I knew that comment would start a contoversy. As the old lady said when she
kissed the cow, "Everybody to their own taste."
It boils down pretty much to a naturally aspirated big- bore taste vs a
small high- rpm boosted taste. Each has its attractions and adherents.
Traditionalists probably lean toward the former while the largely under-
thirty crowd might be more inclined towards the Honda route.
Back in the mid- sixties, I owned two of the most different street cars
imaginable, a '65 GTO (3 duces)blueprinted by Royal Pontiac and a Ferrari
250GTE. The GTO was a 389 CID V-8 engine with tons of torque while the V-12
Ferrari had only 3 liters (183 CID) but its power came on above 3500 rpm.
Both cars were streetable and well- mannered, even in city traffic, and both
were fun to drive. Their differences were like night & day.
On a dragstrip (Waynesboro Eastside Dragway) the GTO would win hands- down.
Its broad torque curve made its accelleration quick, its heavy- duty
handling package made it predictable, and its sintered- metallic drums
stopped it OK. On a road like US Rt 250 winding through the Allegheny
Mountains, the Ferrari was a joy-- easy to drive fast without really pushing
it too hard. I could never get within 12 to 15 minutes of my Ferrari's time
between Green Bank, WV and Staunton, VA with the GTO. A rapier vs a
broadsword.
The Honda fans are welcome to that approach-- it's just not my style.
Cranking up the boost or nitrous and winding it higher does generate big BHP
numbers from a small- displacement engine but it also turns lots of them
into expensive grenades. Besides, I like the type of racing where the cars
sound like cars-- not like a leaf blower.
No offense intended to anyone-- just my personal opinion.
Regards, Neil Tucson, AZ
-----Original Message-----
From: Bryan A. Savage Jr [mailto:basavage@earthlink.net]
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2001 9:13 AM
To: Albaugh, Neil
Cc: 'Nt788@aol.com'; wester6935@home.com; land-speed@autox.team.net;
squarerollbars@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: News on Our Car Magazine Industry : Strictly for the BUCKS!
!!
Neil, List,
I agree with Jack.
Look at what was my age group in the '50s, 16-24, are running today.
Some are running Vintage cars from the '80s and older just like
some of my friends ran cars from the '30s and '20s.
Most have or want the new stuff with 10 turbos and a 100 pound
nitrous bottle just like most of my friends wanted a new Chevy V8 or
a new Ford OHV V8.
(Then there was the souped up four door Rocket 88 that the
Whittier Police had built by Ak Miller. It patrolled
Whittier Boulevard.)
The specifications for some, not all, Honda Motors results in their
capacity withstand a large increase in HP with stock parts. By the
way, this does NOT mean better quality, just different design specs.
Current American design specifications are different because the
management decided it was best for their market. For them to spend
more money than necessary on an engine would violate the share holders
trust.
By the way, I fell in love with Jacks twin turbo, Electromotive
sparked Flathead the moment I saw it. It would be great in a '49.
Bryan
Quality: A quality part is one that meets specifications.
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