30 YEARS AGO, WE'VE COME A LONG WAY

[Bill G]

Got a ‘76 TA for my wife (but that’s another story <lol>). On a late night run to Vegas I let ‘er loose and discovered why there were no “stops” at the ends of the speedo — looked down and found we were doing about 25 mph! Given enough straight road and nerve, bet you could twist that speedo 1 1/2 times around ?

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[Escape2Bronco]

My 1995 Lightning had 4 more cylinders, 2 less doors, could legally hold 2 less passengers, had 10 less horsepower, and got 10 less miles per gallon than my Sport. But in its defense, it sounded 10 times better and the grandkids smiled 10 times more when the skinny pedal was pushed to the floor!

 

[BLUEOVALRACER]

My 1995 Lightning had 4 more cylinders, 2 less doors, could legally hold 2 less passengers, had 10 less horsepower, and got 10 less miles per gallon than my Sport. But in its defense, it sounded 10 times better and the grandkids smiled 10 times more when the skinny pedal was pushed to the floor!

Nice Lightning my buddy may he RIP had a Black Lightning like yours and used to pull an Enclosed Trailer with his Chevy Malibu in it with his Lightning.

 

[Escape2Bronco]

Nice Lightning my buddy may he RIP had a Black Lightning like yours and used to pull an Enclosed Trailer with his Chevy Malibu in it with his Lightning.

It was great at pulling an enclosed trailer. I’d pull a 6x14 dual wheel from Wisconsin to south central Texas and would never know it was there. A 4:10 rear end and really wide tires helped a lot.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Had an '87 VW GTi 16v thirty years ago. Bought new. Kept it 10 years, 172,000 miles. Transmission blew.

Sold it to a VW tech. His son was getting his license. They sold it at 255,000 and would see it on the highway commuting for years after.

He also did the clutch while they owned it.

Loved that GTi!

 

[PaulOinMA]

Interesting mentioning the Porsche 944 above.

Porsche not pleased that the GTi 16v had better 0-60.

Think the 924 was better, too.

It was an embarrassment for a year until they gave the 944 more h.p.

944 was heavier than the GTi and 924.

 

[Jenma]

Here you go - bought it new.

 

[BLUEOVALRACER]

Here you go - bought it new.

Is that like a 93 or 94 Explorer Sport? My parents had a 92 Explorer Sport.

 

[Jenma]

Is that like a 93 or 94 Explorer Sport? My parents had a 92 Explorer Sport.

Is that like a 93 or 94 Explorer Sport? My parents had a 92 Explorer Sport.

This 94 Sport was my wife's daily driver for 29 years. In another thread I posted Explorer Sport vs. Bad Lands Specs. The 94 measured up and sometimes exceeded the Bad Lands. BTW It was only on its 3rd battery and still running strong when we gave it away.

 

[BLUEOVALRACER]

This 94 Sport was my wife's daily driver for 29 years. In another thread I posted Explorer Sport vs. Bad Lands Specs. The 94 measured up and sometimes exceeded the Bad Lands. BTW It was only on its 3rd battery and still running strong when we gave it away.

Did you have any cracked engine flywheel problems on the 4.0 V-6? IIRC we replaced the flywheel on my parents Explorer 2 times.

 

[Jenma]

NADA, 1 alternator, 1 compressor, 1 radiator. Otherwise everything was maintenance.

 

[Bucko]

Got a ‘76 TA for my wife (but that’s another story <lol>). On a late night run to Vegas I let ‘er loose and discovered why there were no “stops” at the ends of the speedo — looked down and found we were doing about 25 mph! Given enough straight road and nerve, bet you could twist that speedo 1 1/2 times around ?

My 76 Trans-Am went alot faster then 25MPH when I let 'er loose....

 

[Bill G]

My 76 Trans-Am went alot faster then 25MPH when I let 'er loose....

Speedo’s only went to 100mph (somebody’s bright idea to slow people down at the time) and had no “stop” pins on either end, so I actually backed off at around 125 and it felt like there was a lot left. Never raced for money, so don’t think I’ve ever run much over 125 in a car or on a bike.

 

[Bucko]

Speedo’s only went to 100mph (somebody’s bright idea to slow people down at the time) and had no “stop” pins on either end, so I actually backed off at around 125 and it felt like there was a lot left. Never raced for money, so don’t think I’ve ever run much over 125 in a car or on a bike.

I was teasing you...your first post stated you went 25 MPH and not 125. The 125 is more like it!

 

[Bill G]

Yeah, more mis-communication on the internet — some things are much harder when done on a keyboard ?? sometimes I miss the “old days” ?

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