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Original Message
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| 390GT-true High Performance |
| By Mike McQuesten - 09/30/2001 3:07:23 AM; IP 63.50.124.217 |
I appreciated Don V.'s stand-up for the 390GT. He made some good points in support of the often maligned FE-GT. Don offers some E.T./mph facts from Car & Driver, 3/66. I don't want to sound too skeptical but 14.2 and 13.98 from a GTA Fairlane and Cyclone GT respectively. That may be the most positive test(s) ever on a stock 390GT.
The best magazine test I had ever read was fromSuper Stock and drag illustrated, January 1966. Fast Eddie Schartman ran a supposedly stock '66 Cyclone GT 4 speed car to a best of 14.09 at 98.36 mph. This car was equipped with 4.11s, 7" slicks, hurst shifter and some other suspension tweaks to get this time.
I bought a Fairlane GTA new in May, 1966. I beat every "standard" model of '65-'66 muscle car I raced. My 'lane was low optioned, no PS/B or air. It had 3.25 limited slip with the new C-6 Select Shift automatic. First time at the strip, Kent Pacific Raceways, Seattle, it ran a best of 15.00 at 97 mph. This was in C pure stock. I won my first two races against a '66 442 and a '66 GTO. Both standard 4V cars. Then I ran a '65 GTO tri powered 389/4 speed. In pure stock classes there was no differenitation based on transmissions. This was my first loss in over a month of owning the car. I continued to beat base muscle cars, 325 horse 396s were no problem. Same with 383 Mopars all the way into '68 with 'runners & bees. I really njoyed beating those. But when it came to 360/350/375 horse 396s, tri powered 389s, up-level 400 Ponchos, it wasn't a race. I saw nothing but taillights disappear into the dark night on those narrow country roads. But I'd race 'em all.
In '69 , I added a 428 P.I. intake and a dual point distributor. The 390 GTA would now run consistently in the mid 14s. Still with stock 3.35 gearing. I had to drive it regularly rain, sleat or snow. It was my main car for ten years. Sold it foolishly in '76 for a whopping $1,400. Excuse me while I stand up here and kick my self in the ass for the umpteenth time.
Okay, that always makes me feel better. So what do I really think of a 390GT? The C6OZ-6250-B cam & corresponding lifters/valve springs were a nice up grade to the trusty workhorse. The Holley 600 was an occasional leaker but it looked cool with the chrome air cleaner, rocker covers,dip stick and let's not forget the clutch fan. A guy or gal could drive it regularly with very few problems. You could cruise, go to college, work and to the drag strip for a healthy dose of humiliation.
Here's what the Dearborn engine engineers should have made a case to the bean counters for:
A step up- could of been called the 390GT-High Performane. Mustang GT had it! The little 'stang had a nice peppy 225 horse 4V 289 standard. The enthusiast could choose a real Hi Po with the 271 horse combo. The Fairlane GT had a smooth & peppy 335 horse 390 but where was the 'Lane's High Performance option? Hmmm, no where.
They had it. The 1965 390-330 horse Police Interceptor. It had a good solid lifter cam with 282 degrees of duration. The cam was the right shaft to go with the tri power option that had worked so well from late '61 into '63 on both 390 & 406s. This cam was the same one that got carried into '66 for the 428 Police mill. It worked fine with sticks or automatics. The better police rods? Easy. The C6AE-R heads would have been fine too. So it wouldn't have been too expensive & exotic like the brute 427. The blocks could have been cast along with the '66 428 PI blocks. Maybe rated around 350-360 horses. Tri Power & Solids, it'd been been a legend just like the best 390 ever built, the '61/401 horse.
Please don't take my opinions the wrong way. I really like any car that came stock with a 390 GT be it Fairlane, Comet, Mustang or Cougar. I just think you have to "work 'em" to make them competitive. I've got a spare '67 390 stashed in the corner. I might just build my vision of the GT-High Performance someday. Find me another 'lane/'lone or maybe a S code 'stang and ....
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This thread, so far...
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