Another visit to the classic brochures…
And the ‘classic’ Corvette…
The car we all dreamed about owning back in the day!
This last one was a billboard a couple of years ago in Southern California… Sigh…
Nobody Asked Me…
Veritas nos liberabit
Another visit to the classic brochures…
And the ‘classic’ Corvette…
The car we all dreamed about owning back in the day!
This last one was a billboard a couple of years ago in Southern California… Sigh…
That was quite an interesting advertisement. I expanded it and it quoted the technical specs for the engine, which I haven’t seen outside of a manufacturer’s spec sheet or gear-head publication, before. 4-bolt mains, etc? It was designed for power.
Also, triple-two barrel carburetor? It won’t pass a gas station but I guess the price of gas didn’t matter back then.
The older brother of a friend in high school had a Corvette with a 3 carb V8 engine and he had the removable hard top.
The internet says that puts it at ’67-’69.
I never drove it and my friend said that the triple carbs were a lot of trouble to get right and keep it running right.
I remember that the older brother replaced the original carbs with a giant four barrel Holley carb.
At the moment I cannot recall the color.
I’d still like to experience driving one, but I’m thinking that what was state of the art car engineering in the late sixties would seem antique by today’s standards.
(The same criteria for antique applies to me and all those of a certain age!)
Those were the days… the triple twos were a bit of a pain, but they worked… but then so did the big Holleys and Carters. I read somewhere that there was a rumour that GM might bring back a car based on the “vibe” of the Corvair, also. The later Corvairs, once the swing axle design had been replaced with a true independent, were fabulous and very affordable real performance cars (there was nothing really wrong with the swing axles — Porshes and VWs had used them for years –but they could be a handful if you got too frisky in turns and didn’t know how to drive one, like a certain young lawyer who wrecked and decided he could make a fortune suing people rather than admitting he was an incompetent driver).
oh and one more — someone said they wouldn’t pass gas stations. Yes and no. Like all the muscle cars, they would drink gas if you got into it, but they didn’t have to. Fuel mileage, then and now, is all a matter of weight and air resistance. Nobody ever said you HAVE to use all those horses! But… they are so tempting…
Gosh , if I only had a time machine and a Star Trek transporter , I’d buy two . What a beautiful car !
One word. YES!
to my eyes the most beautiful version they ever did.
Allow me to reveal my automotive ignorance: WHY have 3 carbs for 8 cylinders? 4 wouldn’t fit?
Good question.
I had to look it up.
Holley explains it in this short video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aofPh_UwHx8
I sort of remember that that system was also nicknamed a six pack.
For Robert — there are several factors, all of which interact, in deciding on carbs and intake manifolds. At its most basic, you want a manifold which allows air to flow as freely as possible from the intake through the carburetor(s) (or throttle body) to the intake valves. Further, ideally each cylinder’s intake path has the same resistance and length as all the others. Yeah, right. Easier said than done. There are several ways to do this, and three two barrel carbs is one of them. Some engines (notably a lot of British fours) have two. Most of the muscle cars had just one, but it was usually if not always a four barrel — which is a little misleading. Since the other problem is to have enough throat area in the carb or carbs to allow it to keep breathing at maximum rpm (this is why carbs are rated in cfm), but then arrange it so that at idle it can be made to be at least vaguely stable.
While admiring Corvettes I never had an urge to own one. My plain jane Ford with a discrete 427 cu in and 4 speed tranny didn’t draw attention. A sharp police officer might notice the huge, for the time, tires. It would eat Corvettes. About the only car I wanted (and couldn’t afford) was a Chrysler 300.
6 miles/gal… sigh… And 3 deuces were a bitch to keep tuned. Thankfully, my grandfather was a professional mechanic, and showed me all the tricks (it was mostly in how the linkage was set up).
Yes, there were cars that would beat the vette… sigh
My high school wrenching buddy had a ’65 GTO 4spd with the six-pack option. Previous owner had soldered up the secondary carb linkages to make the two of them open much sooner than the original system would. About 65 or 70 mph on the highway they would start to open.
That car would easily beat any GTO with a quad carb. The first owner set an NHRA record in the box stock class. Dropped the time by about ONE SECOND! He said the tech tear down was the first time the valve covers came off.
Beautiful car. Clean and not beat on. Dealer gave him $1100 towards a new ’70 Chevy Nova 350.
There’s a good reason I never bought one, and haven’t to this day.
Money.
I wrote a song about Volvos. Sadly, it, Like fukkin Volvos,was boring.
Growing up in the 60s, the neighbor across the street was a Chevy engineer involved with the design of Corvettes in Warren. He’d bring home pre-production models; test driving in real conditions. What a rush for a teenage boy. At the time, I thought good cars would go on forever …
Now it’s pickups …
There were/are some decent songs about Volvos such as:
The Volvo Song
My Volvo
Volvo Driving Soccer Mom.
But none of them, and I include all the songs about chevies, to be second class songs to the great Song about Fords.
Silver Thunderbird, there is just something about all that chrome!
Alan Jackson song: “First Love” about his ’55 Ford Thunderbird.
First car he bought. Sold it to help pay for his first house. Wife found it about 15 years later and bought it back for a Christmas gift.
“Chevy Van” – Sammy Johns
of course “Making Thunderbirds” – Bob Seger
It is funny, the ad talks about being “wide tired” and they look like motorcycle tires in perspective now. Also the top “safety feature” is touted as —- 4 way flashers! Today we can buy 1000+ horsepower Corvettes that are capable of 200 miles an hour, and get decent mileage to boot.
Ed- Yeah, sigh…
Nolan/Brad- LOL
Tom- That had to be ‘interesting’!!!
Will- Nice!
Liberty- Yep, tech does advance! And those were wide tires for the day! And really easy to break loose with 500+ HP…
I had a ’67 Coupe with a 327/350HP. Marina Blue with Black interior.