<VV> Horsepower

[Tony Underwood]

At 05:38 hours 06/08/2005, Padgett wrote:

>> >Particularly when the engine they want you to buy, the SS-350, is rated at
>> >295 hp which is just under 10 lb/hp to appease the Insurance companies.
>>
>>Back then, it was insurance.   Big HP ratings meant big insurance
>
>Knew some people with higher insurance payments than car payments.

Not sure if lots were like this...  but a buddy had a '68 Superbee with car 
payments of ~90 bucks a month and hee was paying 1100 bucks a year for 
insurance...  full coverage hit him hard, and two speeding tickets and a 
street dragracing conviction didn't help.   He spent 90 days walking with a 
suspended OL and still had to pay the insurance just to keep the car tagged 
even though he couldn't drive it.    I was paying nearly 500 bucks/year and 
*I* never got caught  streetracing although II had a speeding ticket or two 
along the way.   That was for liability only; my car was paid for.    In 
fact, unless you had full coverage (as with a new vehicle) my insurance 
guys never asked details at all about the car...  "66 Plymouth Satellite, 
V8, straight drive" was all they had on it.

My "vintage-registered" Vairs cost me ~140 bucks/year to insure and they're 
insured under the "limited normal use" clause and not "antique vehicle, 
show and maintenance only" driving limits.   I can run these cars around 
daily, but I'm limited to ~200 miles radius unless attending a car show or 
likewise traveling to an automotive event etc. whereupon the travel radius 
is unlimited.   I can't use them for work related purposes etc and I can't 
use them for any moneymaking endeavor etc.   But I can burn up the Parkway 
with them any time, raid restaurants, or just go cruising.

>Like I said Chevvy rated the Z-28 at 290 hp so not to take sales away from 
>the 295 hp rated SS-350 engine in the F-body. Chevvy also did the same 
>thing with the L-88 rating it at 430 hp while the much more streetable tri 
>carb (were more than one but this was the TOL) was rated at 435 hp.


THAT was a good street engine, strong, would idle, great bottom end, worked 
well with an automatic, and it wasn't tall, would fit under most stuff 
without hitting the hood.   I had a guy with a '66 Chevelle fitted with one 
of these engines give me a run for my money one night, barely nicked him by 
a bumper's width and he'd have outrun me if he'd gotten a better bite away 
from the light.   His car was lighter... (damn, my Plymouth with me in it 
was almost 3900 lbs) and the engine in it was making some serious 
power.   I was lucky to beat him at all.


>Or the round port Pontiac Ram AIr IV engine rated at only 5 hp more than 
>the D-port RA engine.

When you start talking Ram-Air IV, all bets are off... it's not a "regular" 
Poncho engine.


>Back in the Good Old Daze there were three signs that a powerplant was a 
>bit more than advertised
>1) over $500 option (ZL-1 was a $3k option on a $3k car (wholesale price 
>list))
>2) warrenty lasted until it left the dealer's lot
>3) was not available with air conditioning

You forgot the 4th bullet point:

4) bench seats, no chrome, dogdish hubcaps   (actually this sounds like the 
'67 500)


>BTW HP just determines what the top speed (if not gear limited) is going 
>to be, it is the area under the torque curve that determines how long it 
>will take to get there.

Street racer specs...   ;)    Who will make it to the next stoplight 
first...


tony..