framebender

I worked for a Chevrolet dealer in the late 60's and drove every fast Chev they built including the now popular mid 60's stingrays. The vettes back then were a real rattletrap. Bought a 69 z28 off the showfloor and have owned many camaros since. The c6 is hands down a great all around car for power, mileage, comfort, and driveability. Thr old stuff is great to look at , but I don't want to drive them.

markabc6

But, they said the same thing about the v8, automatic transmission, power steering, 4v carb, electronic ign, cfi, computers, etc, etc... nearly every decade or so there is another new fangled gizmo to go out/give me trouble/too expensive...but we still "breed" the "need for speed"

It takes (lots of) money and knowledge to go fast.

Do I (still) love the old muscle cars (hell ya)…just as much as I will drool over the next gen of muscle not yet delivered.

to progress

CessnaDriver

Christ I had a point and shoot 69 Camaro with a 454 stuffed in it and had much fun with it, cut my teeth on real power with that one, loved the sounds and looks, but time marches on.

Apples and oranges really.

But I will say this, a nice looking restored popular muscle car will turn heads more then a new Vette. Just the way it is.

PAVette

69 Boss 302. Lots of great cars at the Convention Center....saw a few steals. Great show.

toolking

And it stops!

Maui

Here's a picture of my first muscle car. 1970 Chevelle SS396 numbers matching.



Here's my new muscle car



The Chevelle was just raw power and handled like crap until I installed tubular suspension. It was a great car and I really miss it.

The C6 is so different. Speed with handling and comfort. What can I say?

RBYCC

I bought the 67 R/T in October of 67, only the hardtop....same color "turbine bronze metallic" with a black vinyl roof !!!
Stock it ran mid to high thirteens at 102mph. Heads, headers, 283/283 cam, worked torqueflite and a 4.10 or 4.56 gear got it to consistent mid to high twelves at 108mph. Had the disc brake option which was rare !!!!

C6 is a very fast and driveable car...muscle cars took a lot of "muscle" to drive !!!!!

RBYCC

This was my most "muscular" of cars....same power to weight ratio as the Z06 but not as streetable !!!
Idled at 3000rpm
Ran high tens and 132mph with big tires and a 5.12 gear.
Only fifty of the light weight Hemi's built in 1964.

Sold it in 1972 for $3500.....if I only knew then what I know now

07 Lemans Z51 Coupe

Back in the day I owned a Plymouth Satellite with a 383 and an AFB 4 barrel carbuerator that I think I still have some springs left over from.
I owned a 66 Mustang 289 Convertible, a 1959 Chevy wagon with a 348four barrel, and even rebuilt a slant six engine. I raced my old station wagons through the canyons, using the rear end slide to save time through the turns.

All of the modern sports cars I've owned have been far better cars than those, and the C6 is no exception. Fine car. But something has clearly been lost. I would no more try to fix my own cars these days than build a computer.

I'd never give up modern brakes or reliability. It is wonderful to drive over a mountain pass with the air conditioning on and not have the car overheat. And yet.......... there is a reason for nostalgia. Those were cars we could bond with, personalize without looking like bling posers, and we understood the "personality" of those cars.

I don't know how you can pass that along to your son. I did a lousy job of passing it along to my kids, since I was too worried about the vehicles to allow kids to turn wrenches. If I were to do it over again, I might buy a couple of fixer uppers, and just have the kids turn wrenches to see what the results would be.

LAR

I grew up in the "sixties". My Mom's best friend from high school and her husband always had a Corvette. Starting with a C1. They would get a new one every couple of years. In 1967 they had a matching '67 yellow C2 and a 67' yellow Malibu. Both with 327's and 4-speeds. I would wet myself thinking about them. In 1968, when I was in 9th grade (14 yrs old) and starting to appreciate cars, I read a book called "The Red Car" by Don Stanford. (It is still in print). That book forever changed how I thought about cars. I knew then that I wanted a sports car. Anybody can go fast in a straight line; going around the curves is where the challenge is!

I learned to drive in 1969 in my neighbor's 1967 Impala convertible. A boat, to be sure, but it was cutting edge then with 'radial' tires, front and rear sway bars, Koni shocks, and a high performance 327 w/ a 4-speed. At one point it had a "Man-a-Fre" aluminum intake manifold w/ three 2bb carburetors on it and a high lift cam. It handled well and I learned to maneuver through the back hills roads fairly well. But it still was not a sports car.

Fast forward to today: My 1967 Camaro RS is my first love (after my Harley Sportster). I spent 2 1/2 years working out my plan for modifying it. When I realized (1) what it would cost to get it where I wanted and (2) that it still was not a Corvette, and (3) that it would actually depreciate in value as I made modifications to it, I decided to leave it close to stock and instead buy what I wanted. A Corvette.

In 2005 I started reading about the C6. Then I saw the Z06 and it was love at first sight all over again! I planned for a year to get my Z06 (my first Corvette) and in Feb 2006 I took delivery of my Red Z06. It was awesome!! I had the privilege of detailing it before it left the dealer's showroom floor. It was almost a spiritual experience.

Comparison? There is none! It is apples and oranges. Two different animals. The Camaro is raw and visceral. It gets up and goes! But it could never keep up with the Z06 either in a straight line or around the corners. The Vette is totally comfortable and refined with all the high tech gadgets and electronics that I thought I didn't want. Now, I wouldn't trade my C6 for anything!!

Both cars look great on my wife but the Camaro actually turns more heads. All three of my (adult) sons want the RS. They like the Vette but there is something about the '67 that just grabs your attention. And a lot of that is from the younger folks.

But pick any area (acoustics, gas mileage, technology, comfort, safety, etc.) and the C6 comes out the winner. I drive them for different reasons. Just remember the Camaro is 40 years old now. The Camaro originally came with 14 inch wheels; the Z06 comes with 14 inch disc brakes! Now I have to admit I have been pondering an LS7 in the RS....

6spdC6

You had a nice car.
As I stated I had some rare options. I also had the KH disc brakes & console with a floor shift for the HEMI auto tranny (early car), bucket seats, clock. I found out there were only 200 Verts made in 67 so the chances that my car was a 1 of are quite good.
The special no part number cam was arranged threw the late Dick Landy.
My speed shop owning buddy had a couple of NHRA record cars and I met Mr.Landy at quite a few meets. We talked about my car and he gave me quite a few pointers, That cam I had never officially existed ,and trying to get it drove the parts manger crazy at the dealership. From what D.L. said best bet that cam was a prototype for a six pack motor.

Have a good one, Dave

RBYCC

Dave
Same options here...Believe the cam was the 283/283 duration.
Jere Stahl did the headers and the heads and tune were done by Tony Pizzi (ex-Bill Jenkins and owner of the "world's fastest Z-28" )
If you look at my other post with the max performance hemi, the hemi was a second tier factory car. Used to get my parts direct from Dick Maxwell at Chrysler performance and they would come after use from the first tier guys like Dick Landy, Butch Leal, and Ronny Sox.
The R/T was actually the tow car for my Hemi. One of the first ones produced and from the dealer who sponsored the Hemi. Eventually turned it into a SS/FA !

Those were the days....but the C6 is scary fast for a street car !!!
Ed A.

nalto

I restored a 1971 boss 351 Mach 1 mustang it was red with black hood. I bought it from the UPS driver that delivered to my area for $300. It had major engine damage(nocking rod, spun bearing) and gutted interior. How does it compare to my C6? Well first and foremost the Mach 1 was a tank! it handled extreemly poorly and stoped poorly. But stomp the go pedal and it got fun in a hurry. still not near as fast as the C6 though, but it was all we had back then.

rjr2007

The old cars are very nice But there is always something to fix on them.

NOVAVETTE

Below is a picture of my first 'Vette which I started driving in 1985.
It wasn't exactly fast or muscle car, but it did get me hooked on Chevy Hatchbacks.
So much so, that fast forward to 2007 and I am now the proud owner of a much quicker (and better looking) Z06.
Funny, but when I was 16, my first 'Vette did look kind of sporty to me.

anothercrisis

I agree. I love the old muscle cars, but partly because I knew how they worked. I remember setting the points on one vehicle on the side of the road with a matchbook cover as the feeler gauge! The cover was the perfiect setting...as I remember .015....
I think I was more a part of the car. I knew what was wrong when something went bump or crack.

It doesn't take long on these boards to understand that the generation after mine (and later) sometimes doesn't really understand what makes the car go and how GENERALLY things work. A few posts like ..."why does my engine squeal when I rev it....?", tells you that under the hood is a foreign place for some.

I don't in any way mean these comments as a flame; just observation. These same folks could lose me on a computer or other techno toy very quickly. I say this as my VCR ....yes VCR ......flashes 12:00 !!!

I am saying and agreeing that things have changed and I like the old muscle cars, but I try to understand why it is not the same for everyone. I think the Vette in the end is much more driveable and is much more car, but the techno stuff has left me as well as many others behind.

anothercrisis

RBYCC

Lou

Looks like you couldn't resist getting back into a Vette!!!
Your wheels are still looking good.

Ed A.

Gman in NC

I think what made the muscle cars of the 60s and early 70s (I had a 70 Dodge Charger 500) was the lack of good suspension, tires, and brakes. You could get quite a thrill in those things at a lot less speed than the C6. The C6 sure is better all around.

Corvette ED

I have a 75 L-82 Yellow Convertible that is fun to drive but doesn't compare to the new Vettes. The only thing better about the old cars to the new ones is they aren't loosing money every year that you own them.

John Bravo

I still have an original 70ss Chevelle but mostly choose to drive my vette when I get a chance. Muscle cars are now big investments and the thought of blowing the numbers matching motor or rear is just scary to me.