OT: What do you think of the "comeback" cars?

[Travis Munday]

Most drifting is done at 30-50 mph. The roads/courses are too short to get up to the higher speeds. High speed drifting is best left to AWD cars and big race tracks. It requires large sweeping curves, not the quick switchbacks and hairpins typical of Formula D tracks.



Really, all you need to drift is a manual, LSD, quick hands, and tires to burn. Suspension is nice, but isn't needed until you get into the more serious stuff and higher speeds of larger tracks.

 

[scott r]

I just ordered larger, adjustable front and rear sway bars for the goat. The CAI, headers and exhaust are going on this weekend and the tune is next week. I should be relatively close to 400 rwhp after the tune. Once I get a bit more cash, a cam and heads are going on there. My ultimate goal is 500 rwhp, naturally aspirated. This car is going to be a BEAST.

Drifting looks like a LOT of fun. I don't know if I'd want to go through $1000 worth of tires every afternoon though. I suppose if I was sponsored by a tire company, it would be a blast. As much rubber as these GTOs can leave on the pavement anyway, I need to try to get sponsored anyway. hehe

 

[Richard L]

TSSS,

Stock 1965 GTO's came with 335 HP if equiped with a 4 barrel carb, or 360 HP if equiped with the tri-power (Three 2-barrel carbs). Mine was a legally stock 360 HP, but was very well tuned which included thinner head gaskets for improved compression, a Mallory dual-point distributor with a modified advance curve. re-jetted carbs, indexed plugs, a cool-can, headers, and special rocker arm locking nuts to allow for greater valvel lash, good for a couple hundred extra RPM.



I won Class Eliminator and Stock Eliminator at Dragway-42 outside Cleveland, Ohio and beat GTO's, 442's, and Chevelles. And I have beaten a number of Corvettes on the street. I lost a Class Eliminator race to a 1966 GTO because I ripped out the rear axle control arm bushings when I launch off the line and car went squirely and I could not put down any power.



Tiger is correct about the Vettes not getting the big HP until 1967. The Vetts at that time came stock with 327 CID and later upped to the 396 CID engiines like the SS Chevelles. Even when the 427 Vetts came out, they were not that common, and all vetts of that era where extremely heavy.

...Rich

 

[scott r]

Even today, most people who buy the corvettes don't go for the 427ci (7.0L) Z06 because it's nearly 25k more expensive! The "base" corvette has the EXACT same engine that my GTO has in it. 100% identical, other than the plastic head covers. There are always FAR more "base" model corvettes out there than there are the more expensive, upgraded package with the huge engine. If you see a dozen corvettes, 2 of those might be the Z06...if you're lucky.

Today's corvettes do have a slight weight advantage over the GTO, but that's nothing that can't be overcome by a great driver. After all, I outran the 2001 model without a problem. I wouldn't consider myself a "great" driver by any means, but I happened to be a better driver than the corvette driver. In a real drag-race, that "bad driver vs good driver theory" can be really exploited.

Basically, I have a corvette for 4 people, which rides better and cost $20k LESS.



P.S. I wish I had the supercharged trac back today, there's 4" of snow on the ground and I'm kind of dreading taking the goat out in that. The trac went like nobody's business in the snow. I do miss that. I don't miss the constant tuning problem(s) though.