Why would you put that motor in that car?

[Silentpoet]

https://www.foxnews.com/auto/chevy-debuts-corvette-zr1s-755-hp-v8-as-crate-engine-in-1973-chevelle

Cool motor, but a 1973 Chevelle is not the best choice.  Makes me wonder if there is some weird fitment issue with that motor and the more classic 72 and earlier ones.  Honestly I saw the pic and my first thought was Mustang II.

[tous]

I agree.

Not the best evolution of the Chevelle to add MORE POWER.

Heck, it was ugly.

[Rabbi]

I....uh.....I dig the **** out of that.  

I agree....that had to be a hell of a fight to make that the choice, but daaaaaaamn.  I like that. 

[tous]

If they had to put it in an early 1970s A-body, I would rather see that in a Monte Carlo and I am not a fan of the entire 1970 decade of GM products.

But, their money, their choice.

 

At least it isn't orange.

Edited October 22, 2018 by tous

[SC Tiger]

8 hours ago, Rabbi said:

I....uh.....I dig the **** out of that.  

I agree....that had to be a hell of a fight to make that the choice, but daaaaaaamn.  I like that. 

Actually - I do too.  That model car looks good from certain angles.  The black certainly helps.

That model isn't as great on the broadside, but certainly not bad either:

 

I'm still trying to formulate my opinion on this (the concept, not this actual car):

Edited October 22, 2018 by SC Tiger

[SC Tiger]

Strangest choice I ever heard was to put an LSX into this:

 

I get wanting LSX power, but I think I'd go with something a little more.......refined.  Not a fugitive from the Alabama National Guard.

For reference the LSX is a $15,000 engine.

Edited October 22, 2018 by SC Tiger

[racerford]

The only purpose of having a car at SEMA is to draw attention. You could chose to have a popular car that 30 other companies will have, the easy choice, as it were. People will talk about the booth and say "it's at the booth with 2019 Camaro" and people will go "which one?". Or you could do something unusual and people will say "It's at the booth with the Black '73 Chevelle" and people will go "I remember that one".

Also, almost all the cars have some customer that has asked to a build a car they are paying for. Then a sponsor checks around and asks if you have an interesting prject for their product. Or you have bought the product and they ask what you are putting it in and can they get the car for their booth.

 

So a guy wanted a hot rodded 73 Chevelle because that is what he drove in high school, or asked his wife to marry him in, or conceived his first child, whatever.. And you have a sponsor that want's booth remembered out of the thousands of booths.

 

Really it is a logical choice.

 

[tadbart]

Take that engine, and that AMAZING paint, and put it in something from the 1960s. I mean, if someone was offering it to me at a more than fair price, I'd buy it, but it's not my favorite.

 

The 60s were much kinder to auto design than were the 70s.

[Dric902]

Mid ‘70s Nova would have been interesting 

[SC Tiger]

14 hours ago, Silentpoet said:

https://www.foxnews.com/auto/chevy-debuts-corvette-zr1s-755-hp-v8-as-crate-engine-in-1973-chevelle

Cool motor, but a 1973 Chevelle is not the best choice.  Makes me wonder if there is some weird fitment issue with that motor and the more classic 72 and earlier ones.  Honestly I saw the pic and my first thought was Mustang II.

Something doesn't look right on that Chevelle.  It looks too narrow:

Maybe it's the paint.

[johnbt]

I'd put it in this. Nothing like seeing a Rolls out on the sand.

https://epicshutterblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/25/rolls-royce-cruisin-cape-point-shelly-island-sunset-cape-hatteras-national-seashore-pre-hurricane-maria/

"Meet Joe Falk, owner of this 1960 4WD Rolls Royce beach buggy! It took him 5 years to rebuild it 4WD. While I was taking a drive to Cape Point to check on Shelly Island tonight, I ran into Joe in his 4WD Rolls, what a car! Joe is also the owner of Nascar#33 driven by Jeffrey Earnhardt, featured in the Hulu  series “The Driver,” check it out!"

 

[tous]

Good thing that he has a handy umbrella  with that automobile for those pesky desert rain showers.

Given the era, probably has the built-in bar in the back as well.

[Silentpoet]

2 hours ago, johnbt said:

I'd put it in this. Nothing like seeing a Rolls out on the sand.

https://epicshutterblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/25/rolls-royce-cruisin-cape-point-shelly-island-sunset-cape-hatteras-national-seashore-pre-hurricane-maria/

"Meet Joe Falk, owner of this 1960 4WD Rolls Royce beach buggy! It took him 5 years to rebuild it 4WD. While I was taking a drive to Cape Point to check on Shelly Island tonight, I ran into Joe in his 4WD Rolls, what a car! Joe is also the owner of Nascar#33 driven by Jeffrey Earnhardt, featured in the Hulu  series “The Driver,” check it out!"

 

I remember reading about the Al-Can rally back in the late 80s/early 90s.  One of the competitors was a 4*4 Rolls Royce, with a Cadillac motor as I recall.

[janice6]

Back in the last half of the 50's we were in a friends "Hot Car", and cruising the main street looking for a drag, so we could see just how cool we were.  A guy in an old rusty Ford T kept bugging my friend for a race. So he agreed.  To make a long story short, my friend got his butt cleaned good and proper.  The kid in the Ford T had a Cadillac engine and automatic transmission in it.  Just left us in it's dust!

I helped a friend of mine do a Pinto conversion.  It had a 302 V8 and 4 spd.  We shortened the water pump shaft to get things to fit.  The drive shaft from a full sized sedan and shortened, the brakes were four wheel power discs, big enough to handle the engine.  9" wide tires in the front and 11 1/2 " wide in the rear.  The trunk area was tubbed to contain the tires.  The suspension was set up so the car was stock Pinto hatchback height.  From the outside it looked as stock as could be.

He was on a main street in town and got lots of laughs for the big wide tires on the Pinto.  A muscle car pulled along side at the light and started laughing and jumping his car.  While the light was Red, My friend stood on the brakes and started going down with the throttle.  The rear tires started squealing and smoking something fierce, but the car was standing still.  He looked at the other driver all the time.  When the light turned Green the other driver swept his hand for my friend to go first! 

It was a bitch to drive on a wet road.  curves had to be taken in short straight segments it got loose so easy.  We painted it Orange.

[Borg warner]

It can't be that had to find a decent 1970 chevelle. millions of them were made. I had one that My Grandmother bought n4ew in 1970 and drove for 20 yeast and only put 25,000 miles on it, It was a 307 with a 2 barrel and I put another 30.000 miles on it and drove it up Pike's Peak once. It was a nice looking car. I liked the square tail lights of the 70 better tha the 4 round tail lights of the 71 and 72.

I also like the 66 and 67 Chevelles.

Edited October 23, 2018 by Borg warner

[astepup]

22 hours ago, Rabbi said:

I....uh.....I dig the **** out of that.  

I agree....that had to be a hell of a fight to make that the choice, but daaaaaaamn.  I like that. 

Same here. I think it looks badass. Besides you don't see many '73 Chevelles on the road anymore. Even with a standard 350 hp small block I'd be proud to have that in my garage. 

[M&P15T]

On 10/21/2018 at 11:43 PM, Silentpoet said:

Cool motor, but a 1973 Chevelle is not the best choice.

The car isn't good enough for that engine.

[SC Tiger]

How does the chassis on the '73 compare to earlier models?  Were there improvements made?

As cool as the 70s musclecars were - they were built with 1960s technology and metrology.  Maybe the '73 has some improvements.

[jfost11]

I think if I were the one picking a car from 1973 to drop that engine in, it would be a boat tail Riviera.

[Silentpoet]

9 hours ago, SC Tiger said:

How does the chassis on the '73 compare to earlier models?  Were there improvements made?

As cool as the 70s musclecars were - they were built with 1960s technology and metrology.  Maybe the '73 has some improvements.

Possibly.  I don’t know about the gm suspensions but the mustang 2 had an innovative suspension a year later..

[jilverthor]

On 10/23/2018 at 7:11 PM, SC Tiger said:

How does the chassis on the '73 compare to earlier models?  Were there improvements made?

As cool as the 70s musclecars were - they were built with 1960s technology and metrology.  Maybe the '73 has some improvements.

Per Wikipedia, the '73 did have those kind of improvements:

The chassis design was as new as the bodies - with an all-new, sturdier perimeter frame, new chassis/body mounts, larger 8½ inch rear axle, wider 6-inch wheel rim width, refined rear control arm bushings, increased front and rear suspension travel, new shock absorber location, and improved front suspension geometry^[26] - The left wheel was adjusted to have slightly more positive camber than the right which resulted in a more uniform and stable steering feel on high-crown road surfaces while maintaining excellent freeway cruise stability. Clearances for spring travel were also improved for a smoother ride over all types of surfaces; the coil springs at each wheel were computer-selected to match the individual car's weight. Front disc brakes were now standard on all '73 Chevelles. John Z. DeLorean, Chevrolet's dynamic general manager during the design phase of the new Chevelles, left just as they were being announced. He departed in late September 1972 to start a brief stint as vice president of General Motors's Car and Truck Group. DeLorean left the new Chevelle an important legacy, though. He and Alex Mair, then Chevrolet's chief engineer, championed great handling. Critics compared the GM Colonnade line favorably to Ford and Chrysler intermediates which had unattractive styling and less interior room.^[27]

[crockett]

On 10/21/2018 at 11:43 PM, Silentpoet said:

https://www.foxnews.com/auto/chevy-debuts-corvette-zr1s-755-hp-v8-as-crate-engine-in-1973-chevelle

Cool motor, but a 1973 Chevelle is not the best choice.  Makes me wonder if there is some weird fitment issue with that motor and the more classic 72 and earlier ones.  Honestly I saw the pic and my first thought was Mustang II.

I kinda like that Chevelle.

[racerford]

50 minutes ago, jilverthor said:

Per Wikipedia, the '73 did have those kind of improvements:

The chassis design was as new as the bodies - with an all-new, sturdier perimeter frame, new chassis/body mounts, larger 8½ inch rear axle, wider 6-inch wheel rim width, refined rear control arm bushings, increased front and rear suspension travel, new shock absorber location, and improved front suspension geometry^[26] - The left wheel was adjusted to have slightly more positive camber than the right which resulted in a more uniform and stable steering feel on high-crown road surfaces while maintaining excellent freeway cruise stability. Clearances for spring travel were also improved for a smoother ride over all types of surfaces; the coil springs at each wheel were computer-selected to match the individual car's weight. Front disc brakes were now standard on all '73 Chevelles. John Z. DeLorean, Chevrolet's dynamic general manager during the design phase of the new Chevelles, left just as they were being announced. He departed in late September 1972 to start a brief stint as vice president of General Motors's Car and Truck Group. DeLorean left the new Chevelle an important legacy, though. He and Alex Mair, then Chevrolet's chief engineer, championed great handling. Critics compared the GM Colonnade line favorably to Ford and Chrysler intermediates which had unattractive styling and less interior room.^[27]

Thank you for all that research. However, as this was a car prepared for SEMA, and it has a much more powerful engine, the fram likely has been boxed, braced, or both or maybe even replaced completely with and aftermarket one. The suspension components are likely different as well. Note the size of the wheels and tires. Often the only thing left of the original car is the basic body structure and shell, or maybe only a replica of it.

[jfost11]

13 minutes ago, racerford said:

Thank you for all that research. However, as this was a car prepared for SEMA, and it has a much more powerful engine, the fram likely has been boxed, braced, or both or maybe even replaced completely with and aftermarket one. The suspension components are likely different as well. Note the size of the wheels and tires. Often the only thing left of the original car is the basic body structure and shell, or maybe only a replica of it.

Exactly. I'm sure it's coil overs all around, traction bars, and probably not a bit of rubber in any of the bushings. Hell, if GM built it, they probably put the whole ZR-1 drivetrain and suspension underneath it. 

Another article I read about this car stated it was a modified suspension but GM had not given details on it.

[jilverthor]

11 hours ago, racerford said:

Thank you for all that research. However, as this was a car prepared for SEMA, and it has a much more powerful engine, the fram likely has been boxed, braced, or both or maybe even replaced completely with and aftermarket one. The suspension components are likely different as well. Note the size of the wheels and tires. Often the only thing left of the original car is the basic body structure and shell, or maybe only a replica of it.

 

Oh I agree completely that they changed everything about the car.  But the starting point for '73 was significantly different than for a 2nd gen Chevelle which may have made the final product easier in some way.