) to incorporate European handling and steering feel into their intermediate sedans. I bought it new(I wanted a BMW Bavaria but it was too expensive at the time).
I modified it as follows:
L82 Air filter/valve covers
Crane HT Cam/lifters
Edelbrock Performer Intake
Quadrajet carb(calibrated by yours truly)
Recurved Delco Distributor/Mallory Unilite/MSD 5A
Blackjack Headers
3" dual exhaust with Cherry Bomb Q (Turbo) mufflers
B&M Transpak(Street/Strip calibration)
Flex-A-Lite 15000 lb.GVW Transmission cooler
3:42 Final Drive Ratio
The only work I farmed out was the recurve, the Transpak install and some exhaust pipe bending. Believe it or not, I still get requests to rebuild Q-Jets from time to time. I also installed a pretty decent(for the time) Pioneer sound system. The Monte was a big boat, but it was faster than the so-called performance cars of the late 70's, such as the Z/28, Trans Am, and the L82 Corvette. It would chirp the tires on the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts at anything over 1/2 throttle. The handling wasn't bad- especially considering that the sled weighed 4200 pounds. I sold it in 1989 to fund my ever-growing HPDE addiction.
 
My first car was a '72 Chrysler Newport. 400 CI under the hood, but only a 2BBL. Still, she'd get up and go when called on.

The oddest thing to me was that the folks allowed me to get a car with what amounted to a full-size bed for a back seat...
 
My dad always drove Oldsmobile Dynamic/Delta 88's with the biggest engine he could order in it. He started driving Oldsmobiles in 1951 and the last Olds he had was a '69 Delta 88 four door hardtop with the 455 cid engine in it. After that, he went to a '76 Buick LeSabre. After being stung with the slippiing quality of GM cars back then, dad switched to driving Mercedes 300 series sedans until he died 20 years ago.

When I was in high school, he bought me a 1964 Ford Thunderbird, and I continued to drive Thunderbirds up until perhaps ten years ago. For me, I never considered the cars I grew up with as "big" as everyone drove full size cars back then. Only the spinster school teacher or grandmother would drive a compact car. Even when I was in high school, most of the kids were driving full size cars, as compact cars simply didn't have the performance a high school guy required. In my small town, it wasn't uncommon for 16 year olds to be driving Continental Mark IV's and Cadillac ElDorados.

When I first tried moved down from driving full size cars to compact cars after the '73 oil crisis, the shellshock of a compact car and a small engine didn't set well with me, so I quickly traded back up to a midsize car with a V-8. I'm in the market for a new car as we speak, and right now, I'm torn between a compact or a midsize. I have a hunch the mid-size will win out.
 
I would but this forum doesnt allow you to copy a picture, assume you have someone host it.

THe actual car is in a book called Muscle Car Greats

The six packs run great if you keep the carbs clean. Amsoil power Foam is your friend.

I have a great story, were at a Northeast Hemi Owners meet years back. Person their had a nice 70 Cuda 440 +6
Car was running [censored]. My brother being the Smart as$$$$ he is goes to the guy, bet you a case of beer I can fix your carbs without turning a wrench. Guys says your on. My brother grabs a can out of his trunk. We yank the pie plate, foam all three carbs, guys gives a beer, let it sit a half hour, spray some more down.

He tells him OK fire it up and go out and romp on. well he fires it up and fogs out the place and then takes it for a ride. Gets back with a nice grin and it is idling real sweet. THe guy became an Amsoil convert.









Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: VNTS
Yes people on here need to experience the Tourque of a 440 RB in a B Body.

My father has a 69 Road Runner A12 440 6bbl. Real sweet when the carbs kick in :)


Congrat's on owning a very cool, pretty low production number, classic MOPAR muscle car. Hands down the Road Runner is my favorite muscle car of all time. I am a HUGE MOPAR guy anyway but the RR is just my favorite of all of them. Have any photos of that 69 1/2 Road Runner( A12 code/package was the 440-6 and was issued on both the RR and Super Bee, for just the later part of the model year, right? )

You know, one thing I always disliked that Chrysler( Plymouth/Dodge )did was call it the 440 6BBL on the RR's vs 440 6 Pack on the Super Bees. Never liked the 440 6BBL moniker. I always seem to refer to them as the 440 6 Pack regardless of year and model as do most I think. It caught my eye when you named it accurately as most do not.

I have driven 340-6's and 440-6's and they are a blast as you say when all 3 carb's open up. Of course they are a royal PITB to sync and get setup but once you do they are really fun.

Great car. I am envious even site unseen. Post some photos or PM them to me. I need a RR fix!
34.gif
 
We had a 68 and 74 Chevy Impala. The only good thing I can say about them was that they were roomy. I drove the 74 for a few years in High School. The car was an absolute piece of junk. Constant problems including ongoing AC problems, stalling, engine surging, dashboard cracking after a couple of years, seats cracking and peeling after a few years and a rear window that would allow water to get into the trunk. The leak could never be fixed and the truck was wet and musty.

This is the vehicle that drove my parents away from domestic cars. The next car my father bought was a Datsun. He will never buy a GM product again.

Some of these posts seem to glorify these cars. They remind us when we were young and I am sure we all had good times in these vehicles. However, I think these were the cars that allowed Toyota and Honda to gain share and were the beginning of the end for GM.
 
Originally Posted By: ToyotaNSaturn
My parents had the last of the full-size Ford wagons, 1978 Country Squire. Lime green with the fake woody and heavy-duty tow suspension. 400cid V8, slow as molasses.

17 people fit in that car!


Your last name isnt Griswald is it ?
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My dad had a 74 BUICK Electra 225 w/455ci/4bbl/5500 lbs. Thing was a dog(sloooooow) and 6 mpg. Yeah, that's right...6 mpg. 26 gal gas tank and I can't remember how long it was but it was BIG! If dad was parked behind someone at a family party and the Buick had to get moved in order for people to leave, Dad would throw them the keys and say "here, move it". No one could start this thing but Dad. He bought it new and it always started hard/long. He'd get it first time but I could never do it. He always had to give someone instructions if they were to move or borrow the car. Man, am I glad those days are gone! I've had too many cars that I had to give someong instructions before letting them take it.

I had a 73 Chrysler New Port Custom w/400ci/2bbl/4300 lbs. Thing screwed and got 11 mpg. 23 gal gas tank. 19' 3" long. This beast barely fit in the garage of my first house. This thing went through the winter snow like no other rear wheel drive I have ever owned and with normal all season tires(anything cheap). It was better in the snow that one of my Honda Accords (FWD) no lie! Another hard starting car/engine and don't drive through a puddle of water(plugs were underneath), would die on the spot. Had to wait 10 or so minutes to restart it. Always working on it too! Man, am I glad those days are gone!
 
Originally Posted By: Cardinal49
Some of these posts seem to glorify these cars. They remind us when we were young and I am sure we all had good times in these vehicles. However, I think these were the cars that allowed Toyota and Honda to gain share and were the beginning of the end for GM.


That's because not everyone had bad experience with cars from this era. Quality control was very much hit and miss, and some cars were bad, but there were lots of good ones. My father owned several intermediate domestics from the 70's and none were unrealiable or bad. In fact up until a few years ago his daily driver and ONLY car was a 1976 Chev Chevelle with a 350. He now drives a Honda Civic, and if you ask him about the Chevy, he'll tell you it was just as reliable as the Civic.

He also had a 1972 Torino, which he bought new and was very reliable. He kept it until about 10 years ago, and then I got the car (which I still have). My brother now has the Chevelle. We also owned several other GM and Ford intermediate from the 1970’s and GM and Ford fullsize cars from the 80’s none of which were bad cars. The only one that was bad domestic we owned was a compact, a 1979 Ford Fairmont.

My father bought a 1971 Mazda in the 70’s that was an absolute POS. This car was enough to swear him off Japanese cars for a long time. I had to do A LOT of convincing for him to get the Civic when he finally decided to get something smaller and more economical than the big old Chevy.
 
Originally Posted By: asamek
My first car was a '72 Chrysler Newport. 400 CI under the hood, but only a 2BBL. Still, she'd get up and go when called on.

The oddest thing to me was that the folks allowed me to get a car with what amounted to a full-size bed for a back seat...


While I owned a new '72 Beetle I was always able to "borrow" my parents '70 Fury III when I went to the drive in movies with my girl friends
grin2.gif
.

Whimsey
 
Originally Posted By: Oldswagon
Originally Posted By: Cardinal49
Some of these posts seem to glorify these cars. They remind us when we were young and I am sure we all had good times in these vehicles. However, I think these were the cars that allowed Toyota and Honda to gain share and were the beginning of the end for GM.


That's because not everyone had bad experience with cars from this era. Quality control was very much hit and miss, and some cars were bad, but there were lots of good ones. My father owned several intermediate domestics from the 70's and none were unrealiable or bad. In fact up until a few years ago his daily driver and ONLY car was a 1976 Chev Chevelle with a 350. He now drives a Honda Civic, and if you ask him about the Chevy, he'll tell you it was just as reliable as the Civic.

He also had a 1972 Torino, which he bought new and was very reliable. He kept it until about 10 years ago, and then I got the car (which I still have). My brother now has the Chevelle. We also owned several other GM and Ford intermediate from the 1970’s and GM and Ford fullsize cars from the 80’s none of which were bad cars. The only one that was bad domestic we owned was a compact, a 1979 Ford Fairmont.

My father bought a 1971 Mazda in the 70’s that was an absolute POS. This car was enough to swear him off Japanese cars for a long time. I had to do A LOT of convincing for him to get the Civic when he finally decided to get something smaller and more economical than the big old Chevy.


Actually my 68 LeSabre(Buick 350/4bbl) was quite reliable, lifter tick and all, and those Bias Ply tires were always blowing out. My 74 Camaro(Chevy 350/4bbl) was a fast starting engine an quite reliable as well as long as the engines were kept tuned. Plugs, points, condencer, cap & rotor. Neither car was good in the winter. Always pushing myself out of a snow bank(with help!) I always felt at home in the Camaro, I can't remember why. Maybe it was the AM radio w/ an FM converter :)

My sister had a 72 Toyota Corrona MarkII. Slow as molassis, not great MPG(about 17city/? hiwy) for what it was, A/C wasn't that cold and the heat wasn't very HOT. Radio controlls were on the other side compared to American cars. Ran forever though! Think she sold it in '88 for about, IIRC...$50.00. She had other vehicles as well but this car went through lots of family drivers(her/husband, kids).

We're spoiled today. EFI, FWD/AWD, good power and good mileage, b/u camera, nav etc. Start the engine from inside the house/work. OnStar can restart your engine for you and diagnose an issue on the spot/call for help! You can drive a 100 mph and feel like your doing 50(AZ/NV desert), the engine won't overheat and the tires won't blow out. I can keep going! I didn't hate the older car of yesterday but, I just love the newer ones.
 
As I've mentioned, my dad had a 1978 Chev Malibu wagon from 1978 to 1988. We used to go to a mall near us to do shopping on a regular basis. This was a big mall, with lots of parking in a large parking garage built around it.

I remember that the place my parents used to always park the car was in a section where the spots sepcifically said 'parking for small cars'. I used to ask my folks (young and precosious, remember) 'why are we parking our big wagon in a spot for small cars'? The answer was usually a chuckle, and something like 'this IS a small car - there are cars much bigger than this'.

I used to fell ripped off - I thought we had a big, tough, V-8 wagon!

LOL
 
Originally Posted By: Oldswagon
Originally Posted By: Cardinal49
Some of these posts seem to glorify these cars. They remind us when we were young and I am sure we all had good times in these vehicles. However, I think these were the cars that allowed Toyota and Honda to gain share and were the beginning of the end for GM.


That's because not everyone had bad experience with cars from this era. Quality control was very much hit and miss, and some cars were bad, but there were lots of good ones. My father owned several intermediate domestics from the 70's and none were unrealiable or bad. In fact up until a few years ago his daily driver and ONLY car was a 1976 Chev Chevelle with a 350. He now drives a Honda Civic, and if you ask him about the Chevy, he'll tell you it was just as reliable as the Civic.

He also had a 1972 Torino, which he bought new and was very reliable. He kept it until about 10 years ago, and then I got the car (which I still have). My brother now has the Chevelle. We also owned several other GM and Ford intermediate from the 1970’s and GM and Ford fullsize cars from the 80’s none of which were bad cars. The only one that was bad domestic we owned was a compact, a 1979 Ford Fairmont.

My father bought a 1971 Mazda in the 70’s that was an absolute POS. This car was enough to swear him off Japanese cars for a long time. I had to do A LOT of convincing for him to get the Civic when he finally decided to get something smaller and more economical than the big old Chevy.


These cars remind me of what Al Unser Jr. (Indycar driver in the 90s) said about NASCAR cars: "these cars don't turn, stop, or accel-rate". Had no problem racing them against the NASCAR regulars, but agina this is why we don't have cars like this anymore.
 
We had a 1971 Lincoln Continental. It was a 4-dr model, and a BEAST. I swear you could pitch a camping tent in the trunk. The seats were huge, and you could fit three adults across both front and rear, and actually have elbow room. When you closed the doors, they went "ka-THUNK". Lift the hood (which had to weight several hundred pounds it seemed) and there was a big Lima in there, and still room to work on it.

Also, that was the last year for the high-compression 460 4-bbl engine. 360HP; 500FtLb Trq. Had a 3:1 rear end, so it didn't "jump" off the line, but once it got moving, it would haul the mail like nobody's business.

Rode like a cloud, but handled like a barge. Didn't stop too badly, but you were smart not to push it (tires from that era were nothing to get excited about either).

It was my dad's for years and years, then he stored it. It degraded badly in storage in a barn. Then I got it out many years later. Ran ok, but the rust and mice destroyed it. Cleaned it up at best I could, and even drove it to my wedding! Eventually, though, it had to go. Too big for my wife to drive, and was not practical in any sense for a multitude of reasons (poor mileage, hard to park in today's smaller spaces, didn't go well at all in winter due to an open diff with a huge engine, etc). Sold it to a co-worker and it left forever.

Now, I wish I still had it ...
 
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