Were 1980s cars really that bad?

[Chazman]

Originally Posted by flyingn

I had a rare beast Citation too. 1980 v6 coupe, 4 speed, tach/gauges, buckets and console. It was a blast

I also had a 1980 Citation, a Club Coupe with V6 and 4 speed. No options other than FM radio and the 2.8L V8. No AC, bench seat, poverty caps - the lightest possible Citation with the biggest motor.

I had a new exhaust bent up for it, recurved the distributor, bumped up the timing and modified the air cleaner. I really wanted an X-11, though.

That sucker could chirp third. But it wasn't very reliable. I traded it in on an '84 GLH.

[HawkX66]

Nah, the 80s had some fun iron after some tweaking...

80 Grand Prix that I put a 400 in with Keystones. Comfortable driver that sounded great. I wouldn't consider it fast though lol



My '84 Z28. Loved that car.



And my favorite late 70s, almost 80s car. We still have it.

[markinnaples]

Great thread. I graduated in 1984 and had a slug '78 Trans Am that I used to mess around with a couple of my buddies' rides which were a 1979 Capri 5.0 and 1979 Mustang GT. Stupid choices but lots of fun. Mine looked like this one but with Hurst Hatch T-tops.

[black69]

Funny you say that about your 78 trans am. I thought my brother's car was the fastest thing when I was 18. And it handled like sticky glue. Maybe that is what really changed was for the first time, the cars started to handle way better, got a little flashier (velour interior was the sh-t back then), while getting slower. So thus, people were happy in the end with these other improvements distracting them. Maybe the early 80s were actually a - ok. Slow cars, but the other stuff made up for it.

Thank god, the 80s did come, to fix the 78 mustang nightmare body design. Ford will always have a hard time covering up that tattoo.

[markinnaples]

Agree, 2nd gen F-bodies handled really well, esp the WS6 TA's (a old buddy is restoring a 1979 black 400/4spd WS6) with the beautiful snowflake 15x8 rimes, but they (mine at least) was slow as molasses. Sounded good, looked good, but not fast compared to the hot stuff that was owned by the older guys around Pittsburgh at that time.

[427TJ]

I had two new 5.0 LX Mustangs, an '87 and a '90. Great bang for the buck.

[CC Rider]

For the times, an L98 IROC was pretty quick. The only options this one did not have were t-tops and the Bose Stereo. Otherwise, this was my first 'loaded' car.

[Chazman]

Originally Posted by CC Rider

For the times, an L98 IROC was pretty quick. The only options this one did not have were t-tops and the Bose Stereo. Otherwise, this was my first 'loaded' car.

I special ordered this in 1989 and still own it. It's a 1989, G92, LB9, 5 speed, with N10 dual cats, oil cooler, Aussie BW 3.45 9 bolt and DX3 decal delete. I figure if you put it in a time machine and sent it back to 1969 it could hold it's own on the street in a straight line with most muscle cars of the day and annihilate anything from anywhere on a curvy road.

[Crush]

Very nice!!

[The Boss]

Originally Posted by Chazman

I special ordered this in 1989 and still own it. It's a 1989, G92, LB9, 5 speed, with N10 dual cats, oil cooler, Aussie BW 3.45 9 bolt and DX3 decal delete. I figure if you put it in a time machine and sent it back to 1969 it could hold it's own on the street in a straight line with most muscle cars of the day and annihilate anything from anywhere on a curvy road.

You do know that most of that was due to tire technology right?

My Pure Stock 71 GT-37 ran a 13.25 this weekend at Norwalk and still has more in it if the driver can get better - there is no way in stock form your IROC (or mine for that matter) will ever do that.