I like to think that the gold chain thing died with the narrow waist Vettes -
the body design that came out in '68 and lasted until '82. Was it Harley
Earl who designed this car to look like a shark or swordfish in his mind? Earl
was a great sportsfisherman and wanted to carry that look over to the Vette.
Actually - chain image or not I wouldn't mind owning a big block '68 -'71.
I believe you have the first hydro formed frame Vette which is a vast
improvement - a totally different car than the 84 -96 run, completely
different. I
think the gear box is at the rear end for better weight distro - the first
really great Vette as far as I am concerned since the introduction of the '63
Split Window. The years 63 -67 big blocks are also favorites of mine. So I
guess I should haul out the "gold chains!" These were the first independant
suspension rear end Vettes by a Russian designer who worked for Chevrolet
(can't
recall his name). Might have been Duntov - something like that!
Regarding push rod engines. Harley came out with a pushrod street bike known
as the Buell designed by Eric Buell. Eric took a Sportster 1200 pushrod
engine and put it into a street fighter frame. On a very few tracks out there
the
pushrod engine actually has an advantage over the Japanese bikes due to it's
torque curve matching the track better than the high rpm Japanese sport bikes.
But overall, there is nothing that can match a relatively small motorcycle
engine that puts HUGE HP to the ground. And although it happens, it is fairly
rare that a Buell will come out on top when in competition. But as mentioned,
when it does, it has to do with the layout of the track. Interesting stuff
to me - for some reason.
And who can argue against the Vette engine? The Vettes from 97 on up will
put a 250k Ferrarri (sp) to task. Heck, you can go out today and buy a 97 -98
Vette for around 45k or less and run with the same performance stats that you
find on some of the best Italian cars. Pushrod or no, that is a fantastic bang
for the buck!
HOWEVER I have to say that overall I have had more fun with my Bugeye than
any other car I have driven. For me it is more fun driving a slow car fast
than
a fast car slow.
Kirk
|