Big blocks in the 80's vs. rich kids....???
- Thread starter Mikej89
- Start date
There was a guy back in WI in the 80's had a 914 with a Chevy 283 wedged in the back. Wonder what happened to that. 🤔
I have one of these stories.
My high school car was an 84 Monte Carlo SS with a 350, TH350, and 3.42 gears. The rich kid had an 04 corvette, so he thought he had the hottest, fastest car in the lot. Till he pulled up next to me and got smoked. The truth is, he did have the hottest, fastest car in the lot, but the numerous nights at the strip with my dad taught me how to launch and shift the car. All he knew how to do was mash the go pedal. He never lived that down, at least as long as we where at school.
My high school car was an 84 Monte Carlo SS with a 350, TH350, and 3.42 gears. The rich kid had an 04 corvette, so he thought he had the hottest, fastest car in the lot. Till he pulled up next to me and got smoked. The truth is, he did have the hottest, fastest car in the lot, but the numerous nights at the strip with my dad taught me how to launch and shift the car. All he knew how to do was mash the go pedal. He never lived that down, at least as long as we where at school.
Really, nobody had a big block anything in the 80's? I just met a guy at the bar who said his brother let him drive his '69 Super Bee 383 4-speed to the prom back in 1986.... That's bad azz, man! In 1986 literally nothing could beat a Super Bee 383. A new Vette L98 or Grand National would be the only new cars outta Detroit that could give it a run for it's money and that was a 17yr old car in 1986!
I just love how classic muscle was so dominant back then. I mean in 1986 what was THE fastest car you could buy; a Ferrari Testarossa or Porsche 911 Turbo? So we're talking 0-60 in 5.3-4.9 sec for the fastest new production car a rich lawyer or NFL player could buy back then?.... A '70 Chevelle SS 454 with traction bars, big meats, RV cam, and headers could dust 'em in 1986 at high-mid 12's on street tires with no nitrous. That's a 3-5k car with a grand or two worth of upgrades built with blood sweat and tears in grandpa's pull barn beating a brand new quarter million dollar German or Italian super car. *case closed
I just love how classic muscle was so dominant back then. I mean in 1986 what was THE fastest car you could buy; a Ferrari Testarossa or Porsche 911 Turbo? So we're talking 0-60 in 5.3-4.9 sec for the fastest new production car a rich lawyer or NFL player could buy back then?.... A '70 Chevelle SS 454 with traction bars, big meats, RV cam, and headers could dust 'em in 1986 at high-mid 12's on street tires with no nitrous. That's a 3-5k car with a grand or two worth of upgrades built with blood sweat and tears in grandpa's pull barn beating a brand new quarter million dollar German or Italian super car. *case closed
I think a lot of it is romanticized nostalgia and the rest is just bullshit. Sure, there were fast cars around, but it wasn't some sort of Two Lane Blacktop / American Graffiti / Street Outlaws experience. Old guys run their mouths and always have...always will. 95% of the stories you've heard are either embellished or outright bullshit. Except for the one where they have a girlfriend that's a model and goes to a different school. That one is definitely true.
In small town Iowa in the 90's there was a lot of fast cars around. Most of them were owned by older guys. Most of the kids in my class didn't have any money to build anything cool. I built a 79 Monte with a punched out 350 and a too big of a cam. Powerband was all wrong. Highway gears and stock valve springs. It was one of the only cars around that loped hard. Sounded good but was not fast. I could beat the under class men with their new 5.0's and Irocks. Three years a head of me had some cool cars. 69 Commaro, 68 Mustang, 74 Chevelle, 70 Chevelle, just to name a few. The law was pretty hard on us so we mostly just cruised the loops, acted tough, and run our mouths. Every once in a while an older guy would put us in our place.
70 Chevelle SS454 in '79
70 Chevelle SS396 in '80
68 Chevelle SS396 in '81
69 Chevelle SS396 in '83
Always had to go to buy the next toy.....
Dad's family had a high comp '70 delta 88 455 in the mid 70's
His buddies family had a '70ish 440 imperial
He said the 455 would get off the line first but the 440 imp would pass the Delta 88 above 70+
But it wasn't really rich vs. poor, it was farm kids taking out the family going to town car. Nobody had a cam or headers on stuff.
One of my friends dad's said he had a big block tri 5 that he would race back in the late 60's but I think that was 99% B.S. based on his general B.S.'ing
His buddies family had a '70ish 440 imperial
He said the 455 would get off the line first but the 440 imp would pass the Delta 88 above 70+
But it wasn't really rich vs. poor, it was farm kids taking out the family going to town car. Nobody had a cam or headers on stuff.
One of my friends dad's said he had a big block tri 5 that he would race back in the late 60's but I think that was 99% B.S. based on his general B.S.'ing
I graduated in 90 and I had a 69 Chevelle ss with a 454 4 speed. I got that car about 2 months before graduation. I drove a rusty 75 trans am for most of the year. the t/a only had a 400 with a mild cam not overly fast but fast enough to beat a shock mustang. And before that a had a 69 Javelin and a 79 cutlass. My Chevelle was the fastest car at my high school when I graduated the only thing close was an 80 manza with a built small block. I would like to hind another 69 Chevelle But probably out of my price range now.
For reference, and because this thread has me reminiscing, I graduated in '09. I didn't get my 307 Regal until senior year. No one had anything fast.
Multiple EG Civics that never ran,
Best friend had a Plymouth Neon as fast as my Regal,
Another best friend had a '92-ish LeSabre with blue neon lights under the dash,
One Accord with a big muffler,
A Grand Prix GTP with a supercharger that didn't work,
and amongst the underclassmen there was a Mustang GT (which my brother's 305 '71 Sprint could keep neck and neck with until 3rd gear ran out around 90),
a '75 or so Camaro that looked to be a family jewel,
a g-body El Camino that had garden hose for one of the coolant lines,
and a mud bogger Bronco that belonged to a kid that got expelled for slashing bus tires or something.
For flavor, a kid that I jammed with had a '79 Chevy Beauville with a 350 running on 7 cylinders, Cragar mags, and a weathered but "decked out" interior. (Shag rug, love seat, captian's chairs, card table/bed, curtains.)
Multiple EG Civics that never ran,
Best friend had a Plymouth Neon as fast as my Regal,
Another best friend had a '92-ish LeSabre with blue neon lights under the dash,
One Accord with a big muffler,
A Grand Prix GTP with a supercharger that didn't work,
and amongst the underclassmen there was a Mustang GT (which my brother's 305 '71 Sprint could keep neck and neck with until 3rd gear ran out around 90),
a '75 or so Camaro that looked to be a family jewel,
a g-body El Camino that had garden hose for one of the coolant lines,
and a mud bogger Bronco that belonged to a kid that got expelled for slashing bus tires or something.
For flavor, a kid that I jammed with had a '79 Chevy Beauville with a 350 running on 7 cylinders, Cragar mags, and a weathered but "decked out" interior. (Shag rug, love seat, captian's chairs, card table/bed, curtains.)
