richieb Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 1 hour ago, Tigerman said: .......well, you probably thought (ok, what condition are those headlights in?) so, here they are, original, with 3 winters on them, so there are tiny dings from our New England roads, however, there is NO fade or fog.... I simply used a detail spray wax on them and the paint/finish for the shows/cruise nights.... here is a photo from moments ago.... (split on seal around bottom is an actual seam....both have this) Well preserved Show Car Tiger -! Being a bike guy I was always intrigued with the Ford/Yamaha alliance. No doubt Mama Yama knows its way around hi-performance engines. But then they seem to have a hand in many front - musical instruments, bikes, water craft, hifi, off road - and I'm sure I've missed a market or two. Does the Show ever see the open road? Mileage? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWSmith Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Hello Rich.........YES on Yamaha products.......no, I am sorry to say..........I bought a motorcycle (new hobby back in 2008 - never rode in my life), and I could no longer afford a mortgage, daily driver, bike AND SHO insurance wise that is.............so, the SHO stays under cover, going on 11 years since it last ran.... But that is ok........... Attached garage storage is the next thing to climate controlled storage, the disc brakes are still clean with the tiniest bit of rust specs on them after all this time... I was told years ago by my gear head buds that the motor is better off NOT being started unless you can get it up to temp. Why introduce moisture into an all aluminum race engine? (yes, these motors came from Cosworth / Canada where the F1 stuff is developed) I will purge the fuel out of it BEFORE I run it however, that gas is OLD! Miles....?..........well, many don't know that the Ford execs get to drive these cars first mostly (Dearborn MI) that was the first 19k put on... Then, it went to a local fellow here from my Ford dealer for a two year lease... So, when I bought it, there was 41k on it in 1999.... Then, I foolishly put 15k. on it and one more winter in 2000... THEN, I decided these are a TRUE limited production car built with many components from different countries NOT like a normal Taurus. Total miles as she sits............. 57K I decided to store it... So, basically stored since 2000.. You know, every once in a while, you attend a car show and someone has a vintage car or more importantly, a musicle car (rare occurrence) that was NOT driven much, STILL has original paint and all the paperwork etc. So, again, I may get laughed at, but me, thinking AHEAD, decided that these odd ball Taurus's will be a thing of the past... I am actually starting to see that kind of talk around the internet now.... I may be onto something Consider that in one year............ There were an average of 180k Tauruses made in the GEN III version.. (1996-99) Of the SHO's made, a total of 19k were made over FOUR years, then break that down by the fewer colors they came in... You get the picture. Mine is only one of 10k made in 1997, not sure the number in my color (Silver Frost)... Then, there is the variable on the options...........Wheels - interior materials and colors......... On and on.... Sorry to crowd the forum with all this chatter, but when someone asks, I am ALL too happy to answer 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MookieStl Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 I cant compete with you big hitters, but I did have a couple 72 Cutlass'. One hard top, one convertible. BUT they only had 350s in them, still ran very strong for such a heavy car. Can't find any good photos, but I know they are around somewhere. Did find one of the wife and I with our sister in law taking the kids for a ride. Doesn't look like they had as much fun as we did! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWSmith Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Hey there Mookie................looks like 'ghetto' Olds hub caps and white walls ! You know, the convertibles were a HEAVIER car right ? GM gave them a FULL 'box frame' for added strength .... When I started working at the Olds dealer, the 1972 models were brand new and on the lot.... Still, the smog crap and LOW compression on those motors was a real sin.... Triv question.............. Who here knows which US made car had the most POWERFUL ENGINE in 1973-74 ? and I mean this across ALL brands! (now don't go looking it up on the web)...........most people don't know this fact, but I lived through it back in the day observing who was making what and how much power in a performance car could be had with all the smog and emissions regulations not to mention the gas crunch we suffered through................... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richieb Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 My family too was an Olds family and I'm sure because my uncle was part owner/GM of a Olds dealership in the '60's 70's. And whether my Dad wanted an Olds or not it was hard to ignore my uncle who could sell crap to a pig farmer. One of the better car salesman stories is when a neighbor of ours was headed to a Pontiac dealer to buy the then hot Pontiac Bonneviile. His mistake was he thought to stop on the way just to say hi my uncle as they were acquainted. He drove home in an Olds. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MORE KLIPSCH PLEASE Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 50 minutes ago, Tigerman said: Who here knows which US made car had the most POWERFUL ENGINE in 1973-74 ? My guess is Cadillac Now I'm going to the web..... OK... I think I found it........ and I'm not right lol lol MKP :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 This is kind of a trick question. The nominal, or advertised, horsepower ratings seemed to drop faster than the actual horsepower ratings, although horsepower was clearly down across the board. For a few years in that bleak period, it seemed to be PC to exaggerate the reduced horsepower. I know for certain it wasn't a '74 Olds 442, as I had one. It was a sled, a nice looking sled, but a sled. With that 350 V8, Quadrajet carb and 2.73 rear end, it couldn't get out of its own way. It looked like the one below, but I immediately removed the vinyl tape stripes, with the exception of the single small stripe over each wheel well. The hood and deck lid stripes were too much bravado for such an emasculated cruiser. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 One summer evening I convinced a friend of mine to pile 3 couples into his 72 Cutlass Supreme to go to Milan Dragway. He, who had never been to a drag race in his life, decided to enter. Things didn't go well, as he cut a finger while removing the trim rings. Finding a band-aid proved to be tricky. The first aid facilities were sub-optimal, which was surprising, given that Shirley "Cha Cha" Muldowney and her AA/Fuel dragster were in a match race against another AA/Fueler.s As my friend, Fred, likes to tell it, he lost in the finals to a guy from Chicago. Which is true, as far as it goes. The two cars came to the line and staged. The announcer said, "Ladies and gentlemen, Oldsmobile against Oldsmobile. A red one against a green one. Only the driver makes the difference." Nothing could have been further from the truth. The lights flashed down to green and the two cars exploded away, at least the red Cutlass left in a cloud of smoke from its slicks and hurtled away from the green Cutlass. As he eventually passed the grandstands, Fred waived to us as if he were going to the corner for a loaf of bread, The red Cutlass was trailered in from Chicago. It was a stripped down bench seat post car with slicks, headers and a roll cage. The green Cutlass Supreme was driven from East Lansing to MIlan. It had bucket seats, a vinyl top, A/C, whitewall street tires, and about every option you could imagine. "Red one against a green one. Only the driver makes the difference." Not true. "Lost in the finals" True, but there were only two cars entered in the class. The attached photos, although not the specific cars, illustrate the disparity. These car posts should probably be in @burninator's "Car Thread" to be seen by @Davis and other likeminded gear heads. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 I think I posted this at Christmas... owned by a friend in Alabama. A v8 Falcon with stock aircon. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWSmith Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Very nice Olds drag race story Diz ! When I worked at the Olds dealer, part of my work was car lot 'manager'... I remember I had my brand new Olds Omega... I wasn't making much money at the time........but, I wanted to pick up a car that would be as quick as possible for the dollars. SO, I ordered the thing with that same motor you had in your '74 442. Being a lighter car and NEW platform, I figured it would be pretty good on acceleration. I could not afford the fancy interior, so I went with the stock bench seat. Could NOT afford the auto trans, so a 3 speed on the floor was standard. It went pretty good once it was broken in... Eventually I put discrete dual exhaust on it.. Sounded good, not sure if it went any better. Within the year as the 74's were coming out, I had a small line of 73' left overs. There was a green on green 442 with the 455 in it. I was trying to keep it hidden because I wanted it BAD ! My Omega was in the front of the used car line up for sale.... It was a sad day when one of my sales guys came to me and said there was a customer interested in the 442 I wanted. Within the week, it sold ..................... I ended up selling the Omega to a mechanic and ordered up a '74 Cutlass '124' with the same motor and gearing as YOURS... Yeah, you could do 60 mph in FIRST GEAR with those tall rear ends! I ended up switching out the gearing to 3:42's almost a whole turn difference AND, that made the car much quicker down low. (Snuck that in within the second month under warranty!) OK, still no takers on the most powerful motors in those smog years.... I can tell you, it was the Ponitac Firebird with the SD-455 ..... Rated at 310 HP. in '73 and 290 HP. in '74 ! The Olds 455 was 270 HP. in those same years for comparo.... What was cool in those days is that each division of GM STILL had their own motors... But that all came to an end in '75 Only the straight SIX was shared among the divisions.... OK, all the car facts for today... PS. Didn't Caddy have that 500 cid. in the Fleetwood? I am not sure it was around in those years.... I could be off on that one.... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 5 minutes ago, Tigerman said: What was cool in those days is that each division of GM STILL had their own motors... My father's Oldsmobile, a 1977 Delta 88, was one of the first with the Chevy 350. Some buyers cried foul when they learned their "Rocket V8" was really a stovebolt. I told my engineer father not to worry, as the Chevy was a better motor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWSmith Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Hear you on the Chevy in the Olds.............. My first shock was when the 1975's were coming on the lot.... We got an Olds Omega with a BUICK 350 in it !! Yup, a RED motor with those Buick valve covers! Bet that would be a very rare car today! Remember, that Buick had their own version, the Apollo... The gears I had in my '74 Cutlass were steeper then yours. They were 2:56:1 !!!! Guess they were trying to get the best fuel eco with that setup.... You could not spin the tires, even with 200 HP. which it was rated at with the factory exhaust (dual)... Enjoy your day .... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Recall the 61 & 62 Pontiac Tempest with the Buick 215 cid aluminum V8? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davis Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 2 hours ago, Tigerman said: OK, still no takers on the most powerful motors in those smog years.... I can tell you, it was the Ponitac Firebird with the SD-455 ..... Rated at 310 HP. in '73 and 290 HP. in '74 ! The Olds 455 was 270 HP. in those same years for comparo.... What was cool in those days is that each division of GM STILL had their own motors... But that all came to an end in '75 Tigerman good to see you here in the daytime. That would be the correct answer if your definition of most powerful is horsepower, if it is torque then the answer is different. I do think it is funny when you still run across someone who thinks the 455 Buick, Olds and Pontiac is the same engine. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MORE KLIPSCH PLEASE Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 4 hours ago, Tigerman said: PS. Didn't Caddy have that 500 cid. in the Fleetwood? That's why I said Cadillac..... 5 hours ago, Tigerman said: I can tell you, it was the Ponitac Firebird with the SD-455 ..... Rated at 310 HP. in '73 and 290 HP. in '74 ! I wasn't much of a "Fire Chicken" kinda guy. but they were some bad azz cars. MKP :-) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MORE KLIPSCH PLEASE Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Happy Tuesday to all.... MKP :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Went for a walk with the family this morning. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 They look happy, that's a good sign. Is that the same dog as in your avatar pic? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MORE KLIPSCH PLEASE Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 1 hour ago, CECAA850 said: Went for a walk with the family this morning. Don't see ya Where's the fishing poles? You guys good at your house? MKP :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davis Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 1 hour ago, CECAA850 said: Went for a walk with the family this morning. Glad to see you can still get around on foot. I saw the pic of your place with water just up to the curb. I hope that is as high as it gets and this storm gets the heck outta there very soon. I have been thinking about you and now that I know more about where you are located I can rest a bit more assured but I know its not over yet. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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