And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
In 1981 I dated a girl in college that had gotten her mother's boat tail Riviera when she graduated HS the year before. It was a very nice car but it did not last long. I always dated out of my league.
All of them had a minimum of a Buick 455. There was a Stage 1 option with a hotter cam, bigger valves and firmer shifts. However, the rear window was not like that.
455. My uncle gave me his in’74. Me: part timer in lumber yard and college sudent. As you hit the gas you could see the gas gage headed toward empty. Never seen anything like it. Gave it back
Put a rolled and totaled Riviera engine in a base model Cutlas post sedan, front of a Muncie 4 speed, and a most helpful limited slip from a Hurst Cutlass, pretty sick power, the shop mechanics book said it was deliberately understated 455 ponies, cause of DOT restrictions, the post sedan came stripped to the bone, everything possible ripped out, had to add a front and rear right side buckets, my boss got a hold of factory racing suspension bushings for his tri-power Bonneville, gave me a set, put dirt track shocks in it, definite improvement there, it was a true bastard car, already a rather light weight car as those old GM frame cars could be, thing about it, just wasn't enough road to wring that beast out to the max, but it sure was insane trying, my best friend wrecked it sent it airborn, hit a telephone pole above the Ma Bell cables, car came clean apart in two sections, pole snapped half the way up, impacted at the post, another buddy in the back seat didn't survive. Raced all sorts of vehicles from karts to superbikes, that engine still ranks in my experience with one word, vicious. I never found room or means to stretch that engines power curve totally out, no dyno's back then, no knowing what its actual output was, tried once hard, enough for me though, it made power till the car got so light it would be a hair from lifting free of the pavement, those old cable drive speedos back then where simply unreliable when you pinned the needle. way past 120, and in a big car thats pretty gnarly fast let me tell you. Just crazy, figured it had to be one of those 1 in a million engines come out of the factory show up once in a while. And it ran so nice too, idling, mild mannered till you floor boarded it, sometimes it was near impossible to tell it was running just sitting still. Amazing part of it think about, the kind of quality went into that engine in the first place, it felt bullet proof.
had a 62 bonne ragtop with a 421 super duty engine and 4 speed auto trans had it up past the 120 mph mark and it still wanted to go. drove 95 back and forth to base and home a few times and it was a great road car. all leather seats and whatnot. but when you hit the gas, YEAH. you could watch the gasoline gauge start going toward empty ! but for all of that, it was great for road trips and dates. back seat was better than most couches I ever sat on. 2 guys up front and 3 in the back and there was plenty of room for all inside it. and I sure if you had too, you could fit at least 3 bodies in the trunk. great car, but it did suck gas like mad if you step on it.
left a bunch of "junk" in my Dad's basement when I went overseas. one of which was a tri power setup for a 389. complete with factory air cleaner setup. got it out of a junkyard before I left. anyway, 3 years later I came home and found out that my brother and dad cleaned out all of my junk. in 2003 at a car show in Hershey I was talking with a guy who had a tri power setup on his car. he told me he paid close to a grand just for the air cleaner setup just a few years before. one of many things I wished I had stored somewhere else. also had a old Norton motor bike out back that "went away" around that time. thanks Dad !
Another age thats for sure. Barely an inkling how lucky we were to get to grow up in that piece of time, some pretty sweet vehicles, this one, say a Montecarlo SS, a Hurst Cutlass, the Chrysler beasts, one last hurrah me thinks, corporate knew in advance what was slithering up on us all, mightabeen engineering and R&D knew too, cause when the junkers appeared everything pretty much was awful bad performance wise.
Boat tail, nice.
ReplyDeleteSaw an olive green one that George Barris had made into a split back window version. Nice homage to the '63 vette.
ReplyDeleteIn 1981 I dated a girl in college that had gotten her mother's boat tail Riviera when she graduated HS the year before. It was a very nice car but it did not last long. I always dated out of my league.
ReplyDeletethat ain't right
ReplyDeletecount the ways
Yep, more AI bovine residue.
DeleteWhat powerplant did that have?
ReplyDeleteAll of them had a minimum of a Buick 455. There was a Stage 1 option with a hotter cam, bigger valves and firmer shifts. However, the rear window was not like that.
DeleteWildcat 455? I'll look it up. Have some spare change, too.
ReplyDeletePretty sure it's a 455. I remember some Wildcats had 465s. Steve_in_Ottawa
DeleteIt was a Buick 455. The Wildcat ratings were torque, not CID or HP. Buick never made a 465 CID engine in a production car.
DeleteWhen the average car was roomy and comfortable.
ReplyDelete455. My uncle gave me his in’74. Me: part timer in lumber yard and college sudent. As you hit the gas you could see the gas gage headed toward empty. Never seen anything like it. Gave it back
ReplyDeletePut a rolled and totaled Riviera engine in a base model Cutlas post sedan, front of a Muncie 4 speed, and a most helpful limited slip from a Hurst Cutlass, pretty sick power, the shop mechanics book said it was deliberately understated 455 ponies, cause of DOT restrictions, the post sedan came stripped to the bone, everything possible ripped out, had to add a front and rear right side buckets, my boss got a hold of factory racing suspension bushings for his tri-power Bonneville, gave me a set, put dirt track shocks in it, definite improvement there, it was a true bastard car, already a rather light weight car as those old GM frame cars could be, thing about it, just wasn't enough road to wring that beast out to the max, but it sure was insane trying, my best friend wrecked it sent it airborn, hit a telephone pole above the Ma Bell cables, car came clean apart in two sections, pole snapped half the way up, impacted at the post, another buddy in the back seat didn't survive. Raced all sorts of vehicles from karts to superbikes, that engine still ranks in my experience with one word, vicious. I never found room or means to stretch that engines power curve totally out, no dyno's back then, no knowing what its actual output was, tried once hard, enough for me though, it made power till the car got so light it would be a hair from lifting free of the pavement, those old cable drive speedos back then where simply unreliable when you pinned the needle. way past 120, and in a big car thats pretty gnarly fast let me tell you. Just crazy, figured it had to be one of those 1 in a million engines come out of the factory show up once in a while. And it ran so nice too, idling, mild mannered till you floor boarded it, sometimes it was near impossible to tell it was running just sitting still. Amazing part of it think about, the kind of quality went into that engine in the first place, it felt bullet proof.
ReplyDeletehad a 62 bonne ragtop with a 421 super duty engine and 4 speed auto trans
Deletehad it up past the 120 mph mark and it still wanted to go. drove 95 back and forth to base and home a few times and it was a great road car. all leather seats and whatnot. but when you hit the gas, YEAH. you could watch the gasoline gauge start going toward empty ! but for all of that, it was great for road trips and dates. back seat was better than most couches I ever sat on. 2 guys up front and 3 in the back and there was plenty of room for all inside it. and I sure if you had too, you could fit at least 3 bodies in the trunk. great car, but it did suck gas like mad if you step on it.
left a bunch of "junk" in my Dad's basement when I went overseas.
Deleteone of which was a tri power setup for a 389. complete with factory air cleaner setup. got it out of a junkyard before I left. anyway, 3 years later I came home and found out that my brother and dad cleaned out all of my junk. in 2003 at a car show in Hershey I was talking with a guy who had a tri power setup on his car. he told me he paid close to a grand just for the air cleaner setup just a few years before. one of many things I wished I had stored somewhere else. also had a old Norton motor bike out back that
"went away" around that time. thanks Dad !
Epic comment and memories, @anon 4:28, thank you.
DeleteBeautiful cars. Shop teacher had one, brandy new, we all drooled over it, it was quite the rig, top shelf back then.
ReplyDeleteAnother age thats for sure. Barely an inkling how lucky we were to get to grow up in that piece of time, some pretty sweet vehicles, this one, say a Montecarlo SS, a Hurst Cutlass, the Chrysler beasts, one last hurrah me thinks, corporate knew in advance what was slithering up on us all, mightabeen engineering and R&D knew too, cause when the junkers appeared everything pretty much was awful bad performance wise.
ReplyDeleteWicked blind spot and no side mirrors, fantastic lines though, eh?
ReplyDeleteThey never looked that way. It's AI crap. They had the 64-ish style rear window, massive green house.
Delete