Disappointing test drives/rides……..

[PRH]

Just a thread to burn up some winter minutes……..

I don’t know what brought these memories back, but I got a rush of them back of cars I’d either gotten to test drive, or was given a ride in.
These were all memories of disappointing rides, where it was difficult to contain the disappointment from the car owner.

I’ve had several like that………. Let’s start with this one:
About 1981/82, while I was in the AF in Sacto, ca.

One of the guys in my dorm has bought this cream puff of a 64/65 base model Mercury Comet…….white with a blue interior, 6cyl, 3 on the tree.

He immediately started acquiring parts to hot it up a bit.
289/4 speed, a laundry list of go fast stuff from SuperShops(headers, intake, carb, cam, dual point dist, etc.
Had the machine work done at a local performance engine shop(there were loads of them around), brought the whole shebang over to the base hobby shop and proceeded to assemble the engine, and stuff it all in the car.
Got it going, had a local exhaust shop make up some duals for it.
He seemed to feel like it was pretty hot, and appeared happy with it.
It sounded pretty mean with a fairly lumpy cam, although in all fairness I didn’t really know anything back then.
The way I remember it, Within a year of completion he got orders to go overseas, so he decided to sell it before shipping out.
So………. My first ride ever in it was a test drive.

I was sooooooo disappointed when I put my foot to the floor in anticipation of rowing thru the gears.
It took forever for each gear to get used up.
It wasn’t even a little bit hot……… it was just a dud.

The clapped out 70 Challenger stock 318-2bbl, 3 speed I’d had in HS would have crushed it.

That was a big let down.

Got a similar experience?

 

[318willrun]

I was with my brother when he tried out a 440 Charger (1971?). It ran like a really tired 318. My brother was so disappointed he didn't even consider it.... lol. This would have been around 1980

 

[33IMP]

Just a thread to burn up some winter minutes……..

I don’t know what brought these memories back, but I got a rush of them back of cars I’d either gotten to test drive, or was given a ride in.
These were all memories of disappointing rides, where it was difficult to contain the disappointment from the car owner.

I’ve had several like that………. Let’s start with this one:
About 1981/82, while I was in the AF in Sacto, ca.

One of the guys in my dorm has bought this cream puff of a 64/65 base model Mercury Comet…….white with a blue interior, 6cyl, 3 on the tree.

He immediately started acquiring parts to hot it up a bit.
289/4 speed, a laundry list of go fast stuff from SuperShops(headers, intake, carb, cam, dual point dist, etc.
Had the machine work done at a local performance engine shop(there were loads of them around), brought the whole shebang over to the base hobby shop and proceeded to assemble the engine, and stuff it all in the car.
Got it going, had a local exhaust shop make up some duals for it.
He seemed to feel like it was pretty hot, and appeared happy with it.
It sounded pretty mean with a fairly lumpy cam, although in all fairness I didn’t really know anything back then.
The way I remember it, Within a year of completion he got orders to go overseas, so he decided to sell it before shipping out.
So………. My first ride ever in it was a test drive.

I was sooooooo disappointed when I put my foot to the floor in anticipation of rowing thru the gears.
It took forever for each gear to get used up.
It wasn’t even a little bit hot……… it was just a dud.

The clapped out 70 Challenger stock 318-2bbl, 3 speed I’d had in HS would have crushed it.

That was a big let down.

Got a similar experience?

Not me personally, but a friend of mine, many many years ago.
He had put a bunch of work and money into a 65 mustang with a 289.
Headers, intake, carb, gears, solid cam swap.
He ran across a smoking deal on a 63 corvette roadster, with the standard 300 horse 327/4sp combo.
He was thoroughly disgusted to find that a lo-po vette could easily smoke his mustang. He said he had more $$$ in the mustang mods than the vette cost.
(He didn't even want to think about what my V8 Vega would do to it).

 

[mbaird]

60k 70 Hemi Cuda , 2 70 440-6 Cudas ,70 GTO Judge RA IV , 69 Camaro with a blown/injected 502 were among the best .
Toyota Supra twin turbo was a bit disappointing ( felt heavy )

 

[qkcuda]

Being young and inexperienced, when I built the 340 for my first race car I chose the biggest hydraulic cam I could find, a Cam Dynamics 300 H. I also needed a 727 transmission, so I found a used one, probably out of C body. It had a low stall 12 inch converter. The first time I took it down the track, it left like a dog. When it finally hit about 3500 rpm it threw me back in the seat and pinned me there until I was through the traps. I learned a valuable lesson about matching parts. Ironically I won a lot of races with that combo, because guys would get out on me and back off, and I passed them like a freight train at the top end.

 

[MOPARMAGA]

73 charger se, 400 auto. Most disappointing
69 Mercury marauder X-100, 429 auto. Least disappointing.

 

[65TerrorCuda]

Slowest car I ever drove, a neglected Dodge Rampage. Carb'd 4 cylinder, automatic. Looked so cool and I wanted to like it.
late 80's firebird/transam with the 305(?), absolute turd.
Friend's Nissan 240sx with the RB25 turbo. Screaming and slow, total hackjob conversion.

 

[1WildRT]

Bright Orange 71 Pantera.... Worked on it back in 1982, came into the shop for electrical stuff... I was drooling like a fool... When the guy picked it up he offered a ride... Of course I jumped at the offer.... Thing was an absolute PIG......... A few days later I was rolling down the freeway in my V code 70 Challenger R/T & saw something orange coming up kinda fast so I eased into the throttle to match it as he pulled along side.... We both dropped the hammer & I absolutely walked away.... Prior to that experience I never would have thought an old muscle car stood a chance against an exotic... Especially from a 70 MPH roll....

 

[1WildRT]

Another was a 64 Buick Riviera G/S with the dual quad 425.... Engine had been built by a local speed shop but the car sat unfinished for a few years.... Another one that got towed into the shop to get put back together.... Another car I expected to be kinda fast that was seriously disappointing.... It was around town for years.. looked real pretty sitting on the lawn at car shows but once you'd been for a ride....

They say it's best you never meet your heroes.....

 

[Bewy]

My 1960 Dodge Phoenix, 318 2 bbl Poly. Went for a ride in a 64 Galaxie, 390 2bbl. Absolutely gutless. Cars were about the same weight, my Dodge would have easily beaten it.

 

[mbaird]

My brother in laws mid 70 F150 4wd short box with a360 4sp.
He bought it new and it had very low miles . It was so gutless I was sure something was wrong with it ! I had a 74 SWB Power Wagon at the time and it was a Farrari in comparison!

 

[qkcuda]

Speaking of FE Fords, my Dad bought a mid 60's Mercury sedan to flip. It had a 352 two barrel. Probably the most gutless V8 I ever drove. He later bought a newer Mercury with a 302 and it would run away from the 352.

 

[66fs]

Absolutely the worst was a 68/69 Chevelle SS 396 with a 4 speed. Low mileage car, headers, slicks, 850 DP Holley. 17+ sec 1/4 mile runner owned by the town's Chevy Dealer motor man. My 273 Barracuda would have crushed it. Second worst was a 72? Camaro 4 speed, 350 LT1, new short block from Chevrolet, used angle plug heads with a new bad valve job, stock 70's HEI distributor. So disappointed in the way it ran, I blamed the valve job and an ignition that stopped at 4,500 rpm. He was so disgusted he gave it to a cousin years later it sounded like every Chevy with valves that did not seal, puffing blue smoke, and round lobes on the camshaft. Third was a 64 Chevy II, rebuilt 327 and a 4 link rear setup with another 70's HEI distributor that quit pulling at 4,500 rpm.

 

[66fs]

Not me personally, but a friend of mine, many many years ago.
He had put a bunch of work and money into a 65 mustang with a 289.
Headers, intake, carb, gears, solid cam swap.
He ran across a smoking deal on a 63 corvette roadster, with the standard 300 horse 327/4sp combo.
He was thoroughly disgusted to find that a lo-po vette could easily smoke his mustang. He said he had more $$$ in the mustang mods than the vette cost.
(He didn't even want to think about what my V8 Vega would do to it).

Sad, It does not take much to get a 289 to run Very well. On the other hand, I raced a guy with the same level of parts in a 302 Ford and slaughtered him with a stock 66 Barracuda Formula S 273 Commando with 100,000 miles on it, burning a quart of oil every 50 miles, and a badly slipping clutch. A 300 hp 327 was a good combination, especially in front of a 4 speed.

 

[PRH]

I like the stories where there is some expectation that the car in question will be “hot”…… and isn’t……. At all.

Fortunately(?), as I’m running thru some test rides/drives in my mind…….. I’m realizing I’ve gotten to experience a fair number of them that stood out as serious underachievers.
These are the ones that are truly “disappointing”.

 

[33IMP]

Speaking of FE Fords, my Dad bought a mid 60's Mercury sedan to flip. It had a 352 two barrel. Probably the most gutless V8 I ever drove. He later bought a newer Mercury with a 302 and it would run away from the 352.

I had a 65 Galaxie, with a 352. Rode nice, the power brakes were awful, way too much assist, .....and it wouldn't pull a fat girl off a tricycle.

 

[plymouth67]

Locally there was a 70 or 71 Duster sitting outside of a body shop for years. It was orange with some goofy *** stripes down the side and a big hood scoop. It was a 340 with W2 heads and nitrous.

Car disappeared then years later came up for sale so, a couple buddies and I went to check it out. Dude took us for a ride and the car sounded awesome but, man that thing was slow!! So disappointed, first car around that we knew of that had W2 heads on it.

On a cool side note, right after high school I went to Wyoming Tech, while is was there I bought a really clean 73 Blazer and brought it back to Illinois with me. Kept around for a couple years and then sold it. Well, as we were looking at the Duster I happen to notice that this dude had my Blazer sitting over by his garage, haven't seen it since.

 

[mbaird]

Locally there was a 70 or 71 Duster sitting outside of a body shop for years. It was orange with some goofy *** stripes down the side and a big hood scoop. It was a 340 with W2 heads and nitrous.

Car disappeared then years later came up for sale so, a couple buddies and I went to check it out. Dude took us for a ride and the car sounded awesome but, man that thing was slow!! So disappointed, first car around that we knew of that had W2 heads on it.

On a cool side note, right after high school I went to Wyoming Tech, while is was there I bought a really clean 73 Blazer and brought it back to Illinois with me. Kept around for a couple years and then sold it. Well, as we were looking at the Duster I happen to notice that this dude had my Blazer sitting over by his garage, haven't seen it since.

That Duster was probably just a cam and a tune away from being pretty fast .

 

[hemi71x]

PRH
You were either Mather AFB, or McCllean AFB, around Sacramento, Ca. back in the early 1980s.
I discharged out in 1980 at Mather, but stayed here in Rancho Cordova to this day.
I'm the guy that had the purple 71 Hemi GTX, 4 speed car, if you remember the car, and or me.
Kept it for 32 years.
Bought it at the Mather AFB lemon lot, back in 77 from an Air Force captain that was going thru B-52 navigator training.
He was going to be assigned to Michigan, or Maine, and he couldn't take this second car of his along, so he put it up for sale, and i got it.

 

[65 Cuda 340]

Two cars come to mind.

First, probably early seventies, I went with Dad to look at a 68 Hemi Road Runner. Can't remember if it was a 4 speed or an automatic. Anyway, it had headers and some other mods. And it was a dog. And the owner knew it. Have no idea what was wrong with it. Dad could have gotten it cheap, but he was no mechanic and didn't want to have to re-do the motor.

Second (and I can't remember if this was earlier or later), we looked at a 68 fastback Barracuda that was a factory 383 4-speed, with a 440 swapped in. Well, the night before we looked at it, the owner's brother took it for his own "test" drive and came home with a rod knock. The seller was sick, and you could tell he was really tired of the car. Dad could have gotten it for $500, maybe less, but, again, wasn't sure what it would have taken to make it right, so he passed. If I had come across this one a few years later, I would have snatched it up in a heartbeat, but . . . .

 

[mbaird]

PRH
You were either Mather AFB, or McCllean AFB, around Sacramento, Ca. back in the early 1980s.
I discharged out in 1980 at Mather, but stayed here in Rancho Cordova to this day.
I'm the guy that had the purple 71 Hemi GTX, 4 speed car, if you remember the car, and or me.
Kept it for 32 years.
Bought it at the Mather AFB lemon lot, back in 77 from an Air Force captain that was going thru B-52 navigator training.
He was going to be assigned to Michigan, or Maine, and he couldn't take this second car of his along, so he put it up for sale, and i got it.

View attachment 1716495205

My buddy lost a 71 440-6 GTX in a divorce. His ex sold it to another guy we knew for way to cheap ! Air grabber , rear louvre car .

 

[PRH]

PRH
You were either Mather AFB, or McCllean AFB, around Sacramento, Ca. back in the early 1980s.
I discharged out in 1980 at Mather, but stayed here in Rancho Cordova to this day.
I'm the guy that had the purple 71 Hemi GTX, 4 speed car, if you remember the car, and or me.
Kept it for 32 years.
Bought it at the Mather AFB lemon lot, back in 77 from an Air Force captain that was going thru B-52 navigator training.
He was going to be assigned to Michigan, or Maine, and he couldn't take this second car of his along, so he put it up for sale, and i got it.

View attachment 1716495205

I think I only saw your GTX once, but I do remember seeing you with the Cuda at the track several times.

I ran a few different cars there, none real fast.
I had a bike there more often than a car.

Those were good times!!

I got out from McClellan late 81.

 

[hemi71x]

I think I only saw your GTX once, but I do remember seeing you with the Cuda at the track several times.

I ran a few different cars there, none real fast.
I had a bike there more often than a car.

Those were good times!!

I got out from McClellan late 81.

Ya, i was at Sacramento Raceway every Wednesday night with the 71 Cuda.
Used to run 13.20's at 108 mph, street tires, 440 automatic.
Wish the raceway was still there. Had lots of good times.
Now hundreds of houses in the development, that's there.

 

[PRH]

I remember another one…….another SBF.

I’m going to say 84-86 time frame:
69/70 mustang fastback, 302, supposedly “12:1”, very rowdy cam, headers, TR 2 Holleys, loud exhaust, L-60’s on the back, rumored to be fast.

By this time my Satellite was mid-low 12’s.

I worked at a parts store and got to know some of the car guys around.
This car had some street cred, but had never been to the track.
Anyway, one nite I’m out croozing around in the area he lived.
We run into each other at a parking lot and I manage to talk myself into a ride.
He lived not far from one of the local “test spots”.

So we head out to it, and as we’re driving over I’m thinking the thing is checking off the right boxes for a street bruiser.
We get where we need to be…….. he does a low speed rolling start……… gives me the “here we go” look and literally stomps the gas pedal to the floor.
And that’s when it was clear…….. it felt like a re-run of the Comet.
Maybe it was a little better than the Comet, but it was nowhere near as fast as my heap.

It’s tuff to feign excitement after such a let down(mmmmmm, yeh).

Prior to the ride there had been talk of a little street match up between us.
After the ride it was clear that would have been a slaughter.

I honestly don’t recall how it was reconciled.
Maybe I gave him a ride in my junk, and then he stopped asking(or something to that affect).

 

[33IMP]

There are a bunch of blindingly fast small block ford's out there, now. Most with heavy doses of power adder. And having great aftermarket heads available certainly helps.
But hot rodding a 289 or 302 in the 70s, or early eighties, with those pretty pathetic heads that were available, sometimes wasn't as successful as the owners hoped.