Went back to visit my family in Louisiana this past weekend; I always have a good time when I’m back there. There’s always something new with the family that we’re able to catch up on, or a new eatery that just opened up to check out. Never Trust A Skinny Food Critic blog has the scoop on the places we ate out at. My blog is mostly about cars/photography however and if you’ll remember, I’ve done a post in the past on my brothers ZR1. I had the pleasure of shooting the ZR1 again, but this time the car is vastly more improved and with updated modifications. I’m really impressed by the looks of the car and how the subtle changes really changed the previous stock ZR1. I didn’t get to drive the car this time; my brother was always in a hurry hence the quick photo shoot in the driveway. It’s too bad too because I had a sweet spot picked out in my mind for the shoot. But these things happen and there just wasn’t enough time. I did the best I could though to show the beauty of this ZR1. Hope you guys enjoy.
-RSP-
One of the reason we were in a hurry…see the rain clouds? I thought it would have been kinda cool to do a photo shoot in the rain but my brother wasn’t having it.
I give that ASS 4 thumbs up!!
The door sill reminds you that you’re stepping into a ZR1
I was told it would happen when I upgraded my Mustang from a 6 cylinder to a V8. I was told it would happen when I got my first Corvette (1984 C4 with 205 hp). I was told it would happen when I got my second Corvette (07 C6).
And I was sort of told that numerous years ago by an Air Force pilot. I didn’t believe it each time.
No one can fault me, except some “car purists”, for taking the 250 straight 6 motor from my Mustang and replaced it with a V8 302 bored .030 nor when I attempted to increase the HP in my C4 Corvette from 205 to 245 with a new fangled intake (never actually took place). Those were pretty understandable upgrades considering the 250 in the Mustang had no get up and go (more like lay down and won’t) when the AC was on. For that matter why would ever limit a Corvette to 205 hp?
Now the C4 is gone but the Mustang puts out about 300 hp and the C6 is at about 420. I remember saying, “400 hp? That’s plenty for me!!!” when I bought the C6. And it should be. I’m certain that this SHOULD be ‘true’. But why then, do I have a set of 351 Cleveland Cobra Jet heads sitting in the garage for the Mustang. And why am I pricing superchargers for the Corvette?
I started thinking about this driving the C6 on my way to work today, recalling back when the Mustang was 195 hp and the 84 Vette was just 10 more than the Stang and wishing I had more. As I stepped on the throttle entering the Interstate, I thought to myself, I which I had a bit more power now. That’s just plan crazy talk!!! Just a year ago I was happy with the C6’s power and now its like… yeah its powerful, most powerful in the HOA I bet (why didn’t I just say “neighborhood”?). What happened?
What has happened is that I drive the Vette daily and it as become common place to have that power at a bend of my right ankle. I am sure that if I drove a Toyota Corolla every day and took the Vette out on the weekends, I would still be in awe of the power. I’ve just come so accustom (not complacent, mind you) to driving the car that it doesn’t seem extra ordinary (although intellectually I know that 400 plus hp is no joke).
That doesn’t explain the desire to upgrade the Mustang though, does it? So what does? I think that rational here is more rooted in my own attachment to what the last 60’s and 70’s muscles cars should be. But still when I’m driving it I wish for more power. You understand that don’t you? When you look at a 1969 Mustang and it has its original 6 cylinder in it, you say…”That’s nice. Its all original.” However when you see a 1970 Mustang Mach I with its massive engine…you say…’WOW!!! F-ing A that’s what I’m talking about!!!!” So it’s some of that for sure.
So here is where I am with my cars and thinking about it took me back to one of my military supervisor. He was a LT Col and was one of the few that flew the SR-71 for a living. He shared a story with me about flying a mission and on the return trip received a warning light on the instrument panel. This required him to have to slow the aircraft down bit. He said to me, “…and I thought GREAT it’ll take forever to get home at only Mach 2. I realized how relative speed it was.”
Thanks for reading and keep it under Mach 1. (Yes I’m sure that’s enough power…perhaps.)
With manual transmissions in demand, it isn’t surprising to find that a fair number of vehicles—particularly muscle-era vehicles—that left the factory with an automatic transmission are being rebuilt with a manual. Frederick estimated that about 60 percent of American Powertrain’s classic muscle car customers are replacing an automatic transmission with a manual.
“[The conversion] is time-consuming, but not terribly complicated,” Frederick said. “Most of the parts bolt in.”
“It isn’t for the faint-of-heart or for anyone short on patience, but it’s do-able,” Hill added. “It’s just a matter of working through the process.”
Obviously you’ll need a pedal assembly; fortunately, according to Hill, there are a lot of aftermarket units that work quite well.
“That also gives you the option of using a hydraulic release bearing instead of a mechanical clutch linkage, which, depending on the application, can have some advantages,” Hill said. “It’s going to take a longer or shorter drive shaft. It’s going to take a different yoke on that driveshaft. The power bushing in the motor for the transmission input shaft may have to be changed. The starter could be affected by the diameter of the flywheel you put into the vehicle.
“You start at the back of the crankshaft and start matching componentry as well as possible—and if you can’t match it, then you have to compensate for it,” Hill continued. “I don’t think we’ve ever run into something we couldn’t convert, as long as we’re talking about American muscle.”
Many of the same issues crop up even when swapping one manual for another—for example, the customer who has a 454 and a Muncie and wants to put a modern six-speed in it.
Like many other projects, it’s significantly easier with older (i.e., pre-computer) hardware. If either the engine or the transmission came with computer controls, it gets a little more involved. And keep in mind that even some modern manuals now have computer controls—the GM transmission that comes with the LS engine, for example, with its skip-shift function.
Of course, some customers will want to go the other way and replace a factory manual with a new, high-tech automatic.
“It’s most important to make sure you have all the correct components—and that you make the finished job look appealing to the customer,” said Poff of TCI. “It’s the mounting that’s most likely to give you trouble.”
According to the experts, you’ll need to ensure that you have the right crossmembers and that there’s enough room inside the tunnel.
“There is no one-size-fits-all solution; every application is unique,” added Poff. “But once the physical installation is accomplished, it’s pretty straightforward to make everything operational.”
Either way, Nichols suggested finding out from the customer how critical it is to keep the car looking original, versus the cost to locate and install all of the correct original components.
As with so much else in hot rodding, the best results generally come from purchasing and installing complete systems.
“That goes for any product from any company in this business,” Frederick said. “We say, ‘Look, we have a turnkey kit. We figured it all out, and all you to do it plug and play.’ Buy it all from one source and you know all the parts are going to work together.”
Meanwhile, manual-shift enthusiasts are upgrading to modern units packing more heavy-duty horsepower capacity—and more gear ratios.
“The generation that is now in their 60s can afford to build the cars that they wanted to build when they were in high school,” said Dick Hill, sales manager for Centerforce Clutches in Prescott, Arizona. And while those folks are not usually looking to build a race car, “they do want a four- or five-speed manual transmission,” he said.
More surprisingly, the trend extends beyond muscle cars and into traditional hot rods as well.
“I have friends who are building Deuce roadsters and they are putting LS motors in them, with a five- or six-speed manual transmission,” Hill said. “There are people who put Cadillac V-8s in 1949–1951 Mercs, and they want a stick. They want a three-pedal car. So that, too, is contributing to the growth of the high-performance clutch market.”
Hot rodders who already own or have owned multiple cars are now looking for something different.
“It’s like the people who buy their first Harley, they want it with every doo-dad they can get, where older bikers are turning back to the Knucklehead or even Flathead motors,” Hill said. “It’s the same with the hot rodder who already has two or three or four toys in the garage. The newest toy is going to be a stick car. And it’s for the same reason that someone will buy a brand-new Camaro, put 1,000 horsepower in it, and drive it on the street while blowing cold air and playing tunes. They want a manual not because they’re going to race it, but because they can have it. That’s what we hear all the time: ‘Because I can.’”
Rating the Ratios
American Powertrain of Cookeville, Tennessee, sells a broad range of high-performance drivetrain components, from complete crate engines to driveshafts and pedals. The company also distributes Tremec transmissions.
“The hot market right now is for the Magnum six-speed in a classic muscle car,” said Gray Frederick. “The Magnum is Tremec’s replacement for the T-56 is the aftermarket version of what you would get in a new Shelby GT500 or Camaro SS.” Frederick added that people are putting them into classic Mustangs Cougars, Camaros Firebirds, Barracudas and Challengers.
“The cars that people spend the most money on are the cars that [are] getting Magnum six-speeds,” Frederick added.
The Magnum is available with two sets of ratios, with the closer-ratio unit being the more popular of the two.
“The wide-ratio box has a 0.5 overdrive, which is very tall; a lot of engines can’t pull that much overdrive,” Frederick said.
But when it comes to overdrive, isn’t more better?
“That’s a myth,” Frederick said. “You can say, ‘Alright, I’m at the ragged edge of my cam, where if I’m on flat ground I can hold 70 mph all day.’ In a perfect world, that would be great. [I]n the real world, at some point you’re going to have to slow down for construction, and then speed up again; or you’re going to hit a rise, or something else that causes your engine to run out of breath. [T]hen you’re going to have to shift and that’s what you’re trying to avoid.
“You want to put it in sixth gear and leave it sixth gear,” he continued. “You don’t want to run down the highway at your cam’s peak performance, which would be 3,000–4,000 rpm. But you do want an rpm where your engine can pull your car up hills, and pass without dropping a gear. If every time you put your foot in the gas the engine lugs and you have to shift, that becomes very inefficient. We’re helping the customer understand that, even on the highway, you want to stay in your powerband. Otherwise the overdrive doesn’t do you any good.”
Frederick recommends the wide-ratio unit mostly for torquey big blocks.
“A Pontiac 455 will pull a stump out of the ground at 800 rpm; it doesn’t have trouble pulling a car at whatever rpm you’re running,” he said. “A Mopar 440 and some other big blocks with a lot of low-end grunt can usually handle the taller overdrive, too. And of course we’re dealing with a lot of electronically fuel-injected (EFI) engines now, and most of them have computers that can cope with low rpm very well.
They can retard the spark, they can meter the fuel differently, they can do all kinds of things.
“We help the customer choose a rearend ratio and a gear set that’s going to give them the best performance, from top to bottom,” Frederick said.
Pedal Pressure Another concern, according to Hill of Centerforce Clutches, is the physical effort once associated with a high-performance clutch.
“Our customers all ask, ‘How stiff is the pedal?’” he said. “That’s why we’ve been very successful, whether it’s a single-disc clutch for mild upgrade vehicle, or dual-disc unit that can hold 1,300 lbs./ft. of torque, we’ve been very successful in making them streetable.”
The average consumer, Hill said, could climb into a car with a Centerforce dual-disc clutch, push the pedal to the floor, and not realize that the car was modified.
“[T]he person who has a $75,000 Camaro or Corvette wants race-car performance without the race-car effort, so this is pretty significant,” he said.
Still, selecting the optimal clutch for any particular application is a complex task best left to experts.
“There are different linings and different friction materials on the pressure plate,” Hill said. “Heat is a factor. The first thing you have to know is how the vehicle is going to be used. Drag racers realize they are going to drive their car until they break it, where hot rodders don’t beat their cars up as bad. They are very proud of their cars and they want to drive them, not break them. And unless the car has been tubbed, a street machine generally runs smaller tires, so you want to tune the clutch for that.”
McLeod Racing of Placentia, California, offers its RST and RXT Street Twin clutches, both double-disc units that hold up to 1,000 horsepower, with the pedal pressure of a stock clutch, said President Paul Lee. Contributing to this low effort—and to easier installation—are McLeod’s hydraulic release bearings, “which fit most applications, replacing worn and/or outdated mechanical linkages,” he said.
“We’re selling more clutches for vehicles from the 1960s and 1970s, and installing a new hydraulic clutch in one of these cars can significantly reduce pedal effort,” said Rich Barsamian, national sales manager for Advanced Clutch Technology (ACT) in Lancaster, California. The company also offers a wide range of clutches for GM, Ford and Mopar applications, each rated for torque at the crankshaft.
When installing an aftermarket clutch, Barsamian suggested, “be sure to use the right amount of lube on the input shaft—it is possible to use too much. Be sure parts are free from dirt and oil, and washed in a non-petroleum-based cleaner such as acetone, alcohol or brake cleaner. Be sure to follow the correct torque and tightening sequence when installing the clutch cover—and do not use impact tools.”
This from Classic Recollections (http://classicrecollections.com/2012/07/16/feature-1978-vw-bus/).
I’ve never owned but I have a brother-in-law who has restored a few – they weren’t show quality like this one but they were in fact fully functional. Although WV buses required “frequent” attention, the repairs aren’t difficult, but I’m not sure the fun outweighed the trouble.
The first question most people are dying to ask when they spy Jack Connelly pull up in his 1978 VW Bus is, “Do you go camping in it?”
Jack Connolly has imparted his love of VWs to his kids: Anna and Jack Jr.
Who can blame them? For decades, these uber-functional hauling machines were the vehicles of choice for motorists who desired to get up close to the picturesque outdoors.
With their squared styling, compact rear-engine design and over-the-wheels driving position, these microbuses have interior space in overabundance. Add to this the Volkswagen camper model’s pop-up roof, and occupants are able to fully stand up.
**Want to know how Jack restored this roomy rolling classic? Head over to our full feature on theDaily Herald HERE**
OK, if there has one thing that being a forum surfer has taught me over my brief tenure of being such, is there are a lot of things that affect, generate, hinder and enhance engine performance that are not understood or simply just ignored.
Most of this stuff is simply just not shared, be it that they are considered speed secrets or the lay person simply does not understand it, whatever.
I wanted to start a thread to discuss some factors that affect engine performance and the parameters that performance engines live within. Read, argue, whine or cry, this is the truth. And as Jack Nicholson said in "A Few Good Men"- "you can't handle the truth". Well, maybe you can, let's find out.
Get your calculators ready, over the next few weeks, you will need them.
Now, with all of that out of the way, let's start by nailing down the first thing we need to consider when wanting to build a new engine and get the maximum performance out of it. Knowing what we want to use it for will deliver the best possible results. Building a high strung engine to take the family to picnics on Sundays will probably not deliver the experience you are after. Well, maybe the experience you are after, but probably not everyone else in the car.
The best place to build a starting point is to determine intended purpose of our engine and then correlate this to a range of piston speeds.
Piston speed will have a crazy-huge effect on how the engine performs.
I am going to break this down into different categories. For those of you playing along at home, I will give you several examples to experiment with, I am not going to lead you down a primrose path to a result that I have predetermined. Your rules, build what you want without spending a dime.
OK, the categories are:
Street engines (stock)
Mild performance or street/strip
Endurance/NASCAR/Road Race
Maximum effort (Mileage limited/drag race)
AYFKM effort (Component failure limited)
Now, the classification for each of these categories are split by how fast we fling the piston. But first, I guess we need to know how to determine piston speed so we can then determine which category we belong in, or vice versa.
The formula for Mean Piston Speed (MPS) is MPS in ft per minute=(inches of crankshaft stroke x (engine RPM/6))
Depending on the stroke of the crankshaft, and the RPM you expect to see, we can categorize our engine. This will affect our pocketbook, because it will directly affect the type and quality of parts we need to buy to support our performance objectives.
Now let's put these categories in a manner where piston speed can help us determine what we are building. Or, what we need to build to fit into a certain performance category.
Street engines (stock) 2000 to 3000 ft/min
Mild performance or street/strip 3000 to 4000 ft/min
Endurance/NASCAR/Road Race 4000 to 5000 ft/min
Maximum effort (Mileage limited/pro class drag race) 5000 to 6000 ft/min
AYFKM effort (Component failure limited) 6000 to 7500+ ft/min
OK, so if you tried a few different combinations, you probably realize we can change the category by solely changing the stroke, changing our RPM, or both. So great, wow, what a speed secret. Thanks a whole pantload Parker, I read through all of this for that? You're an asshole. Yeah, I know I am, thanks. But the thing that we need to understand about the formula is you need to understand engine speed (RPM) is power. Let's take a look at two theoretical engines and another formula, this one you have probably seen.
Horsepower = (Torque x RPM)/5252
By solely changing RPM, I can make one of these engines a grocery getter and the other, an F1 contender.
Two little six cylinders; both make an eyeball popping 246 pound feet of torque :lol
In the first one, my maximum usable RPM is 4500, and when plugged into the above formula (go ahead and do it, doofus), we see the engine is capable of making about 210 horsepower. :facepalm:
Now we will leave everything the same as far as torque, but let's give the engine an F1 race car caliber RPM of 19,250. After you do the math (I don't have to call you doofus this time, do I?) we see that though my torque stayed 246 lb/ft, my horsepower climbed to a panty-dropping 910! :willy
RPM is power folks, RPM is the shit. RPM can also stand for "Ruins People's Motors" if you don't know how to handle your newfound knowledge.
Piston action has a dramatic effect in the way air and fuel enter, and exhaust leaves the engine. Going back to our categories, we are going to relate the effectiveness of this piston action with our engine and piston speed categories. We do this using something called Volumetric Efficiency, or VE. VE simply put is; if I have a 100 cubic inch engine, and that engine can breathe in and expel 100 cubic inches of air for every camshaft (two crankshaft) revolution(s), it is 100 percent volumetric efficient. If the design of the heads, intake and exhaust only allow 85 cubic inches of airflow through the engine, it is 85% volumetric efficient. If it can move 110 cubic inches of air flow, then it is 110% volumetric efficient. Are engines over 100% VE possible? Why yes, yes they are, and I am going to show you how to build one. Wow, a 350 cubic inch engine that can move 385 cubic inches worth of airflow? Oh yes, yes indeed.
But that will wait until the next installment, for now, let this digest.
Street engines (stock) 2000 to 3000 ft/min 80-90% VE
Mild performance or street/strip 3000 to 4000 ft/min 90-110% VE
Endurance/NASCAR/Road Race 4000 to 5000 ft/min 110-120% VE
Maximum effort (Mileage limited/pro class drag race) 5000 to 6000 ft/min 120 to 127% VE
AYFKM effort (Component failure limited) 6000 to 7500+ ft/min 125 to 128% VE
So we have learned that how fast the piston moves has a great affect on the performance I can expect. And we also learned that piston speed is primarily controlled by the stroke of the crankshaft and the RPM of the engine. We also see how changing piston speed makes my engine fall into different performance categories.
Next time I will give you some real world examples I have tuned on the engine dyno and tested on the drag strip, as well as begin to talk about hw we get the air into the engine to take advantage of all of this piston speed we just talked about.
Cheers, Parker
Often over looked is the first year AMC products. AMC invested approximately 300 million dollars in advanced engine designs, bodies and plant facilities as it prepared for the move from Nash Rambler hold over to AMC proper.
Of course the company was formed from Nash Rambler (AMC Rambler) in 1958 and eventually just American Motors Corp. So 1966 found a fair amount of “redesign” going on. The available models for that year were:
Rambler American Rouge Series 01 (4dr w/V8)
Rambler Classic 770 Series 10 (2dr conv w/V8) (4dr station wagon w/6cyl)
Rambler Rebel Series (2dr w/V8)
Marlin Series 50 (2dr w/6 or V8) (My favorite besides the Javelin)
I love these cars. The two-tone paint is great. I love the yellow and black, blue and black and the silver and black combo.
Ambassador 990 Series 80 (4dr w/V8)
Rambler Ambassador 990 Series 80 (2d conv w/V8)
1966 Rambler Ambassador 990 Convertible
Rambler Ambassador DPL Series 80 (2dr w/V8)
Gone from the engine line up is the 196.5 6 cylinder overhead valve engine. It was replaced with the 198.8 In Line Six. It was a cast iron block with overhead valves and a bore and stroke of 3.57 x 4.00 inches. It displaced 198.8 cubic inches with a compression ratio of 85:1 and mustered up 128 hp. It was topped with a 1bbl Holley carb. This was the base engine and all of the models could have been optioned with it. But that wasn’t the only 6 banger the American 232 cid with produced 155 hp which sported a 2bbl Holley carb.
On the V8 side of things there was the 287 cid. It was a cast iron block with overhead valves with a bore and stroke of 3.75 x 3.25 which produced a compression ratio of 8.7:1. Topped with a 2bbl Holley (model 2209-2699) it made 198 hp. The other option was the 327 cid that put out 270 hp and carried a 4bbl Holley on top.
New for that year was the 290 V8 (4.8L) it had a bore and stroke of 3.75 x 3.28 and with an iron block and overhead valves which produced 200 hp with a 2bbl plopped on top for 225 with a 4bbl carb. Snap up the car with an original 290, only 623 of these engine were place in the 1966 models (all may the “American” models vs the “Classic” (those should have 287 instead).
The 290 used sparingly in the 1966 models.
The 327 was available in 1966. It was 5.4 liters with cast iron block. The bore was increased over the 287 (they were similar set up) and it had hydraulic lifters.
The AMC 327 was similar to the 287, but displaced 327 cu in (5.4 L) due to the bore increase to 4.0 inches (102 mm). Unlike the 250, the 327 was available with hydraulic valve lifters. The bore and stroke was 4.0 x 3.25 and topped with 2bbl carb it produced 250 hp. Put the 4bbl option and you push it up to 270 hp.
Tucked away in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago is the quaint town of Barrington and every summer Thursday night, the classic cars come rolling in for the village’s weekly cruise. With its tranquil, tree-lined setting, easily accessible boutique shops and casual dining, this event is one draws automotive enthusiasts from all over.
Anne Garrett
Anne Garrett serves as the Manager for Special Events and Marketing for the Village of Barrington and described to us how the cruise came to be.
“This year is our 9th year for the cruise, which got started in 2003. At the time, the village had been looking for ways to draw traffic and attention to the downtown area and knew a classic car cruise would be just perfect. Other neighboring suburbs had something similar so we did some research and determined we had what it would take to run a successful event. We settled on the South Cook street area and in all the years its been running, haven’t changed a thing.”
Anne informed us two village staff members and several members of the public works, as well as local law enforcement, are required to run the event.
“The Barrington Police will attend but it’s more of a public safety presence and a chance to interact with the local community.”
In addition, they also typically bring out vehicles from their fleet and allow spectators to get up close and personal with their high-tech cruisers. Volunteers from the Barrington Lions Club also help with the event.
“Four years ago we were approached by the group who offered their assistance. Every year since we’ve had 4 or 5 faithful volunteers help man the barricades and allow the cars to come in and out.”
Judging by the jammed lots, full of classic and custom cars, and the multitudes of owners and spectators milling about, it’s safe to assume the cruise has been a huge hit with the community.
“So far, the response has been tremendous. It seems every week people genuinely look forward to the event. They’re able to come early and go to the Farmer’s Market and then wander around the lots, checking out the cool classic cars. We rotate the onsite food venders and always have different entertainment so no two weeks are exactly the same.”
Expect the lot to be filled during the warm, cruising months.
The local businesses have taken notice of the increased foot traffic.
“We’re having more and more of our downtown merchants stay open late, which gives spectators many options for additional shopping and dining activities when they’re done seeing the cars. It really adds to the overall community feeling of the event and makes it a wonderful place to spend the evening.”
If you plan on attending the Barrington cruise and want to bring a four-wheeled relic, you’d better get there early.
“Our official start time is 6:30pm but the car owners will arrive and start cuing up around 4:30pm. Many of them want to make sure they get their ‘special spot’. Generally our end time is right at dusk, as the car owners don’t like driving home in the dark with their headlights on. We’ve been told they don’t like to run the risk of attracting bugs and having to put in the extra time cleaning them off.”
Each night throughout the summer has a theme, highlighting a certain brand, style or type of classic machine. While all are welcome, the themed vehicles are given special attention. Here is the schedule for the rest of the season:
July 19: 70’s Night July 26: “Orphan” Cars August 2: Mopar August 9: Convertible August 16: Sports & British Cars August 23: Corvette August 30: Trucks/ 4×4
** Want to know what events are taking place near you? Check out our Cruise Calender**
1976 I was a senior in high school, that was the year I had my first tasting of racing – not legal. My ’66 Impala against a Mustang ( a 1973 Mach I) and I got dusted, well almost, the knuckle head (he was a friend) stopped for a red light, I didn’t. My little 283, 2bbl engine (about 195 hp) was hauling about the same curb weight as the Mach I with its 351 CJ engine (about 266 hp) the outcome was certain. But traffic lights are the great equalizer!!!
But would it have had a different outcome if I was racing the new’s Mustang offering for 1976? Let’s see.
If looks were matched with speed, the 1976 Mustang would open of a can of whoop a$$ on my plain jane Impala. With the look of the Stallion Trim or the Cobra II you’d think they were carrying a no less than a V6 and hopefully a V8.
Cobra II
A spin on the original Hurtz rental Mustang.
Cobra II in Blue
Stallion Trim Package for 1976 (I’ve seen this paint job on a couple of Pintos too.)
But underneath the Shelby type exterior or the Hurtz type color palate the cool exterior lay a 4 cylinder engine, nothing special. But with Carrol Shelby’s endorsements and Farrah Fawcett driving one on TV the Cobra II (which was intended to be limited to only 5,000 units) sold over 25k units.
But with the best engine you could shove under the hood, my 283 would’ve made pretty easy work of the 1976 Mustang.
