Okay,

My dad is under the impression his 79 base model corvette was faster/better in every respect than the Porsche's of the day. What are the specs on a basemodel corvette of that year. Opinions/facts please.

 

http://www.idavette.net/facts/79.htm

R&T
http://www.corvettearchive.com/image...1979/cover.jpg
http://www.corvettearchive.com/image...1979/page1.jpg
http://www.corvettearchive.com/image...1979/page2.jpg
http://www.corvettearchive.com/image...1979/page3.jpg
Unfortunately the 70’s and early 80’s was a grim time for Corvette performance.
The 225 HP of the L82 Corvette would have a very difficult time keeping up to the 240hp 928 and 300hp 911 turbo, however the Vette was more competitive with the NA 911 (180hp) and 924 turbo (170hp). I have no doubt that the Vette could out perform the base 924 (125hp).
IMO the body lines on the Corvette are far better looking.

 

Road&Track, April 1979.

 

Interesting.... Paul, do you know if those numbers are for the L-82 or L-48? My first Corvette was a 79 L-82. Great car.

 

1978-79 911 SC (3.0) 6.5 0-60
1978-79 911 Turbo 3.3 5.1 0-60

Magazine R&T
Pub. Date Apr. 1979
Engine L82
Transmission 4-Speed Man.
0-60 mph (sec) 6.6
1/4 Mile (sec/mph) 15.3 / 95.0

If you discount 924's which had puny VW/Audi 4 cylinder motors this is the only view you will get from a 79 Vette of a 79 911



J.

 

The spec sheet shows L-82. I drove this 1979 L-82 for 17 years.

 

The article I posted indicated 0-60 in 6.5sec. and 1/4mile in 15.2@95mph for the Corvette

 

Yes, but...the original was question was whether a base Corvette would whup a Porsche. The only thing an L48 would whup is the 924...

 

In 1974 I "Came Home"...not to much. The complete line of American cars sucked! Everything! Corvettes ncluded. I drove Jaguars and Porche's, in 1975 I baught a 1970 Mustang Mach I, for my wife, Sweet red car with a black vynal top. In 1976 I got my hands on a 1974, 911 RSR, it had "Sparten" interior and raised, heavy duty suspension. This car was one of 500 "RSR"'s imported to this country for off road rally racing in that year. The speedometer said 160 and that 6 cylinder would bury the needle. Course sparten interior ment no "air" no Radio and pull straps for door handles. But Who cares, when you could eat a Corvette alive! IMHO things did not change for the American automotive industry untill the mid 80's..........Pissed me off too! But I baught a TPI ,California edition, red on black ,IROC in may of 1985, switched out the chips for horses and drove the crap outta it!

 

I was going to make that comment as well, but this is a Vette sight so wanted to give it a bit of a chance

J.

 

When I was looking for cars, I compared the C3's to late-70's 911sc's. I think the Porsches would easily take stock vettes (L48 or L82) from the same years. One of the reasons that I bought a vette was that it's cheap and easy to modify a Chevy V8. Not so with the flat-6.

 

What was the price of bouth car in '79. Porche 911 and a stock L48. I bet, that you only take half of the $ that you save by buying a vette in upgrade and you will eat the porche for breakfest and you will have a real nice looking car.

 

In the late 1970s GM never pretended that the Corvette was a performance car. It was a boulevard cruiser with plush cloth or leather seats, power options, and most (41,454 of 53,807 in 1979) had automatic transmissions. That is what the public wanted and GM gave it to them. We can be critical in hindsight but they did have to sell cars! Porsche has never put itself in that market niche. They are spartan, well-engineering and designed to go. And they did and do. Corvette had to catch up. The much maligned early C4 was the first attempt.

I very much recommend Dave McLellan's book "Corvette From the Inside." Absolutely fascinating reading on the late C3s and early C4s. And you will learn why there was not a 1983 Corvette.

 

[QUOTE=paul67]In the late 1970s GM never pretended that the Corvette was a performance car. It was a boulevard cruiser with plush cloth or leather seats, power options, and most (41,454 of 53,807 in 1979) had automatic transmissions. That is what the public wanted and GM gave it to them. We can be critical in hindsight but they did have to sell cars! Porsche has never put itself in that market niche. They are spartan, well-engineering and designed to go. And they did and do. Corvette had to catch up. The much maligned early C4 was the first attempt.
I disagree, The public may have been buying 40 thousand Corvettes but thats because the choices were slim, and you say "thats what the Public wanter" speak for your self fella, I was joe public in that era and me and everybody I knew were NOT buying Corvettes. The Housewife with 2.3 kids maby baught a corvette in 1977 and maby their were more of them than there were us but performance addicts were given up on because the gas thing came along and it was easier to give up than to actually compete with the foriegn market, face it we got screwed every which way from sunday in out prime, if your a baby boomer. Maby your not, I notice the C2 you show in your siggy is from a different era. If I'd been born in the early fourtys instead of the early 50's or maby in the ninteys instead of the 50's but nope..Born in 51, was in my 20's in the 70's when all the cars sucked!

 

53,807 units in '79... isn't that still the highest production # to this very day?

 

Glad to see someone saying nice things about the 911 Porsches. I replied to a thread here about the best built car. I said Porsche 911 and got dumped on big time. I did say that in order to dump on the Porsche you had to have owned one. What I meant by that was don't take someone elses word (or magazine article) for your information. Then the S**t really hit the fan! I was an elitest! Poor folks couldn't afford a Porsche but they knew it was not very good. I backed out of that thread. People who were not even born in 1970 knew more about 911s from that year than me, an owner. Wanted to say something about shallow gene pool (swamp), but thought better of it.

 

Codestar,
Can't understand your message. Please de-code. In the mid-1970s I was driving a 1973 AMC Gremlin with a Levis interior and a 304cid V8. Guess I'm a boomer....My first new car was a Datsun 210 station wagon in 1979. What's your point?

 

Glen,
I never owned a Porsche 911 but had the opportunity to drive one in the 1980s. Wow! It's a road car and the engineering is set up as such. That's why you don't see them at the dragstrip. I chickened out at 120 mph on a track when it was just getting in the prime rpm band. Pretty fine automobile. I have no desire to own one but understand why some people do; aside from those who buy for allure and troop about in the city.

 

No offence to you Paul , you a good guy Realy. Unfortuantly I kinda felt slighted by the American automotive industry as well as the American Public when I returned from my Tour in Vietnam... Could have also had something to do with the "Dear John " I got from my Wife the minute I hit San Diego too, Amazing how we can hold onto things, Huh? Didn't mean it to seem I was dumping on you. You are the one said that the American public wasn't interested in Performance in the latter 70's. Thats not true. The American Automotive manufacturers were receiveing stiff compitition like they've never seen from the Japanese and the Europeans. I am an American, bred and true. I watched The Big Three, GM / Ford / Dodge, Decide to hell with competition we can just live off our name and not even try to get with the program. So if you were in your 20's in the 70's and looking for a performance American Car...Well you had to buy an "Old" car..60's era. And those just had the horses not the eminitys. Just my Observation. I'm 53 now and a 73 is fine with me for building and playing with but in 1975 it wasn't.

 

Thanks Codestar,
I did not have the bad experience of Vietnam althougth a couple of my buddies here in Canada did with the US Marines. I worked with them in the early 1970s in motorcycle shops. That employment got me my first college degree. Their stories after a few beers blew me away. But that's a long time ago. In any case, no harm done from our exchange.

I understand your message but in some ways it is not relevant to me. I could not afford performance cars in those days what with a new Wife and a mortgage. My first Corvette was some 20 years ago. The current green machine is a present to myself for planning wisely for early retirement. So, yes, I am a aging boomer but no excuses will be forthcoming from me. I did my corporate time. Now I play with my Corvette.

I enjoyed our exchange, sincerely. Thanks!