The other end of the spectrum...slowest American production cars 1960’s to present

[novadude]

No idea what kinda @#%# GM was smoking, putting that cam in an engine with that compression ratio.

Whatever they were thinking, they are still thinking it, as the "290 hp" GMPP crate engine they sell today is really just a '75 L48 with a L82 cam. Yup... same crappy features of the '75 L82 with even LOWER compression ratio! Look at the torque specs on the Chevrolet Performance website. I think that pig makes 330 lb-ft PEAK with a free flowing exhaust. Pretty pathetic for a 350 ci engine.

EDIT: Looks like they bumped the hp / tq ratings for some reason - still not even 350 lb-ft, and peak tq comes in at 3900 rpm.

https://www.chevrolet.com/performance/c ... 350-290-hp

[Keith Morganstein]

In the mid 60’s, my parents needed a second car and bought a used 1961 Ford falcon with the 144 Cid 6 cyl and two speed ford-o-matic. Maybe not “THE” slowest car, but it was a real dog.
My mother hated that car. She would have to make a turnaround on a 50 mph divided highway. It was scary.

Later on, I found that the 144 was used in midget racing.

[Roundybout]

I drove from MA to PA for a NASCAR race in a Geo Metro with an auto trans. Turning off the A/C felt like I had a 75 shot of nitrous.

I will say after buying one new and driving it for 227,000 miles that a 1987 Chevy Sprint ER stripped is a real hoot! No nothing on it!! For $6,300!!

It had a 1,000 cc 3-banger, 5-speed and was a 2-dr hatch weighing like 1500 pounds! Would do 85 mph all day long and at 75 mph would get 50 mpg!

It was like driving a SK-8 Board!

I would buy a brand new one in a NYM if I could, it was that good a little corn-popper commuter car!!

pdq67

Being able to row your own gears on a car with 58HP helps immensely with the overall driving experience. This was a 3 speed auto. Mash the gas in first while sipping your coffee and the upshift to second was at 35MPH. It shifted to third at 60MPH. I suppose it would go 85 eventually. Best was cruising with traffic at 70MPH. Floor it to get around "slower" traffic and there was no downshift. No passing gear. Just mediocre acceleration, unless you hit that nitrous...errr A/C button for an extra boost! It did get good mileage though.

[woody b]

I had a (stock) Vega Wagon for a while. It had a 4 speed transmission. One day I took off at a stop sign, and decided to floor it. About the time I shifted into 3rd gear (still floored) I looked in my mirror and saw a Highway Partolman. He pulled out and passed me. He didn't even know I was driving wide open banging gears. Probably not the slowest ever, but that's pretty slow.

[NewbVetteGuy]

No idea what kinda @#%# GM was smoking, putting that cam in an engine with that compression ratio.

Whatever they were thinking, they are still thinking it, as the "290 hp" GMPP crate engine they sell today is really just a '75 L48 with a L82 cam. Yup... same crappy features of the '75 L82 with even LOWER compression ratio! Look at the torque specs on the Chevrolet Performance website. I think that pig makes 330 lb-ft PEAK with a free flowing exhaust. Pretty pathetic for a 350 ci engine.

EDIT: Looks like they bumped the hp / tq ratings for some reason - still not even 350 lb-ft, and peak tq comes in at 3900 rpm.

https://www.chevrolet.com/performance/c ... 350-290-hp

Somehow people on the Corvette Forums still have the audacity to repeat the mantra that "the L82 cam is a good old-school street-grind". -No, no it's not; and no, it never was. I'm sure if you raise the static compression several more points it would be much better, but those are horrifically lazy lobes I have to think even spring technology in the late 60s could deal with far more aggressive lobes than that with the peak 5,500 RPM that even the L82 was rated at...
A few springs from a BIC ink pen should be able to control those lobes; that cam is practically just circle cam stock without any lobe ground into it.

That cam needs to go extinct!

-I've noticed some of the aftermarket cam companies that have "classic" cam lines have take the L82 @ 0.050 duration #s (222/222) and kept the peak lift numbers but tightened up the Advertised / Seat-to-Seat duration #'s to provide some remote semblance of modernish performance. -I'm hoping that GM Perf cam in that crate motor is the same (can't find the advertised duration #s).


Adam

[mk e]

I had a (stock) Vega Wagon for a while. It had a 4 speed transmission. One day I took off at a stop sign, and decided to floor it. About the time I shifted into 3rd gear (still floored) I looked in my mirror and saw a Highway Partolman. He pulled out and passed me. He didn't even know I was driving wide open banging gears. Probably not the slowest ever, but that's pretty slow.

My little bother was ticketed for "excessive acceleration" in the family '76 chevette. At trial the judge dismissed the ticket, the only defense my bother offered was "Its chevette", the judge looked at the cop and said "dismissed"

[autogear]

My brothers 1st car was a diesel powered chevette with the TH180 or TH200. He lost a stoplight drag race to a 50cc scooter with a full grown man on it. Abysmal. It might give the King Midget a run for its title.

Anyone ever try to get an ET from a Model T ford out of curiosity?

[Roundybout]

My brothers 1st car was a diesel powered chevette with the TH180 or TH200. He lost a stoplight drag race to a 50cc scooter with a full grown man on it. Abysmal. It might give the King Midget a run for its title.

Anyone ever try to get an ET from a Model T ford out of curiosity?

Car & Driver did a test against a Tesla and 1915 Model T. It went 23.5 @ 49MPH. For fun I plugged the specs into the Wallace 1/4 calculator and it came up with 25 flat @ 48MPH

[dhidaka]

I drove from MA to PA for a NASCAR race in a Geo Metro with an auto trans. Turning off the A/C felt like I had a 75 shot of nitrous.

They say "Every man has a price to do something if the money is right." My wife has never forgiven me for when I brought a red 1995 Geo Metro home. I guess she thinks there is more to driving than 50mpg. Strangely, the engine took a dump while she was driving. Overhauled the engine and let it go. I have to admit it was a real slug even with the a/c off. Still married. Anyone seen one at Meacham's auto auction yet?

[Brian P]

Not a car but ...

Back when I was a student and commuting on public transit, the GM "new look" buses were common, and the Flyer D800 which had the same engine. (If you have watched the movie "Speed", that was a GM "new look".)

In TTC trim ... Detroit Diesel 6V71N non turbo diesel, 180-ish horsepower, struggling against a 3 speed automatic transmission with a horrendously slippy torque converter.

Once the doors closed, the driver moved foot from brake to accelerator and slammed the accelerator to the floor. The accelerator pedal knew only two positions, off, and floored. That's because flooring the pedal made the engine slowly build revs against the heavy flywheel until that slippy torque converter gently moved the bus away from a stop making a tremendous racket from the Detroit Diesel but with little noticeable acceleration. Eventually there was a barely perceptible shift to second gear, cushioned by massive torque converter slippage. A while later, at maybe 40 km/h, the torque converter locked with a tremendous jolt. If traffic allowed, eventually it slammed into third gear at around 60 km/h. Measuring zero to 100 km/h time was not possible because it wouldn't do 100 km/h.

[Mark O'Neal]

Chevrolet Vega....if you include the time it took for the tow truck to hook it up.

[Circlotron]

Not American but worth a laugh anyway..,
Back in 1980 for a short time I had a ‘63 Mini 850, bone stock. One day I just couldn’t get the thing to start so called up a friend and tied a tow rope from his car to mine. His was 253 CID ~250hp 2300 lb. Mini went easily twice as quick being towed than it did under its own steam. Of course, the brakes were nowhere near good enough for this kind of performance and nearly cleaned him up a couple of times, following so close behind.

[Truckintom]

It's not a. US car ,but I had a 1963 Sabb,it was a 3 cylinder ,2 cycle gas,it had a hard time going fast down hill, it was a lot of fun,I used it to deliver pizza's, When the old Italian owner of the pizza shop found out THAT My car got 55 miles to the gallon on average,He cut back my nightly fuel money, I just waited until the right time, over 30 pizza's ready to go out the door, so I went out the door without the Pizza's, the whole time the old guy was cussing me in Italian, Ha, I just yelled. You saved alot by cutting my fuel money and waved bye as I pulled the choke out and floored it, Too much Fun

[pdq67]

You guys have me crying. Lol. I thought my Chevy II wagon with the 194 and power glide was bad, but I know better now. My brother had a few 87 Chevy sprint turbos. Full of gas that thing weighed 1600 pounds and was stupid fun.

Keep it going as I needed a good laugh.

Paul

My bought new '87 Chevy Sprint ER was 48 hp where the turbo version was 77 hp!

It might have been the little car that turned the insurance companies against turbo's because it ran like a rocket! They shortly dropped the turbo version!

pdq67

[pdq67]

No idea what kinda @#%# GM was smoking, putting that cam in an engine with that compression ratio.

Whatever they were thinking, they are still thinking it, as the "290 hp" GMPP crate engine they sell today is really just a '75 L48 with a L82 cam. Yup... same crappy features of the '75 L82 with even LOWER compression ratio! Look at the torque specs on the Chevrolet Performance website. I think that pig makes 330 lb-ft PEAK with a free flowing exhaust. Pretty pathetic for a 350 ci engine.

EDIT: Looks like they bumped the hp / tq ratings for some reason - still not even 350 lb-ft, and peak tq comes in at 3900 rpm.

https://www.chevrolet.com/performance/c ... 350-290-hp

You get that L-48 engine up to 10.25 to 1 CR like the original '67 350SS L-48 engine was and it will run like a scalded dog!

I installed the great old -151 cam in place of the stock -929 cam and boy did it pick up!

pdq67